correction on previous enquery... pig weighs 180, not 280

Question
QUESTION: My 14 year old neutered male, who is otherwise very fastidious and will not pee in his house, has begun to leak from time to time, and has peed in his bed. I'm guessing he has a bladder infection of some sort? I palpated him for heat or swelling and there does not appear to be any, he does not have a fever, and he does not seem to be in any pain..he is eating and drinking normally, and I have seen him pee some volume, although it took some time for the flow to really get moving. I noticed he was dripping pee spots in the barn aisle two days ago and did'nt think much about it (I cheked it for blood; none was visible) until he wet his bed. What should I do? I have some SMPTMZ for the horses on hand. Should I start him on that? He weighs about 180 lbs. ( I mistakenly wrote he weight 280, he is not, he is about 180.) We don't have a pig vet in the area and he is not exactly a "mobile" pig."


ANSWER: Hi,
I received your question twice, so you might get a message that one was rejected as a duplicate because that's how the system handles duplicates.
I am not a vet and can not make a diagnosis over the internet but I can make some general suggestions. Male pigs have a small gland secretes a scent that female pigs adore but most people don't like. It's hormone driven, so the gland doesn't do much in neutered males. It can get infected, and sometimes males will ooze from this gland while they sleep. The end result looks like a small dribble accident in bed, but the odor is distinctly different from urine.
You mention a barn and horses, so I have to ask, is there any possibility that the bed might have been wet by a different animal, such as a territorial dog, cat, or goat?
You mention that he isn't exactly a "mobile" pig, so a different possibility is that his lack of mobility is interfering with his potty habits. Sometimes, especially with older pigs, they pee in the wrong spot because they can't hold it as well as they used to and it really hurts to get up. If this is the case, then improving his mobility with a diet supplement like Next Level, or a NSAID medication like Rimadyl, will solve the potty problem. Also making sure that it's really easy for him to get to and out of his bed. No steps or slippery floors.
Finally, since he has no symptoms of infection (no signs of pain, redness, swelling, or straining to pee), and the pee appears normal (not red or dark or brilliant yellow), I would suggest not giving any antibiotics. Sometimes a little of the wrong thing makes the problem worse and that's certainly true of antibiotics. The wrong antibiotic will not kill the problem bug, but it will promote the growth of other antibiotic-resistant germs.
Cranberry juice is beneficial and safe. Offer him some mixed half and half with water, keep an eye on the volume and color of his pee. Watch for signs of straining. Make sure he can easily get into and out of his bed, no obstacles. Make sure other animals are not messing with his bed. Make sure he gets up to pee at least three times a day, and add supplements like Next Level to his diet. If the problem gets worse or he develops other symptoms then he might need to see a vet for tests.



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

QUESTION: Hi, and thanks for your quick response.
I did give him some cranberry juice last night and he sucked it right down, so hopefully he is mending while we analyse...
You make some very good points.
He lives in the heated tack room of our barn (with a TV, a fan in the warmer months, and a fridge) but his only companion in the room is a cat who is also well housebroken and has a litter box to use, which she does....and this smell wasn't dog or cat pee, it was really strong. a little weird smelling. But frankly, I'm not used to smelling volumes of pig pee, as he always has gone outside or in one of the stalls to do his business.
The volume I found wasn't a little drip over time, it was a lot of fluid over one night. I shake out his bedding once per week looking for bits and pieces of food he might have lost in there, including the odd mouse the cat saves for later...that cat! Anyhow...
I opened the tack room door and it really stunk all at once.
Rustle T. Pig sleeps on a pile of old (but clean)horse blankets, discarded drapery, and old bed linens we no longer want. Under this fabric heaven there are rug remnants, and under that was old rug padding. He had slept there without issue for eight years. NO incidents of not being able to get up or making it through the night.
Unless a neighborhood dog snuck in and peed on his bed, which could happen but isn't likely, I cannot account for the volume, which went right through all that bedding to the floor. Perhpas he had taken a big drink and couldn't hold it, but that doesn't account for dripping from his underbelly while he walks along.
He doesn't have much trouble getting up, (arthritis or joint problems) but his nails are long because he won't let me trim them without starting WWIII, so I can only get a snip here and there. He does struggle from time to time with them being caught on the bedding when he tries to leave his nest, but in the past he has simply dragged the fabric out with him honking all the way until it releases a few feet out the door. (He gets right up when he's out in
the yard sunbathing and you call him.) He doesn't have steps to negociate, in fact we built him a handicap ramp for the one step into the tack room so he wouldn't hurt himself. He's not exactly Nureyev. I say he isn't mobile as in automobile.. we would need the national guard to get him into a car or truck to take him to a vet. He's one of those stubborn types who would likely have a heart attack in the struggle. He was given to us because he was a problem child, the class bully...and so far so good....he's not mean at all, he's just resolute. When we move, we lure him into the horse trailer with Dunkin Donuts, but we sold the horse trailer so we're stuck with him here and no piggy vet in sight.
What I am concerned about, and what leads me to think UTI is the dripping..which is unusual for him. This is a new thing.
Perhaps the gland you mentioned is indeed infected and this is causing the problem. But I stuck my finger in the drip to check for blood (ick, but I'm his mom so I do what I have to) and I did not sense any blood and it did smell remotely like strong urine. The bedding I discarded did not seem to be bloody, but it was stronger in colour than what I would expect...I pick up his pee spots from the horse stalls every day and am pretty familiar with the colour in the nearly white pine shavings where it is absorbed. I think I would have seen a difference, but perhaps it's too soon for all that.
I might add some Next Level to his diet of pig chow and table bits, as he isn't getting any younger and it might improve his morale. Perhaps he is a little stiff at his age and I'd do just about anything to make his life better, the silly pig has me wrapped around his overgrown cloven hoof...
I guess all I can do is keep a close eye on him and try not to panic if it gets worse, with no pig vet around. I do not now why we don't have a pig vet neaby, we have horse, cow, even lama vets here. Go figure.  

Answer
The gland (called preputial diverticulum) will ooze when a pig is under stress.
What a pig eats will affect the color of the urine. Pigs that "pig out" on acorns in the fall often have very dark, strong smelling urine.
It's possible he ate something that affected his urine. Or, his foot got stuck, and he could not get out of the bed (maybe one blanket caught on another?). The stress caused the gland to ooze and he just couldn't hold it any longer, resulting in a smelly, wet bed.
With pigs, the two critical danger signs are loss of appetite or straining to urinate. As long as he is eating and peeing chances are this just a temporary thing and will pass.
Rough surfaces like concrete or asphalt help keep hooves worn down. Putting his food dish so that he has to walk across a couple of feet of patio blocks or gravel may (or may not) be enough to keep his feet short  enough.
PigInfoAndChat on Yahoo groups is a great group of pig people, who love to talk about pigs, you might enjoy it.