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Tallulah peeing blood...

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Char-x

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Tallulah has diabetes and therefore can sometimes come down with random UTI'S but I have never seen one so bad. She peed in a paper bag as per I checked it as usual and seemed fine - white - normal. And then she peed a few mins later and it was dark red blood?!

I am taking her to the vets tomorrow but started her on Baytril tonight.

Does it sound like a UTI or stones? I cant believe the brightness of the blood - we are not talking pink! Its just today shes bled, and ironically its Gypsey I was going to take to the vets as she was the one squeeking whilst peeing - so now they are both going!
 
I was given Septrin for a UTI, I would avoid giving antibiotics before seeing the vet but thats just my opinion. It could be stones or a UTI, but she will need an Xray to rule out stones.

My 2 girls are on Septrin for a UTI just now, but they were only crying when peeing there was no blood We're on day 15 with Med's if she is still crying we're getting an Xray to rule out stones. Hopefully the vet will be able to help. Good luck.

Barley gloup and Cranberry juice unsweetened are good for a UTI flushing the bladder, but I don't know if it may affect her Diabetes.
 
Good luck for tomorrow. For what it's worth, one of my girls is also peeing blood.

If the vet wants to do a urine test, make sure you mention that you've already started Tallulah on antibiotics, meds can affect some test results.
 
He had a feel of her bladder and said she is clearly uncomfortable there and it felt swollen or something (cant remember exact word) but he wants us to give her Baytril for up to 10-12 days and if there is no improvement within the next week she is to have xrays to rule of bladder stones although he said he couldnt feel any so if there are any - they wont be extreme.

Does anyone know a brand of cranberry juice that is definitely 100% safe? We are giving Gypsey Baytril too as she is crying when peeing so could be they both have an infection...

Good news is her teeth havent got any worse.
 
Inflamed bladders feel a bit toughened, leathery almost when palpating them and pig can show signs of discomfort. If it's inflamed it certainly backs up the infection and pain side of it. Is she on any anti-inflammatories/pain relief at all - is she crying when peeing too?

Inflammation can take longer to clear than the bacterial infection in my experience, treating both aspects at the same time a) lessens the pain the pig is in (only a good thing, given that severe cases can make a pig lose its appetite) and b) may help clear the infection and inflammation quicker.

If the Baytril doesn't do the trick and a x-ray rules out stones, it may be worth considering discussing Septrin with the vet. It works better on the types of bacteria associated with urinary infections.
 
If Tallulah has regular UTI issues, it may be better to put her on an anti-inflammatory/painkiller like metacam, as well; sometimes cystitis is not necessarily just a bacterial infection, especially a recurring one. Are you giving probiotics with the baytril to keep her guts going?

I don't know how good cranberry juice is for a diabetes piggy, as the berries themselves contain sugar (even if you use Ocean Wave light) and you are supposed to give as much as she'll drink.

I hope that Tallulah will get better soon!
 
Thank you. No I have no probiotics here - but she always seems fine on Baytril without them? Will be she be okay? If not what kind of probiotics do you need?

I will ask the vet next time I am there (which is soon as the dog needs his stitches out for some metacam).

I'll get my mum to get some Ocean Spray cranberry (lowest poss in sugar/without sweetners) and if its too high on the label I'll just drink it - and I'll limit her to two syringes a day and if it doesnt fit her diabetes I can lessen/take it away.
 
Health food shops sell bottles of 100% pure natural concentrated cranberry juice (without any added extras) which you dilute with water, however it is incredibly tart, even diluted. It's highly unlikely that your piggy would like the taste of it but, in theory, it'd be more pure than Ocean Spray Light which does contain an artificial sweetener. Not sure how it'd all affect her diabetes though.

The other problems with the pure concentrate (apart from the sharp taste) is the fact that it's very expensive (smallish bottle is around £7, I think) and also it doesn't keep for long after opening, so it ends up getting wasted before you have a chance to use it up.

I've used both and my pig absolutely hated both! That said, if I thought it was medically beneficial then I'd syringe feed it regardless. If you haven't already, you could try homemade barley water "gloop" as Joanne suggested. Some swear by it and it'd only contain pearl barley and water.

Really hope you can get Tallulah back to normal very soon x
 
It helps already if you syringe Tallulah as much water as she'll take in as many sittings- anything liquid to flush the bladder during the acute stage!

Personally, I use Avipro Plus probiotic with cystitis as it doesn't contain any added calcium unlike the other probiotics available. I do not know whether probiotics contain things that will influence Tallulah's diabetes - like with all things, you need to check it out.
 
Thanks guys. She has been drinking alot of water so it shows her diabetes are abit out of wack right now - trying to adapt the diet again to sort this out, it could have brought on the UTI maybe?

I will be in town on Monday so will look in Holland and Barrat to see if they do the cranberry juice. I will also look for the probiotic up town also and check sugars etc.

Thanks again! She is a gem with taking things to whether she likes it or not isnt too much of a problem - she tends to just get on with it and opens her mouth ready even.
 
Diabetes is certainly not a help; however, recurrant/interstitial cystitis is becoming more and more frequent in guinea pigs generally.

I have one of those myself.
 
Char-x said:
I will also look for the probiotic up town also and check sugars etc.
Click to expand...

If you're looking for probiotics on the high street, then I've heard of people using acidophilus capsules from a health food shop. I haven't used them myself and have no idea whether or not they'd be suitable for diabetics though.

The only other probiotics I've seen in 'regular' shops is Vetark's Pro-C from Pets At Home but that definitely contains dextrose, which I suspect is probably no good, but you'll know more about that than me so you can check the label and make up your own mind!

There are quite a few probiotic products which are available from the Vet or can be bought online. This thread might be useful but again, you'll need to sure how suitable they are for diabetics:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=46964&highlight=probiotics

Hope Tallulah's feeling much better soon x
 
Thank you, I will be able to see what they have up the shops on Monday.

The vet said he didnt and doesnt want to give her metacam because it can do more harm than good with the kidneys and so he wants to see if it will go with this round of Baytril first....
 
Tallulah is still peeing blood and so she is going to the vets today.
 
Thinking of you. Two of my pigs currently have UTIs so I am interested to hear how you get on.
 
She was x-rayed for bladder stones - saw my normal vet whose much more on the ball! And she is completely clear. Which I am actually not sure if I am happy about - the vet wasnt.

Her pee was tested for sugar and blood - her sugar was just right (yay!) but her blood reading was too high.

He said he would prescribe Metacam but wanted to try something else first as he see's the same thing in many cats and would usually take this move. He said she was peeing too easily (when he slightly pushed her bladder) and that its a very inflamed and infected bladder.

We have been given Cyaid (1/4 of a capsule per day) and Propalin Syrup of 1/5 of 0.1ml twice a day (will be fun to measure). Is this okay for pigs? He said its not licensed for them and he said it looks fine but to double check if I felt it best.
 
Just to add to this thread, I've found with my cystitis pigs that I have improved the situation so much by avoiding any washing up liquid used for any of their stuff. ie not just bowls, bottles and cages, but the collander used for washing their veg up in, even the knife to chop it, the cup I use to measure their medicine in, etc etc. After years of having issues, they rarely squeak when they wee now (although Holly now has kidney issues).

Cranberry is only useful for the e-coli bacteria, so if it isn't that, it doesn't work.

Best of luck with it, and I really hope your poorly piggies improve for you soon. :)

edit: did you mean Cystaid? I've used that with piggies in the past, although I can't say I saw any improvement.
 
Char-x said:
We have been given Cyaid (1/4 of a capsule per day) and Propalin Syrup of 1/5 of 0.1ml twice a day (will be fun to measure). Is this okay for pigs? He said its not licensed for them and he said it looks fine but to double check if I felt it best.
Click to expand...

Will be interesting to hear how she gets on with this treatment, I hope it does help.

From what I understand, Cystaid helps to create a protective lining in the bladder. In some pigs the natural lining may have been weakened due to recurrent UTIs.

Never heard of Propalin Syrup being used in pigs, the ingredient is not one I am familiar with either I'm afraid. 1/5 of 0.1ml = 0.02ml, so tiny amount but easy to measure with a well marked syringe. :)
 
She is still bleeding and will be going back to the vet tomorrow. I am so worried about her. She seems fine otherwise but the bleeding is worrying me :(
 
She is off antibiotics and now is on Cystaid and Metacam once daily - she has improved with her squeaking since being on Metacam.

She is having a urine culture soon.
 
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