How To Vets Check For Utis?

[Chessles]

Hi

One of my females has quite a wet bottom recently, caused by urine. She has shortish hair and my very long-haired male has a dry bum so her hair is probably not the issue. Her cage mate (an agouti female) also has a dry bottom. So, I'm going to take the wet one to the vet. How will they test her to see what's wrong? Do I need to prepare anything beforehand?

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Do you have any sterile1 ml syringes in packets? They come without needles, you can pop her into a very clean bowl & wait for her to wee (Feed her some cucumber). Suck the wee up with the clean syringe & take that with you to the vet appointment for them to check.

 

[Adelle]

Agree with @Poppy'sMum about the urine sample. Failing that the vet will gently express the bladder and obtain a sample that way.

Your vet will usually ask general questions about her symptoms and if theres any pain when urinating/increased drinking/ loss of appetite/ signs of discomfort, and will then probably give your piggy a general check over. After that they should have a feel at the abdomen to check for any pain. They will probably also palpate the bladder where they can detect any discomfort or thickening. They can then express for a sample if needed. The sample will be checked for signs of infection i.e blood, protein, white cells using a urine dipstick. You will have your answer at the appointment if its an infection and will usually be prescribed an antibiotic and possibly metacalm.

If infection is detected and u are prescibed antibiotics, try and get a probiotic which will replace the good bacteria in the gut that is killed off with antibiotics. These are usually given 1-2 hours after the antibiotic dose, and examples include pro-c from pets at home, avipro plus or fibreplex (usually stocked by vets).

Hope your little one is on the mend soon.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

One of my females has quite a wet bottom recently, caused by urine. She has shortish hair and my very long-haired male has a dry bum so her hair is probably not the issue. Her cage mate (an agouti female) also has a dry bottom. So, I'm going to take the wet one to the vet. How will they test her to see what's wrong? Do I need to prepare anything beforehand?

No, you do not need to prepare beforehand. A vet can express the bladder and do a urine test if needed. If it is UTI (urinary tract infection), then there is generally not a shortage of urine! It also should be ideally tested fresh within half an hour, as older samples can give misleading readings. The urine is usually checked for the presence of crystals, blood (not necessarily visible) and levels of protein (which are an indicator for an infection). Your vet is most likely also checking how the bladder feels; a soft, relaxed bladder means that there is little likelihood for a bladder stone or sludge in the bladder.

All the best!

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