[Gpdd] (Care) Abscesses/ Incontinence
Candy G.
crawdad1953 at hotmail.com
Sun Dec 23 03:53:36 EST 2007
Greetings, Stacy -
I'm so sorry to hear about your 'abcess and
incontinence' woes. I do not have any experience
with abcesses, but it looks like you are already
starting to receive excellent advice from our great
gpdd'ers. I do have a lot of experience with chronic
wetness in an older pig, though, and would like to
add my two cents.
I totally agree with Penney. I believe that as our
little ones get older, they sometimes develop
stiffness that discourages a lot of extra movement.
When they get warm and toasty and comfortable,
they sometimes just don't want to go through the
discomfort of getting up and going elsewhere to pee.
Topper has always been extremely fastidious about
having his little "pee area" in his cage and pool and
that is where he urinated and there ONLY. It didn't
matter how long he was out roaming or how long I
had him in my lap, he would wait and go to his
"bathroom". He 'signals' when it's time to go back
to his cage or pool to let me know he needs to pee.
He is still totally 'housebroken' - he is not incontinent
at all. BUT - several months ago I noticed that he
was always very wet in the mornings when I would
pick him up and then I started noticing that he was
not moving at night (or during long naps) to urinate.
He's 6 1/2 and he has pretty bad arthritis now and
Degenerative Disk Disease (DDD) [both pretty
common in senior piggies] and I believe that when
he's been still for a good while, it just hurts his poor,
creaky little knees too much to get up and go
elsewhere to pee even with his Metacam and pain
med on board.
I was very concerned about the possibility of urine
scald, especially because he also has a problem now
with his penis not retracting all the way (due to nerve
damage in his spinal column from DDD). My exotics
vet [WONDERFUL vet!!] advised me to use A&D
Ointment twice a day to coat/cover his genetal and
anal area ("everything down there without fur" <grin>
that could stay damp). I have been using it for months
now with great success. He has stayed scald and
breakdown free and the area looks just as healthy as
can be. A caution, though: DO NOT use the A&D
Ointment that has Zinc in it. It can be harmful to your
piggie if she ingests it. ONLY use the A&D Ointment
WITHOUT ZINC.
I apply it twice a day: once in the morning when I
give Topper his Vitamin C and Critterberries, and
once at night when I give him his Metacam and
Tramadol. I take a Q-tip and squeeze a little blob
of the A&D on it (about the size of a green pea) and
then just coat the whole area.
I have been looking for a long time, but I have not
been able to find the vet bed here in the US. Our UK
friends swear by it and it sounds like the perfect answer
to keeping our little ones dry. What I have been using
are the bed pads like we use in the hospital to keep
patients dry(er) and keep the sheets from getting wet.
You know the ones - they look sort of quilted with white
cotton fabric on top and sort of a blue or green backing
that is waterproof. This doesn't keep Topper completely
dry but it disperses the dampness to the point that he
stays only just barely damp.
I ordered ten of these pads off ebay. The company is
"value-n-ethics" and the item number for the ones like
I ordered is item #300184096889. I bought ten pads
(size: extra small) for $2.95 each and I have used and
washed them over and over and over and they are still
as good as new. They have been well worth the money.
[However I would still love to find the VetBed so if the
person Penney mentioned who found a US supplier is
reading this, please post for us so we can order. Thanks!
(I, too, am getting a "Page Not Found" for the Archives.)]
Good luck with your dear Maxine. I know she is so happy
(and lucky) to have you for her mama, expecially now that
she is in her "little old lady" years. I would imagine that
she will do just fine with you taking care of her.
Sorry to be so long-winded. Y'all know that once I get
started with a post, I just can't control myself. <sigh>
I am so very thankful for the wonderful people and
piggies of the GPDD. I hope that all whose bodies and
hearts need it will find gentle comfort and healing in
the magic of this most special season.
Candy, The Topmeister, and the notorious Cat X
(with sweet little MollieBug always in our hearts)
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