Raphael's photo thread

[Bassetluv]

Thank you, Snuggysmom...:hug2:

 

[jordiwes]

Di, you and Raph aredefinitely in my thoughts. It must be very hard for you.

 

[Bassetluv]

Thanks jordiwes...I found today to be verystressful, for sure. I didn't want to leave Raph and go to work, buthad a couple of papers with deadlines that had to be done, and I'dalready taken off a good part of Friday to be with him. Tonight I'mfeeling a tiny bit better, as he seems to have perked up a bit. Whereasthis morning he was very lethargic and looking so sad, after I camehome tonight Raph seemed to be doing somewhat better. I started givinghim baby aspirin just in case he was having pain, and I picked up somepedialytes on my way home today and got some of that into him. Not longafter that he began drinking some water out of his dish - Raph hadpretty much stopped drinking on his own a little while ago - so thiswas a good sign. (I know there was a woman in another website with adisabled rabbit who said it's not uncommon for disabled bunnies to gooff their feed and water...she said her rabbit refuses to drink waterat all any more, and hasn't now for months.)

I also picked up a special treat for Raphtonight...craisins...something he hasn't had in ages. And that caughthis attention! I was surprised that he still showed such interest inthem given his lack of appetite, but he devoured the few that I gavehim, and then a little while later actually began eating some of hisoats. He's lost weight, so I hope this continues to help his appetiteand maybe his weight will pick up again. He ate a pretty good helpingof dandelion, parsley, and carrot top this evening (at least, a goodstart for him) and a few tastes of his oats, so I've got my fingerscrossed. I actually put the carrot tops (his favorite) in his waterdish so he'd be forced to reach into the water to take them out, and itseemed to work, as it was after this he took a few voluntary drinks ofwater. Plus he gets the water that the tops soak in when he eats them.And he seems to like the pedialyte, even though he wouldn't take it onhis own; when I would syringe it into his mouth he'd struggle, but oncehe got the taste of it would start taking it from the syringe withoutmy prompting him.

Must admit, I feel very drained from all of this.. I guess I'd beenfeeling it for a while but refused to admit it to myself. It's likehaving a sick child and feeling so helpless, and the problem with arabbit is, they can't tell you if and where they hurt, or how much.

Thanks for your kind words, everyone...it's so nice to know that others understand and empathize...it really means so much...

 

[Haley]

I know just how you feel. Its so drainingemotionally to look after a sick bun. And its hard to know if youredoing the right thing for them. Im praying for you. It sounds likeyoure doing a great job keeping him motivated and more alert.

Im so happy he's taking the pedialyte and drinking/eating more on hisown. Will he eat his pellets? If not, maybe you could mix some with thepedialyte or pumpkin and syringe it in. Poor dear.

I'll be keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[Bassetluv]

So far Raph hasn't really eaten his pellets...Iwas thinking of creating a slurry them and mixing them with some babyfood to see if he'd like that - if I can hit on things he will takewillingly, it's much better than me having to force him to eat. Hedoesn't touch his hay (or very little of it, anyway), but he never wasmuch of a hay eater...Anna is the one who chows down on it. But thismorning he was looking quite a bit better than yesterday morning...muchmore alert, and was munching on a carrot when I left. I'll be taking mydog to the vet's soon, and will ask what he thinks about pain meds forRaph...though I don't really trust my vet's opinion a whole lot,unfortunately. The baby aspirin seemed to be what perked him up (andthe pedialyte probably helped quite a bit too). I gave him some morepedialyte this morning via syringe and put some in his water too. It'shard to tell when Raph's in pain, as he doesn't display it the way aregular bunny would...sitting hunched in a corner, or more quiet thanusual...he just lies there, but the telltale sign seems to be going offhis favorite foods and not sitting up quite as alertly. I want tomassage his muscles for him, as lying down all the time must get ratherpainful for them, but his body isso sensitive that massagecauses his muscles to spasm.

Though I've seen pumpkin mentioned here many times I've never tried itwith Raph. I may do that too, just to see if he takes to it. Anythingto keep his appetite stimulated! Now we have a nightlyritual...he sits beside me in his little cat bed and watches tv withme...old reruns of Dallas and Friends. Oh, and of course...AnimalPlanet too...though I suspectRaph doesn't care what show isplaying so long as his face and ears are getting stroked...

 

[Haley]

How's he doing today?

I would ask the vet about pain meds like Metacam. Its amazing how well a bunny can heal once his body isnt in any more pain.

I hope Raphael continues to improve. I'll be praying for himray:

 

[Bassetluv]

This morning Raph looked the same asyesterday...better, but definitely not his old self. He's eating a fairbit now...takes a while for him to get through his meal, but at leasthe didn't leave any overnight this time. I gave him a bunch of hay andveggies and a bit of fruitthis morning, so hopefully he'llhave the appetite to get through it. He still doesn't drink much, but Itry to encourage him. I recall one woman in the disabled rabbit groupmentioning that her rabbit stopped drinking water altogether quite along time ago, and at first she tried to force fluids into him, butthen finally just gave him veggies that were wet, and he seemed to getall of his liquids that way. I am giving Raph syringed pedialyte and amalso giving him some water...and he does drink a tiny bit out of hiswater dish, so hopefully that will suffice for him.

Haley,just as you've suggested, Metacam seemed to be the drugof choice for other disabled rabbit owners in the other forum. I'mgoing to ask my vet about it and see what he says. Hopefully he will beknowledgeable about rabbits and which drugs are okay to use...as hedidn't seem to be when I took Scooby in for neutering and subsequentlylost him during the surgery. (Unfortunately I realized this after thefact...even though my vet had assured me he was used to treatingrabbits. :?) Not sure if he prescribes Metacam, but I will find out ifhe can order it in if he doesn't.

Since it's hard to tell when Raph is in pain...whether it's all thetime, or episodic...I am wondering if there is any longterm harmgivingMetacam on a daily basis (i.e., either an eventualbreakdown of the effect of the drug if used regularly, or harmful sideeffects from long-term use). The people in the other forum who wereusing Metacam for their rabbits were using it longterm (years) on adaily basis. Right now I've been giving Raph baby aspirin, 3/4 of apill once in the morning and once in the evening, and that seems tohelp. Just how much it helps his pain though, is hard to say. One thingthat Raph does have going for him is his voracious appetite...I suspectif he had always been a picky eater, he would have been off his feed along time ago, and wouldn't be bouncing right back into eating again.LOL...when I used to feed the two rabbits in the evenings, it was aliteral shoving match between myself and Raph to see who could get tothe food dish first...me with the food, or his big head looking to grabit before it hit the bowl. And his nose would get thrust right intoit...he reminded me of one of those pigs who are trained to hunt downtruffles!

 

[Haley]

I use Metacam with no problems. My boy Max hasbeen on it for about a month (.2 ccs per day) because he was having alot of pain due to his continual upper respiratory/nasal problems andan abscess in his jaw that was removed (and might still be there).

As far as I know its safe for long term use. He seems to relax a lot after his daily dose..

 

[Bassetluv]

Okay, thanks Haley...that's definitely good toknow. Will see what my vet says when I take my dog in, I'll ask himabout pain meds for Raph. (That's another worry...my dog has developedtwo lumps on her body. I'm hoping they're just fatty deposits...Idefinitely don't want to be faced with her being ill too.)

And give hugs to Max from me...poor little guy!

 

[naturestee]

Hugs for you and *my* boy Raph! :kiss:

 

[Bassetluv]

awww ... thanks so much Naturestee...I'm off to the vet tonight with Kaya, so hopefully I'll come home with something for Raph to ease his pain...

 

[Pipp]

How was the vet trip?

I've been thinking about Raph constantly and remembering the day you got him. :love

Hope they had some suggestions to make him feel better.



sas ray:

 

[Bassetluv]

Hey Sas (love that little drawing of the lop! It's adorable).

Well, I took my dog to the vet last night to have her lumpiness checked out, and fortunately it turns out that she's just a lumpy fool. She has fatty deposits under her skin, so unless they change drastically in some way, she should be okay. While I was there I asked the vet what he could give me for Raph in the way of pain medication, as it's become pretty obvious that the poor guy is in a fair bit of pain most of the time now (for him to turn down food, you know something is wrong). He suggested starting him off on a low dose of Metacam - which is what most bunny people have mentioned to me as well...they use it for their rabbits. For some reason the first dose has to be injected, so Raph is going in tomorrow afternoon (I was hoping to just pick up a prescription and take them home to him). Since I do see improvement with him when I give him baby aspirin, I'm hopeful that the Metacam will help him even more. He actually ate a bit more of his pellets last night along with some oats, and cleaned up all of his veggies. I wantRaph's appetite to pick up even more as he's lost a fair bit of weight...my heart breaks when I pick him up, he feels so frail. So if the Metacam kicks in well, hopefully his appetite will pick up too. I can't wait to get him to the vet tomorrow for his pain meds and see how he does.

Gosh, it's not that long ago that Raph came to live with me, is it? Only a year and a half ago. I was so excited, waiting to get him...and the day he came into my life it changed me. He's truly a special soulmate...one look in his eyes and I swear we connected at some unspoken level. Anna also came to me in a special way, and she too is a very special bunny...but it's Raph who carries that 'wisdom of the ages' in him. Wish I could post a recent pic of him, but my son has the camera. :?I'll post one of his sink pictures I guess...though I did post them before, they were the last ones I took before my son left back in December. I'll have to try and borrow my sister's camera sometime and get some new ones.

His birthday's coming up too, February 23rd...he'll be all of two! I will have to try and think of something special to give to him, as he surely does deserve it.

Oh, on another topic, this was a bit weird. Last night as I was running to the vet's with Kaya (running to keep warm because it's so frickin cold here! -32 deg C yesterday, and the same for today and tomorrow), suddenly a scene from Dances With Wolves flashed into my head...the scene where John Dunbar is running and playing with the wolf, Two Socks. The movie has been airing here this week, so it's not surprising I envisioned that scene I guess...even though I haven't been watching the movie itself. But as I ran I pictured a wolf running along beside me, which was a bit odd. Three or four minutes later I walked into the vet's office with my dog. It's a very old house run by one vet, so his volume of customers isn't high...you're lucky to see more than two people and their pets sittingthere at the most. But was I ever in for a surprise...I walked into the office and there, pacing back and forth in the waiting room, was a wolf! Someone had him as a pet, an amazing, beautiful animal, very gentle with extremely soulful eyes. I just found it so ironic that I'd suddenly pictured a wolf in my head as I was running, only to see one actually in the clinic when I walked in. Strange...:shock:

Raph in the sink (getting his eyes and ears treated):

 

[Haley]

aww look at that face! he seems like such a good boy, mine wouldnt sit there like that I dont think

I really hope that Metacam helps. Some bunines will eat a lot more once they are relieved of the pain, but I also know a few that the pain meds upset their stomach, so just keep an eye on him (which Im sure you will).

I'll be praying for the little guy. Let us know how he does once the pain meds kick in!

 

[Bassetluv]

You know, I think I fall more in love with my pets every day.

Raph started his pain meds on Saturday, and they do seem to be helping. (Mind you, I have to be extra careful when giving them to him, as he hates having it administered and will fight it...and if he struggles too much, it triggers a long painful muscle spasm in him. So we're both learning how to get around that...)

Anyway, in the past couple of days I began noticing something with Raph. When I'm home I leave his cage door open while I'm doing things around the house. He would laze in his cage, seemingly pretty comfy. But lately he started 'falling' out of his cage...I'd walk by and every time I did, he'd be lying on the floor in front of the open door. So I'd put him back in again, only to find him back out on the floor 5 to 10 minutes later.

Then it dawned on me that he was trying to get a change of scenery, so this evening I put him on a towel in the living room (which I normally do anyway when I'm watching tv). I went back out to the kitchen, and about 10 minutes later there was Raph, this time lying in the doorway. I put him back on his towel and then went into the bedroom to go on the computer. I got up a few moments later and...there was Raph, in the doorway again...only this time pointed in the direction of the bedroom. So I brought him into the bedroom and propped him up on Kaya's dog bed. Went to work on the computer, turned around a few moments later, and there was Raph...almost at my feet.

Sometimes I wonder who is more intelligent...me or him. It only took me a few days to realize what he's been doing...Raph has been trying to follow me! Every time I'm in a different room, or area of a room, than him, he has been struggling to make his way over to me. This is new behavior to him, as he used to be content remaining in his cage; though I suspect with the pain he was in earlier he wouldn't have tried to move around very much at all. I had no idea he was this attached to me, and I feel so badly for not realizing what he had been attempting to do. So now I sit here typing this with my best bud stretched out on my lap, happy as a clam...and me wishing I'd taken notice of his 'rabbitspeake' earlier.

 

[Pipp]

Bassetluv wrote:

Raph started his pain meds on Saturday, and they do seem to be helping. (Mind you, I have to be extra careful when giving them to him, as he hates having it administered and will fight it...and if he struggles too much, it triggers a long painful muscle spasm in him. So we're both learning how to get around that...)

Pipp loves her Metacam almost as much as she loves her oats. She chases the syringe. Didn't the vet make it banana flavoured?

Bassetluv wrote:

So now I sit here typing this with my best bud stretched out on my lap, happy as a clam...and me wishing I'd taken notice of his 'rabbitspeake' earlier.

A w w w w w w w ... :inlove:



sas et al

 

[Bassetluv]

Pipp loves her Metacam almost as much as she loves her oats. She chases the syringe. Didn't the vet make it banana flavoured?

Would you believe the only flavor choices I had were chicken or beef? I guess the vet doesn't get very many non-cat/dog patients, and so those were the only flavors he carried. :? I'll have to ask him if he can order in banana flavor for Raph. Poor guy has chicken-flavored medicine at the moment....no wonder he protests...he's not a 'meatatarian'...! :shock:

 

[katt]

aww. . .that is so cute that he is trying to fallow you around the house. . .

when i read that i first thought of a mental photos of someone hauling a bunny around the house in one of those baby snuggle things, and the rabbit just a content as possible

(photo just off of a random google search. . .)

 

[Pipp]

Bassetluv wrote:

Poor guy has chicken-flavored medicine at the moment....no wonder he protests...he's not a 'meatatarian'...! :shock:

:yuckpoor Raph!

Try mixing it with a bit of watered down honey. A little sugar is better than a struggle.



sas

 

[Bassetluv]

katt, my sister used to have one of those slings for her son and it was the best thing he ever had. Her boy is a wildchild (has been from the day he was born!) and the sling was about the only thing that could calm him down. (Boy, wouldn't Raph love one of them...LOL) That baby in the photosure looks contented!