Cleo is going downhill

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Unfortunately, the Baytril stopped working. I don't know if maybe it had fought off a secondary infection, but there's blood in her urine again. The vet says that, given the lack of vaginal discharge, it's probably a mass. (Could be pyometra, but not likely.) We're going to get a referral to the OVC, but given her respiratory problems, she's not a great candidate for surgery.

She was doing so well for the first couple of weeks. We were really hopeful.
 
She's still on Baytril, but it's not working any more and we're almost out. The vet timed the scrip so we'd pick up Round Two at a follow-up appointment kind of now-ish. If all goes well, we should be able to get into the OVC in a week or so.
 
Cleo had her preliminary visit to the OVC today. She’ll be going back shortly for some blood tests, a urine culture, and an ultrasound. They’re currently thinking either kidney/bladder stones, an infection of some sort that’s resistant to Baytril, or some kind of cancer.

Given Cleo’s respiratory issues, she’s not a good candidate for surgery. We’re hoping it’s something that just wants a different antibiotic. If not, we’ll have to start thinking about her quality of life.

(If Toffee’s Mom is reading this, hi there! Glad you made it to the site. I hope they were able to help your wee girl with pneumonia. If not, if she’s passed, you have our condolences.)
 
Yeah, we’re hoping.

Not sure there’s much we can do if she has stones. Surgery could be risky for such a tiny critter, though certainly easier than removing a kidney mass.

It would almost be darkly funny if she had kidney stones, because my husband gets them frequently as well due to his meds. We’ve joked that stones are more likely for Cleo because they run in the family.
 
Okay, so-- some good news. Nothing showed up on the ultrasound! Yay! No masses, no cysts, no stones. They're doing a urine culture, so we should know by the middle of next week if there's some sort of infection. That should help us figure out which antibiotic to try.

She's been hoovering anything edible since coming home. She even ate a couple of Cheerios and almost a whole green grape on the way back! Our wee girl is still pretty groggy, though. Still, I'm glad she's eating. It's been a while since she put it away like this, so she might be feeling a little better. Still blood in the urine, but hooray for returning appetite!

Update— Our teeny beanie is still eating. o_O Every time I’ve handed her food, she’s tucked in. Wee girl is making up for lost time. Either that, or she’s got a serious case of the post-sedative munchies. Milo was out for a short time tonight; Rook and Cleo considered coming out, but now everyone is loaf-heaping together in the Mini-wheats box. I think the boys are just happy to have her back. They’re not sure what to think of her shaved abdomen, though, and keep investigating her undercarriage. She is less than amused.
 
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So happy for you & Cleo! And we all love hearing happy news..
I give my old kids Ensure, I open a can, pour it in an ice cube tray, and freeze it, then it keeps well. I expect it would work for the infant formula too...
 
Last time we used Ensure for one of our old men, it did not go well. He wasted away. He was also a rat mill rescue, so he and his mate were not likely more worn than ratties who had not been through all that stress.
 
I had to stop ensure on my rats too. I didn't like what it did to them. The high sugar is really not good, it's too bad really because it contains so many micronutrients.
 
I wasn't suggesting you use Ensure, just thought you could freeze the infant formula the same way so it wouldn't expire on you..
Finding infant formula in a quantity that won’t mostly expire before it gets used is difficult. I might ask our newest granddaughter (and her parents) if she’d mind sharing a few tablespoons, or find out what they’re using, get a package, take some out for Cleo, and give them the rest.
 
Great news for Cleo! Hopefully it continues!
Fidget, great suggestion to freeze the Ensure! It’s so frustrating to use it on one rat just to have to dump it the next day. I suppose you could do the same with baby food. For whatever reason I’ve never thought of this before but it will make feeding sick rats much easier
 
Some sad news-- I found a mass on Cleo today. It's to the left of her tail and under, right where her thigh meets her genitalia. Given that sedation for an ultrasound almost killed her (looks like a combination of chronic respiratory issues and a bad reaction to one of the drugs used) surgery likely won't be a safe option. The lump is somewhere between large pea and small grape in size. It seems to have grown fairly quickly, since I'm sure they'd have noticed it at the OVC while she was sedated. (If not, I have some choice words for them.)

We're waiting to hear back from the vet about the next course of action, but at this point, we may be heading into the palliative care stage.

Part of me wonders if it might be a Bartholin's gland cyst, but I'm not sure if rats have a Bartholin's gland.
 
Ah, poor little Cleo.
From what I'm seeing, rats do have a Bartholin's gland and I'm seeing diagrams of cysts there so that seems totally possible. If they didn't notice it the last time she was at the vet, maybe it's just an abscess. I would hope that it's only one of those two things if it's growing so quickly.
 
Our vet is consulting with some specialists. We should know more later this week. For now, she’ll stay on Baytril to prevent any secondary infection. Whatever it is, we’re likely looking at palliative care measures. We may give Metacam a go, try to reduce inflammation.

Given how poorly she handled being sedated for an ultrasound, surgery would be far too risky. She’ll be two this month, and that’s not a bad run.
 
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