Catkin - UD: Feeling much better

I know that there are alot of poorly bunnies about at the moment but is there any chance that Catkin can have a few vibes please?

I have been down to the vets again with him today as there was no improvement since Tuesday. He will only eat a tiny bit of very sloppy pellets, barely even a mouthfull.

Apart from his teeth, which he is on Baytril for, the vet thinks there may be a blockage/hairball in his tummy. We were lucky as our regular vet had just finished surgery so came and saw Catkin straight away. Due to the holidays and the fact that he had not improved, he gave us some Metacam and some tablets to try and move the 'hairball' thing.

So he is all dosed up and is hiding under the bed. Should I give him some infacol as well? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

vibes for catkin, lots and lots of vibes...

Awe no not another poorly bunny loads of vibes for poor Catkin Did the vet palpate him and actually feel the blockage? When the basic meds for stasis, gut stimulant and painkiller didn't work I asked for a conscious xray to look for a blockage? Obviously whether he has a blockage or not helps determine how you treat him! If he has a blockage more food might compound the problem fluids are very important to help keep him and the food in his stomach hydrated!

Trillions of vibes for Catkin. Come on little bunny, your Mummy is very worried about you xx

The vet did alot of checking and feeling around his tummy. He said that he would normally do an x-ray and barium thingy but that he was pretty certain it was a 'hairball'. Poor catkin was in alot of pain so I was glad that we were given some painkillers for him.

Fingers crossed he will start to improve. He is a little fighter. All though he did give me a heart attack last night when I woke up to him sleeping on my feet. I had that middle of the night 'arrggggh - there is something furry in the bed' but silly me should have guessed it was him.:roll:

Then in his disgust at being taken to the vet, even though I told him it would make him feel better, when we got back he peed on my socks!! Luckily, I had just taken them off.....

Update

Well there have been poos this morning from Catkin. Very hard poos, a few that looked like rasberries:shock: (Not cecal ones, just a bunch of normal ones squashed together)

He has had his meds and was very well behaved untill I tried to give him some extra water. He managed to spit it all over my mum....

His tummy still feels like a balloon. I gave him some tummy massage untill he told me that he had had enough. But he has not eaten much, just a mouthful still. I am trying to tempt to him with all sorts, there is a bunny buffet laid out on the floor in the bedroom.

He has peed all over my duvet:roll: but he has been forgiven as he is not well. It was very dark, sort of orangey/brown wee. Will this be due to all his meds?

Thanks

Passing poos is always a good thing! If he's managed to pass the blockage hopefully his appetite will pick up! If not it might be worth an xray to see what's going on! You could see if some food was getting through and moving through his gut! just out of curiosity what did they give him for the blockage? I've heard bromelain (sp) tablets are supposed to help break down fur but haven't heard anyone mentioning a vet giving them for a blockage?

He is having half a tablet three times a day of something beginning with m? He has metacam and is still on baytril for his teeth. The vet said there was still discharge coming from his teeth? Not quite sure what that means

Awe poor little bunny Good job he's got some pain relief!! Discharge from his tooth sounds painful no wonder he doesn't want to eat! My Dudley didn't eat for 4 days we thought it was a blockage but it was the tiniest spur on one tooth the vet didn't think it could possibly be the cause but it was! He had also had lots of painkiller but he still didn't eat so maybe Catkin is in a lot of pain with his tooth too?! Also the difference between Dudley and Daisy when she has a small blockage was that Dudley was still quite bright and lively whereas Daisy goes non responsive v quickly, which made us think maybe Dydley didn't have a blockage!

I am glad that your buns are doing better. I have been following your thread for advice. Just been out to Tesco and stocked up on a variety of greens and fresh herbs.

I have chopped them up into teeny pieces for Catkin but he just turned around and showed me his bum as if to say 'not on your nelly....'

The tablets he is on are metoclopramide. (just been to check what they were)

I feel the most important thing to do is to definitely establish if it is a blockage of the stomach, or if it is further down the GI tract by fur (trichobezoar). It could also be ileus which can present like a blockage. There is a good article here which may be of help:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.pdf

If it is fur and is breaking up I would expect to see more of it in the clumped faeces, or alternatively the droppings strung together with hair.

If his tummy feels like a balloon it could be full and cause him to refuse both food and water. I am saying this as I had a bunny who had an almost complete blockage in his stomach and totally resisted any food and water. It was only after an x-ray that we found the blockage and understood his refusal. He had to have surgery to remove this blockage and if that can be avoided do so at all cost. It is extremely painful and very high risk with a long recovery time. The problem I had was that the food he was being syringed was collecting in the fur and impacting. I don't wish to scare you but I believe the quicker it is diagnosed the more positive the outcome.

I posted a little more on this subject on Dudley's thread recently and wondered to myself at the time if vets would do a barium meal x-ray for a bunny. Our parrot had one a couple of years ago and I could scarcely believe the vet when he said that is what he wanted to do.

I wish you all the best with Catkin and hope he gets through this as quickly and safely as possible.

wohoooooooooooooo for poos

There is another thread about a bunny called Blackie which had lots of advice, unfortunately he didn't survive but his initial vet wasn't particularly good! The faster you act the better! If you want to find the thread search Blackie it's pg5 'Never Had to ask before' by Fudgemallow Im sorry I can't post the link I only have an iPhone! I was also going to direct you to Lobos posts on Dudleys thread! I agree I think it's v important he has a conscious xray to truly understand what's going on! My vet charged about £45 per xray! Metaclopromide helps their guts keep moving it doesn't break down the furball! Hydration is VERY important!!

Thanks everyone. I will read that article and search for that thread now.

This is a pic of the poo I was talking about from this morning. I have photoed it next to a normal sized poo. (sorry if you are easily offended or don't like poo pics)



It is like a few poos stuck together and is very hard. I am trying to syringe him some water.

The vets are open again tomorrow so I will have to take him then unless he gets worse in which case I will call the emergency one.

How is Catkin? Any signs of improvement?

The faeces in the picture seem to contain a fair amount of hair. I think they are bigger than normal as a side effect of the "purging" effect of Metaclopromide. They do look to be very dry which may be an indication of lessened hydration.

Lobo said:

How is Catkin? Any signs of improvement?

The faeces in the picture seem to contain a fair amount of hair. I think they are bigger than normal as a side effect of the "purging" effect of Metaclopromide. They do look to be very dry which may be an indication of lessened hydration.

Click to expand...

He is sat washing his feet at the moment. He seems alot brighter this morning.

Thanks for explaining the poo thing. There have been a few more this morning that are odd shapes and are very big. Plus there have been some more normal sized ones. All of them are very dry. I am having a nightmare trying to get plenty of fluids in him.

He has a big bowl of fresh water and I have tried syringing him some more fluids too. I bought some peppermint tea yesterday and have been trying some of that too. I have also been trying to tempt him with some fresh herbs and greens chopped into teeny tiny pieces. (They smell really nice)

Catkin has always been a very fussy eater so he is not helping matters. I am pulling my hair out and he is washing his feet:roll:

The very dry poo would suggest there is still an hydration problem but the fact that he is passing some is positive. I can empathise with you in how difficult it can be to get fluids into a bun who doesn't want to cooperate. Unfortunately they don't seem to always realise how essential those fluids are for their recovery.

Hopefully someone might be able to make more suggestions on how to up that fluid intake.

It is very worrying when we are unsure if there is an actual blockage or not. I wish Catkin all the best and hope he keeps passing the poos and decides that water is not all that bad after all.

Thanks. I don't think he likes the syringing as it may be hurting his poorly teeth.

Although Catkin is eating a little and we still have poos, I am taking him to the vets at 18:30. He still sits hunched and grinding his teeth like he is still in pain.

My mum is not very optomistic about what the vet will say. I have been giving Catkin lots of cuddles and nose rubs but I can't help getting really upset I am a right mess at the moment.

Can I ask RU-ers to send some vibes our way?

Thanks

Poor little Catkin Im sorry he's still no better :-( If he's still pooing it doesn't sound like a blockage is the problem and also because it's been going on a while if it was a blockage I would have thought he would have deteriorated badly by now! So maybe like Dudley the problem is his sore tooth! I really hope the vet is a bit more pro-active in trying to find out what the problem is! Lots of vibes on their way for Catkin!