Low blood cell count. Help!

[Pudding and Nimbus]

Help!! Has anyone had experience with bunny with very low blood cell count??

The blood test results from our one year old bunny is extremely alarming She has been losing some weight since we got her but she maintained a healthy weight for awhile. Until the past few weeks, her weight dropped a lot. We brought her to the vet yesterday as she refused to eat her hay but pellets. The vet said her teeth looks fine…. Considering the blood cell count, the doctor said she might have something going on at her bone marrow….Her platelets are so low. To get a sample from the bone marrow is a huge surgery considering her weight (0.65kg). I also do not want her to go through that.

Right now, she’s on fenberdazole for EC because the vet suspects that she might have that. She’s also on a motility drug and appetite drug for her GI. The vet said to wait for a week or two to repeat blood test. In the meantime, she refuses to eat hay so I give her pellets, veggies, treats, and critical care so at least she’s eating. I don’t know what else can I do to help her…

If anyone has any insight, please let me know she just turned one last month and has been pooping golden poops until yesterday…

 

[Moonshadow]

What type of pellets do you give her? Has anything in her diet changed from when she was a healthier weight? Is she an indoor bunny only or do you sometimes take her outside onto the grass? Has her environment changed in any way?

You said she has lost weight since you got her. Do you know what the previous owner or the breeder fed her?

 

[Pudding and Nimbus]

What type of pellets do you give her? Has anything in her diet changed from when she was a healthier weight? Is she an indoor bunny only or do you sometimes take her outside onto the grass? Has her environment changed in any way?

You said she has lost weight since you got her. Do you know what the previous owner or the breeder fed her?

Thank you for your reply!!! We mix the alfalfa and timothy pellets together hoping to help her gain weight and ensure she’s eating. When we got her from the breeder, she’s eating a lot of pellets (not sure what brand but bunnies love them)and hay( not sure which type). We gave her Timothy/alfalfa hay later on with decent amount /limited alfalfa pellets, then switch to Timothy with alfalfa/Timothy pellets. Then switch to Timothy/Orchard grass with very limited pellets as treats. She also eats veggies twice a day..the only change I think of is the Timothy/orchard grass mixed and she dropped a little weight. Her poop at that time was golden and big so I think she’s still eating a lot of hay. She’s an indoor rabbit living in our living room and her environment didnt change much except we brought in a third baby bunny about a month ago…they live across our living room….she’s doesn’t want to eat any hay now and will only eat pellets, critical care, veggies and treats….I’m worried

 

[JBun]

If those platelet numbers are accurate, that's exceptionally low, and I would imagine low enough to make internal bleeding a big risk. Blood loss can cause low platelet counts, but it would have to be significant blood loss to be that low. Then there are viral infections, bone marrow problems, liver disease, cancer.

I'm no expert on what abnormal lab values might indicate exactly, but your rabbits labs do show possible abnormal liver and kidney levels, though sometimes these levels can be affected by a rabbit recently not eating or being stressed or feeling unwell. E. cuniculi is certainly a possibility as it can affect the liver, kidney, and heart, which could result in all of these abnormal values in the blood test. Other possibilities might be some sort of infection, internal parasites, or cancer, though cancer seems less likely for such a young rabbit.

I find it odd that your rabbit has stopped eating hay, but is continuing to eat other foods, yet no dental issues were found. I would still explore the possibility there is a possible dental involvement. Sometimes it can be missed if it's a tooth at the far back of the mouth or sometimes a dental infection which may only show up on xrays. So maybe asking your vet to take a closer look, and maybe having xrays done.

Another possibility is there's a problem with the hay. Possibly a toxic weed in the hay that is causing illness and the blood issues. Or mold in the hay can cause organ damage, which would result in illness and the abnormal blood values. I would give a through check of the hay for any signs of weeds and mold(black/white spots, white dust, sour or musty smell, dampness).

If I was just going off symptoms exhibited and no blood test results, weight loss accompanied with selective eating(not eating hay but will eat other foods fine), will most often be because there's an issue with the hay(bad hay or the rabbit doesn't like that particular hay) or because of dental problems.

 

[Moonshadow]

Listen to @JBuns advise. I don’t have enough knowledge to have any answers but I figured by asking the right kinds of questions, someone with more knowledge like JBun would have an idea on the right kind of approach. Thank you for answering the questions with so much detail. I really hope your bunny gets better.