seems hopeless?

[nuttymeg]

My daughters poor bunny just looks terrible. His rolling has gotten a lot worse from his inner ear infection. I am begging the vet to put him on anti vert,he says it won't help with the inner infection,i know it won't do that,but it will help him cope better.

He refuses to drink I have to give that by hand I do 0.1 ml every time I go in,takes FOREVER. I am not one to give up,but is it time to maybe consider it? I hate even thinking about it.

I have a very strong feeling if the vet gives in,that could make a huge difference for the rabbit.

 

[pani]

Are you able to see another vet?

 

[JBun]

If the head tilt is significantly worsening, your rabbit may need to be on a different antibiotic. The meclizine may help with dizziness, but if the antibiotics aren't effective, then adding meclizine isn't going to make much difference. It may be worth trying the Zithromax, despite the risk of GI upset. If you do, just make sure to always give it with food.

You could try a different vet.
http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f21/

 

[nuttymeg]

the head tilt isn't worse,he just seems more dizzy? I was able to feed him by my fingers the critical care,I couldn't feed it to him fast enough,he gobbled up at least 1/4 cup of it. So that I am very happy about,he ate some lettuce after that too.
As much as I don't want to,I can go to another a vet,I'm to hear back today if the vet will go for the meclizine.

I say the tilt isn't worse because his head remains in the same position,he does however seem to lay it down more often to relive himself from the dizziness. He pooped early some really foul smelling poop,very glossy looking and once he smelled that he ate that too,he has lots of it.

 

[HiddlesKenway]

Sounds like ceco pellets, he wouldn't be able to eat it from the source, if it wasn't gel covered and it was a little soft odd shaped poop it's just cecotropes.

You could try peppermint to relieve his dizziness? It works for things like morning sickness, motion sickness and just bouts of dizziness and it's completely fine for bunnies to eat mint leaves, I don't see why it wouldn't do the same for buns.

 

[kmaben]

That's a big problem with head tilt too. A lot of times it gets worse before it gets better. If he still wants to eat and he's still defecating I wouldnt give up on him just yet. Home care is heartbreaking for that very reason.

 

[nuttymeg]

I full heartedly believe he will come out of this,maybe not entirely but enough to be happy. I do believe he has lost his sight in his left eye,this is not the eye facing down from the head tilt,the other eye that faces down,is always closed.

He has a fogginess to his left eye,the vet asked if he was seeing fine the other day and I told him I wasn't completely sure,but today,I am almost certain he has lost it. I think that is why he appears to be worsening,if one eye is blind and the other one closed all the time,he can't possibly see.

I had fed him by hand,actually my finger the critical care,and he gobbles that up,makes a mess of my hands,but he is worth it,so very worth it. Today he actually licked water from the syringe rather than me having to squirt it in.

Taking care of him doesn't bother me one bit,I am so compassionate for all my buns,got 5 of them.

My husband is picking up the meclizine tonight. I was SUCCESSFUL in getting the vet to listen to me,took two days,but i did it!

 

[HiddlesKenway]

One eye closed, one eye blind? Not a problem I got a guinea pig that hasn't got an eye at all and is blind in the other. The head tilt although will make it hard for him if he is blind once that clears up, depending on how severe it is because sometimes it just can't go away because the muscle tissue and ect have just deteriorated too severely and the infection done too much damage but fear not there are many happy head tilt buns out there, they just require extra attention. Giving up honestly shouldn't be an option, we wouldn't do it if they were human so why should it be different for animals? I suggested googling around more to find out ways to help. Contact someone who has a HT rabbit. Also sometimes thinks seem hopeless when really they just need a bit more time and as said by someone before if he's still going to the toilet keep trying!

Good luck, I hope he does pull through. I would be asking for culture and scraping to find out the time of bacteria the antibiotics could be all wrong too.

 

[nuttymeg]

The money is the issue or the tests would be done. I am doing the best with what we can afford. He is peeing and pooping,all good signs. I am willing to do the work to pull him through,I had a bit of a cry this morning as he just looked so bad,it breaks my heart. He was the most adventerous rabbit,and now he can barely walk without falling over.

 

[nuttymeg]

Found out Canada no longer carries meclizine,so we had to get gravol kids. I gave hom half a tablet 3 hours ago and there is imrpovement. He can walk a little now instead of rolling over all the time. He actually has a little spunk in him which is great to see.

 

[HiddlesKenway]

That's good, it means it's working!

Were you given ear drops at all? You could ask about giving them with the antibiotics? I'm not sure they'd help in this situation but it's worth an ask.

 

[nuttymeg]

i was given ear drops baytril otic. He still rolls,but her can right himself and be on his feet,this is something he could not do yesterday and he often just laid on his side.

He still grooms himself,eating his leafy greens and veggies,peeing and pooping too. I do think he will be okay,just going to be a long recovery.

 

[HiddlesKenway]

That's good, I think he will too. If there is already improvements.

 

[JBun]

I'm really glad that the new med seems to be helping. That's great that he's still eating well.

If the poop looked like this then they are the cecotropes that rabbits normally re-ingest right as they come out, but because of your buns head tilt, he may be having problems reaching down to get to them.



If they aren't fully formed like this and are mushy and pasty at all, that may be due to the antibiotics throwing off the microflora balance in the cecum. If you aren't already giving a pet probiotic, you could try giving some Bene bac, as it may possibly help some.

That's concerning about the eye being cloudy, as it could be from the infection spreading. Has it been like this long? Did the vet mention any concern about this?

You also may need some eye drops for the eyes. The up eye can tend to get dry because of difficulty closing the eye, so you may need lubricating eye drops, and possibly antibiotic eye drops as well. The down eye can get irritated from rubbing on things and possibly develop infection, so you may need eye drops or an ointment for that eye as well.

 

[nuttymeg]

The vet questioned wether or not he can see,upon reading I did come across that with EC,the eyes can become affected,could this be the case? With everything he is on,can he take panacur too?

Just a recap he is on
chlorpenamenicol(i'm sure I spelled that wrong)
baytril otic
metacam
and just 1 dose so far of the gravol.

Where can I get the benebac from? I mentioned it to the vet but he didn't seem concerned that he needed it.

By buns head tilt is to his right,the eye on that side has remained closed so no worries about it being poked,or dried out. His left eye I keep blinking it for him to lubricate it,I am literally like a zombie caring for this little guy.

I really wonder if the panacur will help him also,because what I read an inner ear infection doesn't affect the eyes.

 

[nuttymeg]

He is doing really really well now. I had upped his metacam as he wasn't responding well to the dose that was prescribed. Since then he has been eating super well. Still refusing to drink but he is eating tons of greens and veggies that he is peeing like a champ.

He is more alert to his surroundings. Tonight i am picking up the panacur and he is getting a check up.

I am so very thankful I toughed it out.

 

[JBun]

I'm so glad that he is feeling better on the increased metacam. Adequate pain relief makes a big difference for rabbits that are unwell and experiencing pain.

From the symptoms of a previous cat bite, debris in the ear, a possible abscess lump by the ear, these all seem to indicate an infection as the cause(at least this was my understanding from your description of everything), so I would think that if the infection spread it could affect the eye as well and cause the cloudiness. Usually when a rabbit has EC induced uveitis, it happens when they are young, and not usually to older rabbits. Though covering your bases and giving Panacur, isn't a bad idea, and shouldn't cause any issues as it is frequently given with a combination of those type of meds.

The bene bac may not be needed if your bun is eating well now and his poops look good, but if you feel like you may need it, here in the US some petstores will have it, or it can be ordered online. I'm not sure if this particular brand is available to you in Canada, or what the common one used for rabbits is there.

I can't remember if you've mentioned it, but if your bun drinks from a bottle, offering a water dish may help his lack of drinking.

 

[nuttymeg]

The vet said he was doing very well,a huge improvement from the week before. He did get some debris from his ear but nothing like it was the last time it was done.

I ran out of the metacam yesterday morning and his appetite and alertness seems to be the same,hasn't decreased. If it does I will be asking the vet for more.

I have offered him a shallow bowl of water and he has no interest at all. He finally ate some of his pellets yesterday which was great to see.