Stone me! George's secret...

Yes, it's game-on. George has been incredibly active today, bouncing and rumbling all over the shop. He's delighted to be back in with the ladies. He essentially unbunged himself - there was very little for me to clear. After 2 days of listening to Flora trying to nose-bump a shrill Louise out of 'her' bedroom I lost patience last night, extracted Louise and shoved her in the corner spot in George's cage. She realised it had a warm wall because of the hot water bottle outside, and she stayed put. George is really happy - if a little bit hyper. He's also really hungry and wolfed down his (even smaller) portion of pellets this evening. So apart from the odd squeaky wee that makes me sad he's doing OK. There'll be an x-ray at some pint, but not quite yet...

I switched his joint-support pellet for a urinary-support pellet. This has half the glucosamine (at 45mg) but does contain cranberry. I also bought some of the ocean spray juice which contains sugar but not so much as in the past because they put that Stevia in it now. The sugar-free version contains artificial sweeteners and also a citrate buffer. The one we got has nothing in to buffer it and the pH is less than 4 (the lowest this set of papers goes). George has had this before and he likes it... although I'm starting to think he just likes anything out of a syringe (except baytril obvs :td:). I was trying him with this in the week before his op in a desperate attempt to make a difference but with a stone that big there was no chance. Mind you, his urine was clear as a bell - but we just assumed the stone was mopping up all the loose calcium! I'm not sure what would happen in the piggy body anyway. In people if you drink enough of this it's supposed to acidify the urine a bit. If George's grit is calcium carbonate even a little bit might help as this is supposed to precipitate out of solution at pH8.6 - it's very tempting to think that's the difference between him and the girls but of course there's temperature and all the other things swilling about in urine that could make a difference. Anyway, because he's drinking a ton at the minute it's easy to give. Tonight he had a straight 5ml of cranberry juice swilled down with another 6 or so of water during his pellet munching. Gram for gram that's like me drinking a 400ml glass (yes, that's 11st 8lb maths boffins - it was a good Christmas!) followed by a pint of water. In a way it's useful that he's guzzling like he did when he started to grow that stone - in another way it's a bit depressing. I'll test his pee tomorrow and watch his pooping and his gum health to make sure he stays on track. We'll try and settling on a regime that suits him all over. We can't escape from the fact that something triggered this alkaline pee in the first place and that could well be something metabolic which we won't be able to do anything about. Even if it was to do with his UTI initially he doesn't seem to be showing any sign of that now. But whatever the cause, any help to reduce grit formation and perhaps flush out what is already there will be a plus.
 
It will be quite interning to see if George’s urine Ph changes with the cranberry juice. George has really perked up now he is back with the ladies 😊
 
Wow, that stone is huge, I’m surprised he wasn't in constant agony! BBs third stone was only small, but caused him a great deal of pain even with every pain relief going - but then he undoubtedly had trauma from two bladder ops.
So so glad George is seemingly on the mend, and i have everything crossed no other stones form
 
I think poor BB would have had a much more inflamed bladder with his history of SIC - it certainly sounded that way from your descriptions. By the end George was clearly uncomfortable - hence his sudden barbering at Christmas - but he managed pretty well on the metacam and there was no blood tint. I think he just got used to it. Moving triggered him peeing, and peeing hurt, so he didn't move much and sat around on his heat pad. When he had his UTI it was really bad for him - incontinent, blood in the pee, and squealing every 20 mins or so - he wouldn't come out of his bag. After his AB had finished he was hungry and gobbling down the CC but he suffered for it afterwards and I think the full, active gut disturbed the bladder. Maybe that's why he wasn't eating so much on his own.

Right now he's pretty active but he has started to do some squeaky wees again - especially after he's just been unbunged - although most of the time we don't hear him. He certainly isn't peeing any more frequently than the girls so hopefully no irritation. It's hard to tell about his weight, he's maintaining but I'd hoped to get him back over a kilo and it might not happen. I've gotten some more pH dip sticks so now we have the 4-9 ones (that have 'half' readings and he's right at the top of) and some 1-14 ones (with no 'half' readings). Louise is now a mammoth 1.4 kilo and buried in hair so no chance of getting a good sample from her but Flora's been pretty co-operative so we've had 3 readings from Flora at 8 (maybe over a bit, but not over 8.5) and this is thought to be typical for pigs. George is a clear 9, and the cranberry seems to have had very little effect. Rather than drip feed during the day (because it is very acidic, at about pH2.5) I've gone for a solid 5-6ml in the morning (about a pint for a person, I think that's fair), washed down with a little water to hopefully protect the mouth. I'm hoping this with provide a bit of a 'flush'. I'm not convinced but as he's OK with it I'll keep going till Sunday I think. Then I'll stop it - because if it is making even a slight difference he'll probably get a bit worse (and if that happens I'll start it again).

I posted a few months back about George suddenly starting to take water from a syringe. I thought he was dehydrating like an elderly person by forgetting to drink. Later I realised that it coincided with the bladder stone starting to form and assumed it was that - bladder stones somehow make them thirsty - maybe by irritating them and making them pee more. Now I'm wondering if it's a bit more complicated... pee starts to become more alkaline for whatever reason and that makes piggy want to drink, but a side effect is the formation of calcium carbonate grit. Or maybe it's just having sludge in there that raises the pH. Hard to tell. George still wants his water-slave. He gets his pellets in the evening and will happily sit taking a few pellets and then turning for the water syringe. So I just sit with them and keep syringing. Seriously, he'll have between 10 -15 ml in a sitting. He's happy to take it in the day as well if I'm around. He must have really fresh breath! He's certainly flushing everything out that can come out. But for those few days after the surgery, maybe days 2-5 when he was off the buprenorphine but still peeing silently, he didn't seem to want to drink much at all. Then his appetite improved, his activity improved and he started to drink more and he started to squeak a very little bit, and I knew we'd kind of just postponed the inevitable. Maybe it's just his kidneys are on the way out - but somebody needs to tell the rest of him because the rest of him is a lovely lively boy... if a bit skinny these days. I'm going to pick the brains of a doctor friend to find out a bit more about people urine pH and see whether anything might be applicable to piggies. George doesn't seem to mind being a bit of a project, and he sure is a lot happier than he was, even if he is on borrowed time. He's letting Louise put her face in the pellet bowl when his face is in because he gets to nuzzle those big fluffy cheeks. You can almost see Flora do an eye-roll. As soon as it warms up a bit Louise is getting buzzed. I've charged the clippers... brace yourself fuzzball!
 
George now up to 970g. Restricted pellets, a pinch of oats, veg down to big lettuce leaf, cuc and bell pepper every day - occasional slice of carrot. Big pile of grass though. Poops good size. Big hay munching sessions at night disturbing the girls! Decided he likes ready-grass a lot too... hope not too much Ca. Some very quiet squeaky wees and the odd grimace but nothing like before. Poss a small stone or just recurring sludge... there's deffo patches of sludge from him. No incontinence. Very active - helping a lot with the impaction but still checked, unbunged and slooshed twice a day which he doesn't think is necessary now as he cheerfully bites my hand when I turn him back over. Drinks min 10-15ml every night. I sat there tonight dutifully syringing his special water whenever he paused munching to reach for it (he has me very well trained) and after about 20 minutes he just walked off and started chugging the bottle. He thinks it's a game! Despite a week of cranberry juice 'flushing' his urine pH is stubbornly high at 9 whereas the girls are repeatedly lower. At least he didn't get a sore mouth or upset tummy.The novelty of CJ has now worn off so the odd ml is all he'll have at this point. But he's well in himself and down to 5u dog metacam twice a day. Let's see if clicking on this gif works - give us a twirl Anthea!
turn around Georgie!.GIF
 
Just a little George update - he's doing very well. Weight stabilised and the squeaky wees and grimaces seem to have stopped. He still looks a bit tense when he's peeing but that's possibly because I'm staring at him, pH dip strip in hand! 🤣

Half way through last week he stopped being quite so thirsty and didn't drain his water syringe with so much gusto. I was waiting for everything to start going downhill again but it hasn't. And interestingly I think his pee has dropped slightly in pH to be more like the girls. He's still a bit higher, but looking at the coloured squares on the dipstick things do look different. His veg diet has been much more restricted since the surgery - lettuce, pepper, cucumber (which he's rather gone off) and the odd bit of celery, carrot or recently pak choi (much excitement yesterday!) And the grass, obvs. So which came first? Something causing the pH to drop and damping down his 'thirst' response? From an evolutionary point of view it would make sense that something which caused the pH of urine to rise above the point at which Ca precipitates (CaCO3 drops out of solution to form a sludge/stones) would trigger them to drink more to try and prevent blockage. No idea what that might be. Some bacteria break down urinary products for nutrients, raising the pH. Low level of UTI which passes under the radar is possible for a boy like George whose anatomy and impaction means his poop is always around the end of his penis. Or maybe some completely unrelated metabolic issue to do with those aging kidneys. Hmmm...

I'm also thinking more about biofilms. When we think about an infection in the bladder (for example) we think about a soup of pee with bugs floating around in it, which is generally speaking about right. But these free-floaters can be peed out - which is how our bladders stay healthy. So during an active infection some bugs will attach to the bladder wall and hang around, causing inflammation (as the body detects them and tries to see them off) and re-seeding the fresh urine as it forms. Antibiotics should be able to tackle these pesky lingerers. Not every bug has the right equipment to survive in urine or cling to the lining of the bladder (or we'd all be raddled all the time!) but when you get enough of the 'wrong' sort in there they'll make themselves at home.
A biofilm is like a step up from that. They form in the environment too - it's not just in the body. And they can be a big problem for people with catheters. Sometimes bugs will multiply and cling together to form a layer on the surface of whatever they are on. Sometimes they can change their metabolism a bit and form a sort of slimy layer to prevent them getting washed away. Sometimes bugs can literally embed in the top layers of cells - the inflammation triggered by this can be profound. And all this sort of thing can make it harder to detect free bacteria in urine and much harder for antibiotics to act against them. Not every pathogen (the general name for a nasty infectious bug) can do this... you have to have the right sort of genes to code for the specialist equipment. But sometimes people (or piggies) can suffer from recurrent infections that seem to have completely cleared up, and then they pop up out of nowhere again. Despite George's Septrin acting on his symptoms straight away it did take longer for them all to clear than normal, and it did take an awful long course to stop them coming back again. Hmmm...

Unbunging time. Brace yourself Georgie. Happy Sunday, piggy people x
 
It’s good to hear George is doing well. It’s quite interesting that the cranberry juice didn’t change the ph level of Gorges pee. My mother used to suffer from almost constant bladder infections when she was in her 40 ‘s and was eventually put in a long term low does if AB’s for about 1 year hence the biofilm situation, the bacteria on the wall of her bladder
 
After reading all that all I can say is wow, George is lucky to have such an attentive slave. So glad he’s doing much better x
 
Blimey you have done your research! That was like reading a Biology Lesson on wee!
 
And of course there's another stone. Actually two. Realistically I sort of expected it but what I didn't expect after only a month post-removal was the size...
George feb stones.webp
So I'm up and down a bit, but he's currently OK at least and maintaining his 970g. It's such a shame because apart from this he's a glossy beauty and bouncing about for lettuce with such a perky attitude. But it hurts him to pee and he struggles to get comfy at night. Pee still pH 9 and I think it's all linked - if you wait 5 mins before testing it looks even higher and so whatever should be buffering it seems not to be working very well. He's drinking gallons but also snaffling up oats and hay. Slightly incontinent but he's probably doing better than I would be in the circumstances. Another urine test has been sent off. Lovely vet said he was very good about being x-rayed and patiently let her straighten out his legs in the towel to get a good shot. Made me think that if we reach the end he'll at least not be as worried as he could be when he goes into the back room. No point in further surgery unless we can get to the bottom of his pee issues as we'll only be buying him a month at a time. Will get urine test back in next few days. Might end up taking him for a consult up at Cat & Rabbit just in case they have any light to throw on this.
 
Ah I’m sorry. ☹️

But as an aside I’ve spent some time reading your whole thread and it’s been so interesting, helpful and informative given the issues I’ve been having with my Ginny recently. Thank you for taking the time to post such detailed accounts of your experience and research.
 
Oh poor George. I hope the urinary results can help in some way. We have been following your thread for a while. I just wish so much there was more research on piggie bladder issues. Because it’s the why isn’t it! Why is it happening and why isn’t there a way to fix it or prevent it from happening again. Poor George. But I’m pleased he’s still happy and otherwise okay. Keep us updated with the urinary results and if you do take him to cat and rabbit. It will be interesting to see if they have anything more to suggest. Thinking of poor George and you❤️
 
Bless him. That’s the thing I found so painful about having a bladder stone pig, the fact that they are so so well in themselves but deal with this intermittent pain. BB was his usual bright and colourful self right up until the day he was PTS, it made it ten times harder. I had to put it into perspective that he is in pain at least every twenty minutes a day, every day, and I didn’t want that for him, especially since he can’t tell me enough is enough. It’s just so, so hard. Going by what Simon told me at B’s last stone appointment, he said if you’re giving tramadol, gabapentin and loxicom and you’re finding you are able to control the pain and aren’t hearing anything painful, then keep going with it. If you can’t control the pain and you find he keeps throwing stones every six weeks, then euthanasia is the way to go. He said that there’s no reason really for this to happen, it’s largely genetic. All you can do is remove the stones and hope they don’t come back within a suitable time period, using a diuretic is a big thing which can help but it didn’t do much in B’s case as he developed a third stone. So sorry you and George are going through this, I understand full well the emotional toll this has on both owner and piggy alike. It’s just devastating.
 
Panda Pig had recurring stones. He had two surgeries for it, but the third stone was worse and caused a lot of bleeding. We called it a day then as he was obviously unhappy. George sounds like a proper trouper I hope he's feeling OK atm.
 
Poor George, such a shame he has stones again. I hope he says well and happy for a good while yet, I‘m so sorry for you both, you have researched this so well and done so much to care for him. It does make you realise that the high ph level of his urine must be creating crystals of some sort which are the foundation of the stones.
Hope you can get some answers and non evasive treatment for him and pick Simon or Kim brains
 
Little George update - well quite long, but not too much has happened so far...
We've been trialling the Sherwood Urinary Support tablets (with cranberry and other bits) that have made their way across the pond recently. Our US members may be familiar with them. They make some shamelessly bald claims about 'dissolving' bladder stones (which I flatly couldn't believe) and altering urine pH (which I thought might be possible). Crushed into solution the pH is about 2.5, similar to cranberry juice. George won't eat them but is happy to eat one crushed into about 5ml of CC. He's been on them over a week and perhaps unsurprisingly there's no difference. But we'll stay on them a bit longer to be thorough. Now, I'm guessing that our stone is calcium carbonate (the same as limescale) which is common in piggies and which fits our circumstances. And more than one vet has agreed it probably is that. But there can also be other types of stones and altering pH can possibly affect these - but seriously, if someone had invented a way of dissolving bladder stones all our woes would literally disappear overnight and you'd think the news would spread pretty rapidly through the vet world. The reason I want to try and reduce the pH of George's urine is not to try and dissolve his stone - it's to reduce the chances of another stone forming after a surgical removal. There's currently little point removing his (now 3rd) big stone if he's going to form another one straight away.

You know how I got the pH strips from amazon for his pee? Well it turns out they do ones with 10 different things on so I tried George with one of those. They look a bit like this (although these are a different sort). I will tell you that once you get these things in the house you get a bit obsessed with testing them out so the rest of the family are sneaking off to the smallest room asserting, "you can keep the stick... I'm not peeing on the stick!" But George will dutifully pee in his box so I can dip the stick in.

1677268903727.webp
The first time was pretty reassuring - everything was negative except for a very high pH (they only go up to 8.5 because they're people-ones) and a trace of blood which was to be expected considering how big his stone is. You can't see any blood tint, but the test is sensitive. 'Protein' didn't work - it seemed to be off the scale which was frightening until I read a 2020 paper where some vets had tested a lot of pig pee with dipsticks of this kind and it turns out that high pH urine interferes with the protein test so the reading is always high. These vets said the pH range of the pigs they tested was between 8 and 9 so George is within 'normal' (but I still think that's why he's throwing stones). They tested pigs who'd been anaesthetised for various things so rather than having to squeeze pee out of a struggling piggy they just dipped what emerged while they were under. Here's a link for the science-y minded https://www.agriculturejournals.cz/pdfs/vet/2020/10/04.pdf
The only thing that struck me was that the 'specific gravity' was 1. This is the lowest possible reading and usually this is higher than 1. 1 essentially means the same as just water... you'd expect normal pee to be higher as there's stuff dissolved in there. Numbers-wise there's not much in it but colour-wise you can tell these small differences on the dipstick. This might be a genuine sign of kidney failure (e.g. if the kidneys are unable to concentrate the urine and loads just floods into the bladder) or a sign of drinking a lot of water. Well George is still drinking for England and I'm not going to test his function by removing the bottles because it's not fair and because we still want to 'keep everything flushing through'. He doesn't seem to be collecting fluid around his body and he's still very active, especially in the mornings, so he doesn't look unwell. He still rumbles out at about 7 and squeaks loudly up the stairs to wake me up to get their lettuce! So it was onto the next step.

George is different from the girls and, fair enough, he's a year older than Louise and 2 older than Flora (rough guesses really) but we were looking for other differences. Obviously he's been on metacam for a couple of years. Perhaps this makes a difference? But I don't want to just withdraw it to see if his pH stick stays green like theirs because of his massive bladder stone and his arthritis. Buprenorphine stops him eating. Maybe tramadol? But again it's an opioid. We've never had gabapentin and my vets have never mentioned it so I was unwilling to ask for it specifically in case it was inappropriate. But I know the Cat & Rabbit do use it so a week ago me and George drove up to Northampton with our x-rays and our stone in a pot and saw Uncle Simon, to ask his opinion and talk about pain relief. And we got lots of good advice and a little bottle of Gabapentin. C&R use it in with the metacam when a bit of something extra is needed rather than as a replacement. It can affect them in different ways and I was warned against long-term use as withdrawal needs to be monitored. But at low doses, and potentially only for a few days to a week, to cover George while we see if his pee is affected, well that should be straightforward. Luckily (unluckily?) George lets us know how much peeing hurts by how loud his squeal is when he goes. So the idea is to start him at a low dose once a day and give him a metacam 12 hours later, thus phasing him in (and maybe phasing him out the same way at the other end). So now for the unpleasant bit.

I knew that George would have to have his bladder poked again. This happens every visit at my usual vet but her gentle fingers stop as soon as he starts to whimper. Even so, he's usually quiet after a visit and not himself until the next morning - bladders are such sensitive things. But gabapentin is a controlled medicine and this is not my regular vet and so I'm just a stranger turning up out of the blue. I had x-rays but, well I could've been anyone just after drugs so I did expect George would be examined. But Uncle Simon was ever so thorough trying to feel that big stone and poor, passive George just wailed and wailed... 😞
By the next day he was peeing blood and in a deal of pain. This has gotten better during the week but his stick tells me there is now a lot of blood in his urine along with leukocytes (white blood cells) and Nitrites and this might mean the damage has allowed the beginnings of infection to creep in. He's dropped 30 grams. So we are watching carefully and waiting and hoping things settle down before we start messing with his current regime. Oh my poor lad 💔

Something George has been enjoying recently is lunch al fresco. It's been a long winter and it's still cold so he goes in the donut bed with a heat pad under and a light blanket on his rump. Then we sit outside having little treats for 20 minutes to try and build up his vitamin D. We've not really seen the sun but at least it's daylight. When he goes back in he likes to stay in the heated donut and just have the blanket draped over him completely: he thinks he's hidden but he just looks like a little orange fleece jelly in the middle of the mat. The jelly rumbles to itself whenever one of the girls wanders past. Brave boy George - hang in there x
 
Oh bless him, George is a very lucky boy to have such an attentive owner. I love that you take him outside, I that with mine when they are ill. I sit on a step and pluck them grass stems and dandelion leaves.

Brillo has Gabapentin as an extra to his Metacam on the days when his arthritis gets really painful and the Metacam doesn't quite cut it alone. I had a piggy on it before and it make him a bit sleepy but Brillo seems okay with it. Maybe because he only has it once or twice a week it doesn't build up in his system.

I was told at the stone clinic by the nurse that calcium stone humans are advised to keep their pH around 6 so it's no wonder these poor piggies with their natural pH around 8 - 9 are so stone prone. I gave the nurse a little fit when mine tested at 7, she looked at me sideways when I said that's good, it's what I'm aiming for. What she didn't realise is my stones are cystine not calcium, I need to keep to 7 - 7.5 so as not to form stones. The nephrologist told me not to go above 7.5 or I would end up with calcium stones instead! He explained that if a substance was strong enough to dissolve stones it would also dissolve the internal organs and to beware of expensive remedies on line that made claims to get rid of stones!
 
Yes, it really surprised me that a product could just make these claims on the packaging! I supposed we're used to the reliable cosh of the ASA (advertising standards authority) over here in the UK. Years ago my dad explained that was why a certain lager (a very nice lager) could only claim it was "probably" the best in the world 🤣

If I take any of George's expensive stones and plop in water (at pH 7) they don't dissolve. If his urine were this pH I think it would have much less chance of forming but once formed he's stuck with it unless he can decided to pee vinegar which is unlikely (I should know, I eat a lot of chips). I think we humans have a greater range because we eat more of a variety of food. I was hoping the family would help with this project by peeing on the sticks during the day or after certain food types (like high meats, dairy etc are supposed to make for more acidic urine and high veggies supposed to make more alkaline) but they are currently too squeamish. I find it fascinating - all the different colours are entrancing, the 10-test stick lights up like a Christmas tree! Daughter says this unsavoury interest in everyone's widdle gives me the aura of a mediaeval witch and she might have a point. I think I'll dye my scraggy greys that should help...
old-wise-woman-buried-moon-by-jamichael-henterly-source-pinterest-522x675.jpg
"Samples please!"

You can give cats something to acidify their pee a bit but uncle Simon said we don't tend to do that for piggies. I was also contemplating the fact that George has been inside all winter and may be down a bit on his Vit D. Vit D is something to do with calcium metabolism... hence his outdoor lunching. I wonder if his black skin helps or hinders this. Only time and the changing weather will tell...
 
This is all so interesting. Yes you do need Vit D to absorb calcium. If humans are given calcium tablets for bone loss after the menopause or because of steroids it is combined with D3 as in AdcalD3 tablets
You are an amazing owner and doing your very best for George, I hope his bladder calms down after Uncle Simon’s handling, poor lad it can’t have been pleasant
I had to laugh at your daughters comments on your unhealthy obsession of peewee! 😊
 
Little George update:
Something is happening but we're not sure if it's just a blip. A positive blip though. For a couple of days I've been thinking that George's pH stick looks a bit more 8ish than 9ish. It's a tricky one because if you leave it for 5 minutes it changes, darkens and goes up to 9ish again... and the girl's one doesn't. But I could credit that something looks a bit different. And there's something else too...

When George came back from his Cat&Rabbit exam he was in a right mess down below and was peeing blood - and all sorts lit up on his 10-test dipstick. But we held off giving any antibiotics and he's hopefully pulled through the worst as the inflammation has calmed down - although he is more incontinent now and has to have a little rinse-off twice a day. Twice a week I've been 10-testing the pee and today I realised the last time I probably got a few wrong results as I'd used a stick that was handily available on the window ledge, but they actually come in a dark coloured tub because they're light-sensitive. So into the front room he came and we waited for a pee which came rather unexpectedly as he didn't squeak or flinch. And I dipped the stick and started the clock. It looked a little bit pink and indeed the 'blood' test lit up but, like back in Feb, all the proteins, sugars, nitrites and bilirubin were negative and only the middle 4 tests in the row changed.

pH - he maxed out, but the max pH on here is 8.5 so that wasn't unexpected
Blood - like I said, present, not that unexpected
Specific Gravity - above 1 for a change. It was like this twice in the past week. It means the urine is a bit more concentrated. Another change for George has been that he's not seemed to want to drink so much water. Whether this is a temporary thing, or he's been on the bottle when I'm not looking I can't tell you. He'll almost always accept a syringe but he'll release it after a drop or two and turn his head away whereas before he had seemingly an unquenchable thirst. He still likes plenty with his pellets - and he likes to be hand-fed the pellets some nights (don't mock me - we've got a 'thing' going here).
Protein - well, there was protein lighting up but I was looking back at my prev post where I said the protein was 'off the scale'... and this time it isn't. The 'false positive' was a result of very alkaline urine - but now whether the result is real or another false positive it's different - it's lower - it's a green square and not bright blue.

So I knew George was less desperate for the syringe water. I had a feeling his pH might be dropping a bit but perhaps it wasn't a stable result. And now the protein reading - is no longer 'off the scale' as a result of the alkaline pee. Well, well, well...

The bump of back to reality is that he's not that comfortable and he's lost more weight - now 910g with a bony behind. He's had an inflamed weekend too, so tonight I offered him a proper 20ml syringe of CC and as many pellets as he could stuff and he's wolfed the lot. If he can persist with these readings and maybe improve them, gain a little weight and keep his spirits up, I think he might be a candidate for another op. But we're on the borderline. Has something made the difference? And if so what?

Metacam?
Because of his difficulty after the physical exam I didn't introduce the Gabapentin when I'd planned... I've just been trying to keep him comfortable. But this weekend he has had a morning dose a few hours after his metacam to see how he tolerates it and he does seem OK. He only has 0.1ml (don't know how this compares to others) and he's not had the 0.1ml in the evening. He looked a little bit spacy but alright. So he's been having his metacam as usual.

Sherwood tablet?
He's been having about 2/3 or a Sherwood tablet crushed into CC each evening. He loses a 1/3 because the girls mug me for a dollop of 'mega-mix' as soon as they smell the packet! Louise literally cries in despair if she doesn't get at least a teaspoon to lick. Flora licks my fingers if they come within reach in case they have any bits on.

Low Ca veg?
He's getting bally sick of lettuce, won't eat cucumber any more, but will have a bit of pepper and carrot. I cracked and gave him some cauliflower leaf yesterday and he ran off with it like it was ambrosia to cram into a corner and eat.

Outdoor time? (Vit D?)
He has loved being outside every day on his heat-pad with snacks. After 15 mins he has a little patrol round the garden (barren mud at the mo - the turf died) and then scootles back in. He does the piggy-steps surprisingly well for an old lad with a big stone and he does a little gallop up the path. There's nothing for them outside right now and it's chilly so they don't offer to go out themselves even if I leave the door open (for anyone reading this in the future my tiny, bizarre garden has high walls all around so the piggies are safe and I stay out with them, don't fret). I'm kind of thinking this might be something...

I can't say for sure what's doing it so we'll just stick with everything for now and hope George can consolidate his changes. And if my lovely vet is following this thread we may well be ringing you later this month...
George says HI.jpg
 
Last edited:
Bless him, George has such a lot to deal with, it sounds as if he's happy.
Brillo, 1.2 kilos has .13 ml Gabapentin when he needs it so George's dose sounds comparable in a little boar. Brillo has it when he does squeaky poops due to his arthritis. He has good days and bad days so we save it for bad days (about once a fortnight at the moment). He has Metacam 2x daily which is enough for him most of the time.
 
George what a trooper! That’s amazing how the ph is changing. I have no idea why nor can I offer any advice but keep on what you are doing. Specific gravity test when high is often a sign if dehydration though so I would encourage him to drink and wet all veggies he has

Hooe George continues to do well and he gets that op
 
Little George update: Not good news I'm afraid.
George developed another urine infection. Considering his age, his impaction, his stony history it was sort of inevitable. He can't get such a good flow going to flush everything out. He became more and more inflamed below until he was crying, peeing blood and sitting in a sad mess. We tried a week of Baytril first, hoping against hope that it would work but of course it didn't. Then we just had to bite the bullet and go back onto Septrin.
I got in probiotics and variants of CC and all sorts of tasty treats. It worked within the first 24 hours - and he didn't seem too bad at first, but by day 4 he wasn't squeaking up the stairs any more for his veg in the morning. I'm pretty sure he didn't associate the Septrin with how rough he was feeling generally which was a blessing at least because he didn't fight the syringe and I felt like a traitor for giving him the stuff, and it was a sad Easter. But on day 8 (Tuesday) he suddenly looked very rough and weak. He staggered and hid away. He'd only lost about 50g in the past week which was pretty good compared to last time... but he was a little older and much thinner to start with this time. So there was an emergency dash to the vet for emeprid to kick-started his gut again and it worked (what emerged the next day was monstrous) but in truth some of the light has gone from his eyes and he's getting thinner. I cut the long antibiotic course short because it nearly finished him - if his infection returns there won't be much we can do. He eats a little less every day. But he still loves the grass pile and finds pleasure in new tasty treats - which he grabs from me but then sort of runs out of steam before he can finish them. He ebbs and flows. So think of us over the next days because in my heart I can't see him coming back from this. My gentle old boy 💕
 
I'm so sorry, poor George and poor you. You've both fought so hard I have everything crossed he can beat this.
 
Holding George and you in my heart - I hope he can be comfortable ❤️
 
So sorry to hear that George isn't doing very well. Just enjoy the time you have with him. You know George best and will do what is right for him. xx

I sympathise with you as we are going through similar times with Mavis, our old girl who has lymphoma. Seeing her visibly slowing down is so hard but I try to make sure each day that she knows she is loved.

Sending big hugs.xx
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top