Some questions about urine scald

[Deliciosa]

Hi all.

For the past 4 or so months Mimi has required a lot more maintenance as she has a urine scald that isn't really improving. She is older now and has always peed wherever she lies down - even with bedding change every day she has a bad habit of peeing and just sitting in it.
Her previous owners who had her until she was three years old didn't litter train, and I've tried and tried but she simply will not be trained.

Anyway, her scald is sort of around the vulva as well as on her back legs. I clean her with a very watered down hibitane/water mixture, dry with cotton balls, and apply a hibitane/hydrocortisone cream prescribed by the vet. The vet says it's going to be more maintenance of the scald than a full recovery, at least for the time being.

Recently when I was cleaning her I noticed some spots of the scald on the back of her legs has turned a dark red or purple color. I don't know what this means and I'm really worried. The soonest I can get her to the vet is Friday of this week, I'm hoping it's nothing serious.
Does anyone have any idea what the purple or red blotches could mean? Does it require a more urgent vet visit? I'm sure I could arrange something sooner if needed.

Also if you have any tips about maintaining scald that would be great. I've heard corn starch is good to put on the scald and surrounding fur after cleanings, but is it really bun-safe?

Thanks.

 

[JBun]

Has a medical issue causing the peeing problems, been ruled out? Things like a UTI, sludge, kidney problems, or e. cuniculi?

I'm not sure about the blotches. It could be additional irritation, developing sores, or an allergic response. You could phone your vet up and ask about them. I don't know that cornstarch would really do any good if the skin is continuing to get wet. Cornstarch would only help initially in helping the skin to dry out. The cream that you are applying should be helping, or maybe you could ask the vet about a different cream that might protect the skin better. A protective layer of petroleum jelly may help. Keeping her out of her pee would help the most. Have you tried vet bed with her? It's a fleece material that is used for animals with certain health problems. It allows the urine to drain through to a pee pad so that the top surface remains dry and keeps the animal from laying or standing in it's urine. This would work best if she is kept in a cage or smaller penned area, but would be hard if she is free range.
http://www.vetbedcanada.com/

 

[mhockin78]

So my Toby has urine scald as well. we found out through xrays that he has hip dysplasia. So I have to bathe him constantly. I even get his hind end shaved so that the fur doesn't mat to his skin. But it is high maintenance.

I place his front paws over my forearm so his feet are dangling, but actually they are touching the inside of the bathroom sink (keeps him from kicking out) and I place my chest to his back so he feels secure and I run the water at a nice temp and soak his feet and hind end in the water for a few minutes. I drain frequently. When he is plenty wet I start gently manipulating the scald buildup and cleaning his feet. I don't use any powder type cleaning agents as I am afraid that will also get stuck to his skin and cause more skin irritation or damage. So just warm water. Sometimes when it is really bad, I will use baby shampoo. When we are done I squeeze him dry and use a towel to help out. He will then hop to his spot and begin cleaning the rest.

It's not easy for me or for him, but it keeps his skin dry and us from a vet bill. If you need any more tips, let me know, I'll help as best I can.

Oh I also use lots of towels in his cage and anywhere he spends a great deal of time, keeps the urine from sitting on him and from getting my carpets ruined.

 

[Deliciosa]

I'll ask the vet about the possibility of that on Friday. Mimi's had bloodwork done, an x-ray and full exams, nothing seemed amiss. Most of the time she spends lying down is in her box tunnel and I change the towel + newspaper underneath daily. The rest of her x-pen has towels that are changed every second day.
Vet suggested pee pads last time - I can get those at pretty much any pet store, right? Also, the vetbed looks like it would be helpful so I'm ordering one. Thanks for the link.

 

[mhockin78]

I'll ask the vet about the possibility of that on Friday. Mimi's had bloodwork done, an x-ray and full exams, nothing seemed amiss. Most of the time she spends lying down is in her box tunnel and I change the towel + newspaper underneath daily. The rest of her x-pen has towels that are changed every second day.
Vet suggested pee pads last time - I can get those at pretty much any pet store, right? Also, the vetbed looks like it would be helpful so I'm ordering one. Thanks for the link.

Keep us posted. SOunds like you are doing a great job. I'm not sure I would go with pee pads, I have heard that they are dangerous if ingested. But I could be wrong?

 

[JBun]

Yeah, you would need to make sure your bun doesn't try and chew on the pee pads. That wouldn't be a good thing. Otherwise continuing to use towels would probably be better.

If you have a walmart, they would also have pee pads. You can get the kind for pets, but I've heard the ones for people are a better price. If you can get a mega pack at Costco(or other large warehouse store), that would probably be the best deal.

I also came across these links about buns with urine scald issues, and thought they might be useful to you.
http://www.disabledrabbits.com/urine-scald.html
http://www.disabledrabbits.com/baths--cleaning.html

 

[degrassi]

My Gimpy has been having Urine scald issues for the past year. He's 9.5yo so he's been having trouble using his litter box and was peeing on the floor next to it. This is what I've done. I took him to get the area shaved so its easier to clean, plus he had some matted hair. I then put thick towels down, or 2x towels so when he does pee on the floor its absorbed quickly with no time for him to get wet. At first I was also giving him daily butt baths as there was still a bit of dirty hair and I wanted to clean it. The vet also gave me a cream to put on it.

I'd say the towels helped the most. Since he was no longer getting wet he's healed up pretty quick. I had this issue last November quite severely, his whole butt,tail, stomach and feet were red and sore. I did the same thing and he healed in a couple weeks. Then when he started using his box again I removed the towels from his cage. After a couple months he developed the same problems. I shouldn't have taken out the towels as they were working. So now he's back to having the towels and it keeps it from happening again.

I got 30" wide towels so its big enough to cover his NIC cage floor(2 NIC squares wide). I didn't want any edges that he could chew. I got a few on sale at Walmart for under 4$, they are big and thick bath sheets.