[Gpdd] HEALTH: Another UTI !!! Why???

[ME]

I've had pigs on a few occasions where a UTI seemed to be going away and then all of a sudden come back with a vengeance.  In most of those cases, an x-ray showed stones or sludge.  The one pig that had recurrent UTIs without stones (though I do think she passed one during a really bad UTI) was diabetic ... as soon as meds got her blood glucose fairly close to normal, recurrences of UTIs were few and far between.

With my diabetic pig, I learned that sometimes one med wasn't enough.  Sulfatrim usually took care of it, but sometimes we had to use Baytril (though not as effective) or Amikacin (very effective, but only available as an injectible).

As for changing diet ... I don't believe in removing calcium from their diet.  I know it's not popular here, but I do feed alfalfa-based pellets (as well as timothy).  I feed a variety of veggies, including those high in calcium.  I think variety is the key, rather than omission.  Out of 30+ pigs, I've had 1 pig with a single UTI, and 3 with recurring UTIs and stones/sludge (one was the diabetic, the other 3 didn't get the UTIs until they were 5+ years old).