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Frustrated - Urine Problems

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flintstones

flintstones

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Last month Wilma had a stone removed and was doing well up until now. She's been losing weight again and just not moving around. Had her back at the vet today and her Urine is chalked full of crystals. I need to get her drinking. On top of this her appetite has decreased everytime I weigh her a little bit more weight falls off.

She's on pain killers, potassium citrate and furosol once it arrives but I'm conscious that she needs to eat and drink. She will volunteer to take a few ml's if I spend ages offering her a syringe.

I'm also concerned about her weightloss as she's very light at only 740 grams.

I've been trying to top her up but she's an absolute nightmare I worry so much about aspirating her as she puts up such a fight. Really at a loss about what to do :(.
 
Hey Jo, we are facing a very similar battle with Cookie at the moment . No matter what we do the weight is falling 830g and her appetite is fading.

We are rotating lots of veg so she has different tastes to keep her interested... Maybe try Avipro plus in water and syringe that, piggies love the taste.

Huge hugs to you and love to Wilma.
 
Sorry to hear about Wilma - must be really worrying. Sounds horribly familiar after my experiences with Pringle and his bladder weeks after his op.
I presume she is not liking your famous pearl barley water? I learned to make it from you so it is a bit odd for me to be mentioning it back again but Pringle did really like it!
I also offered soaking wet lettuces and herbs to get extra fluid in. I just kept trying different things to tempt him eg he loved foraged plants eg plantain/ goose grass.
Have you explored glucosamine?
Sending loads of vibes for Wilma. L x

Oh and P liked cooled but warm camomile tea also! don't ask me why I tried that.....
 
I've been using Avri-pro @sport_billy that's how I manage to get her to take around 6ml's not a huge amount. My other problem is her distended tummy she doesn't have Bloat but she does have a lot of gas. I feel as through I'm between a rock and a hard place as normally I would withdraw veg but with Wilma it's something I'm really concerned about.

@lauraboara - yes Pearl Barley always was a hit. What's glucosamine?

Going to try Chamomile tea cooled too...

Anything else for weight gain? @helen105281
 
If you syring feed her barly water perhaps try loading the syringe with the barly water, then
Dipping the tip of the syringe into her faverate veg (like cucumber)
You will be tricking her into thinking that she is getting cucumer :tu:
 
When Rosie went through a bladder op to remove stones sludge etc the vet advised additional vit c. I gave Rosie 50mg extra (crushed up tablet) and within 4 weeks of the op she developed the same symptoms. She went through another op and it wasn't until I looked at the ingredients on the bottle I realised I had been giving her a hefty dose of calcium carbonate, just what I had been trying to avoid. Why I hadn't thought about it before - just one of those things. She's still going strong and continuing to put weight on, she had the op on 7th July (this year) and hasn't had any problems since.
 
Can I ask what vegetables you feed her? Do you syringe additional water?

Her critical care has calcium carbonate going to look for a different type. Think hay will need to be something we spend our money on.
 
She has cucumber everyday, lettuce is mainly romaine, occasionely she has baby leaf as a treat but when you have to share a bag between 8 pigs they not getting a lot. Broccoli, and sweetheart cabbage once a week. Pepper and baby corn twice a week. They have grass every day. We have a gassy diabetic pig so green stuff is also restricted because of him. They have unlimited meadow hay, gertie and oxbow timothy pellets as well as oxbow timothy hay. When she was recovering she had critical care as a top up. Science selective is alfalfa based so that was a definite no. Up till about 3 weeks ago she was syringed water - about 10mls twice a day ( if she was co-operative). She has only just come off of the septrin. She had a urine culture done to make sure that it was the correct ab a bit pricy but worth it. She is still tender around her bladder area so is still on the metacam 0.2ml (dog) daily. She was also on nutracys but after reading posts @helen105281 and her bladder pigs she now has 250mg glucosamine daily. The tablet is crushed and added to fruit baby food. When she started having bladder issues her weight dropped to about 990g its taken a while but she now weighs in at about 1150g. I found when she was really reluctant to take the cc I would add some fruit baby food to the mix she particularly liked the banana.
 
Forgot to mention although we live in a soft water area I brought a brita filter for her. In fact all the animals now have filtered water including the lizard.
 
I'm filtering Wilma's water also. Did you notice she had gritty white Urine before or has she never had the powdery Urine?
 
There was always some white powder when it dried but during the period of time she was suffering we could both see and feel the grit in the urine. At times it was so painful for her that she was standing on tiptoes to pee. It was then she was operated on a second time and even after that though it took her a long while not to lift her bottom when she passed urine.
 
Bless her, Wilma doesn't show any pain when urinating but she never has done. She's a suffer in silence pig, she'll still eat but it'll be selective and she won't really move.
 
Poor Wilma, while recovering we used to move Rosie out of the cage and into a cat box filled with hay and a selection of veg, she was also partial to melon and leave her in there for about an hour. This meant she could eat at her own pace in peace and quiet without getting disturbed by the other pigs.
 
I do a similar idea, but she's been getting Timothy hay with dandelion so I'll need to be changing that.
 
The dreaded pets at home do a nice hay cake/cookie which all of mine love. Also if you can find them 'vita verde' do a range of hays with different ingredients. I know I spent a small fortune when Rosie was poorly buying stuff to get her to eat and gain weight.
 
I just invested in some oxbow Timothy as that's low calcium. Going to try supreme urinary food see if that helps to.
 
flintstones said:
I've been using Avri-pro @sport_billy that's how I manage to get her to take around 6ml's not a huge amount. My other problem is her distended tummy she doesn't have Bloat but she does have a lot of gas. I feel as through I'm between a rock and a hard place as normally I would withdraw veg but with Wilma it's something I'm really concerned about.

@lauraboara - yes Pearl Barley always was a hit. What's glucosamine?

Going to try Chamomile tea cooled too...

Anything else for weight gain? @helen105281
Click to expand...

I tend to give critical care for weight gain. I know some people feed oats but I have heard mixed opinions on them and they can be an issue for pigs prone to gas which my Millie is so I avoid them. Wheatbran is a possibility if she will eat it?
 
Bumble also has cystophan in hos water bottle but i have to add some cranverry juice in with it or they wont drink it - Bumble never was a big drinker - he only ever used to drink his 2 wifepigs wee and get his fluid from cucumer- so I have to syringe feed fluids to him - filtered water with some ocean spray cranberry juice (not the light variety because of the artificial sweetners) all of them then clamour for it.
 
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Can't believe how well Wilma is doing already she's coming out and about. Eating more, no more wet bottom and she's at 790 grams this evening. Generally she seems better, I'm assuming this is down to the pain killer.

I'm offering her additional fluids, sometimes she'll accept other times not so much but it's better than what she drinks on her own. I'm also feeding her additional cucumber, and any other low calcium veg. I'm trying to avoid anything high calcium at the moment giving her excess crystal formation.

I've ordered some Oxbow Timothy and science selective urinary feed it says it's also good for weight gain so we shall give it a try.
 
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