Spinal injury???

[wjfan1]

My mini lop, male, unneutered seems to be just urinating anywhere in his cage. His used to use his litter box. He seems to then just sit in it. His bottom is matted and hair loss. I've tried to bath him twice, but still no luck. When he sits he seems to scoot his back legs underneath him to sit. I hope he doesn't have any back injury or urinary infection. He has previously had a scab on his nose and I do hear some sneezes now and then. We're going to the vet tonight, so I hope I don't have to make a decision for him. He's only 4 1/2 years old. He's always been a spoiled, indoor bunny.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Do you notice him drinking more than usual? Increased urination as well as drinking can indicate kidney problems.
Urinary tract problems are also possible as he is not using the litter box, so might not be able to or could be having trouble urinating.

A vet visit is a good idea. See if you can get blood work done and maybe even a urine sample. These can help to narrow down the problem.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Could be Pasturella as that could cause a UTI, snuffles, etc.
Have you noticed behavior in his hopping etc? LIke the way he moves around? If not, then I'd doubt its a back injury but that may just be me.

 

[Kipcha]

With Ty, we had some similar early signs. He began to drink a lot more (Now even moreso, he practically attacks the water bowl when we get it to him even though he always has water) and his urinary habits became heavier and more frequent so he now pees all over the cage. The vets are pretty sure it's the early stages of kidney failure despite his estimated age being around 4 (He was a rescue).

We had a Urinary test done and it came back with nothing odd except a higher crystal count then normal, so I would recommend a urine test to see what all is going on.

Good luck!

 

[Maureen Las]

A blood panel will tell you a lot about the ability of his kidneys to function properly ; he may also need some x-rays of his spine

these articles are from our library

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12052&forum_id=10

An article on how to bathe him

try to keep him dry and clean as possible

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

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12158&forum_id=10


Many good vets in the Chicago area ( I lived most of my adult life in Chi town)

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11599&forum_id=9



how is the poor guy doing? :?

 

[wjfan1]

Hello,

We went to the vet last night and he looked him over and took and xray. It seems that some of the back is probably arthtiris. The colon and kidneys looked fine. He put him on Baytril and Meloxicam. One for the respitory infection, snuffles I believe he did say and the other for pain. So we'll check back on things in a week. Thanks everyone! I was thinking the worst.