Maisy has an IC diagnosis from auntie Kim. She has been treated as a UTI (sulphatrim and metacam) but it looks more likely IC. So I've sorted a water filter. I've ordered some cystease, and I get the doses.
My questions
1. If I go pellet free how much weight could I expect each of mine to drop, ish?
2. Is there a favourite water bottle recommendation?
3. It it worth leaving water out in a bowl too?
4. Does bladder sludge appear connected in these IC cases?
5. Why am I a poorly pig magnet
?
Maisy is only 18 months. She's a fuzzy butt. She's been pulling fur out of her tummy which makes me very sad, but the squeaky toileting is mild compared to some stories on here.
Here's my highly strung little lady
Hi
1. The weight drop is individual but unless you have been overfeeding pellets, it should not be massive.
2. I personally prefer Sippy bottles but it is basically down to which variety you are happiest with. There is no guaranteed drip-free perfect bottle.
3. My drip dishes always end up as a water closet for my piggies. Unless you have a piggy, which clearly prefers a bowl, it is not worth the effort. Just by offering more water or feeding more fluid in veg form does not mean that your piggy's individual need of fluid changes - they will simply drink less from the bottle if you supplement more water in other ways. They won't get any thirstier overall.
4. Sterile IC affects mainly the natural glucosamine coating of the walls of the urinary tract which prevents the very corrosive urine coming into painful contact with raw tissue; that is why glucosamine is the most crucial element in its treatment.
Unless you unbalance the diet and go either far too low or high in calcium, there shouldn't be a problem with stones and sludge. Sterile IC itself doesn't cause stones or sludge; it is not involved in the calcium absorption process, as little as a UTI.
5. Sterile IC seems to mainly affect piggies with a very nervous disposition, the foundation to which is laid in the womb of a highly stressed mother so that the high stress levels become the natural default level for the babies. Some react more to it than others. Other piggies can pick up IC but their own immune system is strong enough to deal with it without them ever developing any acute symptoms.
It is basically down to the mass production of pets (cats have a very similar issue); it doesn't matter whether you buy from a shop, a for sale breeder or rescue, the piggies come very much from the same pool.
It is more down to your own attitude how you approach these things, whether you just take them on the chin and get on with it or whether you feel like you are singled out to be the unluckiest person in the world. I have and have had a number of piggies with chronic conditions, including IC. I just take these things just as par for the course.
Unless you are dealing with the most severe form of sterile IC, it is actually more of a nuisance than anything else. It doesn't kill or shorten the life span and once you have worked out the best regular maintenance level and how to get on top of acute flares as quickly as possible with your own piggy (this varies individually), there are worse long term issues your piggy can come down with, to be honest. The milder versions of IC may even eventually go away on their own.
