My hedgehog has blood in urine. Why won't his UTI clear up?

Thanks for reaching out about Prickles. Hematuria or blood in the urine can have multiple causes, but bladder stones,urinary bladder infections, reproductive (uterine) cancer and severe kidney disease are all possible causes. Unfortunately, none of these can be treated at home and a veterinary visit is recommended as soon as possible. Monitor appetite and water intake. Good luck.

This sounds quite frustrating for everyone involved! At this point, the most common causes of Greyson's bloody urine (UTI, kidney infection, crystals in the urine and bladder stones) have all been excluded. The other possibilities include a sterile cystitis (non-infectious bladder inflammation), urethral spasms or a bladder tumor (unlikely given his young age). Consider discussing medications that could decrease spasms in the urethra or anti-inflammatory medications to decrease bladder inflammation with your vet. Also make sure that Greyson is drinking plenty of water (water fountains or mixing water with canned foods can be helpful) because many causes of bloody urine can also be precursors to urethral obstructions, which can be life threatening. I hope that all goes well!

I'm sorry to hear Harris is having this issue. Blood in the urine can have a variety of causes, including infection, bladder or kidney stones, a sterile bladder inflammatory process, a growth, prostate issues, or an underlying medical issue. I would recommend he be evaluated by a veterinarian, have any necessary testing done (urinalysis, bloodwork, bladder ultrasound), and try to isolate the cause of his issue to come up with any treatment that may be needed. Good luck!

Hello, sorry to hear about Buddy. There are multiple causes of this and may include bladder stones that are not evident on x-rays, a resistant urinary tract infection, an enlarged prostrate, a prostate abscess, and less likely a bladder tumor. To further diagnose why he continues to have intermittent blood in his urine, he may need to have more diagnostics such as an abdominal ultrasound and a urine culture. You may speak with your veterinarian about these next further diagnostics. Hope this helps ad best of luck.

Poor Calliope! It sounds as though she has been through quite a bit recently. As a female cat, it would be highly unusual for her to develop a urinary tract obstruction, whereas it would be more expected in a male cat showing similar signs. As I'm sure you're aware, common causes of blood in the urine in female cats include urinary tract infection and bladder stones. In Calliope's case, a UTI has been ruled out and the chance of having bladder stones is quite low. However, there are a few types of bladder stones that are not visible on x-rays, but these are uncommon. At this point, it may be worth discussing an ultrasound of her bladder with your vet, as the types of bladder stones not typically visible on x-ray can often be seen on ultrasound. Since she is dragging her hind end, it also may be worth asking her vet to check her anal glands to see if these are causing additional irritation. A consultation with a specialist in veterinary internal medicine could also be considered. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

Thanks for visiting Petcoach. Poor kitty. I have to agree here, that if there is still gross blood in the urine, then additional testing is needed. I would highly recommend starting with a radiograph to check for urinary stones. However, a more inclusive test that is more cost effective, would be to do an ultrasound. Yes an ultrasound is more expensive than a radiograph, but if you still dont find an answer with the radiograph, an ultrasound would be needed. The ultrasound can not only tell us if there are urinary bladder stones, but it can look at the urinary bladder in 2D to determine if there are any structural abnormalities or growths inside the bladder. It is the best way to go here, especially after trying to treat this medically twice now. To help with finances though, I would suggest trying out for CareCredit. This is a line of credit for your pet that you can pay off slowly and oftentimes with no interest for up to 18 months. Best of luck with your pet Hobo moving forward. Take care Link to CareCredit--> https://www.carecredit.com/

An ultrasound of the whole urinary tract can be helpful for patients with unexplained blood in the urine. This would be of the kidneys and bladder as blood can come from anywhere along the urinary system. X-rays of the abdomen, after a pet has been fasted for at least 12 hours, can also be helpful. This can be important in some cases as not all problems can be identified with an ultrasound, such as stones in the tubes that lead from the kidney to the urinary bladder (ureter). Additionally a urine culture may be helpful to make sure that there is no underlying infection that is causing the blood. And, it is important to know how the sample was obtained. If it was freely collected from the patient or in the litter box then it is more concerning. If the sample is obtained as a sterile sample directly from the urinary bladder with a needle, then sometimes the blood in the urine is from the sampling (best sample for culture though). I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!