Very sick bunny

[jomcandrew]

I will try to remember everything I am supposed to add her.
It's a male, unspayed, 4 1/2 yr old flop ear. He eats pellets, carrots, dried treats, and timothy hay. He was to the vet when i first got him and again last year for a skin condition. I really didn't notice anything unusual until yesterday when I took him out of him cage, indoor bunny, to clean it. I only use water and wipe it down. He was all wet and was sitting in his litter box. His back legs seemed week. I put him in the other container with some treats and cleaned his cage. I could tell that he had also lost weight when I picked him up though he has been eating. I went to the store and when I came home he smelled so bad I could hardly stand it. We moved him from the parlor to the basement to get rid of the smell but I kept checking on him and covered him to keep him warm. I didn't think the would make it through the night but then at one point he moved out him his litter box, which I added a lot of extra litter, and ate a little. I kept my eye on him and he has pooped very little and urintated very little.
I got up this morning actually expecting that he would have passed. Instead he was in the corner by where his food is and it seemed to me like he could not get turned around. I turned him and he went to drink and kept falling until he kind of got his mouth on the spout and held himself. I have picked him up a few times and he will kick a very slight kick with the back legs but nothing like normal so he must have some movement. I got him a carrot and got him in on him recycled paper litter so he is laying on something comfortable. I have an apt tomorrow morning if he make it but I don't think they are going to be able to help him. Could he have had a stroke or something? I don't want to see him live like this if this is how he is going to be becaue he is miserable. Do you think they will just say to put him out of his misery? I could give him somehing at home that would slow him heart and he would go to sleep and maybe I could even hold him. I don't know what to do. Plese someone give me some advice!!!:cry1::?

 

[anneq]

Jom, there are more experienced people out there who can (semi)diagnose you bun better than I, so I won't try.
Please don't be discouraged and think the only thing left for your bunny is euthanasia..I had a bunny with severe head-tilt / wry-neck and he made a complete recovery and only had a minor tilt to his head as a reminder of his condition.
I truly thought that they were going to put him down, but they gave him medicine and he bounced back within 10 days - If your bunny is willing to fight for his life, help him - it might be any kind of thing but please don't give up.
Prayers for you and your bun incoming.

 

[Maureen Las]

He sounds really sick ; he needs to go to an emergency vet

if you can post your location I can give you the list of vets for your area. otherwise you can call your regular vet and tell them it's an emergency
How is he doing now

Do you think that he has been sick a long time and you just noticed it or do you have frequent interactions with him?
it could be many things, very difficult to diagnose it without a vet.
in the meantime keep him comfortable .you can syringe infant electrolyte drink (pedialyte) to him, try to keep him warm and provide him with food that he will eat.

When was the last time you looked at him before you found him this way?

 

[jomcandrew]

He has been loosing a little weight but he was a porker...I clean his cage every few days and he was not like this, his back legs. So including the time that he has been sick I would say maybe a week. I am in scranton, pa. I know there is an emergency place in duryea but they are really expensive. I am trying to keep him comfortable until he goes tomorrow at 9:30 am.
He may have been sick for a while but just nothing that was noticeable because I see him, feed him daily. How long do they live? Could it be age? He is about 4 1/2?

 

[Flashy]

I don't think this is age. 4 and a half is probably the lower end of middle aged.

I agree with angieluv about him needing a vet ASAP.

If that is not an option then I wonder if he needs to be immobolised in case he has a spinal injury or something else that movement might aggravate, so something like putting him in a carry case with rolled towels either side of him, and having his food and water reachable is probably a good way to do that.

 

[Maureen Las]

Flashy wrote:

I don't think this is age. 4 and a half is probably the lower end of middle aged.

I agree with angieluv about him needing a vet ASAP.

If that is not an option then I wonder if he needs to be immobolised in case he has a spinal injury or something else that movement might aggravate, so something like putting him in a carry case with rolled towels either side of him, and having his food and water reachable is probably a good way to do that.

Good idea !!!

Is there any way that he could have injured himself in his cage that you know of?

 

[jomcandrew]

I don't see how he could have injured himself in his cage, but who knows. He is pretty much staying in his litter box as I have added so much he will be comfortable and he seems to know he will be stable there. Thanks for the advice, he seems like he will be going to the vet tomorrow.
Thanks for the help.
Joanne

 

[Maureen Las]

Please let us know how things are going ....

 

[pla725]

This really is an emergency. I would find an emergency clinic anywhere that will take a rabbit. I went through this back in November. I found a rabbit savvy vet 10 minutes away.

Where are you located again?

 

[Sweetie]

Yes get your rabbit to the emergency vet. Please do not wait. Whatever your rabbit has could get worse overnight then it can be too late.

Speaking of which, just so that I know for future reference. Does anyone know if All Creatures here in Gorst/Bremerton is an emergency vet?

 

[jomcandrew]

i am in Scranton, pa. I know there is one about half hour away buy sadly i have lost my job and will not be able to pay the amount that they will charge.

 

[Maureen Las]

I understand....

 

[jomcandrew]

I do feel bad. He doesn't seem to be in pain, just not healthy. Believe me, I am not happy about this, but I will do the best that I can for him.

 

[Maureen Las]

I feel that you are trying to do the best that you can...

 

[jomcandrew]

Thank you. I see posts on here about caring for paralized and sick rabbits and I just can't see him being happy like that. In my mind, a bunny runs and jumps when he is happy. So if he is dragging himself around with his two front legs and his body his wet with his own urine then he is certainly not a happy bunny. I don't want to get slammed with responses about how he could still live with baby pampers etc, so please don't. It is hard enough seeing him like this. I will just see what I am dealing with tomorrow.

 

[kirbyultra]

Good luck to you and your bunny. I hope everything works out for you both. Keep us posted.ray:

 

[tonyshuman]

There is something called Care Credit that helps you pay for vet bills. Check this out as well as an option to get some help. http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=17175&forum_id=16

It sounds to me like he is very ill and needs a vet visit to figure out what is wrong. Maybe you can get a regular vet visit (which is usually a lot less expensive than emergency) sometime this week. You can then discuss with the vet what treatment options there are, what they would cost, and if euthanasia is a better option. If it is a recent spinal injury, there is a possibility of it healing with time. I'm sorry this is happening to you.

 

[jomcandrew]

Thank you for the suggestion and your concern. I already have an appointment set up for tomorrow (Monday) at 9:30 a.m. More than the money I just want him to be happy. If this is something that is permenant I will really have a hard decision because I know he is not happy. He is happy when I pet him etc. But I don't think that is any way for him to live, they way he is now. Like you said, I will know more tomorrow morning...Wish me luckray:

 

[Flashy]

Good luck for the vets.

We all know our own rabbits and what they can handle and take and what would wreck their lives. I have some that I would get put to sleep for things that I know others could handle, and I would make choices differently depending on the bun and the situation.

You know your bun best, so go with your gut instinct on what is best for your bun. No one should ever dispute you for doing what's best for your bun.

Please let us know how you get on.

 

[pamnock]

tonyshuman wrote:

There is something called Care Credit that helps you pay for vet bills.

CareCreditis a high interest credit card. They don't "help" pay for anything.

CareCredit is a ripoff and there are numerous complaints against them. They promise low or no interest - all a liehiding behind thesmall print. Our dentist talked us into this method to finance my husband's extensive dental bills that were over and above what our insurancewould pay. We didn't realize that it was a high interest credit card and we were slammed with a 22% interest rate. Wehad to useanother low interest credit card to pay it off - at the interest rate they were charging, we would have been paying on it for the rest of our lives.



Pam