Henry has a wet bottom :(

[KimberleysWheekers]

Henry was neutered on Friday and came home yesterday morning and the hair around his rear end is dirty and wet. I tried to give him a brush last night but it was a bit matted and catching a little so I stopped because I didn't want to hurt him as he hadn't had any pain relief since the morning. When I put him back in the cage, there was a patch on my pj's where he had been sitting and it was wet through to my leg, but I didn't feel him wee on me, I think it had just soaked off of the hair.

I gave him his meds this morning and sat with him on my lap and his rear is the same! Although not as bad as last night, it is still wet and I don't know what to do.

I want to clean him up, but should I? And what with? I don't want to cause him discomfort. Would I be better just cutting off the dirty hair? I don't want him sitting in it, poor thing. But then at the same time, if I cut it off, how will I know if there's still a problem?

A little background - He is puruvian, he does normally wee in his fur around his bum, but it has never stayed wet, you can just tell because the hair is white and stained with the wee. He is 3 months old. He hadn't eaten overnight at the vets and they did say to me that they normally don't let them go until they have seen them eat, however he seemed rather stressed there and they would be happy to let me take him so long as I was prepared to syringe feed if necessary. Since being home less than 24 hrs he has eaten 11g of pellet food, eaten about 2/3 of his hay rack of Orchard Grass and had some of his veggies (he's eaten some cucumber, trimmed beans, green pepper, a nibble of carrot, a small broccoli leaf). He's never been a big eater and is alone in his cage so takes his time with food. He doesn't seem to eat anything other than the pellets unless it is green. As for bedding, he is on fleece and towels, has a fleece crash pad bed. There is a cardboard tube in there now, before the op he had a seagrass one but it's a bit scratchy so I switched. He has wee'd in the tube, but it's only a little and no longer wet so he can't have been sitting in it. Also, the fleece all feels dry in the cage.

This is Henry's bottom this morning - he is highly embarrassed that these are going public!

Any advice?

 

[flips]

Poor boy.

I have no experience of this but would probably trim his hair to reduce the chance of infection or soreness from sitting in the wee.

I wonder if being neutered can cause some temporary bladder weakness?

Hope this clears up soon for Henry. x

 

[KimberleysWheekers]

I wonder if being neutered can cause some temporary bladder weakness?

I really hope not

 

[Laura-CCC4]

I'd be inclined to trim it Kim, not all of it but just so it's not trailing on the ground. You'll still tell if he's still wet.

Is he moving about as normal, could he be sitting in his own pee given that he's recovering from his op? Does it smell at all?

 

[Wiebke]

I would recommend that you trim his back end for the time being. It will be much more comfy for both of you!

It can be just from him sitting in his own pee and not feeling like moving away after the op; I have it occasionally with my coronet Cariad, especially after she's been on lawn.

Please have a smell of the pee - if it is very smelly/stale, it could be an indication of a beginning UTI.

 

[Lisajazz]

I've never heard of a pig having any kind of bladder weakness after an op but I suppose it's possible.

I'm more inclined to think he's sitting in it more than before as he's sore and moving less. My peruvian with the white bottom looks like him even after timming and a bath.

When is his follow up appointment? Just to put your mind at rest.

 

[KimberleysWheekers]

I'd be inclined to trim it Kim, not all of it but just so it's not trailing on the ground. You'll still tell if he's still wet.

Is he moving about as normal, could he be sitting in his own pee given that he's recovering from his op? Does it smell at all?

He is moving about fine. Well, he is laying down a fair bit, louging about, but he still dashes about the cage if you make sudden movements and he was having a good ol' popcorning session when me and bf were demolishing the Maryland cookies! (from the rustling of the packet, not us singing a silly song as we thought at first!)

I would recommend that you trim his back end for the time being. It will be much more comfy for both of you!

It can be just from him sitting in his own pee and not feeling like moving away after the op; I have it occasionally with my coronet Cariad, especially after she's been on lawn.

Please have a smell of the pee - if it is very smelly/stale, it could be an indication of a beginning UTI.

I can't say that I have smelt anything concerning as yet - I'm going to sit down with him in a short while and sort him out. I'll have a sniff then.

I've never heard of a pig having any kind of bladder weakness after an op but I suppose it's possible.

I'm more inclined to think he's sitting in it more than before as he's sore and moving less. My peruvian with the white bottom looks like him even after timming and a bath.

When is his follow up appointment? Just to put your mind at rest.

I haven't booked one yet. They've never meantion anything about follow ups, it's usually a few days after isn't it?

 

[Abi_nurse]

The wetness originally was **** from the op site, before surgery you have to scrub the area with disinfectant and sometimes there is a small amount of fluid loss throughout surgery and you have to clean them afterward. Looks like ** boy has wee'd on himself too tho. I would clip as much hair back as possible to reduce infection and skin scolding. If you want to bath him in anything use warm sal****er. Make up a bowl of warm water and put a couple of teaspoons of salt in. This is safe and a good way of cleaning any operation wounds.

I hope hes feeling better soon.

x.

 

[KimberleysWheekers]

I managed to snip a lot of it off last night but then he got fidgety so I'll finish him after work. Looks a lot better though. Although I've hacked at his hair rolleyes so he'll look a bit silly. Nevermind, it will grow back.

How long would you say before I could give him a proper bath? With shampoo? It's all down his back legs too.

He couldn't get enough of the Metacam though, it must taste lovely!

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Kingslie had blood all over his bair on his back legs after his op, somehow he cleaned himself up though and he's squeaky clean, don't know how he managed that! Now 2.5 weeks on he looks mostly healed, stitches are still there though and I'm not keen on bathing him while he has still got stitches there...just my personal feeling, not to say this is the rule or has any credence.

For a more helpful answer - unless it's urgent I'd be inclined to wait at least 2-3 weeks post op to ensure he's well healed. Maybe others have bathed sooner post op, I don't know.

 

[KimberleysWheekers]

Kingslie had blood all over his bair on his back legs after his op, somehow he cleaned himself up though and he's squeaky clean, don't know how he managed that! Now 2.5 weeks on he looks mostly healed, stitches are still there though and I'm not keen on bathing him while he has still got stitches there...just my personal feeling, not to say this is the rule or has any credence.

For a more helpful answer - unless it's urgent I'd be inclined to wait at least 2-3 weeks post op to ensure he's well healed. Maybe others have bathed sooner post op, I don't know.

Thanks Laura, maybe that's what it is. It is very dark. Darker than wee. His is glued not stitched, would that make a difference?

 

[Abi_nurse]

I echo that, 2-3 weeks post op, or at the very least 10 days, the wound needs to be healed enough really.

PS. The Metacam is supposed to taste of Honey.... But it stinks... yukky.

x.