Bladder Issue

[Fred&HarryPigs]

Hi
My 10 month old sow Winnie has been squeaking when going to the toilet for the last 3 weeks.

The day I noticed her squeaking I was able to get a vet appointment to have her seen. The vet did X-rays and an ultrasound. These showed no stones but some sludge which I was told was within normal range. We were sent home with antibiotics and metacam.

A week later we went back to the vets for a follow up, and she was still tender when her bladder was pressed so we extended the course of antibiotics and painkillers for another week.

She then starting weeing blood (pink not sheer blood) and the squeaking was getting louder and more frequent. I took her back to the vets who took a urinalysis and culture which came back to say no infection but crystals present. We decided it was worth re-doing the scans to check that stones hadn’t formed.

Winnie spent the day at the vets so that they could get a clear X-ray whilst her bladder was full (apparently she has a small bladder and was doing lots of small wees) the follow up X-ray and ultrasound showed now stones and no sludge. The vet wants another urine sample so that we can do another culture as she would have been off the antibiotics for over a week which may give us a different result.

she is on a low calcium diet, filtered water (4 bottles in the cage and a bowl) I soak their veg in filtered water before feeding it) they are now only getting a tbs of grain free pellets scattered in timothy hay a few times a week. She is getting 1 oxbow urine support tablet and 1 cystease capsule per day for glucosamine and she is on a high dose of 0.8ml of dog strength Metacam twice daily. But she is still in pain. I have also been getting her out for a runaround (even if I have to encourage her -sorry Winnie) to get her bladder moving.

Am I missing something? Does anyone have any other ideas of what could be wrong?

Thank you for reading.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi
My 10 month old sow Winnie has been squeaking when going to the toilet for the last 3 weeks.

The day I noticed her squeaking I was able to get a vet appointment to have her seen. The vet did X-rays and an ultrasound. These showed no stones but some sludge which I was told was within normal range. We were sent home with antibiotics and metacam.

A week later we went back to the vets for a follow up, and she was still tender when her bladder was pressed so we extended the course of antibiotics and painkillers for another week.

She then starting weeing blood (pink not sheer blood) and the squeaking was getting louder and more frequent. I took her back to the vets who took a urinalysis and culture which came back to say no infection but crystals present. We decided it was worth re-doing the scans to check that stones hadn’t formed.

Winnie spent the day at the vets so that they could get a clear X-ray whilst her bladder was full (apparently she has a small bladder and was doing lots of small wees) the follow up X-ray and ultrasound showed now stones and no sludge. The vet wants another urine sample so that we can do another culture as she would have been off the antibiotics for over a week which may give us a different result.

she is on a low calcium diet, filtered water (4 bottles in the cage and a bowl) I soak their veg in filtered water before feeding it) they are now only getting a tbs of grain free pellets scattered in timothy hay a few times a week. She is getting 1 oxbow urine support tablet and 1 cystease capsule per day for glucosamine and she is on a high dose of 0.8ml of dog strength Metacam twice daily. But she is still in pain. I have also been getting her out for a runaround (even if I have to encourage her -sorry Winnie) to get her bladder moving.

Am I missing something? Does anyone have any other ideas of what could be wrong?

Thank you for reading.

Has your vet checked for a sterile cystitis (you will find more information under interstitial cystitis or IC) which is an infection that is not bacterial and that can at the best only temporarily suppressed by antibiotics or doesn't react to them at all. It seems to be attacking the glucosamine coating of the urinary tract that prevents highly corrosive urine from coming into direct contact with raw tissue. Sterile cystitis has become a lot more common over last 15 years, similar to sterile feline cystitis (FCS). Treatment also follows those lines. The illness is still not well known outside vet circles dealing with guinea pigs on a very regular basis. It can usually be diagnosed positively by its lack or low count of bacteria in the urinary tract but is mostly found by default after all other potential problems in the urinary tract have been excluded. Sterile IC comes in a large spectrum from the very mild to the untreatable strong with a fast decline at the far end.

Treatment is with metacam and glucosamine (which is classed as a food supplement and not as a medication) in the lower to medium ranges and with analgesics and cartrophen in the higher ranges. Combining cartrophen and glucosamine seems to push the treatable limit out that bit further as a recent forum member's experience has shown. Sterile IC seem to primarily affect guinea pigs with a high stress level default setting having experienced it while still in the womb of a highley stressed sow. Other guinea pigs can usually fend it off with their own immune system without ever developing acute symptoms. Milder forms can eventually fade away on their own but you are rather looking at years and not weeks or a few months.

Here is a bit more information: Links - Interstitial Cystitis - Guinea Lynx Records

If your vet comes to the conclusion that it is sterile cystitis in cavies, then we can help with practical tips during treatment and during the regular flares that are characteristic and the reason for the interstitial (i.e. recurring).