do chins get bladder infections?

[Anna]

I have a pair of male chins, the youngest being 2 years old. I have recently noticed blood in his urine and what seems to be painful urination. Went to the vet and now after 5 days of antibiotics, no change. So I took him back today and he has now lost weight. Anybody ever been through this before. I can't find any info. The vet said he might have a stone, but I have read chins don't do well under anesthesia. I would really appreciate any words of advice. Thanks

[ChinsNBuns]

Hi Anna, Cranberry juice is good for urinary problems. If he needs surgery, then you might just have to risk that. If he does have surgery, make sure the vet uses Isoflurane, this is the anethestic that is safe for chinnies, but there really are no guarantees, so it will always be a risk. I have had a chinny put under for surgeries and he has done fine both times. Good luck with your chinny.

[stephanie-1]

I hope that your chin is doing better, it is heartbreaking when there is not much we can do for our chins, I recently lost a chin to bladder stones on 7-28-01, I am still in mourning. be sure to ask your vet to take an x-ray, that is one way of knowing if there is really a stone, mine had 7 lined up and 2 were removed by flushing them out, but the one that was lodged couldnt be removed, he was in sever pain and surgery was performed to try to remove it from within the bladder, but that did not work either, my only alternative was to let him go, so he was euthanized as he was under..I was totally heartbroken and still am, the vet said if I took him home in that condition his bladder would rupture since there was nowhere for the urine to go..good luck...

[Anna]

Thanks for your info. I'm sorry to hear your little guy didn't make it. Things are looking good right now, but certainly if/when my chin looks sick again, we'll definitely be doing an xray. I worry about him every day so I'm trying to make him as happy as I can until then. Thanks again