Hi Rebecca
As you probably know Nooshi is a rescue. She is a very easily stressed rabbit who when she first came to us would only back away and bite. After 4.5 years she is very relaxed with us and sits with us on the sofa. Over the time we have had her she has had occasional short bouts of stasis which she recovered from very quickly (about 24 hrs). Last May she had a funny episode and has them occasionally since. At the beginning of March she did it again and now she is like it most days - the following occurs. She may not eat all her 'breakfast' which is her pellets she will sit up tuck her head down and have an abdominal spasm which draws her abdomen in so far she looks like a Belgian Hare, the sides of her abdomen expand sideways like a rugby ball. This can be so violent that she 'leaks' urine and makes a sound like a cross between a snort and a burp as the force expels air through her nose. I have never seen this in a rabbit before, I have seen them tuck their sides in when they are in pain but not this violent action. She appears distressed when it is less violent but not in real pain as when it is over she can return to normal as if it never happened, when it is violent she will refuse to eat. Her normal diet is extruded pellets, lots of hay all day and an evening meal of veg, in the summer she has lots of grass and herbs. Her faeces are usually not much smaller than a malteser except when she has the bad bouts of this problem. It's almost as if her body spasms to expel faeces yet normally they are large, pale and very fibrous so in theory should travel through the GI tract no problem. Last May a locum vet told me the problem was in the rectum, a rectal impaction, and she does sometimes have a number of faeces there which can be 'squeezed' out, but even when the rectum is empty she can do this abdominal spasm. We have radiographed her abdomen and all appears normal, she has had bloods, urine and faeces samples taken - all normal.
She is about 6 yrs old, spayed at about 10 months old and fully vaccinated
The start of this e-mail is to give you some background in case you need it, but the basic problem is these really odd spasms that no-one not even Bristol Vet School seem to be able to shed light upon. If you can find anyone who has had a similar problem and knows what it is I would be so grateful. I can't leave her as she is and really would appreciate anything you find
As I said on the phone I'll pay for any extra expense you incur
Thanks for your help
Best wishes Cornelia
