Vaginal Bleeding

[ChinchieRoo]

Hi,

My almost 11 year old female had a spot of blood in her cage Saturday night, then also last night. This morning I noticed her chewing at herself and saw blood on her nose and around her mouth. The hair around her vaginal area has slight redness ( I assume from blood). I have an appointment for her later today, the earliest I could get. I wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts or information on this while I wait? Colby has been eating and acting fine otherwise. Maybe drinking a bit more than usual, but it has been warmer. I am going to keep a close eye on her, but I am worried about her. Thanks.

 

[tunes]

It's possible she has a closed pyometra and she's digging at herself, but there's just no way to know. It's excellent that you're getting her into the vet right away and I hope it turns out well for you.

I'm assuming she's not in breeding?

 

[Brittany]

Carrie, I hope everything went ok. Any updates?

 

[ChinchieRoo]

Well, I don't know much more at this point.

Tunes, Thanks for the post. Colby isn't in breeding, so no pregnancies or anything like that.

Brittany, Thanks for thinking of Colby.

The vet felt around and did not feel anything, so no lumps at this point, so I feel that is good news. She wants to do a urine test first, thinking she may have a bladder infection. The vet said she looks great and is acting good, so she is happy about that. She didn't want to just send me with antibiotics if that wasn't it. I am taking Colby back first thing tomorrow morning so they can get some urine. Sadly, her bladder was empty when I brought her in. Tomorrow I will leave her there until they get some. We didn't discuss too much if it's not a bladder infection. I don't want to scare myself at this point if I don't need to. Thanks again for the posts.

 

[ChinchieRoo]

At this point we are not exactly sure what is causing the blood. I have only seen one spot since Monday. Her urine test came back negative. The vet had said she could have something going wrong with her reproductive organs and said an option would be to spay her. We don't know how we feel about a spay surgery considering her age though. I am trying to decide what is best for her. I have searched the internet and just can't find hardly any experiences with vaginal bleeding not related to breeding.

 

[ChinchieRoo]

I ended up taking Colby to see another vet today. She has lost some weight and isn't eating well. I tried two antibiotics by the first vet and both times she wasn't eating well.

Today, the new vet gave her metacam and said Colby most likely has uterine cancer. She determined the blood is coming from her vagina and not the bladder. I got some critical care if she doesn't start eating well again.The vet said the metacam should help her eat better and feel better overall. Does anyone have experience with cancer and chins? We found out 6months ago that one of our dogs has cancer and now this. I feel so bad for Colby. It's such a sad situation. Thanks for listening.

 

[Brittany]

The only thing that I know about cancer in chins, is that it is more rare then in other types of animals. Did your vet give you any suggestions for treatment, like doing a spay? Again, I'm not an expert, so I don't know if that's even possible in this situation. Just thought I'd throw the idea out there though.

 

[ChinchieRoo]

The only thing that I know about cancer in chins, is that it is more rare then in other types of animals. Did your vet give you any suggestions for treatment, like doing a spay? Again, I'm not an expert, so I don't know if that's even possible in this situation. Just thought I'd throw the idea out there though.

The first vet had suggested a spay. While the second vet did not think I should do it because of her age and also because she said usually it doesn't help with cancer completely because it spreads through the body anyway. We have pretty much decided not to attempt a spay. We think it would be too risky on her. As for overall treatment, she just said to give her the metacam to help with the discomfort.

 

[ticklechin]

I would not accept a "I think it is cancer" since the decision to PTS would be based on findings. I would want complete blood profile, including a chemical blood profile, a complete blood count, a urinalysis and an electrolyte panel to rule out other diseases, a lab analysis of the discharge, a x-ray or ultrasound to looks for masses. Cancer is so rare in chinchillas I would be leary of any diagnosis of it. I also would not just give metecam if the diagnosis proved out-metecam barely takes care of mild to moderate pain, I can't imagine what cancer pain is but a minimum of metecam and tramadol used together orI would consider buprenex used with benadryl to counteract nausea.

 

[ChinchieRoo]

I would not accept a "I think it is cancer" since the decision to PTS would be based on findings. I would want complete blood profile, including a chemical blood profile, a complete blood count, a urinalysis and an electrolyte panel to rule out other diseases, a lab analysis of the discharge, a x-ray or ultrasound to looks for masses. Cancer is so rare in chinchillas I would be leary of any diagnosis of it. I also would not just give metecam if the diagnosis proved out-metecam barely takes care of mild to moderate pain, I can't imagine what cancer pain is but a minimum of metecam and tramadol used together orI would consider buprenex used with benadryl to counteract nausea.

Thank you. This has been so difficult. I have been to two different vets already. I guess I don't know the right things to ask/say and when I am there, I get lost. I was thinking the same sort of thing in regards to how do we know this is it and is there a way to find out. I wish I would think of these things while I am there instead of after I get home. She did have a urine test, which was negative for bacteria. She did say that what she got from her vagina was yellowish. She did not feel any masses, which she said was good, but what does that really mean?? I guess I have a lot left to figure out. Thank you again for bringing up these specific things that I can mention.

 

[ticklechin]

Sometimes I have to wonder about vets, Its like "its just a pocket disposible pet" and you get fluffed off with a p$ss poor guess of a diagnosis, I personally don't do well with a vet guess, I want to see exactly how they come up with it, they actually know better now with me, better have something to back up the diagnosis.

 

[Brittany]

Carrie, where are you located in Washington? There are several forum members out there, maybe they can recommened an excellent vet? Even if it's a few hours away it might be worth it?

 

[ChinchieRoo]

Carrie, where are you located in Washington? There are several forum members out there, maybe they can recommened an excellent vet? Even if it's a few hours away it might be worth it?

Hi Brittany, I did post a thread asking about vets in western washington. I did end up going to one mentioned. This last vet was also suggested by a rabbit/rodent rescue site. I am located near Everett, WA. I have searched many times on the internet trying to find a chinchilla specialist, but can't find one. This whole thing breaks my heart. It would be great to get some more vet suggestions. I just don't want to keep going to new vets to get the same answer, which isn't that great. Thanks again Brittany.

 

[ChinchieRoo]

Sometimes I have to wonder about vets, Its like "its just a pocket disposible pet" and you get fluffed off with a p$ss poor guess of a diagnosis, I personally don't do well with a vet guess, I want to see exactly how they come up with it, they actually know better now with me, better have something to back up the diagnosis.

Thanks ticklechin. I have been thinking this on my own as well. How do we really know. Is it possible to have a vaginal infection? I want to trust the vet I go to and believe they know what is best for my pet. It's so hard because I don't know and I try to have faith that they will know, but it's so hard. I just want to help Colby. My first vet didn't even call me back even after I left a couple messages. I don't know how else to help Colby if the vets don't help me. Thank you for the responses.