Ideal diet for UTI

[Avantika]

What should be an ideal diet if a bunny has UTI ? The diet should be low in calcium, but what all veggies come under that list and which veggies are high on Calcium ? ( I can google the calcium content of all the veggies that come under bunny-safe list, but that would take a lot of time .___. ) Some of you might have had their bunnies had this infection in past.

If a veggie is high on calcium, should I completely avoid it or just restrict it (serve it 1-2 / 2-3 times a week) ?

Also, the two rabbit foods that I give have the following ingredients. She gets only 1-2 tablespoons of each type in a day (because I know they are not the healthiest kind, but thats what is generally available here). 

Food 1 :

Cereals product and middlings, sunflower extract meal, wheat, barley, alfaalfa meal, corn, pea flakes, dehydrated carrot, beans flakes, corn flakes, flax seed, corn flour , dehydrated beetroot, Wheat flour, grass meal, thyme, dill, beet pulp, dried yeast, potato protien, dried whey, oats , sunfolwer oil, carotene – See more at: http://www.dogspot.in/vitapol-food-rabbit-400-gms/#sthash.oYcSZIOe.dpuf

Cereals product and middlings, sunflower extract meal, wheat, barley, alfaalfa meal, corn, pea flakes, dehydrated carrot, beans flakes, corn flakes, flax seed, corn flour , dehydrated beetroot, Wheat flour, grass meal, thyme, dill, beet pulp, dried yeast, potato protien, dried whey, oats , sunfolwer oil, carotene – See more at: http://www.dogspot.in/vitapol-food-rabbit-400-gms/#sthash.oYcSZIOe.dpuf

Maize, Pellets extruded from alfalfa and wild grasses, Fresh alfalfa stalks, Dehydrated carrot, Carob pieces, Optimum:extruded grass and Cereals.

Food 2 :

Cereals product and middlings, sunflower extract meal, wheat, barley, alfaalfa meal, corn, pea flakes, dehydrated carrot, beans flakes, corn flakes, flax seed, corn flour , dehydrated beetroot, Wheat flour, grass meal, thyme, dill, beet pulp, dried yeast, potato protien, dried whey, oats , sunfolwer oil, carotene

I know that alfa alfa pellets are high in calcium, but apart from that, are these foods bad in case of UTI and I should omit them ?

Talking of treatment, what all other medicines are used apart from Baytril ? I’ll visit a different vet again, (we went to one 2 weeks back but he made a wrong diagnosis and I always cross check here). What should be the dosage for Baytril and other medicines for Moshu, who is 1.2 kgs ?

[Sarita]

I don’t think that a UTI is necessarily due to calcium or diet – it’s due to bacteria.

I think the best thing for a UTI in a rabbit is to make sure that they drink lots of water or have veggies high in moisture or you can just spritz them with water.

Also keeping their area clean is a good idea.

There are many different treatments for a UTI in a rabbit including baytril. Also sometimes my vet would do some sub-q fluids. Dosage depends on the milligrams of the baytril and your rabbit’s weight.

Here’s a good calculator for some common medications:

http://www.morfz.com/rx/drugcalc.html

[Avantika]

That means I can continue to feed her cauliflower leaves 1-2 times in a week and give her 2 tablespoons of alfa alfa pellets everyday. I’ll just keep in check the calcium content is a bit less than average.

Whenever I feed her veggies, I make sure I have just washed them. She gets plenty of water that way.

Thanks for the calculator  

Can you tell me what all other medicines do they use in treatment of UTI ?

Yes, it must be the bacteria. She is really bad at litter training and pees and poos outside her litter box at night in her cage. (She isnt spayed yet).  And she stays rolling in it till we get up the next morning and let her outside her cage and clean it.

I can see a bit of urine scald, I hope that Back to Nature wont irritate her skin there ?

[Avantika]

Also, DisabledRabbits.com says that we can use silver sulfadiazine for soothing and healing urine scald. But I am wondering if she will lick it.. She will, most probably. Wouldnt that be bad ?

[Sarita]

Yes, I would continue with her current diet. Calcium has not been proven to relate to any kind of urinary tract infection or bladder sludge so you don’t need to concern yourself with that.

It has been a long while since I’ve had a rabbit with UTI so I cannot really remember…I know ideally you would want the vet to do an urinalysis to check for infection and bacteria to determine what type of antibiotic is most suitable for that particular infection.

I have used silver sulfadiazine for sore hocks and it’s very good stuff…she may lick it but I think she would have to consume quite a bit for it to be fatal. Is her urine scald someplace that is easily accessible for her to lick?

[Avantika]

Its only centered around her genital region so far. But her mouth can easily reach there, since she eats her cecotropes with ease. I’ll talk to the vet about it and apply only a slight layer of the medicine once in 2-3 days. And continue that regime for a month. That should work. Sure she will consume it, but as you said, it might not do too much harm.

[jerseygirl]

I can see a bit of urine scald, I hope that Back to Nature wont irritate her skin there ?

is that her litter? We have that brand here. It’s paper litter from memory. It should be fine and help keep the urine away from her skin.

Could her litter habits at present be because of her age? I think you said she’s 5months old?

[Sarita]

Jersey makes a good point about the litter habits…could it be that?

[jerseygirl]

Is she doing pee puddles out of the box or are you seeing pee dribbles?

On meds, Baytril or Bactrim are commonly prescribed for urinary infections.

[Author]

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