[Gpdd] Health: Princess Snowflake has blood in her urine :-(
Julie Juwles Johnson
juwles at bigpond.com
Fri Oct 31 07:43:52 EDT 2008
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 :-)
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