From:
dr_bruce_williams
Date: 2002-01-11 22:24:00 UTC
Subject: Re: possible bladder infection, urine sample came back
normal
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., alicia <critters@o...> wrote:
> My 6 year old neutered sable male is showing signs of a possible
bladder infection. Straining a lot while he is going potty. He
has been doing this for about 2 weeks now. Also, he holds his urine
and when he does go it's a lot more then normal. He holds his poops
too and goes a lot when he does go. He will often times go pee and
then just a little bit of poop and then much later go poop and it's a
lot of poop for a little 1.7 lb guy. I took him to the vet last
Friday which was 1/4/02 and they felt his abdomen and told me that
his bladder was a bit on the large size for his body frame
considering he had gone pee 1 1/2 hours before this. Vet took urine
from him internally. They got the urine sample back and all was
normal, a little bit of red blood cells but not very many. Waiting
on the culture to come back, hopefully today. I started him on .25
twice a day of clavamox Jan. 4th, we live in CT. Hasn't been
improving even with the anti-biotic. Not sure where to go form
here. Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.
> Thanks very much, Alicia and sweet sugar boy
Dear Alicia:
You may wish to look closely for signs of adrenal disease in this
little guy - hair loss, behavioral changes, aggression, etc.
A common cause of dysuria in male ferrets is adrenal disease - the
liberation of estrogens cause swelling of the prostate, which impedes
urine flow. It first manifests as straining, and later becomes total
blockage, with is life-threatening.
In these cases, ultrasound is a good diagnostic test, if the vet
knows where to look for the prostate. In normal males, it is not
easily found - in ferrets with cystic prostatic disease, it shows up
fairly readily.
It will also show bladder stones fairly well also. It would be my
preference, if available, over an X-ray.
Difficulty urinating can be life-threatening, and warrants a complete
workup.
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM