Ovarian Cysts - Can A Sow Have Them But Not Show Symptoms?

[Kerrie74]

Hello,

I have three sows, one definitely has ovarian cysts, it's been confirmed via scan's, her fur is falling out, she's a bit aggressive, being a bit funny with her veg, enlarged nipples etc.

Can a sow have cysts but not show any symptoms? I do worry about this because I believe we adopted a sow with cysts, the rescue was aware of her odd shape but never took her to the vets, we did take her but the vet was a bit ermm... well lets just say, not very good, ended up having to have her pts 3 months after because she had gotten so ill. The only thing we noticed with her (We = my son and I) was her bloated looking stomach, plus some blood in the cage but as there was four sows we couldn't tell who it was and we even tried splitting them for the day but there was no blood from any of them.

Now one of our other sows is a bit of an odd shape, not bloated looking, just sort of round, could this just be her normal shape though? She's not showing any signs of cysts, eating perfectly fine and acting like a normal grumpy self.

 

[GPTV]

My rainbow bridge piggy Ellie showed none of the textbook signs of ovarian cysts.
No crusty nipples, no hair loss, she wasn't particularly grumpy/hormonal.
The only reason why hers were discovered was because she kept getting uti's &sometimes very heavy bleeding when she pooped.

The vet didnt want to give her any more antibiotics without establishing the cause of her problems so gave her an ultrasound scan, I think she wanted to rule out stones&sludge.
That's when her cysts were discovered then treated with the hormone injections as she was too old for a spay (around 6yrs).

Apparently ovarian cysts are painful, especially when they are growing-so small ones cause more problems generally as they grow.
Maybe that's why she's grumpy as she's uncomfortable?
Would it be worth asking the vet if u could trial her on say a weeks worth of metacam &if she's not so grumpy it could be a pain/comfort issue?
Also if she improves on it maybe ask the vet for an ultrasound to see if they can see any cysts -but if they are small I'm not sure if an ultrasound would pick them up very well.

I think most of my piggies have changed shape as they have got older, more kind of pear shaped shall we say, then they gradually thin down &lose weight at around 5yrs. Ellie was about 8yrs when I lost her &she looked very fragile at the end&was very light compared to her younger days (but had various health issues).

Hopefully yours is just a grumpy madam &no cysts are present.
Fingers crossed
Xx

 

[*kate*]

I had no idea that Tilly had cysts until she stopped eating very much. Upon her examination of her teeth at the vets, I was holding her steady and felt a large lump on her side.

She had a hysterectomy and it was found she had an enormous cyst on the other ovary too.

 

[Kerrie74]

Thanks for the replies.

@GPTV Nattie was on antibiotics and metacam about hmm 2 months or so ago because I took her to see Ellie a guinea specialist in Alfreton and mentioned I was concerned about cysts, she thought she could have a urine infection (there was blood in the cage, no idea which of the three it was though so I guess she was put on antibiotics as a precaution) she was the same old grumpy Nattie lol, she's always squeaked when one of the other girls go near her, no idea why, it's more so Khalessi she does it to but Khaleesi can be a bit of a bully.

She's totally normal. maybe she just likes her food? lol. I may still try and book her in for a scan when Coco goes for her ovarectomy just to make sure.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello,

I have three sows, one definitely has ovarian cysts, it's been confirmed via scan's, her fur is falling out, she's a bit aggressive, being a bit funny with her veg, enlarged nipples etc.

Can a sow have cysts but not show any symptoms? I do worry about this because I believe we adopted a sow with cysts, the rescue was aware of her odd shape but never took her to the vets, we did take her but the vet was a bit ermm... well lets just say, not very good, ended up having to have her pts 3 months after because she had gotten so ill. The only thing we noticed with her (We = my son and I) was her bloated looking stomach, plus some blood in the cage but as there was four sows we couldn't tell who it was and we even tried splitting them for the day but there was no blood from any of them.

Now one of our other sows is a bit of an odd shape, not bloated looking, just sort of round, could this just be her normal shape though? She's not showing any signs of cysts, eating perfectly fine and acting like a normal grumpy self.

The majority of ovarian cysts don't show any symptoms or cause any trouble.

If you are worried about fast growing cysts, have a sow checked by a vet. Aggressive behaviour is mostly caused by very small cysts and much less by the really large ones.

 

[Kerrie74]

Thanks, she's not so much aggressive, she just doesn't like the girls near her, she's always done it, like I said it's more so when Khaleesi goes near her, they just don't seem to like each other.

She's going to be checked either by the vet near me or at the vets that Coco will be going to for her op.