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Probably Got A Uti On My Hands - What To Expect From Vet?

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Nicola_

Nicola_

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So last night when I was cleaning out the hay hut I noticed blood on the puppy pad which lines the bridge next to the hay hut. Technically it could have been there for a few days as I don't change it everyday (it doesn't usually need to be) but I do usually check it everyday to see if it needs changing - I just don't remember if I actually did or not! I'm certain though that it was probably fresh because it was quite bright red as if it'd not been there long (I imagine blood would go a little brown after a while?). Unfortunately I've a mad busy day today but I've managed to jump home 'for lunch' and check on them. There's more blood again - not huge quantities but definite blood. I think it's Frodo but not 100% sure so will sit with both of them tomorrow on a puppy pad at lap time to confirm and then have vet at 4pm. Is it ok to leave it that long for vet? I can't really do today and I still don't know who it is yet for definite.

Also would like to know what to expect the vet to check when we go and what treatment to go for? Is there anything I should push for? I'm not sure how cavy savy the vet is yet. If they end up being useless there's a recommended vet about 40mins away I could go to if required but I'd rather try my local vet first.

Sorry this thread has been so long and a bit disorganised - am panicking and rushing at the same time. Any advice/words of wisdom woulf be greatly appreciated, thanks

P.s. I'll weigh them both tomorrow as they're due anyway but there's been no sign of behaviour change or eating change except leaving some cucumber but that's not too unusual! Frodo as usual prefered hay today after only a small portion of veg - I can't stay to watch if he goes back for more :(
 
Its so worrying when this happens - I know as has happened to me this week!

Honestly the sooner you can get them to the vet to start treatment the better, but if you just can't get them seen today then I understand. I'm lucky my vets squeezed me in as an emergency with this. The vet should check them all over and then examine in detail round the abdomen and feel for tenderness, lumps etc. Mine (excellent exotics vets) then prescribed metacam for pain relief, antibiotics and a cystitis treatment as a starting point. I also had an xray done to check for possible stones (luckily none). My vets give large doses of pain relief as piggies are not very brave!

While waiting for the vets you should push cucumber, dandelions and a bit of romaine lettuce as these are all diuretics and help flush the infection through.

Healing vibes to whoever it is that has the infection. My Connie is doing very much better since starting treatment.
 
Probably a UTI yes, as you say everyone is eating okay, not sitting huffed up etc...

Any crying when weeing or pooing?

A good way of finding out who is weeing blood is described below with Treacy as a model - bless her

Step one

Syringe your pig lots of water, we flavour ours with Avi-pro plus (a pro-biotic) as this makes them want to drink it happily or give them some wet veg such as cucumber
P1010947.jpg


Step two

Pop Pig in a bowl and wait for nature to take it's course
P1010828.jpg


Step three
Suck up wee with sterile syringe
P1010843.jpg


This will show you which pig is weeing the blood

Step four
Decant wee into sterile sample bottle for the vet to dipstick test to check for invisible blood Remember to store the Urine sample in the fridge until vets visit.
P1010941.jpg


The vets will have a feel for tenderness in bladder and dipstick the wee, they will almost certainly treat as a UTI in first instance unless physical examine gives them cause for alarm. Maybe worth asking for Metacam as this will provide pain relief and help reduce any inflamation in the bladder. Most vets will prescribe Septrin as first treatment for UTI as it is very effective on the bladder but we have had success with Baytril too in past UTI's. If it doesn't clear up ask for an xray to rule out stones and get a sample of wee sent away to a lab to be cultured if needed
 
@VickiA It was an old thread I took the photos from but I will do.
 
Thanks everyone! I would love to get them in today but I've been in lectures all day and have to go out this evening with very little turn around time in between, I also really want to figure out who it is before I take them in to make the process of diagnosis easier! Is there any shops I can get syringes from - what size? And where might I get Avi-pro plus or similar from? I can try get hold of some before tomorrow if in a shop near enough. I have been hearing some extra squeaking recently but as there didn't appear to be any other symptoms I wasn't too concerned, I feel awful now that I've maybe ignored an really important sign :(

Thankfully the salad mix they've got at the moment has romaine in it so will make sure Frodo gets a good lot of this as well (I think Sam's been hogging it!) They also get lots of cucumber and celery and all veg soaked in water first as they don't often drink from their bottle. Can they have cranberries? If so will this help as I know it can for humans?
 
I would go for lots of cucumber then. Avi-pro is from vet uk online. You may find they'll drink from the syringe because of the novelty value. I find that around 8-9ml of water produces the desired effect as with all syringe feeding go slow and at piggies pace, if in doubt just give them wet veg.

Some people use cranberry juice the unsweetened variety, we do not as I have come round to the school of thought that Cookies and previously Treacys cystitis issues were made worse by sweet stuff so it is excluded from Cookies diet.
 
Thanks! I'll maybe just stick with the wet veg then; if I make them wait a little longer for their veg and get them in their bowl first then they'll probably eat the cucumber - if not they'll deffo eat wet leaves :)

Could I get a syringe from a local pharmacist to sook up their pee?
 
Please be aware that urine samples go off very quickly and can give misleading readings at the vets; I have been warned about this by exotics specialists. Many vets will prefer to take a fresh urine sample at the clinic instead, which is usually not that difficult to obtain with UTI piggies.

Plenty of water and/or mildly diuretic veg like fresh grass, dandelion, cucumber and lettuce will help flushing the bacteria out. Please be careful about the amount of fresh veg you feed, as it can cause diarrhoea if it is overdone.

Extra vitamin C can help strengthen the immune system.

This is typical UTI (urinary tract infection) time - the piggies have been outdoors/on the lawn for the first time and the swings in day/nighttime temperatures are biggest.

When seeing the vet, please ask for metacam as well as an antibiotic (preferably septrin (UK)/bactrim (US)). metacam is a painkiller/anti-inflammatory that will help over the very discomfortable first days. If there is any concern re. potential stones have an x-ray done. Otherwise, ask for an x-ray if symptoms persist or return.
Avipro plus is the best probiotic for bladder piggies as it doesn't contain extra calcium.
 
Thank you! I am so grateful for this forum and all the wonderful advice given here :)

I'll keep you all updated on the progress and how we get on at the vet tomorrow
 
Just back from the vets. It's confirmed - definite UTI :( We've been given baytril at 0.4ml twice a day and loxicom at 0.2ml once a day. I asked about septrin and she said they usually only use it for URI but she could order it in if I wanted but it wouldn't arrive til Monday now. She also said loxicom is a derivitive of metacam which sounded ok to me so I didn't question it - hope that is ok? I'm sure they won't mind if I go back and ask for metacam instead (if need be).

Also, I've just realised I didn't ask how to store it - should the medicines be kept in the fridge or at room temp?

Overall I felt quite impressed with the vet - we got seen by 2 of them! One of whom I know has 3 piggies herself and the other treated my cat through her last few years. They both seemed very knowledgable and weren't phased by my questioning at all which I thought was good :)
 
The medicines you have should be kept at room temperature and out of direct sunlight.

As you are using Baytril, I would suggest you give a probiotic as well as Baytril can upset the guts. Probiotic can be brought from either your vets or online. I have been using Fibreplex http://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-suppl...ibreplex-for-rabbits-and-small-rodents-p-1180

If you see no improvement using Baytril, please ask for Septrin.

All the best for a speedy recovery x
 
Thank you. She did say we can switch to septrin if the baytril doesn't work - also mentioned x ray if it doesn't improve or comes straight back again.

Now I'm just waiting for him to eat so I can give the loxicom as she said it needs a full stomach. He's not eating the veggies (he's been awfully stressed out today and I've kept him in the pet carrier for a while so I can watch him eat in the living room so he's in protest atm) but he is munching away on hay - is that enough to feed the loxicom on or do I really need him to eat more?
 
Thanks. He's not too happy at the moment, I'm hoping it's mainly because I kept him in the pet carrier for so long and have pestered him a little. He's back in his cage now and I've left them in peace for a while.

He's had his first dose of Baytril and I'm getting up at 6am to give him the next dose as I'll need to give him the following one before I go out tomorrow night. It was a bit of a trial but we got there in the end! Still not done the loxicom though as I'm not sure he has a full stomach, only problem is now that if I give it to him this evening I'll be out at that time tomorrow so not sure if I should wait until the morning or if I should give it to him anyway and it won't matter if the next dose is more like 20 hours rather than 24 hours?

Any advice or recommendations much appreciated - thanks
 
I don't usually wait for them to have a full stomach before giving Metacam especially as they spend all day eating anyway.
 
Don't know loxicom as my vet gives metacam, and I've always been told to give it at any time. Piggies have a fast metabolism and digestive system, eat constantly etc. I think as it is painkiller you should give it as soon as possible. I'd give a few of the fave veggies first then the painkiller. Try to space them out but we have to do the best we can manage so if you can't do it at exactly the right time don't stress. Piggies are not at all brave so the sooner you can give the pain relief the better. Hope this helps. It's what I would do.
 
Thanks, I'll go give it to him now, if I can get him - he's hiding in the most difficult to reach part of the cage! Which also means he's not been munching on his hay :(
 
Perhaps make it easier for him by putting some food/hay near him to tempt him?
 
I tried to put him back in the hay but he ran all the way back down to his wee hiding place. Annoyingly it's a tiny landing between 2 ramps so not particularly easy to place food near but it did show that he is still capable of moving (it was quite a distance from the hay hut!) and hopefully the loxicom will perk him up in time for dinner later (going to give it a bit later as they ended up having their lunch really late today)

The loxicom had leaked though, going to call the vet in the morning to see if I can get some more to make sure I don't run out.
 
Hope he feels better soon! UTIs suck (one of my pigs has chronic bladder issues and is just getting over another UTI right now, so I feel for you!) Try to tempt him with some good food, and be advised that some pigs have diminished appetite on Baytril. He may also be feeling uncomfortable or out of sorts due to the UTI (as a human prone to them, I can tell you that they hurt and make you feel crappy!) My bladder pig generally improves within 24-48 hours of Baytril dosing, so hopefully you will see some improvement soon.
 
Thanks. Overall he hasn't really stopped being himself too much. Last night he was a bit off but he had had an extremely stressful day of vet visit and lots of fuss from me! He's just had his 2nd dose of baytril - was a bit of a battle but we got most of it into him :) So far he's not lost appetite much but I will be watching him closely later at veg time!
 
I'm a little worried that I wasn't able to get the full dose of antibiotic into him this morning. I tried everything but he just refused point blank to take it so in the end I had to give up. I think he got at least half to 3 quarters of it. Do you think that's ok for a one off as long as I make sure he gets the full dose every other time. I was worried about trying to give more in case I ended up overdosing him :/
 
i wouldn't worry too much as long as he gets a full dose next time, i usually end up with Ellie wearing some of hers as she HATES baytril! i try & give her some then check how much is left in the syringe, then i can gauge more accurately if on any does get worn.

good luck & speedy recovery! xx
 
Thanks. He got the full dose this evening (bar maybe a little drop) not sure he got all his anti-inflammitory this time but he definitely got most of it :) He's doing really well though - for the most part you wouldn't even know he was ill and thankfully he's not lost his appetite at all :)
 
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