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UTI/Urinary Tract Infection Daisy has a UTI! :( How can I help her?

daisyandpippy

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Hi everyone,

My girls were out having a play today and I noticed that Daisy seemed to be in pain and then I saw that she had peed out some blood. I rushed her to the emergency animal hospital (which cost a fortune but the regular vet was closed!) and the vet checked her and is pretty confident that she has a urinary tract infection, so she had an injection and was prescribed Enotril for a few days. So obviously I'm not looking for a diagnosis, just wondering if there's any way I can help her feel a bit better.

She's been acting completely normally apart from this and I hadn't noticed any blood before today. Literally only a minute or so before it happened she was running and jumping around and had been eating as usual, so it seems as though I might have discovered it straight away, or at least very soon after she's come down with it. She even came for a cuddle and was as happy as always. She was a bit more placid than usual at the vet but seemed to pick up after her injection and since we got her home she's been acting fine (saw a tiny bit of blood again but I suppose that can be expected) and has been munching on hay and relaxing with Pippy, so I'm pretty happy with how she's going. It's just that it breaks my heart every time I hear her in pain because there's nothing I can do and she doesn't know what's going on. Has anyone ever had any experience with UTIs and can tell me if there's anything I can do (other can giving her her medicine obviously) to make her feel better, or am I better off just letting her be so she can feel better herself? Are there any foods I should avoid while she's not well? Is it still okay to hold her and everything? I'm monitoring her closely to make sure nothing else is wrong and I haven't noticed anything, so I'm hoping after a couple of days she'll be all better again, I just hate knowing it's hurting her and I can't stop worrying about her :(

Thanks in advance, Daisy and I (and Pippy) appreciate it!

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pinky

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Is Enotril a generic for Baytril? You should give her a probiotic along with the antibiotic because you want to replenish the good bacteria killed by the antibiotic. If you don't, she might stop eating and her digestive system will shut down. How many days is a few days? Normally, an antibiotic is given for 10 days so all the bad bacteria is killed. I'd still keep a close eye for symptoms after she's done with meds in case it's a bladder stone and not a UTI. You can ask the vet for pain meds if she's still having discomfort.
 

daisyandpippy

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Thanks pinky! I think it is a generic form of Baytril. I couldn't find anything online but when I re-checked the bottle it's actually Enrotril, which gave heaps of results for Baytril when I searched it so I'm guessing that's what it is. Probably should have read the bottle more thoroughly the first time! Thanks for the advice about the probiotic, I'll give the vet a call tomorrow and see if they can give me anything. She's on her meds for five days and the vet said if she's still bleeding then I'll have to take her back, but he seemed to think she'd be fine before then, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I've noticed that she's pooling without a problem (well, it's hurting a bit but she's able to, seemingly without a struggle) which I suppose is a good sign, it's just the wee she's having pain with!
 

bpatters

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Baytril and Enotril have the same active ingredient -- enrofloxacin. You have to be careful about injected enrofloxacin, as it can cause problems in the muscles at the injection site. Also, Bactrim is generally more effective against UTIs than Baytril.

She may stop eating while taking Baytril, so weigh her daily, preferably before breakfast, and watch her poop output. If she stops eating, you'll have to force-feed her.
 

Party Guineas

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A pain medication like Metacam would help. It's also an anti-inflammatory, which can be helpful. When mine had a UTI, this was prescribed alongside the antibiotic. I found that the formulation for dogs was more palatable and went down easier than the cat version - you give less and it seemed sweeter. :) Keeping her hydrated is also considered good for flushing out any bacteria (Wiebke, one of the mods on The Guinea Pig Forum has recommended this for other UTI cases and one of the vets I saw also recommended the same). I would, like Pinky, keep an eye out for any further straining, though, just in case there are bladder crystals or stones causing discomfort.
 

foggycreekcavy

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I agree with bpatters--Bactrim is the antibiotic usually prescribed for urinary tract infections. It's possible the emergency vet didn't know that? Or maybe the Baytril is all they had on hand.

I like to to give pain meds for the first few days.
 
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