Cystitis and UTIs

[morumotto]

Hey! This is more of a general, curiosity-fueled, question.

I have a girl piggie that not long ago was diagnosed with a UTI. She was treated for it with antibiotics, which put her into GI stasis. After the UTI seemingly cleared up, less than a month later she was squealing while urinating again. This second time I had a culture taken and it was determined she has sterile cystitis. She currently takes Cosequin everyday and Meloxicam when it seems like the pain is flaring up.

My question is: Can cystitis turn into a UTI? How does one know if it's turned into a UTI and it's not just cystitis pain? I'm not even positive she had a UTI the first time (no culture was taken, just tested her urine for the presence of blood). I just witnessed her squeal while using the bathroom a few minutes ago (though she was near my boy piggie that tends to bug her a lot and she'll squeal if she thinks he's getting too close... so no clue if it was real pain or not) so this question kind of popped into my head. Is this something where I just have to get a culture taken every few months or so?

 

[Wiebke]

Hey! This is more of a general, curiosity-fueled, question.

I have a girl piggie that not long ago was diagnosed with a UTI. She was treated for it with antibiotics, which put her into GI stasis. After the UTI seemingly cleared up, less than a month later she was squealing while urinating again. This second time I had a culture taken and it was determined she has sterile cystitis. She currently takes Cosequin everyday and Meloxicam when it seems like the pain is flaring up.

My question is: Can cystitis turn into a UTI? How does one know if it's turned into a UTI and it's not just cystitis pain? I'm not even positive she had a UTI the first time (no culture was taken, just tested her urine for the presence of blood). I just witnessed her squeal while using the bathroom a few minutes ago (though she was near my boy piggie that tends to bug her a lot and she'll squeal if she thinks he's getting too close... so no clue if it was real pain or not) so this question kind of popped into my head. Is this something where I just have to get a culture taken every few months or so?

Hi
Sterile interstitial cystitis is a non-bacterial infection of the urinary tract that affects especially the insulating natural glucosamine coating of the urinary tract (not just the bladder) that prevents highly corrosive urine from coming into painful contact with raw tissue.
'Interstitial', i.e. happening in flare-up refers to regular bouts that you best manage with upping your analgesic and doubling the amount of the regular maintenance glucosamine supplement that is part of sterile IC treatment (to help replenish the natural glucosamine coating) for a few days until acute symptoms are coming back under control. These flare-ups are characteristic for sterile IC as the condition can only be managed but not healed with antibiotic, which only work on bacteria and which at the best can only suppress IC symptoms temporarily.
You also want check your diet: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets (see special diets chapter)

UTI is a bacterial urine infection caused by faecal bacteria getting into the urinary tract through scent marking (the tiny scent gland sits just in front of the genitalia) and that cannot be fended off by a fully working immune system in healthy piggies. Two very different things that don't have anything in common and that cannot cause each other.

 

[morumotto]

Hi
Sterile interstitial cystitis is a non-bacterial infection of the urinary tract that affects especially the insulating natural glucosamine coating of the urinary tract (not just the bladder) that prevents highly corrosive urine from coming into painful contact with raw tissue. 'Interstitial', i.e. happening in flares refers to regular bouts that you best manage with upping your analgesic and doubling the amount of the regular maintenance glucosamine supplement that is part of sterile IC treatment (to help replenish the natural glucosamine coating) for a few days until acute symptoms atre coming back under control.
You also want check your diet: Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets (see special diets chapter)

UTI is a bacterial urine infection caused by faecal bacteria getting into the urinary tract through scent marking (the tiny scent gland sits just in front of the genitalia) and that cannot be fended off by a fully working immune system in healthy piggies. Two very different things.

Thank you for the thorough reply! I was curious, because I know both present very similar symptoms, if a piggie with cystitis could get UTI and we just wouldn't know because the symptoms are so similar.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you for the thorough reply! I was curious, because I know both present very similar symptoms, if a piggie with cystitis could get UTI and we just wouldn't know because the symptoms are so similar.

Pretty much all urinary tract problems present with very similar symptoms because they are all painful (hence the vocalising when pooing or peeing); often showing red porphyrine pees tha look like lots of blood (especially at the onset of an IC flare) and testing positive for blood (even through seemingly clear urine can actually test high on blood while intensely red porphyrine pees can be free of it - I have that particular t-shirt myself from the early years before sterile IC has become a recognised issue in its own right and not just a UTI immune to antibiotics). Unfortunately, sterile IC has become a lot more common over the last 15 years or so; it is closely related to the commercial mass production of pet guinea pigs. You see it more commonly in piggies with a naturally high stress levels which they have picked up from their stressed mothers as their normal default setting and which you cannot do anything about but campaigning for better welfare conditions in shops and their supply breeders.

This is why your vet will usually work their way from the easiest to treat/most common problem (UTI) through excluding bladder/urinary tract stones anywhere in the system as they travel from the kidneys down and then usually diagnose sterile IC by default or by the absence/very low load of bacteria in the urinary tract. Most piggies have a few bacteria in there but not enough to cause a full-on infection.

 

[morumotto]

Pretty much all urinary tract problems present with very similar symptoms because they are all painful (hence the vocalising when pooing or peeing); often showing red porphyrine pees tha look like lots of blood (especially at the onset of an IC flare) and testing positive for blood (even through seemingly clear urine can actually test high on blood while intensely red porphyrine pees can be free of it - I have that particular t-shirt myself from the early years before sterile IC has become a recognised issue in its own right and not just a UTI immune to antibiotics). Unfortunately, sterile IC has become a lot more common over the last 15 years or so; it is closely related to the commercial mass production of pet guinea pigs. You see it more commonly in piggies with a naturally high stress levels which they have picked up from their stressed mothers as their normal default setting and which you cannot do anything about but campaigning for better welfare conditions in shops and their supply breeders.

This is why your vet will usually work their way from the easiest to treat/most common problem (UTI) through excluding bladder/urinary tract stones anywhere in the system as they travel from the kidneys down and then usually diagnose sterile IC by default or by the absence/very low load of bacteria in the urinary tract. Most piggies have a few bacteria in there but not enough to cause a full-on infection.

Yup, my girl that has this issue is my very-stressed-out piggie We adopted her; I suspect she came from a rough home and undoubtedly she's originally from a pet store. And my other girl is currently in heat, pushing around my cystitis girl, so she's even more stressed than usual (which is why I think she's having a flare-up).

All of this has been great insight, thank you so much for all the information!