Rabbit With an Eye Problem(RIP)

[Pipp]

This series was posted on Craigslist by Carrie, I contacted her and she may have posted here. (Sorry, I forget!)

Here's the background (Craigslist posts, copied with permission):


Question about Eye Problems in Rabbit

Reply to: [email protected] [?]
Date: 2009-01-16, 10:40PM PST

Hi there,

I have a female lionhead dwarf rabbit who it 3 or 4 years old. After I got here, she developed (very quickly) a white "coating" in here eye - it kinda looked like a cataract that people get. At the time I lived in Abbotford and took her to a vet there - he said it was a cataract, and not to worry as it wouldn't hurt her and surgery would be ridiculously expensive and complicated. It was fine and stayed the same for a couple years until now. A few months ago, I noticed it looked bigger and took her to a rabbit specialist vet in Surrey, who said that it wasn't a cataract, it had the characteristics of more of a "growth" kinda thing, but she could still see ok and was in no pain. Both times I bought eye drops for her to rule out infections, etc. Both vets also put various drops in her eyes and did full inspections, so these vague diagnosis' are not because I'm cheap

Anyway,today when I fed her I notices her whole eye was covered in pus and all her eyelids and surrounding area. I wiped it away as best I could, but was worried about hurting her. From what I can see right now, 90% of her eye is pure white, and the eye is smaller and more sunken in than her other eye which is normal. Also, by the corner of her eye, it looks very red, raw and irritated. I have been giving her drops for infection for awhile (it was an ongoing bi-weekly thing both vets had recommended) so I think it is more a problem to do with the actual eye.

Has anyone else had this problem? I will take her to the vet tomorrow, but would love it if anyone had advice or maybe something I could mention to the vet to help them figure out the problem.

Thanks,

Carrie
Edit: I forgot to mention, my rabbit (Aurora) has never been in any pain that we've been able to see through out this. She has never shyed away from us touching her eye, head, etc., and the white of her eye has never been too pink/red or irritated. Even tonight, as gross as she looks, she didn't react at all when I was wiping her eye and trying to see it, etc. So that is at least one good thing, and the reason why I'm not rushing her to the emergency vet tonight.

Update on Eye Problems in Rabbit

Reply to: [email protected] [?]
Date: 2009-01-17, 1:06PM PST

For those interested in more information on this for their own sake or in case it happens to their rabbits, I also posted it on a forum recommended to me by a craigslist user. You can see it and it's replies here:

http://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tab.../1/view/topic/postid/93576/Default.aspx#93591

********************************************************************************

Hi everyone, and thanks for replying so quickly.

I have been on the phone with many vets in my area this morning. The vet I go to is called King George Animal Hospital, and the vet is Dr. Sharon Prus. She is a Rabbit Specialist. However, she is out of the office until Monday. They recommended I call Kennedy Heights Animal Hospital, who also has a rabbit specialist. After calling I found out that he is out of office until Monday, and they said my usual vet has more training in rabbits and so I should wait to see her.

I also called Eagle Ridge Animal Hospital to see if I can see Dr. Upjohn, who is recommended by many people and animal rescue/advocacy groups in the area, and he is away until the 28th, which leaves them with no rabbit specialist either.

All 3 vets (well, receptionists) said it is probably some sort of infection that is looking a lot worse because of her "cataract" or whatever it is that was in her eye previously. Although it looks very gross and horrible to me (which the vets said are common of eye infections), she doesn't seem to be in pain as she is eating, drinking, and pooping normally, carrying out normal activities, not shying away when I go to touch her, or not moving away when I "clean" her eye. Also, she is not swaying her head or any other abnormal behaviour. The vets said unless it actually started bleeding or she started acting differently, my best bet would be to probably wait until Monday, when I can get in to see her regular vet.

The eyedrops previously prescribed for her were Tobradex Opthamalic Suspension, with the instructions to put one drop in the right eye twice a week on a continual basis. When calling the vets today I asked if I should continued this they said yes, to give her drops for today and tomorrow, and then she will be in Monday at 3:45pm. Unless, of course, there are any changes in her eye or behaviour, and then we will have to make some more calls.

I will try to take some pictures of it, but my digital camera is broken, so I will have to use my cellphone. I won't post them on here because they might gross people out. However, if you would like them either to see what I am talking about, or for future reference for your own rabbits, I can email them to you.

So thank you all for all your help, and I will update on Monday after the vet to let you know how it's going.



Update in Eye Prblems In Rabbit

Reply to: [email protected] [?]
Date: 2009-02-09, 1:19PM PST

Hi everyone. This is an update to my previous posts about the eye problems my rabbit has. I've recieved many emails and concern from people, so thank you all.

You can read my first post here:

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pet/996152633.html

And my first update here:

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pet/996836893.html

Now, here is what is new:

Vet Visit #1:

I took Aurora (my rabbit) to the vet on Monday Jan. 19th. Upon examintation, the doctor wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but said to leave her for a week and they would slowly work on here. They cleaned out here eye, and realized she had an abscess so they did a surgery to clean it out. They decided to leave her eye in, as they thought she would have a better chance of healing, less infection, etc than if they took the eye out and had a larger cavity to deal with. I picked her up on Friday Jan 23rd, and the vet processes and bill were as follows: $48 for the examination, $85 for eye abscess surgery, $15 for fluid therapy, $85 for anesthesia, $36 for medication given there, and $60 for medication I took home (she is on 2 oral meds and one eye drop) and $18 for hospitalization. So vet visit #1 cost $347 and was diagnosed as an eye abscess. It was hopefully supposed to get better, and I needed to bring her in in a week for a check up.

Vet Visit #2:

I took her back to the Vet on Fri. Jan. 30th, and the doctor said she looked a little better and to keep giving meds, etc. The recheck cost was $24 and the anesthesia cost was $35 (they gave her a local to clean out her eye a little). I needed to bring her back in in another week for another check up. Vet visit number 2 cost $59. Oh, they also packed her eye with antibiotic balls and medicated gauze for no extra cost Meds continue as before.

Vet Visit #3:

I dropped her off at the Vet this Friday Feb. 6th, and picked her up this Monday morning. They had to do a another eye surgery on her. There was no charge for the examination or recheck, so that was really nice. The eye surgery cost $100, and they packed her eye with antibiotic balls again and this time stitched it shut. Fluid therapy was $15. Anethesia was $85. $25 for injected meds there. I had to buy more meds too because hers were out. She is not on the eye drops anymore as it is stitched, but she is on the same 2 oral drops which were another $40. Hospitalization was $24. This surgery there was no pus, etc when the vet was cleaning here - just lots of tissue mass. So she took a sample to send to the lab - $60 - to see if it is a tumor - in which case she said nothing can really be done and she should be put down. Those result will be in later this week as she is sending the sample today. Vet visit #3 cost $362.

So all in all vet costs have been $768 so far. I've mentioned the costs for a couple reasons. For one, when I was trying to research her problem. I couldn't find any sites that said how much money I could expect to spend to treat her, so this might be a good reference for any of you who might encounter this kind of problem. Another reason is because these prices seem very fair and reasonable. The vet is King George Animal Hospital, and the vet is Sharon Prus. She is a rabbit specialist, and has been very kind and caring. I can definately tell this vet is not in it for the money, but for the love of pets, and I would love to recommend her to anyone looking for good animal care.

The other reason I posted the vet bills is in case anyone has any money they can contribute to them. If you don't want to, please don't send hate mail as it will be ignored, just ignore my request. If you can and want to, please email me and we can talk via email or phone about it. Any amount is appreciated, as she is still needing to go back in for more check ups in one week, and probably a couple more times. (Unless it is a tumor.) But right now all the money owed is sitting on my visa card, and I would appreciate any help anyone can afford. Also, I would love suggestions if anyone knows where you can apply to recieve financial aid for your animals. I would also be willing to barter sevices for money (babysit, create a website, create and edit videos for your personal or buisness use, etc...)

If I have forgotten anything let me know and I can make an edit to this main post, or if you have any questions about the vet or your own rabbit or anything feel free to email me. Thanks!

Carrie

 

[Pipp]

I was corresponding with her today, and just received this:

-----

Hi everyone!
I am the person who post the "Update on Rabbit Eye Problems" post, which you can read here for background info:
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pet/1027852894.html
It's now 10pm. At 9:30pm, my rabbit Aurora did something very strange. Usually she is in a very large custom made cage with my other bunny, but because of her eye problems and constant need of medications, I currently have her in one of those small starter cages you buy at pet stores so I can get her easily and give her her meds. So, at around 9:30pm, I was sitting in the living room next to her cage and she started having a "seizure"... or something like that... she was running all around her little cage and falling and just making crazy movements - at first I thought it was a seizure, but then when she stopped I went in to slowly inspect her... she was actually off balance, and tripped once I touched her, and then ran around her cage all crazy like trying to get her balance back. Anyway, the whole first "seizure" episode only lasted about 30 seconds I would guess. Right now she is fine - except she keeps looking straight up, and her left ear won't go up anymore, it points straight down and doesn't move. She is eating and drinking and moving around her cage (I bribed her with treats) and she will put her head down to eat her treats, but will put it right back up when done them. I can touch her and move her individual limbs, and she doesn't react with pain.
So... My vet is closed and doesn't open until 9am tomorrow. I also called the emergency vet, but they had no idea what was wrong, and said that they don't deal with a lot of rabbits so they suggest I wait until tomorrow... so I guess I would love any advice anyone has, if you know anymore "tests" I can do to tell what is wrong, or if you've had it happen to you and know what it is... she is not holding her head to the side or anything, just straight up, and she now has her balance back. Was it a stroke? Unless some other weird stuff happens, so anyone emails back something that helps, she will be back into the vet tomorrow morning, so no worries about her care
Thank you all very much for putting my mind at rest!
Carrie

 

[Pipp]

I'm impressed with the care and vet prices.

I've never had major eye issues. It sounds like Aurora had some kind of related 'neurological event'.

Any similar experiences? Ideas?

I've asked Carrie to check this thread.


sas :clover:

 

[carriecorbett]

Hi everyone! Thanks Sorelle for your patience with me and my computer! If any one has any advice thank you so much for your time! You can also feel free to email me at [email protected], as my computer loads craigslist and binkybunny (where I have other postings) sporatically, and it has had a major problem with loading this site, so I will try to log in as ofter as possible, but may have a couple time periods with no activity.

Carrie and Aurora and Radar

 

[JimD]

I wish I had some advice

Sending prayers and good thoughts.

ray:

 

[Maureen Las]

I am just making a guess asI am not a vet or a tech but it sounds to me as if it is possible that the infection has spread to areas in the brain which is causing neurological symtoms; if her eye is stitched and there is still infection it cannot drain outwards.

Iwould guess that strong antbiotics should have been used as this was an abscess and I'm not sure what she was on.
try to make her comfortabe for now but she most likely needs stronger antibitoics
just a possibility

Ifeel very sad for you asI recently had a bun with a terrible eye infection (not an abscess) that would not respond to antibiotics until months later a vet happened on the "right' one and the infection is still resolving now.

 

[ra7751]

Umm.....are the globes bulging? With the information provided, I would suspect some type of infection behind the eye....possibly an abscess. I would be very interested in knowing what the globe pressure is in the eye. I would like to see exactly what these "antibiotic balls" are and what they are made of. Many of those type beads are Clindamycin (or something similar) laced and they can cause more problems than they treat....not saying they aren't appropriate but I would like to see more diagnostic information here. Also, if you could list exactly what drugs have been administered.

If this rabbit were me, until I could get additional diagnostics....I would probably consider an anti-inflammotry such as Metacam and start on an aggressive broad-spectrum antibiotic. I would try to get a swab of any discharge to see if thereis bacteria in there.

And, in my non-profesional opinion....DISCONTINUE THE TOBRADEX!!!This is Tobramycin (a very good antibiotic on it's own) but it has Dexamethasone....that isa steroid and is contraindicated in many eye issues. Steroids suppress the immune response, so if this is now an infection, the immune system will not properly respond. And if there is an ulcer, steroids will cause permanent scarring that will not resolve and it can cause the collapse of the cornea. It is a rare day that I use steroids in rabbits....again, they do sometimes come in handy....but they should be used with extreme caution in all species but especially rabbits.

Please list all the specific drugs this rabbit has taken so we can get a better picture of what is going on.

Randy

 

[krsbunny]

The other thing that comes to my mind (unfortunately) is an e.c. lesion as the underlyingcause ofthe eye problems. Seizurecould be from e.c.having spread into the brain ... or possibly spread from the brain into the eye and to other parts of the brain.

I understand Randy's concern about the steroids in the eye drops assteroids do inhibit the immune system (however, I think this is more of a concern with systemic vs topical steroids).I personally would not dicontinue the drops without consulting the vet who prescribed them. While I have not used antibiotic drops with steroids recently, I have used them (both ears and eyes) in the past with very good results.The vets who prescribed them are excellent vets (as it sounds like the ones treating this are)-- sometimes they prescribed drops with steroids and sometimes those without. My experience is that most eye drops with steroids are also available without the steroid, so I would personally assume that the vet purposely chose the one with the steroid, based on her experience and/or something she observed/suspected in this case. IMHO, the best approach with the vet is for the owner to mention concerns raised here about the steroid use ... but not to insist on a change if the vet feels it is needed.

Kathy Smith

 

[carriecorbett]

Hi everyone,

So, I was going to take her to the vet this morning as they open at 9am. She started having seizure after seizure around 8am. I wrapped her in blankets and held her which seemed to help her not move as much. 5 minutes away from seeing the vet this morning she died in my arms. I did let her see the vet, and she was pronounced dead. My vet also said she got the test results from last Friday back this week (when they biopsied her eye) and they said it was Fibro Sarcoma, and it was mostly likely in her optic nerve, and she would have been putting her down probably anyway... she also kind of hinted that maybe we could put her on anti-seizure meds, etc, and maybe try some more, but I knew my little girl couldn't handle anymore anyway. So, that is where is all stands.

Thank you all for your help and understanding, everyone has been great, and it really helped me a lot.

Any questions or coments or anything feel free to email me directly ([email protected]) or post on here. Thanks again everyone.

Carrie

 

[Maureen Las]

Dear Carrie,

I am so very very sorry that you lost Aurora in such a terrible way. My thoughts and feeling are with you at this difficult time. You did the very best for her and that's all any of us can do :sad:

Maureen

 

[krsbunny]

I am so very sorry for your loss. Please know that you did everything possible for Aurora. Sometimes the best vets and the most diligent caregivers cannot change the inevitable.

Healing hugs.

Kathy Smith

 

[ra7751]

Hi Carrie,

Please accept my condolences on the passing ofAurora. It is always difficult. I am sure she knows that you did everything you possibly could have done to help her.

I do have some comments about the treatment and the use of the steroids with abscessesbut now is not the time nor the place to discuss that. I am also very interested in the results of the biopsy especially considering what was mentioned in one of the vet visits.

May Aurora rest in peace.

Randy

 

[Flashy]

I'm sorry Carrie. With time I hope it's a consolation that she died in your arms, full of love. Very horrific and scary for you, but you did everything you could for her. She had a rough time, but was so lucky to be loved so much.

Binky Free Aurora.

x

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Oh Carrie, I am so very sorry for your loss. I'll be thinking of both of you, please pm me if you need to talk.

ray:Little one, we lost you way too soon.