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

[Julie Juwles Johnson]

Dear Leah

I'm sorry to read about Princess Snowflake's problems.   I hope it is nothing more than the urinary tract infection and that she is soon recovered and back to her normal cute self, and drinking well again.  (My piggies never drink water from their bottles - they must get enough fluid from the green grass I feed them (I can't get Timothy Hay) and the veges like cucumber & celery).

All the best with your little love

Kind regards
Julie & her precious piggies
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: leah.mcneil at wachovia.com 
  To: gpdd at gpdd.org 
  Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 12:51 AM
  Subject: [Gpdd] Health: Princess Snowflake has blood in her urine :-(


  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 :-)