Elderly Chin Incontinence

[breadfiend]

My beloved 20+ year old chinchilla Mocha has been having incontinence issues the past month or so. I have taken her to the vet but they could offer very little help as I have recently moved to a more rural area and no one has chin experience.
She still eats like a pig and is very active considering her age. I clean her up regularly on a daily basis as the urine soaks into her fur.
Is there anything else I could be doing differently as she transitions into her last phase of life?

 

[tunes]

First, congratulations on having such a healthy old-timer! I would make sure to keep her bottom area clean, as you stated you are doing. Unscented baby wipes can be used for this. Also, be sure any shelves or houses are clean so she isn't sitting in urine.

Just out of curiosity - did they run a urine test? Is it possible she's not really incontinent but instead has a UTI?

 

[breadfiend]

First, congratulations on having such a healthy old-timer! I would make sure to keep her bottom area clean, as you stated you are doing. Unscented baby wipes can be used for this. Also, be sure any shelves or houses are clean so she isn't sitting in urine.

Just out of curiosity - did they run a urine test? Is it possible she's not really incontinent but instead has a UTI?

They did not do a urine test. They did do an X-ray to see if there was any kidney/bladder stones or any other gastrointestinal problems but that came back negative and normal.

She has another check up next week. I think I’ll ask if it’s possible we could check for that then.

Her original vet had given me some probiotics and milk thistle supplements to give her and she still gets those every other day or so. She also has as needed pain meds but hasn’t taken those in years as she had a spinal injury from a previous owner 15 years ago.

 

[Rocknrolldoc]

It's not the easiest thing to do, but you can use urine test strips to look for bacteria. Just know that since chinchilla urine is very alkaline, the test strip will give you a false positive for protein. That part of the test strip will instantly go dark green! Other parameters on the test might be false as well, but WBC and bacteria will show up the same for chins as humans. I had two girls that would regularly pee on a magazine during their playtime. If I was able to check it quickly, just after they peed, it was enough to wet the test strip. Some would scoff and say well that's not a "clean catch" but let me tell you that I had one girl that went through some UTI issues and being able to check like this was very beneficial for us. You just have to be quick because it will naturally grow bacteria if it sits for awhile, at room temp on a magazine, floor or other non sterile surface. Then you'll get a false positive for bacteria.

D-mannose is something that is for humans to take to prevent UTI. You could ask your vet if they know anything about it and it's safety in chins. I used it with my girl that had bladder issues but that was a decision I made on my own, the vet had no clue about how to utilize anything natural. Sounds like you have an awesome vet that will suggest probiotic and liver support!

Wishing Mocha (and you!) all the best!