Will het starve on hay only? (soft stools)

[Spikethebunny]

Thanks, JBun. Yeah, it definitely wasn't what we expected to hear when we brought him in. But I'm so glad I didn't ignore it when I knew something wasn't right.

Thank you for letting me know about other buns doing well with enlarged hearts. I was looking it up last night, and I've seen that they can, too. Here is hoping Spike continues to be strong, the meds do what they should, and my buddy sticks around for a long time.

 

[Spikethebunny]

So an update on Spike. We went back to the vet yesterday as a follow up. The furosemide hadn't done much yet, other than make him pee a lot, so his dose was increased (and today he does seem to be breathing a bit easier). Since he is still getting soft poos at night, and he was getting too sleepy and dizzy on the gabepentin, we put him back on metacam today. He still hasn't gained any weight.
He has been wolfing down the critical care until this morning, when he took a bite and walked away. I've tried changing consistency and nothing. He is still eating hay and will come running if I open the pellets, so I don't think it's his appetite. He just seems to have lost his taste for critical care. I don't know what to do. I am often alone (husband works nights) and have always failed at syringe feeding. How can I get him to eat his critical care? He needs to gain weight, not lose it!

 

[JBun]

Have you started him on the alfalfa hay? That will help him gain weight and rabbits usually LOVE alfalfa hay, so shouldn't be a problem to get him to eat it. You want something with a good amount of leaf in it. The leafier it is, the higher in protein it will be, so will help with weight gain. And you want to start it off gradually and slowly increase, as some buns can be sensitive to it. And just a side note, you don't want to feed alfalfa hay to a bun with bladder or kidney issues. So if he's fine there, then alfalfa hay should help him put some weight on. It helped my old bun.

You could also consider gradually adding pellets back into the diet since taking them away didn't seem to clear up the messy poop.

 

[Spikethebunny]

Have you started him on the alfalfa hay? That will help him gain weight and rabbits usually LOVE alfalfa hay, so shouldn't be a problem to get him to eat it. You want something with a good amount of leaf in it. The leafier it is, the higher in protein it will be, so will help with weight gain. And you want to start it off gradually and slowly increase, as some buns can be sensitive to it. And just a side note, you don't want to feed alfalfa hay to a bun with bladder or kidney issues. So if he's fine there, then alfalfa hay should help him put some weight on. It helped my old bun.

You could also consider gradually adding pellets back into the diet since taking them away didn't seem to clear up the messy poop.

Thank you! Yes, the vet has asked me to add alfalfa hay. We are doing a tiny bit a day, till he gets used to it. And we are also giving him a few pellets as well. The vet has still told me no to greens, but I will ask again. Honestly, right now, I just need him to gain some weight. Poor guy!
The vet also has me giving him a little diluted unflavored pedialyte to replenish electrolytes because of the furosemide. I am a little worried about how his tummy (which has ALWAYS been sensitive) is going to take all this new stuff like the meds and food.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[katiecrna]

I know this is an old post but I just read this article and it made me think of this post. http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/health.php#sick

It's really good Bc it explains exactly what poop means what and what to do about it. And it talks about cecotropes which I didn't know anything about and how it's normal and rabbits usually produce them a certain type of day. Anyway thought this article would be helpful for you, the info is at the bottom "the scoop on poop".

 

[Spikethebunny]

I know this is an old post but I just read this article and it made me think of this post. http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/health.php#sick

It's really good Bc it explains exactly what poop means what and what to do about it. And it talks about cecotropes which I didn't know anything about and how it's normal and rabbits usually produce them a certain type of day. Anyway thought this article would be helpful for you, the info is at the bottom "the scoop on poop".

Hi there. Thank you. I guess I should have updated this thread.

Spike passed away not too soon after this. He was diagnosed with congestive heart failure (which is what all this seemed to be a symptom of). And he had lost too much weight. Even on exhorbant amounts of hay only, the weight fell off of him (he was only two pounds to begin with). Partly because of the restricted diet and partly because his breathing got so ragged, he was burning more calories than he could consume just eating.

Not trying to scare anyone, but I wish when this had started, we thought to x-ray him. We would have seen how large his heart had gotten. The vet didn't think to do that until it was pretty much too late. Because he was acting/eating/pooping normally, we had no reason to think this was anything beyond a diet issue. It wasn't until the breathing got bad that we thought it could be something else. And he passed away only a week after his diagnosis.

I have never missed anyone more in my whole life.

 

[katiecrna]

I'm so sorry for your loss! It sounds like he was well taken care of and had a great life Bc of you.