Sick Bunny

StephNutt · Feb 8, 2015

Hello all,

I need some help. I got my bunny spayed on Friday. Yesterday she was diagnosed with GI stasis. She is taking all her medicines just fine, but refuses to eat the Critical Care food the vet gave us. I have been syringe feeding her and she'll swallow about 1/2 teaspoon. After that she just holds it in her mouth and spits it out as soon as I back away. We got her pumpkin, greens, and raspberries today, but she refuses to eat anything. She basically hasn't eaten or pooed since before I took her in Friday and they are going to admit her to the hospital if she doesn't eat and poo by tomorrow afternoon. I am out of ideas and really can't afford to have them keep her and IV feed her. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get her to eat? Thanks!

JBun · Feb 8, 2015

Are you slowly squirting in a small amount of the CC into the side of her mouth and giving her a chance to chew and swallow each time before giving her some more? I'll sometimes use the tip of the syringe to gently 'tickle' their tongue to get their tongue going as I start syringing a small amount of the food. Usually once they are licking with their tongue, they will also start swallowing. Just remember to always syringe slowly and giving your bun time to swallow, to not risk your bun aspirating anything.

Also you may be able to mix a bit of something sweet like banana(or other type of fruit that she likes, with it to help entice her. You just have to be a bit careful about giving too much of sugary foods where stasis is concerned as it could worsen it. But a small amount may be helpful to at least get her started eating it.

You could also try just offering it to her in a dish or on a spoon, to see if she will eat it on her own. Probably won't but is worth a try.

Did the vet also give you pain meds for your bun?

StephNutt · Feb 8, 2015

I have been squirting just a tiny bit in there. I tried again with some water just a little bit ago. I even tried tickling her tongue and it still didn't work. I think it's more in protest now. My husband got her to eat some lettuce and a little bit of pumpkin. She finally pooped for the first time since before she went to the vet on Friday. It's a very small win, but still a win.

She's kind of an odd bunny and doesn't really like sweets. I'm going to keep trying to find something she will actually eat.

Shes does have some pain meds that we give her every 12 hours.

JBun · Feb 8, 2015

Is she will eat her veggies, even if it's just a little bit, I would keep offering them to her every half hour or so. I had a bun that wouldn't eat much after his neuter. All he would eat was a little bit of leafy greens. So I just kept offering them to him all day long, and each time he would eat a little. It added up to enough that I felt like syringe feeding him wasn't necessary.

StephNutt · Feb 9, 2015

She has been eating her greens like crazy! She won't touch much of anything else, but she's a picky girl. When we got up this morning there were quite a few tiny poops in her play pen. So her tummy is on it's way to normal.

Also, she's been doing little mini binks and IS MUCH more active, which makes me think that her pain is starting to subside as well. I am so relieved, but still keeping a very close eye on her.