Please be careful with blood testing strips if you have anxiety issues. We've had plenty of members starting to obsess over that and opening up a whole new dimension on their mental health problems. All they have managed is to upset themselves, but it has not changed a single bit for their piggies. If you can, PLEASE stay away from any test strips!
If antibiotics don't work, your boy may be eventually diagnosed with IC (interstitial cystitis), which can only be diagnosed by default (no UTI and no bladder or kidney stones), but you are not quite there yet. The symptoms for all bladder issues are the same. Any vet has to work their way down the list from the most common to the most difficult to diagnose.
It is a recurring inflammation of the bladder walls that doesn't react to antibiotics as it is not bacterial. As things stand, IC is not curable and only manageable. We can only treat any acute phases with metacam, which is an anti-inflammatory as well as a painkiller until it eventually goes away on its own - but that is more of a matter of years than months. It is however perfectly survivable and does not shorten the lifetime. It also does not cause any bladder stones. Reddish urine is a typical symptom for it - often just showing a trace of blood and not a lot as you would expect from the colour. We have got tips on how you can ease IC with diet and support the bladder with glucosamine for the longer term.
PS: My Nerys died aged at a very respectable 8 years od age from a completely unrelated issue after 3 years of IC and three post-IC years in which she didn't have a single bladder related problem.
