My Inca and her bladder / urine issues

Recently Inca has been not so well off and on. Barring all of her other issues, she was having trouble peeing and her bladder seemed to fill up loads before she would pee, then when she did it would be all over the room!

Anyways, she went to the vets and I got injectible penicillan (Ceporex) antibiotics, they never cleared it up, so I got a longer course. They never worked. So back to the vets she went and had blood taken and I had to get a urine sample - no mean feat getting a sample from a rabbit!

The bloods came back all fine, which is great cos she had been on daily Metacam for about 2 years so the fact that it had no effect on her is fab!

The urine came back saying that she had a really bad infection. They were surprised that the antibiotics never cleared it up. So they wanted to do a culture of the urine to grow the bacteria and see what abx to use. I had to get another urine sample. So at the moment that sample is away 'growing bacteria' so we can get the best meds.

Fingers crossed we get the lil' lady sorted out, well at least this issue!

On a side note her wee twisted leg (through deformity, curved spine & arthritis) is getting worse She is sticking her leg away under her and out the other side, making her slip about the place

She is a wee wrecked bunny, but she is my wrecked bunny and she is a wee fighter!

Bless her, if the infection is deep within the bladder wall then abx treatment may need to go on for several weeks, 4-6 maybe. Also, sometimes a urine specimen not taken via a catheter into the bladder can give misleading information re bacteriology. E Coli is frequently involved in UTIs and it should be sensitive to Ceporex. So maybe the course was just not long enough ?

Is she less mobile these days ? Immobility can lead to bladder issues as calcium deposits build up further aggravating the bladder wall and increasing the risk of cystitis/infection. If it is sore for her to pass wee this will lead to her retaining urine, again exacerbating the inflammation/infection.

It may be useful to ask the Vet about manually expressing her bladder. This needs to be done with extreme care, but the Vet could teach you how to palpate the bladder to feel how full it is and if manual expression may be useful once a day. This is obviously not something to just do and a full discussion with the Vet is always needed before even thinking of attempting it yourself. But it can help in the longterm management of a chronic bladder problem

Hope Inca can remain as comfy as possible.

The wee soul, she is an amazing girl and I am sorry to hear she is struggling. Fingers crossed the culture works and you get her sorted soon. I have lovely farm hay just now if you'd like to pop in and get some on your way home from work.

Thanks Ali for the Hay offer, I have loads just now which they are loving Ta anyhoo!

Jane - I managed to get a urine sample direct from her peeing, she basically started to pee (with some coaxing of tummy rubs), I held her up and held a dish under her and she peed right in, then I got it straight in the bottle, so I am hoping that it would have been fresh (if thats the word) enough.

I do think that a longer abx course could work, she had 4 weeks before. I will ask for a 6 week course of whatever abx they recommend. She is a bit less mobile cos of the arthritis, I am gonna speak to the vet about increasing her Metacam dosage so potentially that could help if it makes her get about a bit more. Would calcium show up in the sample? They said that she has crystals? but they were the amount they would expect from a Rabbit.

She is actually peeing not too bad just now, but it seems to have peaks and troughs. She definately is not holding it in like she was last week. I will keep in mind re expression, hopefully I wouldn't need to but deffo will if needed! I would do anything for the wee lass!

aww bless her. I can't really help, but didn't want to read and run. do some people use cranberry or cranberry juice for poorly bladders? not sure it would help in this case though.
sending vibes to inca xxx

Kermit said:

Thanks Ali for the Hay offer, I have loads just now which they are loving Ta anyhoo!

Jane - I managed to get a urine sample direct from her peeing, she basically started to pee (with some coaxing of tummy rubs), I held her up and held a dish under her and she peed right in, then I got it straight in the bottle, so I am hoping that it would have been fresh (if thats the word) enough.

I do think that a longer abx course could work, she had 4 weeks before. I will ask for a 6 week course of whatever abx they recommend. She is a bit less mobile cos of the arthritis, I am gonna speak to the vet about increasing her Metacam dosage so potentially that could help if it makes her get about a bit more. Would calcium show up in the sample? They said that she has crystals? but they were the amount they would expect from a Rabbit.

She is actually peeing not too bad just now, but it seems to have peaks and troughs. She definately is not holding it in like she was last week. I will keep in mind re expression, hopefully I wouldn't need to but deffo will if needed! I would do anything for the wee lass!

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An x-ray would be the best way to determine how bad the problem is. With Artie the calcium formed like a shell around the inside of his bladder so the wall of his bladder would never have got a rest from being aggravated and then infected, so the calcium had to be surgically removed as there was no other way of getting it out, but it can be expressed/washed out in less severe cases. He is now managed by having his bladder expressed once every 5 weeks. FHB "mixes" the sediment to the liquid urine in his bladder by palpating his bladder and then squeezes it out in the mixed state (so the heavy sediment doesn't stay put like when he's urinating).

Thanks sparklefairy Anyone else used cranberry? Would giver her some if it would help?

Bunny Buddy - Will try the abx recommended from the culture but definatley get an x-ray if I have no joy. Thanks

Which pellets do you use? Trevor has a lot of urine issues due to her mobility problems. We use vet care urinary health pellets and I swear they help. she also has excel mature with cranberry as a treat x

Hugo's There said:

Which pellets do you use? Trevor has a lot of urine issues due to her mobility problems. We use vet care urinary health pellets and I swear they help. she also has excel mature with cranberry as a treat x

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I use normal Science Selective Pellets. I will order the other pellets and try her with them. I have been thinking of Trevor a lot recently as Inca reminds me of him when her leg goes right out to the one side as it makes her side totally flop over and she reminds me of how he is getting about.

Off to order pellets

Liz, is this the pellets?? http://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-suppl...-plus-urinary-tract-health-formula-1kg-p-5641

Would I be able to use these on top of the existing pellets, like as a treat?

Kermit said:

Liz, is this the pellets?? http://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-suppl...-plus-urinary-tract-health-formula-1kg-p-5641

Would I be able to use these on top of the existing pellets, like as a treat?

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They are the ones. I use them in replacement of normal pellets and use the excel with cranberry as a treat x

Hugo's There said:

They are the ones. I use them in replacement of normal pellets and use the excel with cranberry as a treat x

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Thanks, will order them.....worth a try.