Need advice--wet & poopy bottom

[adamjai]

Hey guys! I need some advice for my bunn Phattie. A couple of days ago I noticed that when she peed she was excreting a bit of sludge, and when I turned her over I saw more of it on her bum. She's also been having some poopy problems lately as well, which I've been trying to treat with more hay and fewer pellets. This morning I noticed her bottom was wet and it looked to me like she was straining to pee. I have an appointment for her at 3:00pm on Monday, but that's four days from now. Is there anything I can do for her in the meantime to help the problem or make her more comfortable? I feel bad for my little baby. Otherwise she's acting fine, running and playing and eating with no problems. Any suggestions would be helpful!

 

[Snuggys Mom]

It sounds like a butt bath is in order:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html

I hope she gets better soon.

 

[jcottonl02]

Well seeing as she is eating fine and playing then i would suggest that she just has a bit of a mucky bottom and needs it cleaned. Of course, still take her to the vets.
You should check your rabbit's....under part very regularly, as they can get mucky and need to be cleaned.
I shouldn't worry.
Worry when she stops eating or seems lifeless- otherwise I dont think much serious could be wrong.
Jen n Ben

 

[Pipp]

adamjai wrote:

This morning I noticed her bottom was wet and it looked tome like she was straining to pee. I have an appointment for her at 3:00pm on Monday, but that's four days from now...

Ugh. You really have to try and get as much waterinto her as you can. She could have a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), stones (kidney, bladder, urinary tract) which could be painful and serious, and/or bladder sludge that needs to be flushed by a rabbit savvy vet.

I'd try giving her diluted juice (cranberry would be especially good,but carrot, apple or whatever it takes) in a separate crock of water to try and get her drinking more that way.

Feed her a lot of very wetveggies (assuming you feed her veggies). Soaking them in cold water for an hour or morefirst will help. Veggies that retain water like lettuce,leafy endive, celery, etc. are great. (If you normally don't give her Icerberg lettuce and she likes it, now's her chance).

I'll dig up the links onUrinary issues and the butt bath link abovewill helpwith urinary scald and related issues I think.

Hope she's okay!

sas:?

 

[Pipp]

jcottonl02 wrote:

Well seeing as she is eating fine and playing then i would suggest that she just has a bit of a mucky bottom and needs it cleaned.Of course, still take her to the vets. . . Worry when she stops eating or seems lifeless- otherwise I dont think much serious could be wrong.

No offence Jen, but this is verydangerous with bunnies.By the time theystop eating or seem lifeless,they're critical. There's usually only a matter of hours left to save their lives.They rarely display symptoms, you have to be extremely diligent with small, subtle signs.

Meanwhile, here's the Library link...

Urinary Problems

Hope it helps!

sas

 

[Pipp]

Just realized this post was a week old and Adamjai hasn't been on since.

How's the bunny? What did the vet say?



sas :?

 

[adamjai]

Sorry for not responding guys, it's been one of those weeks.

I took her to the vet Monday afternoon and she gave me some cranberry tablets for her urinary tract and some ointment for her irritated skin. She said if she didn't show a vast improvement in a week to call her back. Phattie's been taking the tablets with no problem, and she's still eating and drinking fine, and she's perky,but she's not really using her back legs because the scald has gotten worse. I've been giving her a warm bath every night to rinse off the urine and then holding her in a towel until she dries (she falls asleep every time, it's so cute!). Then I put the ointment on her, and she seems to get around better until the next morning, when she seems to be in pain again. I'll be calling the vet first thing tomorrow--the vet told me that if she wasn't better she'd express her bladder and see what might be going on. I have noticed the sludgy stuff isn't a problem anymore.

I feel horrible for my baby. She's lost her fur in some places and her skin is bright red. If you guys have any advice for making her more comfortable in the meantime it'd be much appreciated by both of us!

 

[jcottonl02]

Pip- Of course I understand that- thats why i still said she should definately take her bunny to the vets.
But I do get what your saying, and I guess I was just trying to be optimistic- no point worrying badly until the the day of the vets.
I really hope your not suggesting that I'm incompetent with my rabbit...'you have to be extremely diligent with small, subtle signs'.....:S becuase I am mostly definately not at all. He is one of the most important things in my life and I would never ever let anything happen to him, and I check him all over every day for any(subtle) signs of anything.
Jen

 

[jcottonl02]

Well it sounds like you are doing everything you can for her and devoting a lot of time to making her comfortable.Perhaps just trying to keep her warm and just being with her- falling asleep in your arms is a sign of great trust and she must feel very comfortable with you- clearly when your there she feels safe.
Hope she gets better.
Keep us posted
Jen

 

[Pipp]

jcottonl02 wrote:

I really hope your not suggesting that I'm incompetent with my rabbit...'you have to be extremely diligent with small, subtle signs'.....

Oh Lord no! :shock: You've been extremely competent with your rabbit and very helpful on this forum with great advice for others! Sorry my wording was careless and you took it like that.

:imsorry:

I'm just always very aware that there are others reading the thread with little experience, and they may dismisstheir rabbits' lesser symptoms and only be concerned withthe criticalones.

It's such a delicate balance between beingreassuring and alarming. There are upset people who need to feel optimistic, and complacent peoplewho need to be spurred into action. I'm erringon the side of caution.

sas :imstupid

 

[jcottonl02]

lol no its fine- just me being stupid and over dramatic. ignore me lol. i get very protective over my rabbit n stuff- sometimes over-protective.
no i completely agree- it was quite stupid of me to just take the idea 'oh it will all be alright' but with everyone else's good advice it wouldn't matter if i made a silly suggestion lol (well it would but just not as bad as if no one else had sed nething. ill try and put my thinking cap on next time i answer a question lol!!)
:bunnydance:

 

[Pipp]

adamjai wrote:

Itook her to the vet Monday afternoon and she gave me some cranberry tablets for her urinary tract and some ointment for her irritated skin.

I'll be calling the vet first thing tomorrow--the vet told me that if she wasn't better she'd express her bladder and see what might be going on. I have noticed the sludgy stuff isn't a problem anymore.

Is this a rabbit-savvy vet? I thought you took her in in the first place 'to see what was going on'. Could they not express her bladder at the time? I would think she'd REALLY need a urinalysis.

As far as I know the Cranberry and Vitamin C in the tabs will help keep bacteria from sticking to the bladder wall and causing an infection and help heal any wall damage from calcium crystals, but I'd certainly want a better idea of the cause.

Did the vet give her aSubQ infusion or prescribe a lactated ringers or oral hydration oranything like that?Did her diet come up? What kind of pellets is she getting? And veggies and hay... you have to watch the calcium counts.

Love more info, thanks!



sas

 

[adamjai]

She's a very rabbit savvy vet, she showed rabbits for 25+ years and has seen them for her entire veterinary career. When I took Phattie in she had no scald and was hopping fine, and the sludge problem wasn't as bad as it had been the week before, so she wanted to try the tablets and ointment first hoping that would clear things up. It seems to have helped the sludge, but she's developed scald and is hopping funny because of it. The weird hopping has only been happening for the last week or so.

She asked about her diet in detail and seemed to be happy with it. Phattie gets about a handful of kaytee timothy complete pellets every other day or so--she doesn't really eat them much--as much timothy hay as she can eat and about a cup of veggies twice a day,romaine or red leaf lettuce and either cilantro or parsley.

I've just finished giving her a bath and putting on the ointment and right now she's hopping almost normally. She's still eating and drinking as normal and otherwise seems fine. I'll still be calling the vet first thing though.

 

[Pipp]

:goodjob Wish all bunny slaves and vets were like you. :hug2:

Is the vet on our list? If not I'd love to make sure she is. Really nice hearing about good vets.

I'd still be interested to know what she thinks caused the problem in the first place, especially with that excellent diet. I've got a bunny here withoccasionalurinary issues, but she never seems to have themwhen shevisitsthe vet. :disgust: (I think she justgets a kick out ofmaking me worry).

As noted above, I like getting details for the benefit of others reading the thread, sorry for making you work! Really glad to hear your bunny isdoing so well.



sas

PS: Can you put your location in your profile? :thanks: