Guinea pig seems to be incontinent after vet visit

[Lazw]

Hello all, my sow millie is 2.5 years old and has been crying when weeing and pooping, as well as looking hunched over. I took her to a vet a month ago who gave her a week course of metacam to help with what he said was inflammation. She was still in pain after this course of painkillers so I took her to a specialist vets on Thursday, 3 days ago. She tested her urine and it is acidic with blood in it so she is being treated with septrin 2x a day for 14 days, metacam 2x a day for 14 days, emperid 2x a day for 3 days to help with her stomach which was bloated. She was put under general anaesthetic on Friday and xrays showed no stones, a small amount of bladder sludge but as the vet said, not enough to warrant more invasive treatment. My concern is, since I've brought her home from the vets on Friday afternoon, she is absolutely soaked with really strong smelling urine. This wasn't a problem before, even though she was crying when she passed urine. It's just started since I brought her home, can anyone help with this? I believe septrin is a pretty potent antibiotic so I'm unsure why this has suddenly started. She seems herself again now, still squeaking for food, eating etc. Not drinking as much as she normally does though. If anyone has any advice or knowledge I'd really appreciate it, I hate to think she's uncomfortable all wet. I'm changing her bed every day to make sure she's not sat in it but she's still wet. Thanks in advance, Laura.

 

[Lazw]

Also I forgot to add, the vet said she has a bit c deficiency as she has a stripe of keratin up her nose, so she's currently on 100mg of human vit c tablets a day for 2 weeks to correct the deficiency.

 

[LucyP]

Sorry to hear all you and poor Millie have been going through. Is she moving around as normal? I ask because when my sow Betty recently had general anaesthetic for X-ray and tests (also for squeaky wees) she was very lethargic for a day or two after the GA and she seemed to just lie there when she did wees (I think normally they lift themselves slightly or at least stand up). She’s a big lovely fluff ball so just lying still, the wee went all over her and soaked her underneath and back legs, it also smelt really really strong. I was quite worried something had happened to her, so I contacted the vet who said that less mobile pigs can get covered in their own wee. We were advised to wipe her gently with a clean damp cloth if we wanted to (we and the vets thought a bath might be too stressful for her at that time). After a couple of days as she started to move more and wasn’t lying in her own wee so the dampness stopped. As an aside, we also had to top up her diet with syringe feed as she was eating but not quite normally, and when measured daily she was losing weight. A bit of emeraid for a few days really helped there. I was quite shocked at how the GA seemed to affect her but she did bounce back. We still don’t know what’s causing the squeaky wees and poos though, that remains a mystery!

If it’s not about a lack of mobility/lying in her own wee with Millie, I’m sure others on here will have thoughts about what might be going on for Millie. Hopefully the meds will start to make a positive difference soon and you’ll see some improvements.

 

[Lazw]

Sorry to hear all you and poor Millie have been going through. Is she moving around as normal? I ask because when my sow Betty recently had general anaesthetic for X-ray and tests (also for squeaky wees) she was very lethargic for a day or two after the GA and she seemed to just lie there when she did wees (I think normally they lift themselves slightly or at least stand up). She’s a big lovely fluff ball so just lying still, the wee went all over her and soaked her underneath and back legs, it also smelt really really strong. I was quite worried something had happened to her, so I contacted the vet who said that less mobile pigs can get covered in their own wee. We were advised to wipe her gently with a clean damp cloth if we wanted to (we and the vets thought a bath might be too stressful for her at that time). After a couple of days as she started to move more and wasn’t lying in her own wee so the dampness stopped. As an aside, we also had to top up her diet with syringe feed as she was eating but not quite normally, and when measured daily she was losing weight. A bit of emeraid for a few days really helped there. I was quite shocked at how the GA seemed to affect her but she did bounce back. We still don’t know what’s causing the squeaky wees and poos though, that remains a mystery!

If it’s not about a lack of mobility/lying in her own wee with Millie, I’m sure others on here will have thoughts about what might be going on for Millie. Hopefully the meds will start to make a positive difference soon and you’ll see some improvements.

Hi there, thanks so much for your reply. That would make sense actually as she's definitely been less active since the anaesthetic, I guess it was only 2 days ago. I agree that a bath would probably be too stressful for her given what she's been through the last few weeks, she hates baths at the best of times! I'll keep an eye on her and see if it improves, I guess I was just shocked this morning when I gave her her medication and she was absolutely soaked underneath!

 

[LucyP]

Yes I was alarmed too, it makes you think they’re broken or something! I think the stench was because she was laying it in, she really ponged and so did our hands when we picked her up! It did get better though, I think by day 3 she was moving more but I’d say it was about 4 or 6 days before she started being her normal outgoing self, she was quite dazed. You can always give your vet a ring if you’re unsure, it’s part of the service for them to take follow up calls and our vet was very keen to check how she was doing in the days after GA.

Best of luck and keep us posted how she gets on.

 

[VickiA]

If she’s less active then this could be stale wee if she isn’t moving from her bed. Is she on a decent dose of pain relief as well as her antibiotics? Not moving is a sign of pain. Did the vets do a flush or anything invasive at all?

Please change her bed area as often as needed (sometimes I have had to change pee pads 2-3 times per day if they are soaking them through and give her a bit of a bum bath clean with a warm damp flannel. And gently dry her with a towel.

if this lethargy is new I would speak to the vet as soon as you can. Sounds like she may need more pain relief to me.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello all, my sow millie is 2.5 years old and has been crying when weeing and pooping, as well as looking hunched over. I took her to a vet a month ago who gave her a week course of metacam to help with what he said was inflammation. She was still in pain after this course of painkillers so I took her to a specialist vets on Thursday, 3 days ago. She tested her urine and it is acidic with blood in it so she is being treated with septrin 2x a day for 14 days, metacam 2x a day for 14 days, emperid 2x a day for 3 days to help with her stomach which was bloated. She was put under general anaesthetic on Friday and xrays showed no stones, a small amount of bladder sludge but as the vet said, not enough to warrant more invasive treatment. My concern is, since I've brought her home from the vets on Friday afternoon, she is absolutely soaked with really strong smelling urine. This wasn't a problem before, even though she was crying when she passed urine. It's just started since I brought her home, can anyone help with this? I believe septrin is a pretty potent antibiotic so I'm unsure why this has suddenly started. She seems herself again now, still squeaking for food, eating etc. Not drinking as much as she normally does though. If anyone has any advice or knowledge I'd really appreciate it, I hate to think she's uncomfortable all wet. I'm changing her bed every day to make sure she's not sat in it but she's still wet. Thanks in advance, Laura.

Have the vets checked her womb for pyometra (infection of the womb lining) or whether it is fluid-filled and enlarged?
Very stale urine is a symptom of an infection somewhere. The fluid can come from the reproductive tract as well as the urinary tract.

My Cariad presented with these symptoms several months after a bladder stone op, so I mistook it for more sludge, which she kept producing. Thankfully she sailed through her emergency spay when an x-ray reveiled that she had some bladder sludge but mainly a grossly enlarge, fluid-filled womb with a suspicious lump and some rather nasty looking ovarian cysts in the bargain, too.