LOTS of blood in urine

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra,

I have already seen a vet, but the vets in Montana are not very well educated
in rodent care, so I was hoping to get some supplemental advice about a
worrisome problem.

I woke up this morning to find a whole lot of blood in my rats' cage.  With a
little detective work, I found the source of the blood to be my 1-year-old,
Isabelle.  Conveniently, she urinated right in front of me so that I could see
clearly that it was coming from her.  I immediately rushed her to the best vet I
could find but since the vet was not a small animal specialist, I am worried
that he may have missed something important despite his best intentions.  

He took a urine sample and found dramatically increased leukocyte levels and
prescribed a banana-flavored oral suspension of Clavamox which I am to give
to her twice a day for 10 days.  He also said to try co-administering Baytril,
but I am worried about a possible interaction between the two drugs, so I
have not given her the Baytril yet.  

Here are my many questions:

Does Baytril interact dangerously with Clavamox?

There really is a lot of blood coming out of my poor little rat, can she bleed to
death from this infection?  She is looking pretty tired and miserable :(

Should I give her the medication for longer than 10 days (the same vet also
told me to only give my rats doxycycline for 10 days and I know that it is
supposed to be given for much longer.)

Will her cagemate's contract this infection as well? Should I start them on the
same medication preventatively?

What are the chances that this is actually a Leptospirosis infection?  I've heard
Leptospirosis, though rare, is highly contagious (even to humans) and was
wondering if I should go to the doctor to get myself checked out...

What else can I do for my poor baby to make sure she heals well and is as
comfortable as possible?  Cranberries?  Yogurt?  I am giving her lots of high-
water-content foods to keep her hydrated, but I wish there was something
more that I could do.  



Okay, I think that's it for now... I am sorry I have so many questions!  I am
just really worried and wanted to ask my vet so many questions, but he could
not answer them.  You are really and invaluable resource in situations like
this!

I truly appreciate your time and help.  Thank you.

Allie





Blood in urine   ANSWER:
Leptospirosis in domestic rats is something to not even worry about. In fact, it is so misunderstood and stories have been so sensationalized about it with wild rats, it has made people so paranoid about it as well for no reason.  I wont go into detail but let me just set your mind to rest that you do not, in any way, ever have to worry about leptosirosis, rabies or any other scary disease thinking your rat may give to you.  The only thing your rat can give you *and you can give the rat* is ring worm.  

As for the urinary tract infection, if there was a urine test done (how was it done, do you know?) and they found bacteria, the medication being used to treat it is correct.   You can absolutely use them together, although I would not mix them, but give the clavamox and about 15 mins. later, the baytril....or however you want to do it. Together they compliment each other and if there is a bacteria that the clavamox is missing the baytril will pick it up.  Hope that makes sense.

Also keep in mind that the blood is mixed with urine and this makes it look like there is alot of blood.  If she has a urinary tract infection,the blood your seeing is from irritation that causes broken blood vessels and this is what your seeing.  I have never heard of a rat bleeding to death from a urinary tract infection, so dont worry.  Was she given anything for discomfort such as metacam?

Keep her well hydrated, this is good, and giving her yogurt is also good so you are replacing any good bacteria she may lose from being on antibiotics. 10 to 14 days should be long enough in this situation. The bleeding should subside in another day or two after drug treatment starts.  Recently someone contacted me because her rat was also urinating blood. She was also highly concerned about the amount of blood so she actually saved a sample, took a photo of it and sent it to me.  I attached the photo here so you can see what it looks like.  It looks scary, I know, but not even a quarter of that is really blood, most of it is urine.

Keep up the things your doing such as keeping her super hydrated, even if you give her some koolaid, I dont care, just so she has alot of water. Cranberry juice doesnt have any antibiotic properties but has said to help irritation in the urinary tract so this may help too.  Just do not ever put this in place of her water bottle or she may stop drinking if she doesnt like it.  Watch all the fruits though so you dont cause loose stools.

As for the cagemates, no... do not give them any medication. This is something they cannot catch from her.   

Hopefully I covered everything but if not, please feel free to write back again for a follow up.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


My Rat Pile :)   QUESTION: Thank you so very much!  You truly have a wealth of knowledge!  The picture
of how much blood I could expect to see was also very helpful in setting my
mind at ease.  

Again, thank you, thank you, thank you!  

Answer
Oh they are truly precious!!!!   I love the freshness of young rats!

I have 3 senior boys, ages from 2.5 years to 3 years,8 months, so they have lots of gray fur mixed in with their once jet black coat.
Grand old men, I call them!  All 3 are special needs rats. You can see my rats on my website. Scroll down toward the bottom till you find the section on my rats, present and past.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/aboutmeandmyratstoo.htm