Pyometra Scare

May 21, 2018

Brown was brought in to see us because she was unwell, drinking & urinating a lot and not eating. Vet Brian ran an ultrasound over her abdomen and confirmed she had what's called a pyometra. Uterine pyometra is a condition affecting cats and dogs. It involves the uterus filling up with very nasty fluid making the animal very unwell.
Brown underwent surgery to remove her ovaries & uterus. After 3 days of observation in the clinic she was back to her happy self and was able to go back home to her family! 💕
The second photo shows an example of a healthy dogs uterus and the 3rd photo shows Brown's uterus, clearly enlarged and filled with fluid.

Pyometra can occur 4–8 weeks after a bitch has a season. Sometimes owners will see a nasty discharge from the vulva. The dog will become more unwell, drink more, eat less & become lethargic. Once a bitch is older than six years, the risk of pyometra increases significantly.

The only way to protect bitches or queens from pyometra is to have them spayed. There are a lot of other health benefits associated with early spaying. Once a bitch has her first season the risk of developing mammary tumours later in life jumps from 0.5% to 25%. This steadily rises over the years to over 70% in bitches over six years of age.