Is it time to give up?

[jmsylvan16]

We got our bun Blackberry last year from a breeder who was moving from mini rexes and getting rid of her old breeding stock. She is an absolute doll, with an amazing personality. However...at the time, I was told she had allergies. I’m a new bun owner, so I said hey, no problem. But after some research and time I realized it was probably not allergies. Took her to the vet, two courses of antibiotics, no change. Now, suddenly, she’s dropped a ton of weight. Took her to a different vet, full body xrays, nasal culture (pending) and bloodwork, showing anemia and low albumin, pointing to a vitamin b deficiency. Doc is recommending vitamin b shots, but we still don’t know the original problem or how to fix it.
Now, when I adopt an animal, I consider it a binding contract for medical care, etc. Am I starting to run out of money in the budget, since I’m about $900 in here? Yes. But my main concern is that she’s lost weight, she’s constantly sneezing, and neither myself nor the multiple medical pros I’ve consulted have any idea what the problem is or how to fix it. It’s been over a month feeding critical care and giving a bronchiodialator medication, and I can’t get weight back on her. So, I guess I’m looking for someone to either say, yes, it’s time to consider euthanasia, or no, these things take much longer. Thanks for hanging in on my long post, and for any advice you might have.

 

[Niomi]

It is hard to give up when you put so much money and effort into trying to get a pet to recover from an illness. There is always that thought that a cure might be just a few more dollars away. If she is suffering, it might be time to let go. The shots might help with anemia but I doubt that it will help with her allergy symptoms. She doesn't have a good quality of life, and rabbits hide their pain so it is hard to know how much she is suffering. If this were my rabbit and the vet could not tell me that she had a good chance of recovery, I would put an end to her suffering.

 

[jmsylvan16]

Thank you so much. This is my first bun, and I feel pretty crippled by my inexperience. I’m going to wait for the results of the nasal culture before making a final decision, but your support has really helped. Thank you again.

It is hard to give up when you put so much money and effort into trying to get a pet to recover from an illness. There is always that thought that a cure might be just a few more dollars away. If she is suffering, it might be time to let go. The shots might help with anemia but I doubt that it will help with her allergy symptoms. She doesn't have a good quality of life, and rabbits hide their pain so it is hard to know how much she is suffering. If this were my rabbit and the vet could not tell me that she had a good chance of recovery, I would put an end to her suffering.

 

[zuppa]

Hi, what is her age and what was first diagnosis why she had two courses of antibiotics? Do you think she dropped weight because of them or was it related to her original problems? What were the symptoms of 'allergies', was it sneezing or skin problems or something else? I am so sorry to hear that your first experience isn't much fun, hopefully your situation will change for better soon.
I generally agree with Niomi that if her life quality is quite poor and she's dropped weight and vets basically don't know what is going on so if they just going to prescribe some more medication without clear diagnosis that would be a miracle if she survive that and you don't know if she's in pain.

 

[Niomi]

Zuppa is correct that we don't know if she is in pain. The reason I think she is in pain is probably based more on my own personal experiences with allergies, and sinus problems causing headaches.

 

[jmsylvan16]

She’s three now, and her initial symptoms were runny nose/sneezing and eye discharge, for which the antibiotics were prescribed, since doc agreed her symptoms were abnormal. The first course was Baytril, I forget what the second was. After the second course with no change we decided to let things lie, as everything else—activity, appetite, elimination—was completely normal, and we didn’t want to cause GI problems needlessly. That was last summer. This winter, with no appetite change, she suddenly lost weight. Like 1/3 of her total body weight, which was when I took her to the specialist. There are no tooth issues, no tumors, no sudden uptick in her URI symptoms. The only abnormalities are the mild anemia and slightly low albumin. She’s also—and I’m pretty sure this is my fault—developed some mild diarrhea, probably because I upped her pellets to try and get her to gain.

 

[Lynsey harry]

Hi I have a rabbit which has had similar problems . He’s got a condition called snuffles . He still has it but it’s under control . He had watery eye nasal discharge and sneezing . Had culture done 2 years ago bloods and xray nothing came back spent £1000 . Last year he lost a load of weight in 2 weeks thought I was gonna loss him thankful I haven’t . I fed him every 2 hours , nebulise him 2 time s aday and baytril twice a day with metacam once aday . First time he had this sulphurtrim worked but not the Second time round . He’s now been on baytril and metacam for 6 months and his weight has stabilised and I still nebulise him every day without fail . if he can’t smell he won’t eat so I do think the nebuliser has help him a great deal aswell as patients it might be a different illness to yours but anything is worth a go . I’m glad I never gave up on my boy and he’s just celebrated his 8 th birthday good luck

 

[Niomi]

Hi I have a rabbit which has had similar problems . He’s got a condition called snuffles . He still has it but it’s under control . He had watery eye nasal discharge and sneezing . Had culture done 2 years ago bloods and xray nothing came back spent £1000 . Last year he lost a load of weight in 2 weeks thought I was gonna loss him thankful I haven’t . I fed him every 2 hours , nebulise him 2 time s aday and baytril twice a day with metacam once aday . First time he had this sulphurtrim worked but not the Second time round . He’s now been on baytril and metacam for 6 months and his weight has stabilised and I still nebulise him every day without fail . if he can’t smell he won’t eat so I do think the nebuliser has help him a great deal aswell as patients it might be a different illness to yours but anything is worth a go . I’m glad I never gave up on my boy and he’s just celebrated his 8 th birthday good luck

It is good to hear a success story. I had a rabbit that nothing worked on him. He had cultures done that came out negative. Antibiotics did nothing. He suffered for 4 years while I looked for a cure. Yes, he did suffer, I could tell by his behavior. He died on his own. I am now wondering if I just didn't find the right vet.

 

[bunnylove2024]

I know, it is so hard. I just lost my boy on Monday... no identified reason and he lost 3LBS in 3 days. I had to liquefy his food just to get him what he needs. If it is in your rabbit's best interest then yes, but if you can do more(and afford it) then that is an option, losing a pet is very hard. I wish you the best of luck and lots of bunny love

 

[jmsylvan16]

Update: the culture came back with an answer! A bacteria called actinomyces, which usually causes abscesses, which we haven’t seen and therefore no one thought to test for. I’m now giving her penicillin and vitamin b shots. The doc did say this kind of infection can be tough to get rid of, but it’s an inexpensive treatment and she is SUCH a good girl for her shots it’s no problem at all. I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet, but I’m hopeful! Thanks to everyone who replied!

 

[squidpop]

Same thing happened to one of my rabbits- he was only a baby and was sneezing white snot. Vet put him on Baytril, worked at first but then it came back, so then tried (I think it was) tetracycline. Then it came back on the tetracyclin- so I went to a different vet— who was recommended by the New Zealand Rabbit council as being one of the best Vets for rabbits in New Zealand. She put him on azithromycin and it cured him like magic. .... But the vet said if the azithromycin had not worked she would have gone to Pennicillin injections like you are doing.

Please come back and let us know if the Penicillin worked for your bun I am really curious to know.

 

[bunnylove2024]

how is she? I hope she is ok!

 

[Julie&Bunnies]

Have you had her teeth examined? This sounds like tooth issues to me. Three years is right around the time when tooth issues can start. Bacteria in the mouth often causes eye and nasal infections. It sounds bacterial. Penicillin G injections worked well in my rabbits when similar issues presented.
I also recommend liquid vitamins. Oasis brand guinea pig Vitamins are great. sometimes they don't care for the taste so you have to give them with a syringe. They also make a rabbit vitamin formula but it lacks vitamin C which is why I recommend the guinea pig formula, basically the same but with added vitamin C. 1ml once or twice a day to help out her immune system.

 

[Binky4eva]

Any updates on how your girl is? I had a bun over a year ago who I had spent a fortune on with blood cultures, anti-biotics, vet visits etc. In the end they weren't working and I sadly had to end her suffering at age 10.
Binky free Shimma.

 

[jmsylvan16]

Have you had her teeth examined? This sounds like tooth issues to me. Three years is right around the time when tooth issues can start. Bacteria in the mouth often causes eye and nasal infections. It sounds bacterial. Penicillin G injections worked well in my rabbits when similar issues presented.
I also recommend liquid vitamins. Oasis brand guinea pig Vitamins are great. sometimes they don't care for the taste so you have to give them with a syringe. They also make a rabbit vitamin formula but it lacks vitamin C which is why I recommend the guinea pig formula, basically the same but with added vitamin C. 1ml once or twice a day to help out her immune system.

Yes, full head and body x-rays. Unfortunately she took a turn for the worse a week and a half ago and we made the decision to have her put down. We loved her dearly, but I couldn’t continue putting her through this with no improvement.

 

[jmsylvan16]

Any updates on how your girl is? I had a bun over a year ago who I had spent a fortune on with blood cultures, anti-biotics, vet visits etc. In the end they weren't working and I sadly had to end her suffering at age 10.
Binky free Shimma.

Any updates on how your girl is? I had a bun over a year ago who I had spent a fortune on with blood cultures, anti-biotics, vet visits etc. In the end they weren't working and I sadly had to end her suffering at age 10.
Binky free Shimma.

Sadly our situation ended up the same way, and we made the decision to have her euthanized. I’m sorry about your bunny as well.

 

[Julie&Bunnies]

So sorry for you. Thank you for everything you did for her.