[Gpdd] Health: Princess Snowflake has blood in her urine :-(

[leah.mcneil at wachovia.com]

Hello Piggies & Slaves,
[Big Long Sigh]
I have made a Vet appointment for the Princess
for this Thursday. The last couple of wheeeeeks,
I have noticed that the piggies' water intake has
been less and less. And last wheeek, I was a bad
Slave, as I had out of town visitors (both for work
and personal) and so I went out almost every night
of the wheek. Well, this past wheeekend, I watched
them and noticed that PS has not been drinking
much water. In fact, I don't think I recall her sippin'
from their water bottles at all, now looking back.
Geeez. I have been syringing her water, like an
ounce every other day, when I give her her Vit C
supplement. But, I just assumed that she was
drinking water when I wasn't around. Well, now, I'm
thinking that she's not drinking any water when I'm
not around. But, she IS eating her pellets (and hay
and fruits/veggies).

So, last night, I syringed her 2 ounces of water and
gave her 2 Shilintong tablets (crushed/mixed with
water). And I checked her urine. I have urine strips,
so that's how I was able to check her urine. And I
found that the urine strips tested postive for blood. :-(

I'm going to syringe her lots of water again tonight
and check her urine again. I have noticed that she
has gotten more tired and has been sleeping more.
She started acting this way before Bertie Pig came,
but I was thinking that it was because she was getting
bored and just needed a playmate. But, I have noticed
that she still seems more tired than usual, even with
B-Pig around. So, I guess the signs were there...

I used to give PS a Vit C supplement (3/4 of an Oxbow
Vit C tablet mixed with water) twice a wheeeek. But,
since Bertie Pig came, I started giving them their
supplement every other day (BP gets a full tablet since
he weighs so much). And well, you all know how I am,
I can't help but wonder if maybe that is part of the
problem. I could never prove it, but I swear that those
Oxbow tablets were the cause of some of my Beloved
Brownie Bear's bladder stones. But, I couldn't remove
them completely from her diet, because then her back
legs would start acting up. So, later today, I am going
to research some liquid Vit C options and see if I can
get my hands on some this wheeek. And for the record,
the Oxbow Vit C tablets are an Excellent source of Vit C
for our piggies. But, I think that some piggies may just
be predispostioned to form bladder stones/sludge if
their body has an excess of minerals such as calcium
or vitamin C.

I check the Princess's bottom area quite often, and I
have Never seen any evidence of bladder sludge.
So, it's very possible that I am jumping the gun here.
[Prince Teddy close your ears] Maybe since she's
become sexually active, she's gotten an infection
'down there'. Or maybe she just has a Urinary Tract
Infection (UTI) that was caused by something else.
??? Well, either way, I'm going to get her checked
out on Thursday and have x-rays done. She had
x-rays done about a year ago, so she was due to
have that done anyways. As a bare minimum, I know
that she will be put on some type of antibiotics. At their
last Vet visit, Dr. G had mentioned that whee could do
blood work on the Princess during her Yearly exam.
But, he would have to put her under (anaesthesia) to
do that, so I didn't want to go that route, unless absolutely
necessary.

PS says, "Leave my bottom area ALONE...Wheeek!"

             Love 'n Wheeeeeeeps,
                   Leah...Slave to Princess Snowflake
                            & Bertie Pig :-)