Stump Pyometria

[ilovetoeatchocolate]

I have read the articles on here about Pyometria but I have sort of a unique situation so I would like some advice if that is okay?

The rabbit that is bonded with Oreo is named Milo. Oreo is the brother and Milo is his sister. They were born and have always been together their whole lives. They are seven right now. We adopted Oreo and have him in our house. When we went to see Oreo at the Humane's Society they said that the two must be adopted together but Milo was not approved for adoption yet as she is being watched. I was given very little information as to why she was being watched until I kept calling. Everyday. Sometimes four times a day, to see if she was approved yet. Finally they gave me the clinics number so I could talk to the vets. Yipee! When I phoned to see when Milo will be approved for adoption I wasn't able to talk to the vets but talked to one of the assistant's there. They told me that she had stump pyometria-puss in the Uterus stump. She will be finished her meds August 2 which is in a couple of days and when she is tested again, if all things go well I will get to bring her home.

My question is: is there anything that I need to do when I bring her home? Should I keep them in seperate cages to watch if she has bloody urine? That is what they said happened is that she had bloody urine. Does the environment have to be extra sterile? Should I wait a couple of days to bring her home once she is approved for adoption?

They are treating her with Chloropalm or something like that. The exact spelling may not be correct.

Shannon

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

I'm sorry, I have no clue with this. I hope someone comes along soon that has any info for you!

The only thing I suggest is to quarantine the new bunny for about 2 weeks I think it is. To make sure nothing infects the bun you already have. We have an article on it, let me find it.

 

[Maureen Las]

I know that she must be spayed so I don't think this is common in a spayed animal.
I never heard of it until I looked it up within the last 5 minutes.

you should ask the Dr if they should be separated or youshould themseparate them if you cannot distinguish whose urine is whose and would be less able to see bloody urine if they were together.

i don't think that you need a sterile environment but it should be kept very clean.

There is bacteria involved ..whether it is transmissible to your male ..I don't know

Hope someone else has some experience with this

 

[BlueGiants]

From what I know, Stump pyometria is much more common in spayed Ferrets than rabbits. It is treated with antibiotics, but is often caused by a poor spay.

In a spay,atiny section of each uterus is left to tie off the surgical removal of the uterine horns. Sometimes too much is left ORleakage of urine from the bladder into the vagina causes infectionin the remaining uterine "stumps". Some vets prefer to tie off the removal at the end of the vaginal tube and not leave any uterine stumps, but this is much more difficult, due to the flaccid nature of the vaginal body.

Keep in mind, if she has this problem now, it might be a cronic condition that you will have to watch for and treat.

 

[pla725]

My Smitten is going through this right now. She does have a bladder infection and the vet thinks that Pyometria is probably one of the causes of her incontience. Smitten is bonded with Sawyer. Sawyer is fine.

BTW if there was an issue with them being together both the primary vet and the specialist would have told me to separate them.

Good luck with Milo and the rebonding.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

How did the testing go? Have you brought Milo home yet?

 

[ilovetoeatchocolate]

No Milo is not home yet and this whole thing is very very frusterating. It is driving me crazy. I phoned the adoption part of the Humane's Society and they had very brief notes on her. That she has an infection but is available for fostering. Okay so I have some questions if I am going to foster her then. Neither the adoption people nor the fostering people can answer them because they are not vets. I tried asking them and they had no idea. So I got transfered to the clinic. The clinic staff told me what she had, that she was available for fostering. They new that pyometria was pus in the uterus. But that is as big of a help that they could be. The took down my name and number and said the vets would call me back. I got no call back. This was two Fridays ago. I keep phoning saying that I have questions. The clinic says phone the foster people, the foster people say oh you need to talk to the vet as this is medical related. The foster people email the vet to call me. No phone call. They email the questions that I have to the vet. No email back.

I wanted to know what causes Pyometria in their opinion ( I know that it was answered here in the forum but I wanted to hear from them), it it is a chronic condition (I need to know this as I will need to know what to look for, to be prepared etc.) what the medicaiton is that they are treating her, if she is a foster do I bring her back for tests after the medication is done? These are all valid and good questions that the clinic receptionist could not answer. So I emailed the director of the Humane's Society and the manager. I emailed every higher up that I could think of on Friday and today when I didn't hear anything I emailed other people! I want the answers so I can best care for Milo. I know some people would hesitate taking a sick rabbit but not me! If this is something that is going to reoccur then I will take care of her. Milo and Oreo have been together for their whole lives.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

I would ask to speak with the vet directly. If that can't happen, the receptionist should take detailed notes and the vet should return your call, imo. Otherwise, I'd find someone that willl. Time is critical with rabbits.:?

Randy? Angela?Anyother ideas?

I know you'll get great answers here, just be patient, hon. Thanks for the update too!

 

[naturestee]

Ack! They're really giving you the runaround. Pyometra is a serious infection. It is treatable but requires heavy antibiotics. Since a lot of vets still seem to only use oral Baytril I'll be concerned until you find out what she's actually being treated with. I haven't heard of it in a spay stump yet but I'm just a forum junkie, not an expert. I'd wonder if a good vet would be able to do another surgery to remove the infected part.

Is there any way you can speak directly to the vet that is treating her? And why the heck isn't this stuff in her records which should be transferred to you when the adoption is okayed? I don't know how common that is but that's how it works at the county shelter I volunteer at (and of course the rescue I work with too).

Also, isn't she supposedly done with her meds now? Also, do you have a rabbit vet lined up to take care of your new buns? Depending on exactly what is going on maybe you can convince them to release Milo to your care under your vet's supervision and treatment.

 

[ilovetoeatchocolate]

Yup I did ask to speak to the vet directly many many times. Unfortunatley they said that they were not available each time. I was prepared to do whatever I could to get the answers I wanted. Including going down there physically, threatening to lodge a complaint and I wrote the director and the manager of the shelter. I was not impressed. Finally Miley (we changed her name to sound more girly) is home with us and I got an email from one of the vets in regards to my questions! I will post the answers incase someone else ever needs info about stump pyometria:

Hi Lindsay (Lindsay is thereceptionist that I was trying to get answers from, thevet seemed to be willing to email her the answers to thequestions. I had emailed her the questions that I wanted answered)– These are the answers to those questions about Milo and her infection.

1. Stump pyometra can be caused by a number of factors including pyometra (which means pus in the uterus, which means uterus infection which can be caused by sex, urinary tract infection, etc), urinary tract infection, vaginal infection, surgical contamination, etc. The ‘stump’ part of stump pyometra means that what is left of the uterus after spay is the part that is infected. Rabbits have a different genital anatomy than many of our other species, and stump pyometra is not common, however possible. Milo may have also had a urinary tract infection (hard to tell as urine and vaginal discharge essentially come from the same place).
2. Signs of pyometra/UTI: vaginal discharge, decreased appetite, lethargy, weakness, enlarged abdomen – unlikely that is should return but possible. Keep in mind that rabbit urine is normally quite thick and yellow and smelly, however, if there is blood or pus associated with urine or vaginal discharge then you should become worried.
3. normal temp: 38.5C – 40.0C – rectal temperature, but ensure person holding rabbit is holding well so Milo doesn’t kick.
4. yes it can become chronic
5. If chronicity becomes an issue then surgery will be done to remove the uterine stumps.
6. Antibiotic used: Chloramphenicol PO BID for 14days at 50mg/kg
7. Nothing in particular can be done to prevent recurrence: feed a well balanced diet (pellets, timothy hay, fresh salad and veggies), fresh water, you may consider keeping her separate from the other rabbit, clean bedding/cage often, fresh air and sunshine.

Sincerely,

Dr. A. Brown

BSc., DVM

 

[ilovetoeatchocolate]

But actually I have read that rabbits urine can even be a sort of redish color so I am not sure about the yellow thing color that the vet talks about for the urine of the rabbit.

 

[BlueGiants]

Healthy Rabbit Urine canrun thegammet ofclear through all shades of yellow and even pink, redor orangy red. I think the vet was over simplifying things.

Knowing all the symptoms (and urine color is not the only one) will help you keep her healthy. et:

 

[naturestee]

Yay for answers!

One thing they're probably looking for in urine color is blood, which could either be from pyometra or a bladder problem such as infection or stones. Orange urine is normal for many rabbits and can even have a dark rusty look to it, especially if it's been sitting for a bit. Actual blood in the urine will usually have clots and won't be throughout the whole puddle of urine, more like streaks of clotted blood.

If I remember right, Chloramphenicol is a good strong antibiotic so a much better choice than what I was afraid of.

 

[ilovetoeatchocolate]

Oh good I am so glad that Miley got the strongest antibiotic.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Sounds like you have a very good vet.

I wish you the best of luck and hope youcan overcome this.

 

[Leaf]

I think my pyometra article is in the library, and it touches on stump pyometra a bit.

I don't think I can advise much on rabbits, as I've only dealt with pyometra in dogs.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Leaf wrote:

I think my pyometra article is in the library, and it touches on stump pyometra a bit.

I don't think I can advise much on rabbits, as I've only dealt with pyometra in dogs.

There's not much, but here's what we have:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=32867&forum_id=10



(7000, whoo)

 

[ilovetoeatchocolate]

My little angel rabbit is doing so much better! She has such a different personality from Oreo.

 

[Maureen Las]

very glad

can you post her pic?

 

[ilovetoeatchocolate]

Here are some pictures of Miley and Oreo. Miley is in the green litterbox and Oreo is sitting in the blue one. They want to be together so badly. I will take my vet's advice and not let them be together just yet. They have seperate play time shifts outside the cage.

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