Advice on urine scald and UTI. UPDATE- she's gone :'(

Ellie stopped using her litter tray and started getting a very wet bum. She lives indoors and is spayed. I took her to the vets yesterday and they think it's a urinary tract infection. She's been given baytril and was injected with an anti-inflammatory and I was told to try and keep her clean and bathe her backside to keep it free from urine as she has the starts of urine scald. How quickly will the baytril start to work?

She hates being bathed, I only put her in a couple inches of water to soak her bum but tbh I would like to know if anybody has experience with this and could tell me alternatives to keeping her clean. She's clearly uncomfortable and keeps flicking her back feet when hopping about and bathing her just seems too stressful for her.

Thanx for any advice.

x

When Mimi had head tilt she couldnt move and would sit and roll in her urine

We had to wash her twice a day. OH would kneel on the floor and hold her securely on her side. I would have 2 containers, one with warm water and a drop of baby shampoo, and one with just warm water, 2 flannels and a towel. I would first wash the weey areas with a flannel and the soapy water, then rinse with the other flannel and the plain warm water, then dry as much as possible with a warm dry towel.

I then applied sudocrem to the vulnerable areas to prevent urine burn, which Im pleased to say we managed to avoid for the whole time she was poorly.

Obviously keeping bedding and litter immaculately clean is very important aswell.

Hope she feels better soon :wave:

Sorry to hear this and hope she soon starts to feel better. I have two bunnies with urine problems, and regularly have to bathe them. If the urine scald isnt too widely spread, then I avoid a full bathe (ie bathing them in a couple of inches of water) mainly because its unsettling for them, and its hard to get them completely dry and then I worry about them getting a chill. If you feel she does need this then be sure to get her completely dry, first with a soft towel (although you do have to be careful with the scald as rubbing can be very sore on the raw parts) and then I get a hairdryer and use it on a low setting so the noise doesnt scare them and its not too hot.

But generally I avoid doing this unless its really necessary. Instead I use warm water in a bowl, and moisten cotton wool in it and use that to get up the excess urine out of their fur and off their skin. Then I use dry pieces of cotton wool to dry them off, again a soft towel is also sometimes necessary to ensure they are fully dry. I then apply a thin layer of sudocrem on the sore parts as this is both soothing and acts as a protectant against any more scald. Only apply a thin layer as they can lick it off themselves when grooming/eating cecals.

The other method we often use is to use cornflour as a kind of dry bath. You rub it through their fur and it dries up any wetness, and also by gently applying to the skin it prevents any dampness and has a slight soothing/protecting layer too.

Hope Ellie is soon feeling better.

My Inca gets UTI / Scauld quite often due to her deformities. She is on treatment just now for one.

I have found that Baytril is not great with Inca, but it might work with Ellie. Inca is on ceporex (penicillian) injections. The abx should start to work within a couple of days, i always notice Inca getting dryer in that space of time.

I also wash her as has been described in the last post.

One thing that i do throughout the day is to hold Inca and put a dry towel underneath her and on the wet fur, kinda blotting her dry. I know that this is not a total clean, but it helps to get some of the wetness away, my girl is fine being picked up so i find this really easy to do.

Are you putting anything on the skin? If there are any areas that are easily accessible through the fur then you could use a thin layer of sudocrem after washing her, make sure she is dry first tho'. The cream is good as a barrier to stop the urine soaking in just as much.

Good luck x

Thankyou for your replies

I'm not putting anything on her at the moment as I didn't really know what to use. Would E45 cream work as well a sudocrem?
She is fine in herself, eating and drinking fine but is just obviously uncomfortable/sore She has a pretty bad patch of red skin just over her pelvic bone where she sits.
How often should I do this? I've been giving her a quick "bath" once a day because she is only damp not soaking now. I was putting her in the bath as it was convenient (my bedroom is next to the bathroom) and would stop my room getting flooded, but she really hates it so I will use a bowl and a flannel and see if she's a little more co-operative. She's a rather large and very powerful bunny so when she struggles I worry that she will hurt herself because I can't keep hold of her plus it hurts when she kicks me. It's starting to get matted underneath her tail and I don't really know weather I should trim her matted fur or just leave it. I'm too worried I'll hurt her

Cornflour sounds like a good option as long as it won't sting her sore places. I have plenty of that as well.

I have never used E45, but have used sudocrem loads.

Do you have an old litter tray? When i am bathing Inca i put an inch or so water in an empty litter tray and just sit her back legs in.

If you can get to the mats easily then cut them off, if not then i would get the vets to shave her as it makes it easier to keep dry

When I used to have to clean my very old bunny's bottom, I also used a litter tray to stand him in. I bought one of those bath mats with stickers on that go inside the bath. I cut it to the correct size of the litter tray and he would happily stand inside without slipping around.

Also used plenty of towels to help blot away any excess damp after having bathed and dried him. Sudocrem was also applied around his bottie and back feet and legs.

Barnaby was at least eleven and took so much looking after, but he was worth every minute!!


Best of luck

Aw 11 is a good age Ellie is only about 4-4 1/2. She's had lots of problems but she's still worth the time and money

I've just gone to check her and there's no puddles anywhere and her bottom is dry! Should I still give her a bath because her fur is stiff from the urine but fortunately her soreness seems to be clearing up I can't believe it's worked so quickly. I hope she is on the mend and not just because my room is warm though!

Also could this be related to dental problems at all? She never seemed to get over her last dental and went a couple of days refusing hay and drinking excessively. My vet advised me that it could be from the anaesthetic and to keep an eye on her; fortunately she started eating her hay again but carried on with the drinking. It was a few weeks after that when she stopped using the litter tray. Do you think it's related or just coincidence?

Would she be OK to have a dental next week providing she is better?

Exccessive urination can be caused by excessive drinking which in turn can be caused by dental issues, particularly molar root issues I think. This is what is suspected with one of my bunnies, and he is going in for an x-ray tomorrow to look at his tooth roots.

There are other causes of excessive urination/urine scald, so if the problem doesn't clear up it may be worth talking to the vet about other things, including dental issues as a contributing factor. Hope that things clear up for her though with the antibiotics.

It's been a few days now and Ellie hasn't improved at all

I just wanted to know if the baytril is not doing the job and what other medication might help? I have been trying to keep her clean but it's difficult since she keeps sitting straight back in her pee

I'm getting worried now that it could be a kidney problem. When I take her back to the vets what should I expect the vet to do/suggest?

Sorry to hear this, I don't know how long antibiotics should take to kick in. Did you discuss the possibility of EC at all with your vet? With Muesli my vet put him on to EC treatment initially because she thought it could be EC related. But when he had his blood results later on he had never had EC in his system. However Kenco my other bunny has very similar symptoms and was not treated for EC but his blood results later showed that he has had EC at some point. I think the EC testing only shows if the bunny has had EC at some point, not if it is active currently. But still that may be worth talking to the vet about.

It could also be related to tooth roots, so that might be another possibility of discussing with your vet - has Ellie had any dental x-rays done?

There could be a calcium level or kidney related issue, or it can also be to do with mobility. There are several potential causes of weeing excessively/ urine scald and it may just be worth running through some of these with the vet and seeing what his/her thoughts are, and then arrange any relevant diagnostics and treatments.

It may be worth putting some vet bed down if you can as this draws moisture away and the top bit stays fairly dry and soft, so that might help with preventing the scalding a little.

Really hope she starts feeling better soon.

I can't put any vet bed down as she has the run of my room. If she isn't using the litter tray then she won't go on the vet bed unless i cover my whole floor with it :shock: My room is laminate flooring though and I've had to take my rug out as she was peeing on that as well and making the room really stink of ammonia. I've tried putting in pillows/towels and even beds for them both before but Fiver (her husbun) just pees on them :? I'm stuck for what to do which would be best for Ellie. Maybe I should put a large towel down for her to sit on if she wants. She never pees in the same places so it's difficult.

Dental roots could be an issue. I didn't realise that could cause symptoms like the ones she is displaying. She has never had a dental xray done but has teeth problems. She gets spurs on her teeth and needs them burring down every month or so (it varies).

Could she have EC if she's indoors mostly? I'd have thought that would be unlikely but it's not something I had thought could be wrong since she has had no other symptoms. She is eating fine and her poo is perfectly ok, she is active and curious but does keep flicking her feet in discomfort at being wet all the time I mop up after her 4/5 times a day, maybe more and during the night.

Vegan_Bunny said:

I can't put any vet bed down as she has the run of my room. If she isn't using the litter tray then she won't go on the vet bed unless i cover my whole floor with it :shock: My room is laminate flooring though and I've had to take my rug out as she was peeing on that as well and making the room really stink of ammonia. I've tried putting in pillows/towels and even beds for them both before but Fiver (her husbun) just pees on them :? I'm stuck for what to do which would be best for Ellie. Maybe I should put a large towel down for her to sit on if she wants. She never pees in the same places so it's difficult.

Dental roots could be an issue. I didn't realise that could cause symptoms like the ones she is displaying. She has never had a dental xray done but has teeth problems. She gets spurs on her teeth and needs them burring down every month or so (it varies).

Could she have EC if she's indoors mostly? I'd have thought that would be unlikely but it's not something I had thought could be wrong since she has had no other symptoms. She is eating fine and her poo is perfectly ok, she is active and curious but does keep flicking her feet in discomfort at being wet all the time I mop up after her 4/5 times a day, maybe more and during the night.

Click to expand...

Muesli is the same - he may wee in the same spot or for no reason at all choose a new spot. I use puppy training pads and try to place these in strategic positions, we get through quite a lot (as it has become an ongoing problem we have invested in washable incontinence sheets), but they are great for spreading around a bit because as soon as the bun has wee'd you can see which ones need changing and which ones don't. But you do have to clean them up regularly as the top of these stay wet - but they prevent the puddles a bit.

With the dental issues and EC, I just mean they *could* be issues, but equally they could not, so that's why I think its best to talk to the vet when you next go as I am just trying to suggest other things.

I am not 100% sure how EC is transmitted nor how it causes incontinence I just know it was suggested for both Kenco and Muesli - I think it may have something to do with it affecting nerve endings???? but I really don't know. There will be some links on here no doubt - maybe there is a sticky in the health section, I'm not sure. My bunnies showed no other symptoms either - except going quite thin - but as I say it was there for one of them and not the other, so other things can be causing it too.

I'm just speculating possibitilies really, but I hope you and your vet can discuss things if she doesnt improve on the antibiotics.

EC is transmitted through pee I think. And it can cause paralysis of the back legs so wouldn't surprise me if it caused incontinence. I will certainly discuss this and the tooth roots. She is booked in for 5pm today and even though I bathed and use a hair dryer on her she is still quite damp on her back end today

My mam suggested puppy pads but tbh they would last 5 seconds. Ellie and Fiver (especially Ellie) are very partial to tissue and paper. Puppy pads look like that and I know for a fact they would either eat them or shred them to a billion pieces. I've put a towel down in a place she usually pees and she hasn't used it yet :roll: Although last night either she or Fiver and obviously been digging it up and ragging it about :lol: This is the problem I have, they are VERY destructive bunnies. I literally have NOTHING in my room apart from a cage, a bed and a bedside table as they (mainly Fiver) will chew anything. Everything else is rabbit related :lol:

I do hope Ellie will be ok, I'm getting worried about her She hasn't been right for so long now.

hi in terms of cream we found calendula from the health shops the best to use as it soothes the skin and smells nice too, its perfectly safe for bunnies i used it at my vets advice on my previous ec bun dora, to bath her i put a non lip matt in the bath and a few inches of water i then sat her in it and with time she got used to it and started to really enjoy her baths, iv had other buns who hated it though and for them id say maybe one person hold her and the other shower off the urine areas sometimes using a cloth is ok but rubbing the sore area can be painful to until the skin starts to heal. hope this helps xx

Vegan_Bunny said:

EC is transmitted through pee I think. And it can cause paralysis of the back legs so wouldn't surprise me if it caused incontinence. I will certainly discuss this and the tooth roots. She is booked in for 5pm today and even though I bathed and use a hair dryer on her she is still quite damp on her back end today

My mam suggested puppy pads but tbh they would last 5 seconds. Ellie and Fiver (especially Ellie) are very partial to tissue and paper. Puppy pads look like that and I know for a fact they would either eat them or shred them to a billion pieces. I've put a towel down in a place she usually pees and she hasn't used it yet :roll: Although last night either she or Fiver and obviously been digging it up and ragging it about :lol: This is the problem I have, they are VERY destructive bunnies. I literally have NOTHING in my room apart from a cage, a bed and a bedside table as they (mainly Fiver) will chew anything. Everything else is rabbit related :lol:

I do hope Ellie will be ok, I'm getting worried about her She hasn't been right for so long now.

Click to expand...

with dora i used vet bed or a home made version that is she had a layer of newspaper on the floor then a pillow with a fleecey blanket wrapped around it i also used deep layers of hay in her area, its very difficult with an indoor bunny and incontinance because of the mess it makes i had to change things twice sometimes 3x a day while dora was indoors and i had to keep her in one area ( tiled kitchen that could be mopped and understairs which i lined as above) she also had "run time" outside on the lawn. xxx

Thankyou, I may ask my vet if she recommends any cream. Only Sudacreme is tested on animals so I won't buy that unless I need to. Not sure about the one you used, will have to have a look.

I bathed her in the sink last night and she was a lot calmer but my mam had to help me. Submerging her back feet and tail is the only way to get all the urine off her Wiping with a damp/wet cloth just doesn't do anything for her. She is getting more red and sore but not got any "wounds" or anything yet thankgod. Cream will hopefully make her feel a bit better, tbh I haven't seen her groom herself round where she is sore since she got ill which can't be good.

Vegan Bunny, you could also ask your vet about kidney issues or calcium problems.

Hope the vet visit goes ok later, I will look out for an update and sending vibes for Ellie that you get some helpful pointers. x

Hoping that the reasons for Ellie's problems are discovered very soon.

I understand how difficult it can be, both for yourself and Ellie.

Good luck.

The vet has given her some different anti-biotics. I asked about Ec and kidney problems but she said it'd be unlikely it was EC and if she had kidney problems at this stage she would be showing either other symptoms or have blood in her urine (which she doesn't). She had a good feel of her bladder and said she could feel something but she was pretty certain it was just pellets waiting to come out so she was confident there are no stones. I mentioned tooth root problems and she agreed that could be a problem but she wanted to try a different anti-biotic and see how she got on. It's banana flavour so Ellie is very happy! haha :lol: The vet looked at her sore bits and said they aren't bad at all and that I'm doing a good job of keeping her clean (one less worry as I thought it was getting worse)
The vet also said it could be behavioural and if she doesn't improve try keeping her confined so she learns to use the litter tray again but I told her i'd tried this first as I thought that was the problem at first. She simply got even wetter and did lay in it occasionally. One thing I have noticed is she is not bunny flopping anymore So she is obviously not happy but that could be because she has some small spurs on her teeth. If she doesn't improve should I risk putting her through a dental? She is quite sensitive with her teeth but isn't losing weight or going off her hay which is one of the first signs she needs one.

I have put towels down now and she has been peeing on those because she like sitting on them. She pee's after drinking from her bowl on the shelf of her cage so I've put a towel there and that is soaking some pee up She is still a little damp but seem's better.

Hopefully this anti-biotic works! I am really worried about her