Jack is dropping a severe amount of weight

[NZminilops]

My boy Jack, age unknown but approx 10-12 months old, was neutered on the 30th of July.

He's recovered well except for one major problem. He seems to have lost a large amount of weight and it's been very sudden, almost feels like overnight . On the day of his neuter he was 2.793 pounds, and now feels like he's about 1.5 pounds :shock:. I have no way to get his weight, but he feels like he's shrunk to half his normal self.

I have a vet appointment tomorrow morning, (had to clear funds from my savings account and it takes a couple of days with the type of account I have) so I'm crossing my toes and fingers he's going to be ok until then.

His appetite has been regular and healthy apart from this morning, when he seemed moody and not interested in eating. That didn't last long and he soon tucked into his pellets.

I have been feeding him alfalfa pellets, some sunflower seeds, oats and some bran which has lots of fibre, in the hopes if at least getting his weight stable. On top of this he has unlimited hay, home grown oat grass, carrot tops and some little bits of carrot and dandelion and a couple of treats a day.

Due to not wanting to pick him up to much in the first week and mainly just stroking his head, I didn't notice if he was getting smaller then or it just started happening this week. He has a very thick winter coat on at the moment too which isn't helping.

Any thoughts or ideas or well wishes would be much appreciated, I hope there is nothing wrong with him, he's so special to me .

 

[ellissian]

I'm sorry I have no advice, but wanted to say I'm sorry Jack is not too well. Good luck for the vets tomorrow, I will be thinking of you both!

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Oh, poor little guy. I hope the vet can figure this out and get him back to his normal weight.

ray:

Keep us posted.

Hugs,

Laura

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Oh Chelle, I encouraged you to make this thread,and I'm really pulling for Jack. I hope it's just a hormonal thing and he picks up in weight real soon.

Come on Jack, your mommy really loves you. Eat up sweetie. I hope the vet can come up with some other suggestions.

 

[NZminilops]

Thank you everyone .

Jack is feeling very boney, I can feel each vertibrae as well as sharply feel his hips and shoulder blades and ribs. I feel like it's my fault, I should have picked up on this sooner. He was always a medium to slender build anyway, but this is just...shocking .

His tummy is nice and full and round and he's eating just the same as usual so I don't get it. It's neither hard nor soft, feels the same as the other buns. His pellets contain an anti coccidiosis agent, and he has been de-wormed with a gentle de-wormer for small rabbits and kittens.

His teeth look fine, he did well at his post neuter checkup.

I'm so, so worried, and miserable, I'm sure it must be something I did .

 

[Bunny Mum]

Hi I know exactly how you feel. Flo was spayed 2 weeks ago and has lost a noticeable amount of weight.

I took her back to the vet who tested her for all sorts of stuff and couldnt find anything wrong with her. He put her on antibioitcs and i have to admit she ahs improved. She is not eating anywhere near as much as she used to and isnt as sociable, but hopefully she will back to normal soon and wishing you the same with your bunny

 

[ellissian]

Any news yet?

All these time differences confuse me a little. :?

 

[NZminilops]

Jacks visit went pretty well. The vet can't find anything wrong that he can see, he said apart from the weight loss Jack seems well. His fur is glossy, his eyes and nose are clear (he has allergies sometimes), his teeth are good. His poo and pee look and smell good, he doesn't have fleas or worms.

He's taken a blood sample, a urine sampe and a poop sample and will get back to me with the results as soon as possible.

He also gave him an appetite encourager, some baytril even though he thinks it wont help :?, and some stuff that's the equivalent to critical care. Jack loves it!

He's given me a strict diet to follow which includes double pellets (but to watch for excess cecals), a special hay that the vet sold me as my hay is pretty crappy, plenty of fresh water with a little dribble of fresh-from-the-apple juice to encourage drinking, a small slice of carrot, a dandelion leaf and a carrot top a day, the crital care stuff twice a day and baytril once a day. he also said to encourage him to eat anything else he wants that's low in calcium.

I took Jack outside yesterday evening for a run around with his harness on the lawn, he's been so much more cheerful since then. I told the vet about this and he thinks Jack may be suffering from missing his normal house (a hutch outside) and missing BunBun and Lucky, as their hutches were right next to eachother. He also said to check Jack's litter tray to see if he's been burying his food in there, as his food dish is right next to it, and low and behold he has been :?. So I guess he wasn't eating as much as I originally thought, but instead digging it into the hay in his litter tray. Goodness knows why! The vet reckons it's common for stressed rabbits to hide food away but then they end up peeing on it, I don't know about that but it fits the situation.

I'm off to take my little snuggle butt outside for some more fresh air, he's already excited as he has his harness on and knows he's about to go outside.

Thanks so much to everyone who read and posted, I'll keep you all updated .

 

[ellissian]

I'm glad it is'nt anything too serious.

Tell him if he does'nt start eating his food, I'm going to come over an kick his butt! Then you can giver him a hug from me.

 

[Haley]

Very strange that you guys cant pinpoint the cause. Must be frustrating for you!

My first thought was some sort of worm or intestinal parasite, but that would show up if they took a fecal sample.

Poor guy. At least he's eating lots. Youre doing everything you can for him. I hope he improves with the new meds/foods

 

[NZminilops]

Thanks you ellisian, you're always so lovely , and manage to make me laugh!

Yes Haley, it's frustrating, made more confusing by the fact that he seems fine. He's happy, playful and cuddly.

I was just telling Spring on MSN that Jack just took a flying leap off the couch to the coffee table, skidded across it and grabbed my chocolate bar at the same time, then jumped off the edge with it still in his mouth! :shock: I had to yell "NOOOOO!" and grab it off him before he ate any, and I squirted a bit of water at his teeth to get any choc off and gave him some water to drink.

Yep...I think he's feeling ok alright! Little brat :biggrin2:.

I'll hear about the test results on Monday, that's so long to wait. In the mean time I'm going to keep doing what the vet says and hope he's ok.

 

[NZminilops]

Oh! He hadn't lost as much weight as I though, I forgot to put that in here. He lost 0.427 of a pound, which is heaps, but not as bad as I first imagined.

In case someone doesn't know who Jack is, here's my baby . I just took these, he had a run around on the lawn then came and lay down on my lap like a cat and slept there for ages and ages.

Sorry to post pics in the infirmary but I felt they should go here .

He's doing well this afternoon, lots of energy.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Oh Chelle, they're just precious! I love the pics! Feel free to add like 100 pics!

 

[NZminilops]

Aww, thanks Crys, you're so sweet! Big hug to you from me and Jack :inlove:

 

[JadeIcing]

Hug sweet Jack for me. Silly bun with the candy.

 

[Michaela]

That's great he's perked up a bit :biggrin2:

I'm hoping the tests come back clear ray:, hopefully he's just missing Lucky and BunBun (how cute is that!?)

 

[Bunnicula]

Glad to hear Jack is improving! He needs to meet my Emmaline. She is a definite food thief, too...have to supervise her all the time.

The pics are great. Jack is TOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE.

-Mary Ellen

 

[ellissian]

NZminilops wrote:

Oh! He hadn't lost as much weight as I though, I forgot to put that in here. He lost 0.427 of a pound, which is heaps, but not as bad as I first imagined.

In case someone doesn't know who Jack is, here's my baby . I just took these, he had a run around on the lawn then came and lay down on my lap like a cat and slept there for ages and ages.

Sorry to post pics in the infirmary but I felt they should go here .

He's doing well this afternoon, lots of energy.

I just love his big chunky paws!

Has he been eating well today?

 

[NZminilops]

Jack is doing very very well! I'm so pleased and relieved. Still waiting to hear back from the tests on Monday - which by the way are costing hundreds! - so I've got my paws crossed till then. I hope the vet does a good job, I printed off some articles from here for him to read.

RO is really the very best resource .

 

[Mikoli]

Oh, I'm glad he's doing well! He's such a precious little bun. Has he gained any more weight yet? He's looking really good, apart from being a little skinny.

He looks like such a darling little bun. Give him a hug for me!

Rachel.