Blood in urine

[Philogirl]

So I posted a number of months ago about Spike's urinary issues... after a urinalysis, it was confirmed that he has blood in his urine. We put him on antibiotics and he was fine until around Christmas time. Blood came back full-blown. Like, clearly red splotches of blood. Back to vet again for another urinalysis. Obviously, blood came back. But, he's still concentrating his urine, so it doesn't look like there's any kidney damage and there are no crystals, so it doesn't look like like kidney stones. Vet is still treating for infection--- he's now on Baytril for 28 days. We're going on 21 now, and the blood still isn't gone. The vet says its probably a resistant strain, which is why we're doing it for longer. I'm still concerned though, since this is not going away.

Any one gone through this before? Or have any suggestions on how to handle this otherwise?

 

[Kalandra]

If he has an antibiotic resistant strain, have the vet do a culture and sensitivity. You can try different antibiotics or the one for months and never have it work if it is resistant. A C&S will tell you exactly what type of bacteria you are dealing with and what kills it.

How has the vet done the urinalysis? Has he taken a sample, vai syringe, directly from the bladder? Or has he collected a sample that was peed or expressed out?

 

[Nancy]

You can also try a urinary health diet. The food will change the ph of the urine which makes it a less hospitable host for bacteria and infection.

 

[Philogirl]

I did a free catch... but in a fairly sterile way. I'm quite proud of it. I took a cupcake pan and sterilized it, then covered in with a sheet of plastic that I punched holes in and sterilized as well. Then, I played the waiting game...

If these antibiotics don't work, I think we'll have to do a culture. At the same time, I'm worried that it's something else that we can't figure out...

Nancy, you did mention the Hills C/D when I posted about this last and I did try it. Problem is, Spike hates soft food. I just searched for a dry formula. Can I start weaning him on this? Will it have the same effect as the soft food?

 

[Kalandra]

Is doc certain there is still a bacteria involved with the bleeding? I wouldn't wait too long before trying the C&S. My doc does them in house, which means we get initial results back sooner.

I inquired about how the urine was taken not because of the potential of a bad sample but to see if there is a possibility the blood is not urinary at all. While your hedgehog is male and the likelihood of it not being urinary is small, I had one who had non-urinary bleeding appear in his urine.

General Patton had a bladder infection with a very resistant strain of staph. We initially treated him with baytril and he seemed to get better and then he got worse. Doc extended the baytril run and I asked for a C&S to be done. I really hate the "wait and see" in my experience with hedgehogs waiting and seeing often leads to a sicker hedgehog to treat (especially if the wait and see involves a lump growing).

The C&S results were that he had a staph infection and only one antibiotic that was tested (of many) had a good kill radius. Doc stated this was one of the last drugs he would have used as it was only available via injection and he had not ever used it with a hedgehog because of that. We gave him the new drug and Patton got better quickly. Then a month or so later blood came back. Another urine sample (taken like yours) was done and yes there was blood in the urine. For him this was a false positive. A C&S was performed and came back negative (no bacteria).

We later found during Patton's gross necropsy what we believed was his Cowper gland (a male sex gland) was greatly enlarged and the source of the blood. Patton didn't die from this though, he was euthanized on the surgical table while trying to remove a huge tumor that was growing on his chest. I opted for the gross necropsy so that we could understand what was the source of that unknown bleeding.

 

[Philogirl]

Thanks, Kalandra... I'll bring in a new sample for them to culture ASAP.

He's still got blood in his urine, though the amount has seriously decreased. Around Christmas, it was a pretty big splotch on the paper, and now it's just a spot the size of a dime. So it seems like the antibiotics are keeping something at bay, but not completely doing the trick.

At the same time, Spike is getting old. He just turned 2 this Christmas, and has had constant health issues. We still have no idea why his skin is so flaky and dry and has been gradually losing his quills... we've gone through every possible avenue and no real improvement. I feel like all this is still really really early.

So I'm really at a loss right now, since nothing has been working to make him any better regarding everything that seems to be wrong with him.