We have urine!!

Sad, I know - but I’ve just come back from delivering a decent sample of urine to the vet. Otto is back in his cage, has had a dustbath (”Silly human got water down my front!” ) and is currently snuggled up on his toasty cuddle cup fast asleep.

Now all we have to do is wait for the results.

So today I have a very naffed off Otto on my hands and I can’t say I blame him to be honest.

We all know just how little chins drink and urinate but its not until you actually need a sample of (relatively clean, non-pooped in) urine that you realise just how little our furry friends drink/pee and how difficult it is to catch “clean” chinchilla urine! 

So far Otto’s been syringe fed water (NOT impressed by that at all! :roll: ), been sat in a show cage on top of a slightly tilted tray with foil covering it, been watched like a hawk for signs of urine, did a urine sample - much excitement on my part, divvied it up between the two pots (one for microscopy and one for sending to the lab for analysis), leaped in the car to take said samples to the vets and then waited to see if the lab one was enough - nope! Needs to be at least 1ml  - then he’s been hoiked out of his cozy cage again and into the show cage, tilted on the foil covered tray……….. and syringe fed more water.

Needless to say I’m currently looking at Otto’s rear end because he’s not speaking to me.

After all of this, the lab had better come up with something.

Well poor Otto has spent the day at the vets - no stones on Xray (in fact, his Xray looks very good) and he did not produce any urine for Jade all day (despite being catherterised! ) So he’s now back home and looking somewhat undignified because he’s been shaved in his nether regions so he could have an ultrasound and full examination.

So…….. having fully expected stones and surgery we’re almost none the wiser  As I said to Jade, “well it’s one of my chins and I never bring you anything that’s boring!” 

I’ve got to get a urine sample off him (easier said than done!) to take into the vets quickly so it can be tested and sent off to a lab for analysis. Guess what I’m doing tomrrow?
Otto is not amused!!

Oh, almost forgot, his squishy foot seems to be clearing up nicely with the Septrin - and his urine seems to be a bit clearer too (hence the need for a further sample to test for bacteria and full lab analysis).

There was no change in his urine so back to see Jade with a urine sample - collected using very technical means: a bit of tin foil under his cage. 

Urinalysis (testing the urine for various thing) revealed blood, protein, and white cells so he’s been started on Septrin twice a day to try and shift any underlying infection (the Septrin is also good for his bumblefoot). 

Jade and I discussed his condition and he is going to have Xrays under anaesthetic to check whether he has any stones in his kidneys/bladder or underlying kidney disease/failure. I don’t think he’s going to be amused, bless him.

I’ve been watching Mr Otto closely since he arrived at The Manor and it’s pretty obvious he has some problems.

Taking in rescues is never easy, especially when one does not know the chin’s history - it is always a risk. Sometimes problems are not initially apparent and a quick veterinay check is not sufficient to identify all the underlying problems/issues - although Otto was apparently initially veterinary checked when dumped he has several potentially serious problems - these really should have been spotted because they are fairly obvious - it’s a bit frustrating that they were not since he could have started treatment sooner. 

Anyway …………. I noticed that Otto had dark urine when he arrived (easy to spot because he has his cage lined with soft light coloured towels). Initially his dark urine could have been attributed to a little dehydration because he did not have access to water during ther show day (not normally a problem since chins don’t tend to drink much during the day anyway) but the dark urine has continued to be present. He’s not obviously dehydrated - the rough test for this is if you gently pinch the skin on the back of an animal’s neck and it remains in a tented position the chances are the animal is dehydrated. If the skin immediately returns to it’s original position (ie. flat) then the animal is considered to be sufficiently hydrated. 

 Also he continues to throw his weight a little onto his front feet while resting and is somewhat awkward when he mobilises (he looks like a clockwork toy when he runs and throws his right hip out).

So he went to see Jade today and he’s definitely got arthritis in his back legs - he’s been started on Metacam daily for that.  He’s also got signs of bumblefoot and a fluctuant /squishy (meaning there is fluid under the skin - i.e. a hidden ulcer) rear left foot which will need treating if it breaks open - If necessary I’ll be dressing that on alternate days to help with healing.

In himself, Otto is bright and seems perfectly happy - he’s a real sweety and he is bouncing about like a spring lamb at times and is obviously enjoying his heat mat, exercise (within limits) and the Manor life in general.  He looks like he’s probably been a breeding male at some point in his life - he has only a few digits on his front paws.