Urination problem

[tabbylg]

Hi. I have a cow thats looks to be having urinating problems. She will bow her back up and strain to urinate maybe a cup of urine. She had a bowel movement...but it wasn't normal amount she would normally do. Her vulva is swollen...but no discharge. She is also laying down every so often & breathing through her mouth. I can hear her respirations. She looks to have lost a little weight but is grazing some. At this time, she doesn't have a calf on her. I'm not sure what this is...we haven't had a cow do this before. Thanks

 

[msscamp]

Have you contacted your vet? If not, you probably want to consider doing so.

 

[tabbylg]

Yes....I know. We gave the cow a shot of antibiotics. I live in a town where we are to small to have a Vet. I have put a message in to my Vet that I trust....he is away today. Since the cow is moving and eating and drinking, I would rather wait for my Vet to return my call. I was just wondering if anyone has seen this before.

 

[msscamp]

Yes....I know. We gave the cow a shot of antibiotics. I live in a town where we are to small to have a Vet. I have put a message in to my Vet that I trust....he is away today. Since the cow is moving and eating and drinking, I would rather wait for my Vet to return my call. I was just wondering if anyone has seen this before.

No, I haven't seen this before. Possibly a urinary infection and the inflammation/swelling is interfering with other bodily functions, could be something else altogether. The fact that she is eating can be a good thing, or it could be a wreck waiting to happen if she if she is blocked in some way. I do understand about the lack of a vet. What kind of antibiotics and how much did you give her?

 

[Beefy]

is this cow heavy bred? if so she may have a vaginal prolapse or something blocking her urine flow. if this is the case she will die without relief and it wont take long. a do-it-yourselfer can probably releive some pressure for her pretty easily.

if thats not it it sounds like she may have some sort of infection on account of the vulval swelling. certain diseases can cause a swollen vulva too aand a lot of times they will abort which could explain some straining.

just some ideas that come to mind.

 

[KNERSIE]

I have seen that condition before, but without it causing swelling of the vulva. could the swollen vulva be caused by the cow being heavy bred?

If so, it sound like cystitis, or in plain terms, a bladder or urinary track infection. They typically get a high fever and try frequently to urinate, but at times its little more than a few drops. They keep standing with an arched back for a few minutes after that.

My vet recommended a five day course of penicillin and although it took the immediate danger away, it still wasn't cleared up completely. The same condition was back after three weeks. I treated with streptomycin, which helped, but then the heifer went into calve and she just didn't seem to try to push the calf out. The calf was pulled and the placenta was retained. She had a fever and was treated with Terramycin LA (200mg oxytetracycline) every third day while getting a intra uterine bolus every second day. After a week the placenta dropped and the cystitis was also something of the past.

 

[tabbylg]

thank you all for the comments.

No, this cow isn't heavly bred. I was thinking a possible UTI, by the symptoms she is presenting. The swelling threw me off a bit. I'm hoping it's not a blockage. I'm still gonna have my vet take a look, don't want to loose her.

Msscamp...I was out of town when she started this the other day. I just got home. My father-in-law said he gave her a shot.
Thanks

 

[A&Mfarms]

could be a stone in the Urinary tract if so not good. We have had this happen Vet said the bladder was the size of a watermelon

 

[KNERSIE]

stones in the urinary tract usually only poses a problem in bulls. Cows also get stones, but are usually able to pass them without it causing problems.