[SOLVED ] Q. My bitch had a pyometra just under 2 weeks ago. She has not been herself since then and now been told her level of creating in her kidneys i...

s up to 17

Experienced and professional animal trainer provide their insights in answering this question :

A. I’m assuming your dog was spayed at the time the pyometra was discovered. You did call her a “bitch” which would indicate that she is still intact but since pyometras are almost always treated surgically I’m going to assume that’s what happened with your dog. If I’m wrong you can request a consult and we’ll talk further.

A creatinine level of 17 is extremely high, and points to very severe kidney failure. She may have developed kidney damage as a result of the infected uterus. Regardless with a creatinine that high she needs to be treated in a hospital to improve her chances for survival. She needs fluid therapy to help her kidneys heal, and that may take several days. Her kidney values may never come completely back to normal, and you may by managing her kidney disease the rest of her life.

How to Identify Common Pet Problems ?

Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced pet care professionals :

Both pyometra and surgical and/or anesthetic complications associated with its treatment can cause kidney injury. A late diagnosis of pyometra, when kidney failure hasalready occurred, may result in irreversible damage to the kidneys (FOSSUM, 2008. Cirurgia dos sistemas reprodutivo e genital.

How quickly does pyometra develop? If it is a closed-cervix pyometra, clinical signs of pyometra can develop very quickly, sometimes within a matter of hours and a few days. If it is an open-cervix pyometra, the clinical signs of pyometra can take days to weeks to reveal.

After many years of estrus cycles without pregnancy, the uterine wall undergoes the changes that promote this disease. Pyometra usually occurs two to eight weeks after the last estrus or the heat cycle.

Pyometra can recur. The disease is resolved more slowly (over a week or so). There is a possibility of uterine rupture with the contractions. This would cause peritonitis and escalates the life-threatening nature of the disease.

Left untreated, pyometra carries a real risk of causing serious kidney damage and death. Although these dogs are often dehydrated, septic and shocked to a greater or lesser extent, with careful anaesthetic management, intravenous fluids and prompt surgery the prognosis is excellent.

Multiple complications associated with pyometra have been reported, including peritonitis and cervical stump abscessation, wound infection, wound swelling, fistulous tract development, sepsis, haemorrhage, uveitis, conjunctivitis, pyelonephritis, arrhythmia, urinary tract infection and myocarditis [3, 6–8].

Pyometra will result in a pus draining from your dog and they may act different as they might with pregnancy. However, it is unlikely a dog with pyometra will become pregnant.

Antibiotic treatment should be specific (start with ampicillin at 22 mg/kg 3 times/daily and change antibiotics after culture results) and should last at least for one week but it should continue for as long as a purulent vulvar discharge is present (which may persist for a few days after the uterine diameter has …

Your vet will discuss this with you if it is an option for your individual dog. Even if medical treatment is successful, pyometra often returns again after the next heat/season, so surgery to remove the womb and ovaries at some point may still be needed.

Pyometra will affect roughly 1 in 4 non-spayed females before the age of 10 years, but can occur in dogs older than this. Additionally, spaying greatly decreases the risk of mammary (breast) cancer when done promptly. Signs of pyometra include: Lethargy.

However, they may actually be very unwell and `open` pyometras can become `closed` at any time. In about 15% of cases, the cervix is closed, which means that the pus remains trapped within the uterus. This can be extremely dangerous to the bitch`s health within a very short time, so early diagnosis is essential.

This being said, either form of pyometra is life-threatening and should be treated as an emergency situation. If left untreated, bacteria and/or their toxins can gain access to the bloodstream, leading to endotoxemia/septicemia, shock and death.

Potentially life-threatening complications of pyometra, described after surgery, include sepsis, septic shock, disseminated bacterial infection, peritonitis and hemorrhage [19-21].

The findings indicate that the pyometra syndrome includes a liver derangement–i.e. cholestasis–in addition to changes in bone marrow activity and renal function as shown previously.

Pyometra can be a life threatening and emergency scenario due to the the severity of a spread of the infection and a risk of rupture of the distended uterus. The infection in the uterus can spread to the rest of the body and affect other organ function as well.

The success rate for treating open-cervix pyometra is 75-90%. The success rate for treating closed-cervix pyometra is 25-40%. The rate of recurrence of the disease is 50-75%.

If pyometra is not caught and treated in the early stages of the infection, the female dog`s uterus will rupture, causing the pus to fill the abdomen. If this happens, the prognosis is poor, and the animal will have only 24 to 48 hours to live if not properly and effectively treated.

Symptoms of pyometra include early warning signs of the animal feeling unwell, such as vomiting, refusal to eat, lethargy, increased thirst and frequent urination. She may also appear to be uncomfortable, because pyometra is a particularly painful condition for dogs, while being somewhat less so for cats.

Pyometra is entirely preventable. If your dog is successfully spayed before her first season, she will be best protected from this and many other reproductive diseases. If you are a breeder, you can still protect your dogs by tracking their seasons and closely monitoring any changes in their behaviour.

The only way to avoid any risk of pyometra, is to get your dog spayed which is the removal of the ovaries and uterus. We generally recommend this to happen from 6 months of age.

A pyometra is essentially an infection inside the uterus of female dogs and cats. It is usually happens following a prolonged heat cycle in older females, but can also occur after a failed mating or artificial insemination.

Ampicillin/ amoxicillin was an effective first choice antimicrobial in cases requiring antibiotic treatment. Further studies are needed to identify cases benefiting from antibiotic treatment, as well as the duration of treatment needed to reduce the infection rate while also avoiding unnecessary preventive treatment.

There are two treatments for pyometra: surgical and medical. In the surgical treatment, the uterus and ovaries are removed (also known as “spaying”). This procedure is more complex than spaying a dog who is in good health, because in most cases, infection has already weakened the dog significantly.

Symptoms of Pyometra in Dogs and Cats

In this case, there is a foul-smelling discharge. Here are the most common places to see the discharge: Anywhere on the skin.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

Q. My bitch had a pyometra just under 2 weeks ago. She has not been herself since then and now been told her level of creating in her kidneys is up to 17

ANSWER : A. I’m assuming your dog was spayed at the time the pyometra was discovered. You did call her a “bitch” which would indicate that she is still intact but since pyometras are almost always treated surgically I’m going to assume that’s what happened with your dog. If I’m wrong you can request a consult and we’ll talk further.

Read Full Q/A … : Pyometra symptoms and treatment in dogs

Q. I have a pup that haven’t been 2 1.2 months old eating good for week. I have worm her once a week since she been 2 weeks old.

ANSWER : A. It is recommended to worm a puppy every 2-3 weeks initially and then every 2-3 months so you don’t have to give her worming medications every week any longer.

Read Full Q/A … : Puppy Potty Training Questions & Answers

Q. My cat will not eat the renal food my veterinarian recommended, can I feed a grocery store food?

ANSWER : A. Your veterinarian recommended a therapeutic kidney diet because it has ingredients that will help slow the progression of your cat’s conditions, especially phosphorus and lower protein levels. Many of the non-prescription or grocery store foods generally have high levels of phosphorus and would not be ideal for your cat.

To help your cat accept the new food It is important to do a transition. There are two reasons to do a transition:

1) Occasionally a pet will have a GI upset when switched to a new diet,

2) A pet will accept a new food better when a transition is done to allow the pet to get use to the new texture and flavor.

There is more of a chance with a hydrolyzed protein or different (high or low) fiber level food to cause a GI upset. Transition recommendation:

1) Recommend ¾ old diet – ¼ new diet

2) Do this for a few days; if no GI upset, go to the next step

3) ½ old diet – ½ new diet

4) Do this for a few days; if no GI upset, go to the next step

5) ¼ old diet – ¾ new diet

6) Do this for a few days; if no GI upset, go to the next step

7) End with 100% of the new food.

Sometimes a transition should be longer, especially for cats. Use the same recommendation, but instead of a few days, recommend doing each step for a week or more. If you cat is still not interested in the new diet you can research other non-prescription diets focusing on the labels for appropriate levels of phosphorus and protein.

Also, home cooking may be an option but make sure to provide adequate nutrients. A good website to consult is balanceit.com. This website helps you to create well balanced home cooked recipes and offers supplements to add into the diet.

Read Full Q/A … : The Best and Worst Pet Foods: 13 Pet Foods Ranked

Q. Treatment & diet recommendation for Fanconi disease with stage 3-4 kidney failure

ANSWER : A. I’m sorry you’ve gotten this challenging diagnosis on your dog. The treatment for kidney failure in its acute phase usually centers around what we call “diuresis”, which means hospitalization with fairly aggressive IV fluid therapy in order to help the kidneys “rest” while the extra fluid load flushes toxins from the body, which is the kidneys’ job. Some specialty centers have actual dialysis, which is the mainstay of therapy for human kidney failure but isn’t widely available in veterinary medicine.

Also we try to control and treat the symptoms of the failing kidneys. This usually involves anti-nausea drugs and drugs to control the excess acid in the GI tract.

Sometimes with Fanconi’s syndrome we have to add bicarbonate to the fluids in order to control the blood pH. Potassium supplementation may also have to be given; like pH this depends on the current blood level of potassium. We also sometimes provide amino acid supplementation as well. Basically we are trying to replace what the kidneys are losing.

As far as diet goes we typically feed the standard prescription renal diets, which are low in protein and phosphorus. And as these dogs are susceptible to urinary tract infections it’s recommended to monitor the urine with a urine culture every 6 months, to look for infection.

Read Full Q/A … : Chronic kidney disease Overview – Mayo Clinic

Q. Once a dog’s kidneys stop working well enough to concentrate the urine, how fast does it normally progress to more serious side effects?

ANSWER : A. The answer is ‘No one knows’. Malfunctioning kidneys can stay at stable level for long time (months to years) without signs of kidney failure. However, kidney performance can suddenly deteriorate at any time.
It would be advisable to run blood test for kidney profile to better assess his disease.
I would suggest you to got to www.iris-kidney.com for all information you need to know about kidney problems in dogs and cats.

Read Full Q/A … : Kidney Problems Q & A – VetInfo

Q. My veterinarian says my cat is in kidney failure, can you explain what that means?

ANSWER : A. Chronic kidney failure is persistent azotemia for 3 or more months. Azotemia is an excess of urea nitrogen and/or creatinine. The first ability that is lost with the failing kidney is often the kidney’s ability to concentrate the urine. In a cat, the urine becomes both dilute and excessive when 66% of the kidney function has been lost. This change will precede the rise of metabolic waste in the blood (urea- creatinine) which occurs only when approximately 75% of the kidneys are lost. Kidney disease involves a loss of functional renal tissue due to a progressive process that is irreversible.

The aim of treatment is to slow the progression of the kidney’s inability to remove excess metabolic waste. For more information: http://bit.ly/1A19OJw

Read Full Q/A … : Cat Kidney (Renal) Failure Symptoms and Causes – WebMD

Q. My dogs kidney level taken yesterday is 300. What do I need to do to help my dog get better? Is she in kidney failure or can this be fixed?

ANSWER : A. With this single blood result it is impossible to say if she is in kidney failure or not. It maybe that sometime on intravenous fluids may be a huge help. Medications and a specific kidney diet such as hills k/d may help. You need to establish from your vet the level of the problem by comparison of this result to the other blood results and possibly another one done in a couple of weeks.

Read Full Q/A … : Renal Failure In Dogs – Houzz – GardenWeb

Q. I have a jack russle puppy gave hem his first puppy shot my self he is a little over 6 months now and was wondering if he needed a booster shot

ANSWER : A. I would recommend that your puppy have at least 2 vaccinations, approximately 3 weeks apart in order to acquire proper immunity. If it has been longer than 3 weeks since the first shot, start over and do 2 shots at 3 week intervals. You will be required, however, to get his Rabies vaccination from a licensed veterinarian and this vaccine should have already been given. The recommended age for a Rabies vaccine is 16 weeks, or 4 months of age. It is always better to have all of your vaccinations given by a licensed veterinarian to ensure that your vaccine is of good quality, had been stored and shipped at proper temperature and is safe.

Read Full Q/A … : Vetinfo