Cassia with GREEN URINE

[msav]

So I found some green urine on the floor last week, I was unable to determine whose it was. I found a couple threads on it here an sent a couple of PM. (thank you for those who responded) It got me concerned but could not do anything until I found out whose it was. The other day I saw Cassia pee some green Urine, So I immediately made arrangements to see the vet today.  The vet did a urine test and ruled out a UTI. So the remaining causes are not good. Either, FIP, Kidney failure, heartworm,or lymphoma.  The vet said that there is not much in the way of treatments for these with a good prognosis. 

Cassia has been the most active she has ever been the last couple of weeks and has been really enjoying herself, she has been her normal feisty self. Nothing screams out she is sick except for the green pee. She is 7 years old and my first ever sprite. It really breaks my heart to think of her being on her last legs.


if anyone has any input on this I would appreciate it.

we are giving her ivermectin in case of heartworm. 

[Deleted]

Green urine... thats so strange.
I've never heard of that before.
I couldn't tell you what it is caused by, but I do hope that Cassia will be alright. ;n;

[Deleted]

Green urine immediately makes me think of kidney problems. Does it smell different from usual? Did it look dehydrated?

[FireAngel]

I'm so sorry about Cassia, I know no matter what the diagnoses is in the end you will give her all the best and she will know how loved she is. When is the blood work results supposed to be back?

[unclejoe]

I'm sorry. I've dealt with green urine twice. One was a UTI, and the other was lymphoma that had got into the liver. Larry did live another year on pred. The green color is caused by bilirubin which is produced in the liver, and also give poop its brown color.

[Deleted]

I'm sorry also. I sincerely hope there is another cause other than Lymphoma.
Ponce developed green urine and we found Lymphoma.

All my best to Cassia and your family.

[msav]

Basically with UTI ruled out the outlook is bleak. there is not really anything we can do with any of the other causes of Green urine.

Liver failure - Not likely as she is not jaundice, but Again not Treatable.
lymphoma - Vet does not think so as green urine normally shows up in the later stages.
Heartworm - Vet says this is the most likely cause, Not treatable (Cannot kill the heartworm)
FIP - Vet said that there is other symptoms that she is not showing. But again not treatable.

There is a chance that it could be a liver infection, I am toying with the idea of giving her Antibiotics.

Right now Cassia is actually showing the opposite of being sick. withing the last 2 weeks she has become quite active and is running around and biting my feet. She is getting into things and is quite spunky. Prior to this she was sleeping very often, I just thought it was normal since she is 7 years old.

Please feel free to correct me or my Vet on anything posted here. I believe personal experiences are the best advice that can be given.

On the lymphoma side. Bandit got lymphoma and did not show the signs of green pee until well after he was sick. He showed many other signs months before the green pee.

[msav]

Ok,

Now I am confused. what does it mean if she does not have consistently green urine. I was under the impression that if she was sick her urine would always be green.

Today she peed and it was completely yellow not a tinge of green in it.

I am going to call my vet tomorrow, But if someone knows feel free to chime in.

[Deleted]

Hugs to your beautiful Cassia.

Ponce already had Insulinoma.
When the green urine showed up, I took him back to the vet. I had read that it could mean Lymphoma.

She did an xray in the office and found a tumor on his chest.
The green urine shows up easily on a puppy pad.
Sometimes it was lighter, like after I fed him or gave him water. Sometimes, it was quite green.

We didn't have much time with him after that.
I'm hoping and wishing on Ponce's star, that your Cassia will not have Lymphoma.

[unclejoe]

Larry (nee Darla, lol) had a big belly when I got him, and it was probably 3 months before he showed green urine and I took him to a vet. She didn't see tumors on his initial x-ray and did an abdominal tap, and got about 15 cc of fluid. She tested that and found billirubin in it, suggesting that his liver had already been compromised. The liver is usually the last organ to be affected, but once it is, it's a matter of time. He responded well to a round of antibiotics, (we also thought infection, since we didn't see tumors) but 6 weeks later the green pee was back. His belly continued to grow, and the second tap got no fluids, while the second x-ray showed tumors all over. We started him on pred, and considering his late stage, I'm surprised he held on another 5-6 months. He had 2 blood tests (CBC) and later a liver panel, and the only abnormal values were slightly elevated creatinine, an indicator of kidney function.
Good ol' Larry was my first chronic case, and both the vet and I learned a lot during his treatment.
His original owner told me he was 1 1/2-2 yo (they all do) but he was more like 4 by his teeth.

[msav]

Cassia is 7 years old, But she was on kibble for 5 of those years. She is the longest living ferret that I have owned. She is also my first female. And one of the first I got as a kit at 7 weeks old

I am happy to see her active, Just not happy about the green pee. It is confusing because she shows no other symptoms, No jaundice, No lethargy, lately she has been the first out of the cage and the last to go back. no staggering, or low BG, She is the picture of healthiness, except for that Green pee.

[Deleted]

I'm glad she is active and seems fine. I know you already have looked this up and I am doing a little looking around also.

I found this on Petful:

Changes to the color of a ferret’s gums, lips or nose can be a sign of anemia, a serious condition. Color changes from anemia turn these areas pale or white. Yellowing (jaundice) can be a sign of liver damage or disease. The urine can also change color. The typical yellow urine can turn green because of heartworms, anemia or a bladder infection.

I'd look at her gums, lip and nose. How do they look?

The Small Animal Channel Ferret Magazine had this to say:

Another color change to be aware of is the color of a ferret’s urine. Sometimes the color of the urine changes from the normal yellow to a green color. This can indicate red blood cells being broken down from heartworm disease, immune-mediated anemia or a severe bladder infection. All of these color changes can be serious and potentially fatal, so quick veterinary care is needed.

Your vet ruled out a UTI.
That leaves heartworm, lymphoma or FIP.
I didn't find anything on kidney failure and green urine. I did however find on Ferret Universe that if a ferret has kidney failure, you can smell ammonia on their breath.

I'm just brainstorming here and hoping something pops up that will suggest some help to you.
Bob Church posted on his FB page about seeing something new occurring on the East Coast.
This is what he asked on September 15th:
Has any of my ferret friends heard of a virus hitting eastern area ferrets?


Dr. Ruth L Heller replied:
Yeah, that was the case with the coccidia in my house, too. We found several ferrets dead with no signs, others had severe diarhea and dehydration with bloody stools and hypothermia. The strain of coccidia that killed them was very, very difficult to find. In my ferrets it was found on histopath on dead ferrets, not in fecal samples.
Like · Reply · September 16 at 8:17pm

I'm not sure what I would do. If you like your vet, then that makes it difficult.
I might try another exotic animal vet and see what a second opinion says.

Thinking of you and Cassia.

[msav]

There is nothing to indicate that the vet missed anything. He covered everything that I researched. He said that normally green urine is accompanied with another symptom that leads to a diagnosis. He checked for everything, and no other symptom is detected. He decided that we would treat for heartworm as he said that it is possible to be heartworm and not show any other signs as long as the Heartworm stays out of critical areas of the heart, and does not get to large. He said that it would be the least invasive treatment since she is not showing any other signs. the treatment would not kill the heartworm but will stop any new heartworm and keep the heartworm from thriving and getting to large.

We are instructed to keep an eye out for any additional symptoms that would lead us to a reason. I am still waiting to see what he says about here urine going back to normal color. I mopped it up with a white napkin and there was not even a tint of green to it. Everything That I read said that it would vary from different shades of green but there is always some tint of green to the urine.

He did a urinalysis with some test strips, not sure how accurate those are. That is how he ruled out UTI

and both I and the vet checked out her gums, eyes, lips and, tongue. no color changes nothing out of the ordinary. 

[Deleted]

msav, is she always in the house?


Ferrets react more similarly to cats when they develop heartworms. Like cats, ferrets with heartworms suddenly have difficulty breathing. Their gums turn pale and grayish and their pulse is rapid. This is because the heartworms have blocked the blood passageway from the heart to the lungs.

When one listens to their chest with a stethoscope, heart murmurs may be present, the heartbeat may be irregular and lung sounds congested.

Ferrets with heartworms occasionally cough and fluid may back up into their abdominal cavity and lungs, but more often, the only sign of infection is general weakness. Some cases are easier to recognize because these ferret, cough, have trouble breathing and their heart sounds are abnormal.
X-ray of these ferrets may show and enlarged heart and pulmonary edema.




Did he use a test that checks for heartworms in cats?
More interesting info at this site

www.2ndchance.info/heartwormferret.htm
Probably only vet can order this www.atozvetsupply.com/Snap-Feline-Heartworm-Test-Kit-p/718-idxsfhw.htm

[msav]

Pretty much always in the house. But we had very bad mosquitoes when we moved here. I had thousands of them outside my front porch. I then sprayed them all and did not see many but after a couple of weeks they were back.

I am sure a few of them go into the house.

The diagnosis of heartworm was by elimination. There was not a specific heartworm test done. He said the the Heartworm meds were safe even if it did not end up being heartworm. He suggested doing diagnosis through symptoms as any other tests would be putting a 7 year old ferret through a lot. He said if we want to do the tests we can, but he did say that some of the tests are not very reliable. I asked if we should put her on Antibiotics in case it was a liver infection, and he said we could do that. I think right now we will treat the heartworm and next week we can try the antibiotics. I learned from Koufos that giving a cocktail of meds makes it hard to know which ones are reacting badly with them.


Vet did a regular checkup and listened to her breathing and her heart. Did not find anything abnormal.