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Rabbits With Cancer = Craving Grass ???

Jack's-Jane

Wise Old Thumper
For those who have/had a Rabbit with any type of cancer have you noticed that they become quite desperate for grass ?

So far I have seen the pattern of behaviour in every Rabbit who either already has a diagnosis or obtains one soon after I notice the 'grass craving' behaviour.

Just like I have noticed that everyBun with otitis drinks their own urine ......

:?
 
thumps is always saying that bunnies know what they need for thier health, its just us that cant figure it out :oops:

Alvin with his iffy tummy has gone mad for the bramble leaves, he even leaves the brekkie veg half way through to gobble them all up, yet pearl will only eat them because it stops alvin getting the lot :shock:

wish i knew what heart bunnies craved to help them
 
I haven't noticed that with any of our cancer bunnies and I have had more than I care to remember :( The one thing I have noticed is the way they sleep. They all have had a certain way of doing it and if I see a bunny who starts laying that way I generally get them checked out, and I always have my fears confirmed :( I think it is because they crave heat when they have cancer :?
 
What way do they sleep Liz?

Summer craved anything and everything to be honest. She would only eat fresh grass for about 3 weeks after her botched spay so maybe there is something that they crave in grass when they are feeling rough? She did have cancer at that time but it was not terminal at that stage and wasn't spread through her body yet (well, as far as we know, she showed no signs of it having spread then and we didn't yet know her lump was cancerous).

Actually, having said that, when Rosie was at death's door she would only eat grass until she started to feel better, then her diet wideneded to basil and parsley too :lol:
 
If they have a partner they always sleep over the top of them, the best way I can describe it is they are like a saddle for the bunny underneath :? Lottie was so bad that she also did it when they were awake and moving around so poor Lola almost had to carry her :(

Moses had started doing it for abotu 4 months before he died. I said then I bet he has cancer, but nothing could be found. But of course he had the tumour in his head that we couldn't have known about.

Eddie does it to Elwood and it worries me, so far we haven't discovered any cancer, but it wouldn;t surprise me at all if he has.

All cancer bunnies are extremely hungry bunnies towards the end of their lives, which is why I have said before that just because a bunny is eating doesn't mean they don't need to be pts. Some cancer bunnies in severe pain will still eat constantly. Which is why a ravernous appertite can be as bad for a bunny as not eating at all
 
:( That so sad but also interesting.

Tilly used to drape herself over Summer because of her head tilt and it helped her neck. I remember about a month before we let Summer go she started hanging over the back of Tilly's neck (so much so that she was pushing Tilly's down eye to the floor and making it sore) which we didn't understand at the time and thought it was sweet. I now know better.

And yes, I agree with you about the food. We let Summer go when she was still eating like a horse because she was so tired and just stopped moving around and started hiding in her hay and stuff, which was completely different behaviour.

I sure hope Eddie is just being a contrary bunny.
 
Yes, I do think that buns crave what is good for them when they are ill, as donnamt says. They'll always crave sugars which are bad for them, like children like sweets.

Grass is the natural food for bunnies, so they are designed to function best on that particular balance of fiber/nutrient. There are over 1000 different species of grass, & both Thumper & wild buns are very selective about which grasses they eat changing from day to day.
Thumper can only chew limited amount before his tongue gets sore with molar spurs. Time & time again I have watched him attempt to get maximum nutrient, fiber & fluid from his food with the least chewing/tongue movement.

Why grass rather than hay? I have no corroboration for my hypothesis at all. The green in grass is chlorophyll. Chlorophyll has an identical molecular structure to haem except that chlorophyll has a central magnesium atom & haem has a central iron atom. Haem is not only needed for haemaglobin to transport oxygen to tissues but is also needed to release the energy from glucose (in the cytochrome oxidase chain). Perhaps with the increased cell mass in cancer, your bunnies are trying to get nutrients in, & reduce waste products, in the most efficient way. It is also possible that they are craving cancer fighting oxidants.

This is pure supposition on my part. My biological sciences are very out of date. I call on those more up to date on the forum to comment on my hypothesis.
 
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