[Gpdd] Health: Who peed red in the Kitchen?

[Penny Charlesworth]

Mieke,

If I find blood in one of my pens I separate the piggies in order to 
discover the culprit. With a large group I start by dividing them into pairs 
but with only four, I would put each of them into a box with a white towel 
or some white paper and see what happens. You can speed up the process by 
giving them something diuretic to nibble like dandelion leaves or parsley. 
Put a little hay in the box as they might take a while to perform.

My first thought would be a UTI ( cystitis ), especially if Woopy ( the 
possible offender ) is whining when peeing. A UTI will not show up on an 
Xray and it is good news if nothing showed up as a stone should be visible 
in the picture.

I have treated UTIs with a human cystitis remedy. These come as a box of 
sachets. My late lamented Gingerbread had a couple of infections and this 
cleared them up quickly. I would rather try this first before giving 
antibiotics but it may come to this if such remedies are not available in 
the Netherlands. The one that I keep in my piggy first aid box is called 
Cymalon but there are others so ask your pharmacist. Do not use the human 
dose!! If you want to try this I will give you the piggy dose, as 
recommended by my wonderful Rodentologists.

I once found a lot of blood in Buttons' pen one morning.. This looked like a 
spray rather than a pee and it turned out that he had suffered a nosebleed 
and the spray effect was caused by him sneezing.

I have only once come across a stone in a boar and this was Copper, who was 
squeaking and passing blood. On the Rodentologists' table, he went to pee 
and a small stone shot out. End of problem. Your vet should be able to work 
a stone out without anaesthetic if the sufferer is a sow. Sows can pass 
small stones by themselves due to their wider opening and sometimes a small 
bit of gritty stone can cause bleeding as it passes through.

You can try giving unsweetened and diluted cranberry juice if you suspect an 
infection. Horrible taste in my opinion. I tried it once before giving it to 
a piggy but it reputedly can help. It certainly helps ladies with cystitis.

It is no good me saying not to worry because I do it myself. Best of luck.

Penny and the Piggyfriends.