Recurring urine infection - UPDATE - NOT GOOD - NEED ADVICE

Hi there :wave:

My dutch rabbit is 5 years old and in the past 3 months he has had 5 urine infections.

each time i notice him squatting to do wees in places he wouldn't usually, like the rug, and he makes a squeeking noise sometimes so he's obviously in pain.

Each time my vet is prescribing anti-biotics, which seems to do the trick in the short term, and i've started giving him two dried cranberries a day.

my vet is ok, but she is the only one at the practice, so i'd really like to get some other advice. what would you guys do if it was your rabbit?

my vet seems to think that once he's had a urine infection he's more prone to them. but the frequency is worrying me.

thanks
JenJen xx

I would suspect uroliths/bladder sludge

http://www.rabbit.org/health/urolith.html

Has the Vet considered this possibility ?

How long was each course of antibiotic ?

that is really helpful, thanks

each course of antibiotics was between 5 and 7 days.

i know she's checked him all over and felt his bladder. there's quite a few things i can try from that article.

thanks again
JenJen

I don't know much about this in rabbits, but I know that for humans I've been advised before that cranberries are great to have as a preventative measure, but not to eat/drink cranberry juice while you are suffering from urine infections as it can make passing water more painful.

Don't know if that will help at all, but good luck with your bunny :wave:

In total agreement with Jack's - Jane. It's time to look for sludge/stone/ or even a small pouch in the bladder.
Good luck & please keep us updated.

B gets cystitis regularly & was put on a low calcium diet & wet veg.She has cucumber,apples,carrots & greens.Though not the best diet for most rabbits,its helped her water works no end.Timothy hay seems to set her off as do spring greens & parsley so she doesn't get these.Though dandelions are high in calcium,they seem to do her some good.Vet told me to cut out all dried fruit,including cranberrys.She has very little pellets & when going through a really bad time[touch wood shes not had one for many months]she has orange juice or apple cider vinegar in her water.Hope this helps.

Hi all

I took Fumper to the vets on Monday and she has said he has sludge - as you guys suggested.

he keeps squeeking when going to loo which i take to mean he's in pain as he never did it before. she gave him a painkiller but they never seem to make any difference and he still squeeks the same.

i'm soaking his dried food in water and feeding him watery vegetables but how long should i go on letting him suffer?

he's almost 5 years old - how long do dutch rabbits generally live?

my g/f and i have discussed having him put to sleep as it's horrible seeing him in pain. we think that we will give it another week or so with the increased water intake but if it doesn't improve we will get him put to sleep.

does that sound humane?

xx

Rabbits generally live about 10 years, except for the giant varieties.

Has your vet got additional training to treat rabbit issues? "Exotics" training? This is essential for a bun with specific bunny issues.

There are so many small things you can do to help to get over this, but it needs an all "out attack" at the same time. It will take longer than a week to see a change.

a) Cut out the high calcium "greens". (There's a list in the diet section)
b) Try slowly adding cucumber to his diet.
c) Feed a minimum of moistened pellets.
d) Try spraying his hay with water. (Unused plant spray)
e) Try 1/4 teaspoonful Avipro plus, in his water. (It encourages them to drink more) There are other ways to do this too.
f) Some buns drink more from a bowl then a bottle.
g)Give him some dandelions daily ( they are high in fluids & make your bun wee more - diuretic) & can be dried for winter.

Get ready & start it all all the same time.

Did your vet empty the bladder of sludge or flush it out?

OK. Sludge is calcium carbonate crystals - "lime" or "chalk". Unlikeus, buns keep on absorbing calcium from their gut when there's enough in their body so they have to pee out the excess. It doesn't dissolve in wee very well because their wee is alkaline. So they need to make a lot of wee or it forms crystals in the bladder. The sharp crystals scratch the base of the bladder & urethra causing inflammation & pain when the bladder is emptied. (The symptoms are like a bladder infection but there are no bacteria causing it)
So the principal is to reduce the calcium intake & increase the urine out put, to stop crystals forming.

Plenty of excercise also helps to stop the crystals settling out in the bottom of the bladder.

The vet side is to reduce the inflammation & pain with a NSAID eg metacam, & when you've started to reduce the crystals, ensure that the bladder is clear of sludge.

It's a common problem. Many folk on this forum can help you with other tips they've learned by experience.

basically as above!!!

I had a bun that had bladder sludge for about 4 years of his (10 year) life - he was 'expressed' CAREFULLY by the vet every 6 weeks - less in summer when a lot of the natural feeds have more calcium.

However i have to say that however little calcium we fed he still had sludge and it really was a physiognomy thing.

He was very happy and healthy otherwise.

You may need to track down an exotics vet who will be able to help with the on-going treatment this needs -

Cranberry juice only works with the E Coli bacteria, so if it's any other, it's unlikely to have any effect.

Has a urine culture been taken and analysed, to see what antibiotic would be best and which bacteria is being dealt with (if any)? I've had this problem with my guinea pigs, so I do sympathise with you.

edit: forgot to say, those antibiotic courses sound short to me.

edit again: ignore all this - I missed the update about the sludge!!!

Are you filtering the drinking water? You live in a hard water area.

Barley's cystitis was so bad last year that she had a weakness in her hind legs & couldn't jump on sofa.She was straining really bad & squeeked when squatting.She has never been perfectly housetrained due to her problems but to be honest I get relieved seeing a puddle of wee,where ever it is.The only sign she shows nowadays is small patches of white on rug,but nothing more serious.Our vet spoke to a specialist at Harrogate who said not to cut out high calcium greens as the water content out weighs any calcium problems but B produces more white patches when she eats parsley & spring greens so I cut these out of her diet.I was also advised to wet veg before giving so they get that extra water.Dont know if its a coincidence,but B has had less problems since she was bonded with Dill after her hind leg weakness.Please dont give up on your bun just yet,5 is still quite young.Good luck.

Just to add that the vet in Harrowgate is Francis Harcourt-Brown. She's one of the world league bunny vets. She'll advise any VET. over the phone.

My own bun only gets sludge when he can't drink enough, with difficult tummy issues and spikes on his teeth.
We tried the diet advised by Willowholly, & it was successful, but as other issues took over we had to change tactics.

:wave:Hi guys

Thanks so much for all your support and advice

Fumper is doing heaps better now. i've reduced his pellets plus i've been soaking them in bottled water - they soak up loads so that's a great way of getting more water in to him. I've cut out carrots and am giving cucumber, celery and mixed leaves and he has one dried cranberry each morning (as well as plenty of hay).

He's runnning about again and has completely stopped squeeking.

xxx

:wave: Thank you so much for telling us your good news. I'm so pleased for you, & little Fumper.