Gus is dribbling pee

[funnybunnymummy]

Gus has started dribbling pee on the floor the last couple days, and his vent area is damp. I'm taking him to the vet in about half-an-hour to have him looked at. The vet gave me some black stuff (missed the name of it) to put into his cleaned out litter box and a syringe to take a sample of his urine. I did that yesterday and will be taking the sample with me.

I've been doing a bit of reading online and Medi-Rabbit (I think it was) mentioned an antibiotic: Chloramphenicol. Should I ask for that, if it turns out to be a UTI? Or just go with Baytril, if that's what the vet recommends?

Thanks guys!

Rue

 

[Pipp]

I'd trust the vet on this one.

(Who is your vet?)

UTI's aren't too difficult to get rid of and certain antibiotics work better for certain things, and I'm not sure about UTI's.


sas :clover:

 

[Pipp]

PS: My old vet usually prescribes Chlor Palm for just about everything, the new guy is a Baytril guy, and in general I prefer Chlor Palm, definitely, but I'm just not sure about UTI's).

 

[funnybunnymummy]

We've been going to Dr. Walton.

He prescribed Baytril for 10 days, so hopefully that works. I don't think it's a super bad infection, since Gus only just started showing the symptoms (though I'm sure he's probably had it awhile, and just been hiding it).

He's sending the urine to the lab for testing. I don't know which lab, though, I forgot to ask. I'mguessing they'll know what to look for in rabbit urine.

He said he couldn't feel any bladder stones, but he did see some molar spurs starting on the right side. Guess we'll have to keep an eye on that, since Gus gets plenty of hay!

Thanks!

Rue

 

[gmas rabbit]

Glad it is positive news. How about some diluted cranberry juice or just some cranberries. Lots of people use it for UTI infection or prevention.

 

[naturestee]

I'll second the cranberries. I buy bags in the fall and toss them in the freezer. My buns eat the frozen cranberries as treats. They don't so much treat a UTI as help prevent them, but they do help. They're also plain nice as a healthy treat (and less sugar than other berries).

I don't know much about UTIs in rabbits, but I think the Baytril should be ok. Cats and humans often get amoxicillin, which rabbits can't have.

 

[woahlookitsme]

there are tons of antibiotics to treat UTIs in dogs and cats it just depends which ones the animal is resistant or sensitive to.
Do they do cultures to test for this in rabbits too?

I also found this. the vets have the dog and cat one on their shelf
http://books.google.com/books?id=rJ...1#v=onepage&q=urine culture in rabbit&f=false

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Thanks, guys. I don't think they're doinga culture for drug sensitivity in Gus. Just a urinanalysis to determine if he's got a UTI or not. I'll find out on Tuesday what the results are. Just hoping they don't come back inconclusive.

I haven't got any cranberries, but I've got some cranberry juice, so I'll give Gus a bit of that. Tomorrow I'll look into getting him someCraisins (since fresh cranberries won't be available again until September). Hopefully the benefits of the cranberries will outweigh the sugar in them.

I've also started him on a probiotic too. The last thing we need is a bout of stasis to go along with a UTI. :rollseyes

Thanks again!

Rue

 

[funnybunnymummy]

I'm getting really worried about Gus now. When I picked him up just now and took a look under his tail, his vent area looks like it'sslightly bulged out and there appears to be a bit of blood coming out.

Otherwise, he seems like he's in perfect health. He's hopping around, eating and drinking fine, his eyes are bright, etc. etc.

I'd call the vet, but, unfortunately, it's a holiday here today, so they're closed.

Should I be very concerned? Could the Baytril not be working? Or does he just need to be on it longer? (He's been on it since Saturday morning and has had 5 doses so far.)

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Rue

 

[Pipp]

I'd get him drinking as much as you can, give him a lot of veggies soaked in cold water for awhile and check for the urinalysis results tomorrow. Dr. Walton is supposed to be very good, and Baytril is supposed to be good for UTIs.

Are you sure it's blood? Sometimes the antibiotics can change the color, so can diet.

Cranberry juice (not cocktail) is really all that works, I don't think craisins are worth the sugar, but I may be wrong on that one.


sas :clover:

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Thanks, Sas.

I didn't occur to me that the Baytril could be changing the colour of his urine. I'll check again. You may well be right.

I've been giving him plenty of veggies, but not soaking them in water. I'll do that.

And I'll try him on the cranberry juice again. He turned his nose up atit the first time I gave it to him, but maybe I'll try soaking his veggies in it instead. He'll have to "drink" it then! :biggrin2:

Thanks!

Rue

 

[naturestee]

Was there an x-ray done? I wonder if he has stones that couldn't be felt on palpation. It doesn't take much of a stone to cause pain or bleeding in the urethra, especially since the urethra is more narrow in males.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

No x-ray so far. I thinkthe vetwants to see what the lab results are first.

I hope it's not a stone.

Rue

 

[funnybunnymummy]

So the vet just called me. He told me there was no sign of bacteria in Gus's urine and the white blood cell count was normal. But there was a lot of crystals and it was quite diluted.I had noticed that Gus was drinking more in the last couple weeks (like almost double what he'd normally drink!), but since we've been treating him with the Baytril, he's drinking a more normal amount. The vet wants me to get another urine sample from him and he'll do a follow up analysis of it.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Rue

 

[naturestee]

Definitely get an x-ray. Crystals plus diluted urine makes me think of kidney stones. If blood was taken, how were the kidney values?

 

[funnybunnymummy]

No blood has been taken yet. I'll ask about that (and the x-ray) when I go in tomorrow to get the kit to do hissecond urine sample.

Thanks!

Rue

 

[funnybunnymummy]

So the results of Gus's second urine sample came back. No bacteria, no white blood cells, no blood, etc. So obviously not a UTI as we first suspected. The vet said there was still quite a bit of crystals, buthe didn't feel it was an abnormal amount for a rabbit. He's more concerned that his urine is so diluted. We're to continue the Baytril till Tuesday, then bring him back in for another examination and another urine sample.

He did mention the words "kidney failure," which have me quite worried. Gus seems 100% in perfect health, except for the dribbling pee and excess water consumption. What could cause him to go into kidney failure?

I forgot to ask about blood tests and x-rays, but maybe that's what he's got planned next.

Thanks!

Rue

 

[Kipcha]

It seems like we're going through the exact same situation right now, except Kidney Failure is pretty much the diagnosis right now for Ty...

Good luck. I really hope you get better results then I did...

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Thanks, Amanda.

Yes, it does seem somewhat similar, doesn't it? Only Gus has no other symptoms that I can see. He seems like his usual happy self--just a bit more dribbly.

Hope you get somebetter news about Ty.

Rue

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray: