Infection Please HELP with possible UTI / wet butt / dragging legs. Cant find a good vet

[guinnythepig]

Hey guys,

So heres the deal. My pig is 4,5 year old sow. Last Saturday evening I noticed how she was hopping instead of walking, and that her butt was totally wet. I took her to the vet first thing in the morning, and the doc took the sample of her pee said it was a real bad infection (a lot of pus in the pee) and prescribed doxycycline (ronaxane) for 10 days. She said she wasn't sure if the infection came from bladder or her uterus, but either way, she said she wouldnt operate on a pig who was in such bad state and was so old. When I got home I noticed how horrible my piggy's pee started smelling. I had to put her in a separate room, because the stench is unbearable! It has now been almost a week since my piggy started the course of antibiotics, and she has gained some weight, eats okay, but her incontinence is really bothering me. I wash her twice daily, to avoid urine scald, but shes wet all the time, and still hopping. My pig had x-ray taken back in February, and at that point nothing showed up on the x-ray. We made that x-ray because we heard her squeak at times when she peed, we wanted to rule out stones or tumor. Nothing showed up on the x-ray, so the vet said it must be something minor and prescribed pain relieving medication.

Basically, all the vets I have so far encountered suck. I called a few other vets today, and none of them seem to be able to say anything sensible. (one said that she thinks her wet butt is a side effect of antibiotic, and it is not! she doesn't have diarrhea, she just cant hold the pee or poo) I'm at this stage where I just don't know where to look for a cavy-savy vet, (I live in Denmark, we are sort of a small country) and since I'm not a vet, I don't know how to proceed with the treatment. Her wet butt is really bothering me. Any suggestions, please??

 

[pinky]

What does her diet consist of, how large is her cage and what type of bedding are you using? How often is your cage completely cleaned out? According to someone who posted on guinealynx, the best dosage is 5mg/kg twice a day for a URI so this larger than usual dose might be better to treat for a UTI, as well. Maybe someone whose pig was prescribed this antibiotic can comment on that. Sometimes, bad infections need multiple rounds of antibiotics.

 

[guinnythepig]

Thank you pinky for your reply. She has a normal cage with hemp & wood shavings, which I change every week or so, and spot clean daily. She has also an attached large pen, where she runs. So all in all the area is 78 inches x 78 inches or so. She also had a "second floor", where she would often jump up to and sit (its just a wooden board, attached to the wires of the cage, few inches above the ground) She gets pellets with vitamin C and hay. And veggies twice daily. Usually its small piece of tomato, cucumber, romaine salad in the morning, parsley or mint or any other herb at night.. She never had any digestive problems. The dose is as you say, we give her 10 mg of doxycycline daily. I just washed her, and I could literally see the pus dripping from her private parts.. I just hope its not pyometra, because I wouldnt know how to proceed if it is. I hope the antibiotics can stop her incontinence too, because otherwise I don't know how she could go on like this.. It's really sad to see her in this miserable state.

 

[pinky]

Thank you pinky for your reply. She has a normal cage with hemp & wood shavings, which I change every week or so, and spot clean daily. She has also an attached large pen, where she runs. So all in all the area is 78 inches x 78 inches or so. She also had a "second floor", where she would often jump up to and sit (its just a wooden board, attached to the wires of the cage, few inches above the ground) She gets pellets with vitamin C and hay. And veggies twice daily. Usually its small piece of tomato, cucumber, romaine salad in the morning, parsley or mint or any other herb at night.. She never had any digestive problems. The dose is as you say, we give her 10 mg of doxycycline daily. I just washed her, and I could literally see the pus dripping from her private parts.. I just hope its not pyometra, because I wouldnt know how to proceed if it is. I hope the antibiotics can stop her incontinence too, because otherwise I don't know how she could go on like this.. It's really sad to see her in this miserable state.

What kind of wood bedding? Wood shavings that aren't kiln dried contain aromatic oils that can lead to liver and kidney damage/failure. Have you tried switching the bedding? Since there's an infection, I'd clean the cage more often and disinfect the cage itself whenever you clean it. I looked up the dosage and it said for a 2 lb guinea pig, the dose is 4.535924 mg every 12 hours so your dose sounds right. Parsley is high in calcium so I wouldn't feed that daily. If it's a severe infection, it will probably take awhile to clear it up. Are you using some type of soap or shampoo when you bathe her that could be causing more irritation? If her droppings are loose, skip the cucumber and don't overfeed the veggies. Make sure she gets unlimited hay.

 

[guinnythepig]

hm im not so sure myself, its just some sort of wood shavings they sell in the shops here. Ill ask next time. I disinfected the cage like you advised me to, thanks for letting me know, didn't think about that. Her droppings are fine, and I've been putting this cream + vaseline on her stomach, where she is starting to lose fur and getting irritation. I wash her butt twice daily with shampoo, but I can tell she'll develop the urine scald if this wont resolve soon. Calling the vet tomoro. Crossing my fingers for them to advise me about her wet butt and overall condition. I feel like she's turned into a lab pig with all these showers and medicine administration etc. Poor thing is so miserable

 

[pinky]

Don't use vaseline. That's pure oil. Use whatever the vet prescribes. To soften skin, use 100% extra virgin organic coconut oil which gets absorbed into the skin and doesn't sit on the surface likes vaseline does. Sounds like an antibiotic cream might help but ask the vet to be sure. I think all of that shampooing is probably drying the skin and aggravating it.

 

[guinnythepig]

Thanks @Pinky and @Spy9doc. I clipped her hair on the bum last week, it helped a little and I got a special cream from the vet for her tummy. The vet says that the incontinence might never go away she says that my pig might have a damaged bladder, or nerves (she thinks that this might be the reason for her hopping) or cysts in her uterus, which we cant see. For now, she wants us to continue the treatment with antibiotics and make a culture of pee. She also suggested changing the wood shavings to towels, so that it can soak up the pee better. Im at loss. How can I figure out if its cysts/or something else..? Is it safe to put her to surgery at such age? And how do I treat the incontinence?