Poorly Piggy ( ? Cystitis).

[Nursyvet]

Hello all,
I am new to the forum so please be kind.
I have a ? 2 year old piggy who started 2 weeks ago with bloody urine and weight loss.
I am a vet nurse so taken him to work. Vet started him on Baytril 2.5% 0.2ml once daily and dog Metacam 0.4ml once daily.
All ok, seemed ok. Then the following Saturday ( 9 days after starting meds), more blood and lost more weight despite lots of extra care and extra feeding.
Back to work, upped dose of Baytril to 0.8ml once daily.
Started syringe feeding critical care and Fiberplex and Bio lapis too. Also, xrayed and ultrasounded abdomen, no stones seen.
Then yesterday, started with soft, mushy poos.
Taken him to work again today and vet suggested to stop baytril to give his tummy a rest.
He seems to be bright but picky with food. Not eating much hay, I am still supplementing him to give extra support.
Any other ideas?
Thanks in advance

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Hello and welcome!
So sorry to hear your lovely piggie has had some issues.
Have the urinary tract issues cleared up now?
The antibiotics have mostly likely upset the gut bacteria and you’re doing right with the syringe feeding and fibreplex. Are you familiar with feeding poop soups? There is a guide on here. I have found them most useful when supporting a pig with digestive upset.
If he isn’t eating much, the teeth will also grow quickly so it may be he needs a dental investigation - particularly if he’s still being fussy.

If the UTI is not improving, has the vet considered a different antibiotic? I never had much luck with Baytril, but found alternatives (e.g. Sulfatrim) successful

I regularly supplement my bladder pig (cystitis) with cystease, it takes a while to kick in, but helps a lot once the glucosamine builds up to support the bladder lining. He’s been comfortable on cystease for a while now.

 

[Nursyvet]

Wonderful advice. Many thanks.
I'm definitely in the right job.
The urinary side of things does seem to have cleared up, we looked at the urine today and my vet thought he could still see some bugs. We will give his tum chance to settle but I was thinking of suggesting Septrim instead.
I had my vet check his teeth Monday
She thought they were ok.
I mentioned Cystophan today funnily enough. Will give that a go too. I'm not at work until Monday so have plenty of time to look after him. Do you dose 2 capsules daily foe your piggy?
Thank you for your advice

 

[Nursyvet]

Wonderful advice. Many thanks.
I'm definitely in the right job.
The urinary side of things does seem to have cleared up, we looked at the urine today and my vet thought he could still see some bugs. We will give his tum chance to settle but I was thinking of suggesting Septrim instead.
I had my vet check his teeth Monday
She thought they were ok.
I mentioned Cystophan today funnily enough. Will give that a go too. I'm not at work until Monday so have plenty of time to look after him. Do you dose 2 capsules daily foe your piggy?
Thank you for your advice

Also, poop soup, mixing healthy poos in with critical care? I have another guinea pig so can I use his?

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

I

Wonderful advice. Many thanks.
I'm definitely in the right job.
The urinary side of things does seem to have cleared up, we looked at the urine today and my vet thought he could still see some bugs. We will give his tum chance to settle but I was thinking of suggesting Septrim instead.
I had my vet check his teeth Monday
She thought they were ok.
I mentioned Cystophan today funnily enough. Will give that a go too. I'm not at work until Monday so have plenty of time to look after him. Do you dose 2 capsules daily foe your piggy?
Thank you for your advice

no problem at all. I work with a lot of vet nurses at my place of work who say the same (that they are in the right job when it comes to their own pets ).
I use the feline Cystease capsules. He has the contents of 1 capsule mixed with 2ml water and I syringe him 1ml AM and 1ml PM. It took a few weeks, but made a huge difference! I also keep all of my pigs (and especially my bladder pig) on a very low calcium diet. No high calcium veggies. Low calcium veggies in moderation once a day, and only one tablespoon of grain free pellets. + ad lib hay of course.

have a look at our poop soup guide on here but generally yes. Use the poops of a healthy pig (but you need to grab them within 5 minutes of them being dropped, soak in water for 5 mins and then syringe the water). It’s the best way to reintroduce gut bacteria from your healthy pig (providing that pig is not on any meds)

 

[Piggies&buns]

Also, poop soup, mixing healthy poos in with critical care? I have another guinea pig so can I use his?

poop soup is soaking very fresh poops (literally as they are produced from a healthy companion - bacteria die off within minutes of being produced, so they must be used immediately) in water and then syringing the water to the poorly piggy

 

[Nursyvet]

Brilliant. I'll give that a go next week. I'm so glad I joined this forum. I've been looking and researching from old threads and have learnt lots already. Poop soup, make that from my healthy guinea pigs poo? Mixed in to critical care and syringe?

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Brilliant. I'll give that a go next week. I'm so glad I joined this forum. I've been looking and researching from old threads and have learnt lots already. Poop soup, make that from my healthy guinea pigs poo? Mixed in to critical care and syringe?

Or syringe water from soaked poops

 

[Nursyvet]

I've just seen your reply. Thank you so much

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Happy to help! Hope your little guy improves soon. Keep us posted

 

[Nursyvet]

This morning, Jinx seems brighter. Ate a very good breakfast and now a lunch of fresh grass. I'm still syringing critical care with Biolapis in and Fiberplex BUT poos are normal.
Seems to have gained a little weight too.
I cannot encourage him to eat any hay (unless he does it when I'm not watching but hay is not going down much at all - it's Timothy hay which was their favourite.

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

This morning, Jinx seems brighter. Ate a very good breakfast and now a lunch of fresh grass. I'm still syringing critical care with Biolapis in and Fiberplex BUT poos are normal.
Seems to have gained a little weight too.
I cannot encourage him to eat any hay (unless he does it when I'm not watching but hay is not going down much at all - it's Timothy hay which was their favourite.

That's brilliant news! So pleased for you both May still be worthing using Cystease long term if bladder symptoms have been an issue in the past. I know my vets strongly recommended it as a nutraceutical following bladder issues. Their appears to be some strong evidence of success at helping support bladder lining and preventing further irritation (even if they are not currently presenting with symptoms). So pleased for you, it's made my day to hear of Jinx's improvement

 

[Nursyvet]

Me too and thank you for your reassurance and advice. I was feeling a bit hopeless. We have 2 kids so it's always tricky dealing with the added emotional side. I am also a bereavement councillor at work so very mindful of the impact death of a pet has.
I will absolutely get some Cystophan (or our equivelant) at work too.
I guess the hay eating will return soon? They both used to eat masses.

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Me too and thank you for your reassurance and advice. I was feeling a bit hopeless. We have 2 kids so it's always tricky dealing with the added emotional side. I am also a bereavement councillor at work so very mindful of the impact death of a pet has.
I will absolutely get some Cystophan (or our equivelant) at work too.
I guess the hay eating will return soon? They both used to eat masses.

Hopefully. If he is already eating and his dental checks have been done, he will get there. Just continue to weigh daily and syringe feed. If he's had dental work done, they sometimes don't eat hay straight away due to soreness. If he's happily eating grass, keep feedings lots of it.
The death of a pet is the worst kind of heartbreak. I'm still struggling to come to terms with losing my precious boy Odin (in my pic) just over a month ago. He really was my soul mate (but I can't really explain that to non-piggy people) and light of my life. Every day without him is so hard.
I'm so very lucky to have found the wonderful people on this forum and the support that they offer.

 

[Nursyvet]

Oh I am so sorry to hear that. Odin looks like a fabulous piggy.
I totally empathise and it can be a very physical pain when you lose a pet. I think, in the UK (and the world generally) we still have a long way to go regarding pet bereavement. Disinfranchised grief is real (when you don't want to discuss because you think people will not understand or say he was "only" a .....). Talk to people who make you feel good and supported. I imagine there are many lovely ones on this forum.
Keep talking about him too. Dear boy. My thoughts are with you

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Oh I am so sorry to hear that. Odin looks like a fabulous piggy.
I totally empathise and it can be a very physical pain when you lose a pet. I think, in the UK (and the world generally) we still have a long way to go regarding pet bereavement. Disinfranchised grief is real (when you don't want to discuss because you think people will not understand or say he was "only" a .....). Talk to people who make you feel good and supported. I imagine there are many lovely ones on this forum.
Keep talking about him too. Dear boy. My thoughts are with you

Thank you so much. I talk to him every day and he sends me little signs to let me know he's ok (stuff only him and I understand). I'm also getting a locket made and a large picture of him framed for the house. He really was the love of my life. I just hope I can show my other 8 boys as much love. I had an awful year last year caring for Odin through his complex illnesses, and spent every day exhausted and worried - but I would do it all again, because it bought him a few happy. healthy months.

Thank you so much for your support, it is so appreciated

 

[Nursyvet]

Wow. 8 piggies. They'll keep you busy. I'm sure you did an amazing job of nursing Odin and gave him a very good quality of life.
The Blue Cross have an amazing free service for pet bereavement if you felt that appropriate. I can give you the details if you'd like.

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

Wow. 8 piggies. They'll keep you busy. I'm sure you did an amazing job of nursing Odin and gave him a very good quality of life.
The Blue Cross have an amazing free service for pet bereavement if you felt that appropriate. I can give you the details if you'd like.

That would be great, thank you!

 

[Nursyvet]

So, it's the Blue Cross Pet bereavement support service, either a free phone line
0800 096 6606 (8.30am -8.30pm)
Or an email
Pbssmail@bluecross.org.uk
There is also a memorial website too
Blue cross.org.uk
All trained councillors that know exactly what you're going through

 

[Bradshaw Piggies]

So, it's the Blue Cross Pet bereavement support service, either a free phone line
0800 096 6606 (8.30am -8.30pm)
Or an email
Pbssmail@bluecross.org.uk
There is also a memorial website too
Blue cross.org.uk
All trained councillors that know exactly what you're going through

Thank you so so much