OK, time for another update. I would have posted earlier but I am sooo wiped.
Tuesday night Sass finished all his greens and was acting otherwise fine. Wednesday morning he didn't touch his pellets, so I offered him parsley. At least he had that in his stomach, along with cisapride because then the vets offcie called saying that they had an opening for him at noon to get his teeth done!
I rushed him in and they filed down his molars. They did not see any significant spikes, which is a bad thing because a mola spur would have answered what was bothering him. I took him home that evening.
He would not TOUCH his food or water that night. He did nibble some hay, and *tried* to bite the soft part of his lettuce, but did not even try for water or pellets. He wouldn't even eat his critical care which he LOVES, so I had to syringe it to him. I gave him cisapride and figured if he still wasn't eating in the morning, I would take him in. This whole problem was worsened because at least he was getting water from greens, now he was getting NONE.
In the morning I found he had pushed aside his hut and made a little hole for himself to hide in. He didn't move for many hours so I pulled him out, gave him more critical care and cisapride. He proceeded to hunch over in a corner, in another place in the living room that resembled a hole. He was obviously not happy, had hardly any poop in his box (although the poop that was there did not look horrible- it was just very dry and few)
I called vet and after explaining a few times what was going on, they told me I could drop him off and the vet would examine him when they had time.
I spoke with my father in the meantime, a very wise man, and he said that he had a feeling this was something that was not going to resolve. He felt it was a genetic gut issue, one that would continue to reoccur. We discussed the possibility of putting Sass to sleep if this turns out to be chronic, and NO ANSWER could be found as to why this is happening. Sass HATES being held, he is starting to dislike me and this is just not a good existence for him.
:bigtears:
I want my beautiful sassy bunny back SO BAD.
I brought him to the vet and I said I wanted to talk to the vet that day, also to discuss euthanasia. The lady at the front said 'but we aren't at the point to do that yet!' and I said but Sass might be, this has been such a hard summer for him and if it continues like this, it is no life...
I spoke with a friend about his rabbits that afternoon, and he really gave me some advice. His rabbits were very similar to Sass, and died the same age as Sass literally to the MONTH. Both had chronic gut issues, and ultimately it was a blockage that was killing one of them. My friend had them put to sleep within a month of each other- they were both so ridden with problems, and the one with the blockage was found to have a rupture upon necropsy.
He suggested it could be a chronic gut issue, and if that is the case I need to know if this is something that will frequently occur (we are talking every couple weeks here, not months even) and if that is a good life. He also suggested head/teeth roots abscess, Sass did have the head xray done at the other vets and nothing too exciting was seen. Sass can have another xray with this vet if it is suspected.
After this conversation, I went back and spoke with Sass' vet. She said that his GI slowdown is probably much harder on me than it is on him. She said he is 'on the fence' right now, and she can't say whether or not he is going to go on either side. She said he will be staying at the vets for a couple nights, more for ME than for him, because she thinks I am too stressed out to make any logical moves right now. She said that when one of her pets gets sick, she also shuts down and has to give it to someone else to heal because she cannot make those decisions with her own animals.
We discussed that he might have had a hairball that caused GI slowdown this summer, and she said it might take months and months to heal. We also discussed genetics- she said 'if someone could promise me that they would live the full 10 years, I would have a rabbit. But I can't bear to own one... I have seen people who are horrible owners, with the worst husbandtry, but the rabbit lives to be 14 years old. And some have wonderful care and barely make it to adulthood. There is a reason they produce so many in a litter...'
She decided 'to hell with what he SHOULD eat' and wants him just to EAT. SO we went outdide and picked some dandelion greens, fresh long grass and blackberry leaves from the plants arounf the abandoned train tracks. We washed and put them in Sass' pen at the vets- before we left he had munched on a bladeof grass, in defiance I think :nod
So. Where are we now? Well, it seems this could be a genetic thing. It seems there doesn't always have to be a 'cause' for GI slowdown. It seems Sass' likely death at this point will come from a hair blockage, and there is NOTHING I can do about it but make him comfortable. If he did not eat or poop, they were going to do bloodwork. I mentioned possibly doing a head xray, but I think vet is doubting that is necessary.
Today I called to check in and they said he ate and pooped overnight, and made more poops this morning. They are just giving him what he could eat, whethwe it is store bought greens or the lovely ones picked outside. I don't know if they are hydrating him, I DO know they will not give him pain meds (see explanation below). I don't even know if he is getting cisapride. I don't think they will be force feeding him anything. Just letting him be, quite literally, and will step in if they need to. He will be there again all day today and tonight. I don't know if bloodwork will be done.
I am crushed, because I wished so bad this is something that could be 'fixed'. But at this point it doesn't look like anyone can fix this little guy, only he can decide what he wants to do. In the meantime, I will continue waking up in the morning, wondering whether he will eat today. It is exhausting, and maddening. I don't know- maybe this will all pass in a few months and he will live to be an old rabbit without any more issues. Or maybe he will die next week in excrucuating pain... I just don't know, I don't think anyone knows. I only know that I will have to be OK with this and learn to live this way with him. It is frustrating because all next week I am working 16 hour days on a film set for FREE nonetheless... So I won't be able to help him or give him medicine if he needs it. Maybe this is a good thing, maybe he needs to literally be ignored. Maybe they are really feeding off my stress. I will probably have time to feed them in morning and night, change the litterboxes before collapsing into bed and doing the work day all over again.
I will probably talk to vet again soon, and find out whether bloodwork/xrays are done. Will keep everyone posted with him. Chloe, my other bun (bless his itty bitty heart) is eatinag and behaving normal so he can be my little anchor for a while.
* note on pain meds: I know some people REALLY believe in giving buns pain meds when they even suspect a bit of discomfort. Sass' vet however, believes that yes pain meds DO slow down the gut, and if a slow gut is already the problem it will NOT help. She says they only work for the quickly onsetting acute pain, and then the rabbit is so relieved once it gets pain meds that it will eat. She said for mild discomfort, and for slow setting chronic pain, they will adapt to it and the pain meds will only slow their guts down and make them tired. SO we have opted to see how he does without any pain meds.
