Any recommendations?

[nbhalla19]

I have a guinea pig who has had a chronic UTI for the last several months. There was blood in her urine. Taken her to the vet multiple times. They gave me antibiotics for her and told her what to do to clean her diet and all, how to clean the cage and all. She seemed fine all throughout. Eating fine, alert, only real issue was her urine. However, I noticed the last two weeks or so she has lost a lot of weight( like 200 g or so), is lethargic, and isn't her normal self. There was a smell coming from the cage which I realized was her, she was wet on the bottom. Took her to the vet, said there isn't much blood in her urine and put her antibiotics again. They say she isn't critical, but unstable, which I can see. Said we will have to see what will happen. Does any have any recommendations on what to do? While she isn't eating much, she is nibbling a little, and is still moving. The smell has pretty much gone also but I'm thinking maybe because she is not peeing. I'm just not sure what to do though, it seems there isn't much that can be done. Could the antibiotics kick in and she could be better in a few days?

 

[Wiebke]

I have a guinea pig who has had a chronic UTI for the last several months. There was blood in her urine. Taken her to the vet multiple times. They gave me antibiotics for her and told her what to do to clean her diet and all, how to clean the cage and all. She seemed fine all throughout. Eating fine, alert, only real issue was her urine. However, I noticed the last two weeks or so she has lost a lot of weight( like 200 g or so), is lethargic, and isn't her normal self. There was a smell coming from the cage which I realized was her, she was wet on the bottom. Took her to the vet, said there isn't much blood in her urine and put her antibiotics again. They say she isn't critical, but unstable, which I can see. Said we will have to see what will happen. Does any have any recommendations on what to do? While she isn't eating much, she is nibbling a little, and is still moving. The smell has pretty much gone also but I'm thinking maybe because she is not peeing. I'm just not sure what to do though, it seems there isn't much that can be done. Could the antibiotics kick in and she could be better in a few days?

Hi

Please step in with feeding support. Keep in mind that over three quarters of what a guinea pig eats in a day should be unlimited hay. Veg, pellets and any treat all together only replace the supplementary role that wild forage had in the grass based diet that guinea pigs have evolved on; nibbling on a little veg is therefore very misleading - it is like us chewing on a cookie but missing all main meals. That explains the fast and massive weight loss. Your home feeding support care will make a huge difference in getting your piggy through a crisis or illness.

Please take the time to read these links here; it is very practical with lots of how-to tips:
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures


While your girl could be suffering from a sterile cystitis (a non-bacterial recurring bladder infection that looks like an antibiotic ressistant UTI but is something different that most vets who don't see lots of guinea pigs won't be aware of), the strong fishy smell is a sure-fire symptom of a bacterial infection though and is most likely not related to your IC. Sterile cystitis usually tests positive for blood in the urine but is charactised by a lack or more commonl a much lower bacterial count in the urine than expected for a UTI (which is a urine infection that is caused by an overgrowth of faecal bacteria in the urinary tract; they get in there through scent marking).
Has your vet also checked the reproductive tract, especially the womb/ovarian cysts, because the current infection could be actually sitting there instead of the urinary tract? it is great that the antibiotics are kicking in.

PS: Here is some more information on sterile cystitis (which you will find more information on under interstitial cystitis or IC). We just know more about it now. Treatment in guinea pigs follows generally that of feline sterile cystitis (FSC) in cats, which most vets are more likely aquainted with.
Links - Interstitial Cystitis - Guinea Lynx Records

I hope that this clarifies the problem between three different issues, of which you are likely dealing with two - but not the one you thought you were.

 

[nbhalla19]

Hi

Please step in with feeding support. Keep in mind that over three quarters of what a guinea pig eats in a day should be unlimited hay. Veg, pellets and any treat all together only replace the supplementary role that wild forage had in the grass based diet that guinea pigs have evolved on; nibbling on a little veg is therefore very misleading - it is like us chewing on a cookie but missing all main meals. That explains the fast and massive weight loss. Your home feeding support care will make a huge difference in getting your piggy through a crisis or illness.

Please take the time to read these links here; it is very practical with lots of how-to tips:
Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures


While your girl could be suffering from a sterile cystitis (a non-bacterial recurring bladder infection that looks like an antibiotic ressistant UTI but is something different that most vets who don't see lots of guinea pigs won't be aware of), the strong fishy smell is a sure-fire symptom of a bacterial infection though and is most likely not related to your IC. Sterile cystitis usually tests positive for blood in the urine but is charactised by a lack or more commonl a much lower bacterial count in the urine than expected for a UTI (which is a urine infection that is caused by an overgrowth of faecal bacteria in the urinary tract; they get in there through scent marking).
Has your vet also checked the reproductive tract, especially the womb/ovarian cysts, because the current infection could be actually sitting there instead of the urinary tract? it is great that the antibiotics are kicking in.

PS: Here is some more information on sterile cystitis (which you will find more information on under interstitial cystitis or IC). We just know more about it now. Treatment in guinea pigs follows generally that of feline sterile cystitis (FSC) in cats, which most vets are more likely aquainted with.
Links - Interstitial Cystitis - Guinea Lynx Records

I hope that this clarifies the problem between three different issues, of which you are likely dealing with two - but not the one you thought you were.

Thanks for the advice, I was planning on doing that the next day but she unfortunately passed away. It was a recurring UTI she had but managed to survive 8 months after first getting it. She was a little over 3 and a half years old and I know the average age tends to range from 4-8 years, so she lived pretty much a full life, just a little less. It sucks though, she was so cute and had always been there for me.

 

[weepweeps]

I’m so sorry for your loss.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for the advice, I was planning on doing that the next day but she unfortunately passed away. It was a recurring UTI she had but managed to survive 8 months after first getting it. She was a little over 3 and a half years old and I know the average age tends to range from 4-8 years, so she lived pretty much a full life, just a little less. It sucks though, she was so cute and had always been there for me.

HUGS

I am so very sorry for your loss.

 

[nbhalla19]

HUGS

I am so very sorry for your loss.

She was a little over 3 and a half years, 3 years and 7 months to be exact, that's pretty much full life still right? I did what I could the last 8 months took her to the vet a lot, gave the medicine they asked, made changes in her diet, etc.

 

[weepweeps]

You gave her a fantastic life. I lost a piggy at only 2 and a half years. He had a wonderful life. Just a short one.

 

[Wiebke]

She was a little over 3 and a half years, 3 years and 7 months to be exact, that's pretty much full life still right? I did what I could the last 8 months took her to the vet a lot, gave the medicine they asked, made changes in her diet, etc.

Hi

Please take the time to read our grieving guide for owners. You may find it very helpful for yourself.
Human Bereavement: Grieving, Processing and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children

Intense feelings of guilt/failure and soul searching are typical for the onset and something that we all experience to some degree or other; these feelings can be stronger under some circumstances, like a sudden loss, losing a younger piggy or a fter a traumatic experience etc. What you need to be aware of is that these feelings are a reflection of how deeply you care - you wouldn't have them if you didn't love; but they are not at all a reflection of you having failed in any way.

We only ever have our pets on a loan that can be cancelled without warning at any time. That is not in our control. What is that we do our best while we have them. Guinea pigs don't have a concept for an average life span. They measure their life in happy todays. As long as you give them that, you have not failed them in any way. You certainly haven't.

I have just lost my three years old Tudur to a runaway tumour in the thyroid area that developed over the turn of the year. It's upsetting and hurtful but it is one of these random 'out there' things you cannot choose and all you can do is to minimise any suffering. Medical problems can happen at any age and you deal with them as best as possible if at all possible. Feel blessed for about your healthy piggies reaching a good old age but don't feel guilty or bad about what you do not have any influence over. Just cherish the fact that your girl has had the best life with you that you - or anybody else - could have given you.

 

[nbhalla19]

Hi

Please take the time to read our grieving guide for owners. You may find it very helpful for yourself.
Human Bereavement: Grieving, Processing and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children

Intense feelings of guilt/failure and soul searching are typical for the onset and something that we all experience to some degree or other; these feelings can be stronger under some circumstances, like a sudden loss, losing a younger piggy or a fter a traumatic experience etc. What you need to be aware of is that these feelings are a reflection of how deeply you care - you wouldn't have them if you didn't love; but they are not at all a reflection of you having failed in any way.

We only ever have our pets on a loan that can be cancelled without warning at any time. That is not in our control. What is that we do our best while we have them. Guinea pigs don't have a concept for an average life span. They measure their life in happy todays. As long as you give them that, you have not failed them in any way. You certainly haven't.

I have just lost my three years old Tudur to a runaway tumour in the thyroid area that developed over the turn of the year. It's upsetting and hurtful but it is one of these random 'out there' things you cannot choose and all you can do is to minimise any suffering. Medical problems can happen at any age and you deal with them as best as possible if at all possible. Feel blessed for about your healthy piggies reaching a good old age but don't feel guilty or bad about what you do not have any influence over. Just cherish the fact that your girl has had the best life with you that you - or anybody else - could have given you.

I understand. So it’s common for them to be really healthy and then get an illness that takes them? Before that she never had any problems. Like right before she had a URI(not UTI) but was fine after a few weeks. Apart from that when I took her in to get an annual physical she was fine every time. Even with the uti she was fine most of it apart from the last few weeks. Eating, moving, alert. Seems that once they get an illness it can be hard to recover from it. Sorry for your loss as well by the way. The vet said in our area a lot live until 3 so her life wasn’t really cut short, she was 3 years 7 months, closer to 4.

 

[Wiebke]

I understand. So it’s common for them to be really healthy and then get an illness that takes them? Before that she never had any problems. Like right before she had a URI(not UTI) but was fine after a few weeks. Apart from that when I took her in to get an annual physical she was fine every time. Even with the uti she was fine most of it apart from the last few weeks. Eating, moving, alert. Seems that once they get an illness it can be hard to recover from it. Sorry for your loss as well by the way. The vet said in our area a lot live until 3 so her life wasn’t really cut short, she was 3 years 7 months, closer to 4.

I wouldn't say it is common but it is sadly also not uncommon that younger piggies can develop severe medical issues in wide range. I don't have the numbers.

All I can say is that I have lost about 10% of my own coming up to 100 piggies in half a century at a younger age either to a genetic problem or an illness. A couple of them were just bad timing over a weekend or Christmas when there was no access to an operating vet; others were lucky to see a vet in time and lived a normal age span. It balances roughly out with my real oldies living to around 8-9 years, which considering that they are genereally adoptees is not bad.

Vet access does play a role but veterinary and medical limits are still very much in evidence when it comes to illnesses. Research into guinea pigs although it has started to finally take off a bit more in the last ca. 5-10 years is still lagging far behind other common pets. They do have a much faster metabolism which can turn very much against them in an illness.

 

[nbhalla19]

I wouldn't say it is common but it is sadly also not uncommon that younger piggies can develop severe medical issues in wide range. I don't have the numbers.

All I can say is that I have lost about 10% of my own coming up to 100 piggies in half a century at a younger age either to a genetic problem or an illness. A couple of them were just bad timing over a weekend or Christmas when there was no access to an operating vet; others were lucky to see a vet in time and lived a normal age span. It balances roughly out with my real oldies living to around 8-9 years, which considering that they are genereally adoptees is not bad.

Vet access does play a role but veterinary and medical limits are still very much in evidence when it comes to illnesses. Research into guinea pigs although it has started to finally take off a bit more in the last ca. 5-10 years is still lagging far behind other common pets. They do have a much faster metabolism which can turn very much against them in an illness.

Yeah I understand thanks. I keep thinking of what maybe I missed but I look back and every time I took her and her sister(who is fine btw) for their annual physical the vets always said they looked great and I'm doing a good job. When I brought them in and she had a URI(this was a little before the UTI but it was mild and went away quick) one vet assistant once said how these are the healthiest guinea pigs they have ever seen. Even the vet who said she had a URI said apart from the URI they are both in great shape. Sometimes there are things you just can't control I guess.

 

[Wiebke]

Yeah I understand thanks. I keep thinking of what maybe I missed but I look back and every time I took her and her sister(who is fine btw) for their annual physical the vets always said they looked great and I'm doing a good job. When I brought them in and she had a URI(this was a little before the UTI but it was mild and went away quick) one vet assistant once said how these are the healthiest guinea pigs they have ever seen. Even the vet who said she had a URI said apart from the URI they are both in great shape. Sometimes there are things you just can't control I guess.

You haven't missed anything. It really happened that fast and it can happen even faster; been there and have got more than one those t-shirts, including the one where I took a piggy with developing dental issues by train to be seen as an emergency by a vet specialising in that area on the first day I could leave my husband (who'd been very ill and in hospital) safely at home on his own for several hours only to find another piggy lying dead in their cage that was perfectly healthy and hungry in the morning...

Nothing whatsoever you have done wrong, just massive case of 'grieving guilt' you have currently got hung up over. It's your own mind that cannot accept that things happen out of your control that whatever happens has to be your fault.

Try to be kind with yourself. You are not dealing with a problem of neglect/bad care but biology and potentially genetics.

HUGS