Red Urine, Advice Please

[Salt and Pepper]

I have two female piggies just over 4 years old. We noticed that one of them had red urine a couple of months ago so took her to the local vet where she was given antibiotics for a UTI. The antibiotics appeared to clear up the problem and the red urine stopped. A few weeks later we noticed that the red urine was back so returned her to the vet where she was given a second course of antibiotics, which again appeared to clear things up. The red urine reappeared again so she was sent to the vet where she had an x-Ray and they scanned her bladder which showed nothing abnormal and no sludge or grit (this ruled out bladder stones) she has just finished a two week course of antibiotics and metacam but still has red urine and squeaks when urinating (other than this she is fine in herself and does not seem in pain other than when she urinates)

We took her back to the vet yesterday where she was referred to an exotics specialist practice, she has an appointment there tomorrow morning.

I'm worried about my piggy and any advice on what this could be will be much appreciated.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Oh bless her, it sounds painful. I take it the antibiotics were changed at some point so she has tried different antibiotics? Sometimes a UTI can be resistant to one particular antibiotic so could be worth trying a second. It could also be interstitial cystitis which I'm sure I heard another member say their piggy had and this resulted in flare ups. It will be interesting to see what the specialist says as sometimes, no matter how good our vets are it takes a specialist eye to pick up on the cause of problems. I had the same with my late Bumble constantly sitting in her urine, my vets could not get to the bottom of the matter but the specialist found she had arthritis in the bottom of her spine.

Best of luck at the vets and let us know the outcome.

 

[Salt and Pepper]

Oh bless her, it sounds painful. I take it the antibiotics were changed at some point so she has tried different antibiotics? Sometimes a UTI can be resistant to one particular antibiotic so could be worth trying a second. It could also be interstitial cystitis which I'm sure I heard another member say their piggy had and this resulted in flare ups. It will be interesting to see what the specialist says as sometimes, no matter how good our vets are it takes a specialist eye to pick up on the cause of problems. I had the same with my late Bumble constantly sitting in her urine, my vets could not get to the bottom of the matter but the specialist found she had arthritis in the bottom of her spine.

Best of luck at the vets and let us know the outcome.

Thank you for your reply, yes the antibiotics have been changed and still don't seem to be working hopefully the specialist will pick up on something that we can treat and cure. Will update you after the vet visit tomorrow

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for your reply, yes the antibiotics have been changed and still don't seem to be working hopefully the specialist will pick up on something that we can treat and cure. Will update you after the vet visit tomorrow

Hi! Your specialist may decide that you are dealing with an interstitial cystitis (IC), a recurring inflammation of the bladder walls which is not responding/not responding well to antibiotics, and not a bacterial urine infection. IC is currently not curable, only manageable with mainly metacam (which is an inflammatory as well as a painkiller) until it goes away after months/years on its own. The good news is that it is not causing any stones and does not have any impact on the life span. IC is a default diagnosis after UTI, stones and sludge have been excluded; all three issues present with very similar symptoms, so it is a matter of working down the list. IC has become a lot more common in recent years.

My Nerys had IC for about three years, but she then lived for another three years totally symptom-free to the ripe old age of 8 years without any further bladder problems.

You can support IC management with your diet (including filtered watered and low/no calcium grain-free pellets as well as a restricted veg diet and by giving additional vegan glucosamine or a glucosamine based cat bladder food supplement like cystease to help support the natural glucosamine coat of the bladder wall.
Our bladder problem diet tips: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diet

 

[Salt and Pepper]

Hi! Your specialist may decide that you are dealing with an interstitial cystitis (IC), a recurring inflammation of the bladder walls which is not responding/not responding well to antibiotics, and not a bacterial urine infection. IC is currently not curable, only manageable with mainly metacam (which is an inflammatory as well as a painkiller) until it goes away after months/years on its own. The good news is that it is not causing any stones and does not have any impact on the life span. IC is a default diagnosis after UTI, stones and sludge have been excluded; all three issues present with very similar symptoms, so it is a matter of working down the list. IC has become a lot more common in recent years.

My Nerys had IC for about three years, but she then lived for another three years totally symptom-free to the ripe old age of 8 years without any further bladder problems.

You can support IC management with your diet (including filtered watered and low/no calcium grain-free pellets as well as a restricted veg diet and by giving additional vegan glucosamine or a glucosamine based cat bladder food supplement like cystease to help support the natural glucosamine coat of the bladder wall.
Our bladder problem diet tips: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diet

Thank you for your reply, I will update you after the vet tomorrow

 

[Lexipiggie]

I can’t give any advice - don’t have enough knowledge x

Just wanted to say good luck and hope the next vet will be very helpful and help crack and cure what your piggy is going through xx

 

[Salt and Pepper]

I can’t give any advice - don’t have enough knowledge x

Just wanted to say good luck and hope the next vet will be very helpful and help crack and cure what your piggy is going through xx

Thank you for your kind wishes x we will keep you updated

 

[Salt and Pepper]

Thank you for your advice and kind wishes I have posted a new thread about how I got in at the vet. Any advice in response to this would be much appreciated