Please Help Kati is going down hill

[karen scarlet]

Kati is 15 and i have posted on here that her vulva is very swollen for 3 mi\onths..i have had her at the vets and she first said it is not pyometra and not too worry.. she said it was a urinary tract infection and gave her amoxicilan for 14 days that did not help..i took her back to the vet and she said there was blood in her urin and it may be a ovarian cyst and wasn going to send her for an ultrasound..well the dr that does ultrasound said it would not show soft tissue.. my vet said she is leary of doing surgery due to her age..what do i do ..Just sit here and watch her get worse and die...PLEASE give me some help and hope..I lost her parents 2 yuears ago 7 months apart from liver failure..I Just can't llose Kati too..

[bchgirl]

Stones in her bladder could be causing the blood in her urine. Many older dogs start suffering from bladder or kidney problems as they age. I'd suggest having a urine sample tested.

[sashajade]

so sorry to hear your little ones not well
id ask for the ultrasound if she has stones this will show up and i cant see how a cyst wont show as women have ultrasounds so see if they have cysts

[Ladymom]

She may simply need a different antibiotic. I've been through this with my 14 year old Lady countless times. Your vet needs to culture her urine to see what antibiotic the infection responds too.

Have they X-rayed her for stones?

[karen scarlet]

Thank you so much for your reply..I called a differemt vet that Saved my other yorkie from pyometria and he said that amoxicillan was not going to work for that and put her on baytril 22.7 mg once a day.how long did it take for your baby to recover? do you have any other suggestions?Other replys said that her problems should have been able to br identified by an ultrasound..did they ever do that for your baby?I really am starting to question the vet i now have..I am thinking of going back to the vet that told me to use baytril..what do you think? Thanks again Kati and Karen

[karen scarlet]

What do i ask for?The first vet took some urine off the floor with a syring where kati tinkled,and put that under the microscope she then used a couple Q-tips to get a sample of blood from her vulva. I don't think she tested it to see what kind of bacteria
it was.She called me later and said that an ultrasound would not show soft tissue and therefore could not tell if she had an ovarian cyst..what do you think? I did call another vet and he put her on baytril 22.7mg.for 10 days and to call him back.

[itzzbarb]

You may need to supply your vet with a urine sample, in order to prevent them from having to put a little tube into your baby to get the urine, first, get a small container like an empty pill bottle and wash it, then pour boiling water into it and the lid to sterilize it. Drain. Get a long handled ladle, yes, the one you use for soup, go buy a new one if you need to, and pour boiling water over that also. When you take the dog out to PP, have the clean ladle ready and just slip it between the hind legs, the dog will pee in it! Then pour the urine into the clean container and take it to the vet to be checked for infection and crystals. Bladder stones will cause blood in the urine, I learned that first hand when a vet I had used for 12 years misdiagonsed a Yorkie of mine and the dog nearly died. His urethra was packed with stones and his organs began shutting down. An x-ray or sonogram will show if bladder stones are the problem. Yes, they have to be removed, but it will save the dogs's life. Godspeed

[itzzbarb]

Urine off of the floor? Would you settle for a test if you went to the doctor for bloodwork and they decided to take the blood sample from a place where you had been bleeding, rather than take an appropriate sample with a syringe? Of course not, and the vet should not have accepted the results from a sample taken from the contaminated floor, or charged you for it.

[karen scarlet]

Thank you I feel the same way but i was so worried i just let it go. Like I said I have contacted a vet that saved my Miss Scarlet from dying from pyometra..He will be taking over.

[karen scarlet]

I just don't understand why the vet said that an ultrasound would not show anything..It really upsets me since all of you have said that she should have an ultrasound...AND i did request it!

[miabellaamoure]

Originally Posted by karen scarlet

What do i ask for?The first vet took some urine off the floor with a syring where kati tinkled,and put that under the microscope she then used a couple Q-tips to get a sample of blood from her vulva. I don't think she tested it to see what kind of bacteria
it was.She called me later and said that an ultrasound would not show soft tissue and therefore could not tell if she had an ovarian cyst..what do you think? I did call another vet and he put her on baytril 22.7mg.for 10 days and to call him back.

Wow! That is the first word that came out of my mouth when I read where your Vet procured a urine sample from your Kati...just unbelievable!

I'd be finding a referral to a very good Veterinarian preferably an Internal Medicine Veterinarian...it makes sense when your dog is advancing in age to go to one who has more expertise in more facets of an animal especially an aging animal.

It's like humans...after working for a Physician (Internist) for 14 yrs, I quickly realized that General Practitioners did not have all the education and experience that an Internist had. GP's are great for simple things but, Internists are able to handle more complex things and the same goes for Vet's, too!

From your Kati's symptoms, I too am suspecting Bladder Stones. This is something that you definitely need an Ultrasound to properly diagnose. If she is trying to pass a stone, she could die without having it surgically removed or flushed out via a catheter.

My first Yorkie rescue who came to stay with me was suffering with this and it is simply imperative to get a second opinion ASAP!

Please keep us posted on Kati & many hugs are coming your way!

[itzzbarb]

Good that you are changing doctors. While most of us on here, I think lol, are not doctors, some of us have experienced some very serious situations with our BABIES. Go tell a vet that the people on YorkieTalk told you a sonogram would not show bladder stones, and you probably make an enemy for trying to tell them what to do. Some info you just have to take under wing and guide things from there. Having personally seen the lineup of many bladder stones in my baby's urethra, there was not a doubt in my mind as to what was going on. The dog was dying. A good vet will put the films, x-rays- on a view box and show you the stones. As far as that is concerned, any vet should do that.

I know you are having all kinds of feelings right now, and may be confused, expasperated, financially tapped, and paniced, stand strong, write things down if you need to, and blast it be to any vet who takes offense to your concern and need for knowledge to save your baby.

**** stepping down off soap box ***

[miabellaamoure]

Originally Posted by itzzbarb

Good that you are changing doctors. While most of us on here, I think lol, are not doctors, some of us have experienced some very serious situations with our BABIES. Go tell a vet that the people on YorkieTalk told you a sonogram would not show bladder stones, and you probably make an enemy for trying to tell them what to do. Some info you just have to take under wing and guide things from there. Having personally seen the lineup of many bladder stones in my baby's urethra, there was not a doubt in my mind as to what was going on. The dog was dying. A good vet will put the films, x-rays- on a view box and show you the stones. As far as that is concerned, any vet should do that.

I know you are having all kinds of feelings right now, and may be confused, expasperated, financially tapped, and paniced, stand strong, write things down if you need to, and blast it be to any vet who takes offense to your concern and need for knowledge to save your baby.

**** stepping down off soap box ***

This is exactly what our Vet did for my first rescue, he showed us Xrays of this little guys stones and where one was actually lodged in his urethra.

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by karen scarlet

What do i ask for?The first vet took some urine off the floor with a syring where kati tinkled,and put that under the microscope she then used a couple Q-tips to get a sample of blood from her vulva. I don't think she tested it to see what kind of bacteria
it was.She called me later and said that an ultrasound would not show soft tissue and therefore could not tell if she had an ovarian cyst..what do you think? I did call another vet and he put her on baytril 22.7mg.for 10 days and to call him back.

Good heavens! She could have squeezed her bladder a little and at least gotten a clean sample!

An inhouse test only tells her if there is bacteria present and confirms a uti.

To do a culture, a sterile sample is taken from the bladder with a syringe, then sent to the lab to grow bacteria so it can be identified and the proper antibiotic prescribed. It usually takes about a week which is why most vets will prescribe Clavamox or Baytril right away rather than waiting.

I'm glad the other vet switched her to Baytril. If you don't see an improvement in a few days, have them do a culture. Sometimes they even have a couple of different strains of bacteria present. Lady had that happen a few years ago and got very, very sick, Turned out she needed both Clavamox and erthromycin to clear it up.