UTI - how long for it to improve?

[Lauraspigs]

Hi, I noticed Saffie was squeaking when weeing and was wet so took her to the vet on Saturday. They gave her two injections and sent me home with metacam and baytril to start on Sunday. The vet couldn’t feel any stones but she was passing blood in her wee. On Sunday she took recovery food from a syringe willingly and seemed to be doing a bit better, today she doesn’t want to take the recovery food and is back to squeaking. There is no blood in her wee now. I’m washing her bottom twice a day and the wet patch is getting less. She is happily eating veg but picking at hay. Going to force feed her through the night as worried she’s not getting enough fluids but I was wondering how long on meds does it take for them to start to feel better?

Going to call the vet tomorrow and bring her check up forward to tomorrow instead of Wednesday but just wanted to check if I was expecting too much for her to be a lot better by now? She’s had two doses of metacam now and 4 of the baytril in addition to Saturdays injections.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, I noticed Saffie was squeaking when weeing and was wet so took her to the vet on Saturday. They gave her two injections and sent me home with metacam and baytril to start on Sunday. The vet couldn’t feel any stones but she was passing blood in her wee. On Sunday she took recovery food from a syringe willingly and seemed to be doing a bit better, today she doesn’t want to take the recovery food and is back to squeaking. There is no blood in her wee now. I’m washing her bottom twice a day and the wet patch is getting less. She is happily eating veg but picking at hay. Going to force feed her through the night as worried she’s not getting enough fluids but I was wondering how long on meds does it take for them to start to feel better?

Going to call the vet tomorrow and bring her check up forward to tomorrow instead of Wednesday but just wanted to check if I was expecting too much for her to be a lot better by now? She’s had two doses of metacam now and 4 of the baytril in addition to Saturdays injections.

Hi!

UTI can take several days to get past the initial symptoms and 2-4 weeks of antibiotics to clear. Be patient and continue to support feed if Saffie has a negative reaction to the antibiotic but regulate the amount of feeding by weighing once daily. Our weight and our syringe feeding guides will help you.
Please don't use the expression 'force feeding' because if you just empty a syringe into a piggy's mouth without respect of how much she can hold or swallow, you can cause things going up the nose or - even worse - down the lungs and cause pneumonia at the worst. Syringe feeding means that you only ever give as much as the piggy is taking (if they are still eating partially) or as much as they can hold if they have gone off eating altogether; the latter can range from 0.3/0/5 ml to just 0.1 ml (1/10 of a syringe if they struggle to swallow and are very weak).
Weight - Monitoring and Management
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

What antibiotic and dosage is she on?

If a full course doesn't do the trick, your vet generally checks for the potential of stones or sludge in the bladder or urinary tract. If that is not the case but symptoms persist or reoccur, then is the time to look at a sterile interstitial cystitis (a non-bacterial bladder infection that flares up from time to time and cannot be healed with antibiotics). Problems in the urinary tract present with very similar symptoms, so it is matter of working down the ladder.

Please contact your vet if acute symptoms don't subside within a week; asap if Saggy is getting markedly worse or if the problem is coming back again as soon as the antibiotic has worn off.

It would help us if you could please add which country you are in. We are dealing with member and enquiries from literally all over the world.

 

[Lauraspigs]

I didn’t mean force feeding that way, I would never do anything to hurt her. I’m only giving 0.1ml at a time but I have to hold her to do it, she won’t willingly take it. Having to get her out of the house and then make her take it isnt pleasant for either of us. I’m just trying to do my best.