Cystitis transmittable?

[a reader of books]

Probably a really silly question, but is cystitis transmittable...? The internet says no, and maybe I'm being paranoid, but since last night I've seen Casper a couple of times now grinding his teeth in the litter tray, and he just peed and it was a really small amount and he seemed to have some trouble with it.

 

[SarahP]

In guinea pigs it certainly can be... In my experience, anyway! When it's of bacterial origin, obviously.

 

[InspectorMorse]

I have never known of it to be so, no.

 

[a reader of books]

Thank you both for your replies, SarahP and IM. Everything I've read says it's not, but if it can be transmittable in guinea pigs, why not in rabbits...

I just called the vets because I was worried and the vet nurse said it's not transmittable, too, but that it could be because of a draft or because of stress, if both bunnies have it, and Casper has had a lot of stress lately, of course, coming along to all of Sophie's vet visits... She said to keep an eye on it and to call if it hasn't gone away before the weekend.

I did stop giving them veggies a little while ago, like I mentioned in another thread, because of the weird poops, so they've had less water in their diet. Could that trigger urine tract issues in them both...?

 

[Shimmer]

In theory, it could be transmissible - if living conditions are poor, so they are padding in urine (or urine-soaked bedding, etc) which has bugs in it and those bugs are able to access the urinary tract (which may be why G Pigs are prone to it, with short legs). In practice, it's more likely to be something in common - stress, diet, lack of drinking water, age, etc which pre-disposes them to the same condition.

 

[Graciee]

In theory, it could be transmissible - if living conditions are poor, so they are padding in urine (or urine-soaked bedding, etc) which has bugs in it and those bugs are able to access the urinary tract (which may be why G Pigs are prone to it, with short legs). In practice, it's more likely to be something in common - stress, diet, lack of drinking water, age, etc which pre-disposes them to the same condition.

Ah that'll be it then! I've often seen Casper wading through waste [emoji38]

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[a reader of books]

In theory, it could be transmissible - if living conditions are poor, so they are padding in urine (or urine-soaked bedding, etc) which has bugs in it and those bugs are able to access the urinary tract (which may be why G Pigs are prone to it, with short legs). In practice, it's more likely to be something in common - stress, diet, lack of drinking water, age, etc which pre-disposes them to the same condition.

Thank you for your reply, Shimmer. We've been assuming Sophie's bladder problems are because of her arthritis, but maybe it's their diet or something else instead, then.

Ah that'll be it then! I've often seen Casper wading through waste [emoji38]

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What, I clean their litter tray every month! Surely that's often enough? :lol:


I just saw him pee and he's definitely having trouble and grinding his teeth.

 

[Graciee]

Thank you for your reply, Shimmer. We've been assuming Sophie's bladder problems are because of her arthritis, but maybe it's their diet or something else instead, then.



What, I clean their litter tray every month! Surely that's often enough? [emoji38]


I just saw him pee and he's definitely having trouble and grinding his teeth.

Definitely enough, I do mine only a few times a year tbh! [emoji38]

Oh bless him tho

Clementine has bladder sludge issues which I've pretty much got under control now (hopefully I've not jinxed it) but I think I saw you stopped veg? Anyway loads of wet veg was actually suggested and actually helps her! I've not been following Sophie's issues sorry, I'll go have a read now x

Oh and her arthritis was a factor!

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[a reader of books]

Definitely enough, I do mine only a few times a year tbh! [emoji38]

Oh bless him tho

Clementine has bladder sludge issues which I've pretty much got under control now (hopefully I've not jinxed it) but I think I saw you stopped veg? Anyway loads of wet veg was actually suggested and actually helps her! I've not been following Sophie's issues sorry, I'll go have a read now x

Oh and her arthritis was a factor!

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That's plenty! :lol:

Ah, poor Clementine. That's really good that you've got it pretty much under control now. I did stop their veggies, yes, because it was giving Sophie weird caecotrophs, but I've slowly started to reintroduce them again now to get some extra fluids into her. It did bring back the weird poops, so I'm trying to figure out which veggie it is that's causing them. I think it's the chicory? So hopefully she'll be fine with other veggies. I've been giving them a lot of wet grass as well, and she has been getting plants from my balcony all this time, but they don't have as much water in them as veggies.

Do you mean arthritis was a factor for Clementine?

 

[Graciee]

That's plenty! [emoji38]

Ah, poor Clementine. That's really good that you've got it pretty much under control now. I did stop their veggies, yes, because it was giving Sophie weird caecotrophs, but I've slowly started to reintroduce them again now to get some extra fluids into her. It did bring back the weird poops, so I'm trying to figure out which veggie it is that's causing them. I think it's the chicory? So hopefully she'll be fine with other veggies. I've been giving them a lot of wet grass as well, and she has been getting plants from my balcony all this time, but they don't have as much water in them as veggies.

Do you mean arthritis was a factor for Clementine?

[emoji38][emoji38]

Strangely Clementine suffers with the same weird cecos if even some veg, I've just narrowed it down to okay ones that don't cause it.. Sounds like her a Sophie are the same [emoji38]

Yea sorry I weirded that weirdly, but the sludge was caused because her arthritis was stopping her getting into the correct position to pee, so the calcium wasn't flushing out like it was supposed to, and was building up. She had two bladder flushes but I couldn't put her through that again tbh with you.

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[Shimmer]

I've had rabbits with bladder problems and never got to the root cause of it. Antibiotics helped a lot with the last one, but she couldn't be on them forever (I did try but vet said no more). I changed her diet (no pellets, lots of forage & hay), lower amounts of calcium-rich veg to reduce sludge, gave her more space and encouraged her to move about more to empty her bladder more frequently, extra water bowls with apple juice to flavour it to increase fluid intake, etc. It didn't really make a difference in her case. She didn't have arthritis, groomed herself, had a clean bum, partner rabbits were fine. She was prone to EC, though - and I suspect it was related.

I went through all the stuff mentioned on FHB's website - which is basically back to wild rabbit living. Wild rabbits don't eat processed or dry stuff and are always on the move and flicking urine around, so empty their bladder more frequently - which means there isn't the chance for sludge & bugs to build up.

 

[a reader of books]

[emoji38][emoji38]

Strangely Clementine suffers with the same weird cecos if even some veg, I've just narrowed it down to okay ones that don't cause it.. Sounds like her a Sophie are the same [emoji38]

Yea sorry I weirded that weirdly, but the sludge was caused because her arthritis was stopping her getting into the correct position to pee, so the calcium wasn't flushing out like it was supposed to, and was building up. She had two bladder flushes but I couldn't put her through that again tbh with you.

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Ooh, that's such a coincidence that Clementine gets those weird cecos, too. She and Sophie must be related somehow, clearly. :lol:

Ah, I see! That's what we think is the case for Sophie, too, that her bladder doesn't empty properly because of her arthritis. Did you feel the bladder flushes were helpful for Clementine? For Sophie, it hasn't seemed to make any difference, though I guess it's good that she hasn't got that sludge in her bladder anymore.

 

[SarahP]

Again, it's guinea pigs, but I've really started to increase the amount of wet food I give, after that John Chitty webinar some of us watched a few months back (probably longer. You know how perception of time is!)

 

[Graciee]

Ooh, that's such a coincidence that Clementine gets those weird cecos, too. She and Sophie must be related somehow, clearly. [emoji38]

Ah, I see! That's what we think is the case for Sophie, too, that her bladder doesn't empty properly because of her arthritis. Did you feel the bladder flushes were helpful for Clementine? For Sophie, it hasn't seemed to make any difference, though I guess it's good that she hasn't got that sludge in her bladder anymore.

Haha yea [emoji38]

Well yes and no really, tbh they were so brutal on her system I couldn't face another and she needed them frequently. They worked as they cleared the sludge, but she was a mess after and it just refilled in two weeks. So we used I diuretic which made her pee more than usual so it flushed it out that way, and it did work with her drinking more and loads of wet veg, basically I made it my mission her water intake [emoji38]

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[a reader of books]

I've had rabbits with bladder problems and never got to the root cause of it. Antibiotics helped a lot with the last one, but she couldn't be on them forever (I did try but vet said no more). I changed her diet (no pellets, lots of forage & hay), lower amounts of calcium-rich veg to reduce sludge, gave her more space and encouraged her to move about more to empty her bladder more frequently, extra water bowls with apple juice to flavour it to increase fluid intake, etc. It didn't really make a difference in her case. She didn't have arthritis, groomed herself, had a clean bum, partner rabbits were fine. She was prone to EC, though - and I suspect it was related.

I went through all the stuff mentioned on FHB's website - which is basically back to wild rabbit living. Wild rabbits don't eat processed or dry stuff and are always on the move and flicking urine around, so empty their bladder more frequently - which means there isn't the chance for sludge & bugs to build up.

I did read that EC can cause urinary tract problems, yes... It must be difficult to find the root cause of bladder problems if you never found out about what caused your bunnies' issues. That's really unfortunate that you tried all the recommended things for this last bunny and that it made no difference, and that the antibiotics that did help couldn't be a longterm thing. I've been reading FHB's website and definitely want to try her suggestions, or at least the ones that are possible for me. Hopefully that can help Sophie, and Casper, too.

 

[a reader of books]

Again, it's guinea pigs, but I've really started to increase the amount of wet food I give, after that John Chitty webinar some of us watched a few months back (probably longer. You know how perception of time is!)

I've been watching some John Chitty webinars lately. I really like him! I really like his ideas on diet, too. Wet food must be good for piggies and bunnies, for both their guts and their bladders. I definitely want to give Sophie and Casper more of it.

 

[a reader of books]

Haha yea [emoji38]

Well yes and no really, tbh they were so brutal on her system I couldn't face another and she needed them frequently. They worked as they cleared the sludge, but she was a mess after and it just refilled in two weeks. So we used I diuretic which made her pee more than usual so it flushed it out that way, and it did work with her drinking more and loads of wet veg, basically I made it my mission her water intake [emoji38]

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Aw, poor girl. No wonder you didn't want her to have another, especially if the sludge was already back after two weeks anyway. That diuretic sounds really helpful! And it sounds like your mission has been succesful since her sludge is mostly under control now! I've been giving Sophie wet greens but she doesn't like it. She just waits until they're dry and then eats them. :lol:

 

[joey&boo]

Mousey used to love a tea I made her from dried herbs & ash leaves, it really encouraged her to drink more (Boo & Eddy like it too but they drink loads of water so I rarely offer it).

Dandelion & dock leaves are good diuretics.

Lots of vibes for Casper & Sophie

 

[a reader of books]

Mousey used to love a tea I made her from dried herbs & ash leaves, it really encouraged her to drink more (Boo & Eddy like it too but they drink loads of water so I rarely offer it).

Dandelion & dock leaves are good diuretics.

Lots of vibes for Casper & Sophie

Oh, that's a good idea! I wonder if I could make tea with dried plantain, since she really likes plantain...

I'll ask my mum if she can find some dandelion next time she goes out to pick grass. I'm not sure if we have dock around here...

Thank you for the vibes, J&B.

 

[a reader of books]

Plantain tea is not a success. :lol: I'll do some experimenting. Sophie likes mint, so maybe she'd like some mint tea instead...