My beautiful boy is slipping away.. 29th Thank You

I am hoping against all the odds that someone, somewhere reading this may be able to help.
My 3 year old house bun Roo has a mass in his lower gut, which we have been unable to reduce & are rapidly running out of time & options.

An x-ray & an ultrasound have been done & the images sent to a specialist at Edinburgh University. They have confirmed that it is not a tumour, but impacted poops.
So far we have tried - freshly sqeezed pineapple juice, papaya juice, liquid parafin, warm boiled water, tummy massages, metachlorpromide daily.

For the last 6 days Roo has been on Metachlorpromide 0.5ml & Zantac 0.6ml injections & 0.24ml matacam daily.
Upon examination today, the mass has not reduced. The injections were the first recommendation by the specialist.

Option 2 is not so pleasant. 60ml water every 2 hours to hydrate the mass. The drawback with this is that it would need to continue for several weeks (so they say). Alternative to syringe feeding the water, Roo could be placed on a drip. but that means hospitalising him, which would stress him further. Lastly the fluids can be injected at 4 points on the body, several times daily & apparently this is a painful proceedure. My vet thinks we would get away with doing it once & that would be our lot.

The final option is surgery.... which is very risky. Sadly though Roo has deteriorated too far to undergo such a proceedure.
Today he has refused to eat ... Syringe feeding him now has taken its toll ... he refuses to co-operate at all now. He hadn't pooped since this morning either... but has managed a decent offering in the last 2 hours ... albeit a bit stinky.

I'm sorry I rambled... but I'm distraught. My beautiful boy is slippping away from me.
I have to know I have exhausted every avenue before I let him go.
So please, if anyone has any suggestions of what else we can try.... I'd be very grateful.

I am so sorry for you and your baby. I can offer no ideas or advice but am sending him lots of vibes.

Am sorry to hear about the dreadful time you & Roo are having.
Will cut straight to the chase so as not to waste too much time.
How bigger bun is Roo? Its hard to tell from the pic in your signature.
I'd go for IV fluids (in your option 2) but ask if you can stay with him at the vets as this would help reduce his stress.
Have just had my 5.4kg salvaged from a similar situation as your Roo. This was possible because she is a big enough bun & had decent veins & only required one IV cannulation instead of numerous injections of drugs & SC fluids.
She had IV fluids & was able to have all her drug therapy IV as well. She turned the corner quite swiftly once well rehydrated.
IMO this option is as aggressive treatment as the situation dictates, as you rightly point out surgery is not a good option in the circumstances.
So if Roo is a reasonable sized bun with OK veins thats what I'd choose.
Hope things go well for you both.

bunnytoes said:

I am so sorry for you and your baby. I can offer no ideas or advice but am sending him lots of vibes.

Click to expand...

Its a long shot I know... but Thank you for reading & replying

I have just gone through the exact same thing with one of my Rabbits.

All I can say is PLEASE ask your Vet if you can try this:

Fluids (Hartmanns Solution) via IV or SQ and Oral- 200mls/kg/24hrs

Lactulose 1ml/kg 3-4 times a day

Analgesia- Metacam and Vetergesic

Manual massage of the mass, which, after about 24 hours on the fluids/Lactulose, should start to feel like a lump of plasticine rather than a lump of concrete.

Once it is possible to break the mass down into smaller pieces prokinetics to be given (Metoclopromide, Ranitidine or Domperidone)

Then its a case of keeping up all this treatment, for us it has taken 5 days before there was any light at the end of the tunnel. The Bun (Enya) is still not 100% better, but the mass has broken down and passed. She just has very inflammed intestines which is understandable.

Antibiotic cover is also being given (Baytril by injection)

Supportive feeds of very watery Critical Care were started once the mass had broken down and prokinetics started.

Gripe Water was given if any evidence of gas build up.

I am NOT VETERINARY QUALIFIED and the above treatment was given after I discussed it all with my Vet.

So far I have had both this Bun (Enya) and one of her Brothers (Patrick) survive an intestinal impaction when at one point they were BOTH at deaths door. Patrick took about 2 weeks of treatment before being fully recovered and so I am not expecting Enya to be 100% well for a good week yet.

I so hope that the outcome will be good for your Bun. The sooner that mass is hydrated and manually broken down the better.

BTW Lactulose is an osmotic laxative. It does not coat the mass with 'oil' but encourages water to be absorbed into it.

Mega vibes for your Bun xx

Ditto what the others have said about subcutaneous (or IV) fluids. I've had a couple of rabbits with large masses of impacted food and fluids have definitely helped them to break down and pass throught the body.

Good luck, and sending lots of 'get well' vibes x

no advice im afraid but i am sending lots of vibes xx

I hope that some of the advice on this thread helps and your little guy can keep fighting through this.

honey61 said:

I am hoping against all the odds that someone, somewhere reading this may be able to help.
My 3 year old house bun Roo has a mass in his lower gut, which we have been unable to reduce & are rapidly running out of time & options.

An x-ray & an ultrasound have been done & the images sent to a specialist at Edinburgh University. They have confirmed that it is not a tumour, but impacted poops.
So far we have tried - freshly sqeezed pineapple juice, papaya juice, liquid parafin, warm boiled water, tummy massages, metachlorpromide daily.

For the last 6 days Roo has been on Metachlorpromide 0.5ml & Zantac 0.6ml injections & 0.24ml matacam daily.
Upon examination today, the mass has not reduced. The injections were the first recommendation by the specialist.

Option 2 is not so pleasant. 60ml water every 2 hours to hydrate the mass. The drawback with this is that it would need to continue for several weeks (so they say). Alternative to syringe feeding the water, Roo could be placed on a drip. but that means hospitalising him, which would stress him further. Lastly the fluids can be injected at 4 points on the body, several times daily & apparently this is a painful proceedure. My vet thinks we would get away with doing it once & that would be our lot.

The final option is surgery.... which is very risky. Sadly though Roo has deteriorated too far to undergo such a proceedure.
Today he has refused to eat ... Syringe feeding him now has taken its toll ... he refuses to co-operate at all now. He hadn't pooped since this morning either... but has managed a decent offering in the last 2 hours ... albeit a bit stinky.

I'm sorry I rambled... but I'm distraught. My beautiful boy is slippping away from me.
I have to know I have exhausted every avenue before I let him go.
So please, if anyone has any suggestions of what else we can try.... I'd be very grateful.

Click to expand...

I don't know how confident you are, but maybe you could discuss with your vet giving fluids at home as I have done this before.

Good luck x

My beautiful boy is sslipping away... U/D At Vets

Thank you all for your advice & vibes for Roo.

I just wanted to update you. unfortunately I don't know how to update the title.. (sorry)

Roo was at the vets by 08.30 ... and will be having the hydration treatment throughout the day. As I understand it, he will be injected in 4 sites as advised by the specialist at Edinburgh. He has also confirmed that we will continue with the injections & metacam.

It is good to know that my vet is prescribing the drugs you advise Jane .... although lactulose is a new one on me. If you have no ojections I would like to pass on your recommendations, particularly as you have recently experienced this condition.

I am now pacing the floor awaiting an update phone call... too tired to concentrate.... too fraught to nap.

Again my thanks to you all..... I will post any news as & when it arrives.

Wishing you lots of luck!

everything crossed here for your special boy xxx

Masses of vibes for Roo....I hope the advice from Jane also works for you xxx

Completely agree and echo what the others have said. Fluids are the absolute key for impactions or any hypomotility of the gut.
If you have him admitted then I would go with an IV line - it gets straight to the areas needed. Sub cut fluids can be very helpful too but peripheral tissue perfusion can become impaired when everything shuts down so this method can take longer but of course is less stressful than being on a drip. High pain relief is essential ongoing for the moment.
I would not recommend IP fluids (intraperitoneal) as there is a risk of perforation of the bowel, especially with the likelihood of gas pockets 2nd to impaction. My bun has had IP fluids without my consent and they worked very quickly but are risky.

I really hope your beloved bun can pull through this x

Lots of vibes for Roo xx

Roo's symptoms sound very similar to those of my little welsh pony Boysie last January. I understand that rabbits & equines have very similar digestive systems and can often be treated in similar ways - albeit on a different scale obviously. There were lots of possible causes of and contributing factors to Boysies constipation/inability to pass anything which included:

1) the inability to eat grass (due to it being covered in snow/ice for 4 weeks) & having unsoaked (dry) hay. Wouldn't be an issue on it's own but when combined with:

2) the inability to chew hay properly (due to poor teeth, he now has hi-fi only). We didn't know he had dental problems at the time (despite him having checks annually) and just like with many rabbits the first we knew there was a problem was when he became ill

3) the unwillingness to drink very cold water (we now add two kettles of boiling water to his bucket am & pm):roll:

4) him eating straw bedding which made the already dry mass even drier (he is now on unpalatable cardboard bedding)

5) him having hard feed (pony nuts etc which expand in the gut & absorb moisture - he now has everything soaked).

In the short term, as well removing all of the possible causes & him having several liquid enema's (horrible & painful) he was given a high dose of epsom salts, 3-4 times a day in a porrage slop type feed + liquid parrafin. The salts break down the mass inside (they just turn everything to mush), the parrafin makes the exit more lubricated & less painful. He came through it eventually but it was touch & go for around 3 weeks. This time when the snow came we were prepared & pro-active and I'm pleased to say that he's tickety boo & regular as clockwork so far

Reason for my rambling: Just wondered if any of the treatments we used on Boysie had ever been tried or considered for buns (on a much smaller scale obviously)? In addition - I think it is possible to make comparisons to some of the causes of Boysies problem to a buns environment too. i.e. I am always careful to ensure that their water is warm enough to drink, vigilant re. anything which may lead to being "bunged up" and of course keeping an eye on any signs of dental issues.

honey61 said:

Thank you all for your advice & vibes for Roo.

I just wanted to update you. unfortunately I don't know how to update the title.. (sorry)

Roo was at the vets by 08.30 ... and will be having the hydration treatment throughout the day. As I understand it, he will be injected in 4 sites as advised by the specialist at Edinburgh. He has also confirmed that we will continue with the injections & metacam.

It is good to know that my vet is prescribing the drugs you advise Jane .... although lactulose is a new one on me. If you have no ojections I would like to pass on your recommendations, particularly as you have recently experienced this condition.

I am now pacing the floor awaiting an update phone call... too tired to concentrate.... too fraught to nap.

Again my thanks to you all..... I will post any news as & when it arrives.

Click to expand...

Please do mention the Lactulose, it really has helped Enya. She was so close to death over the weekend. Another thing about Lactulose is that it can help mop up some of the toxins that a compromised Liver cannot cope with. Impaired liver function can happen quickly in cases of GI tract shutdown xx

I have my fingers and toes crossed for wee Roo and hoping for good news.

Thinking of you and roo

Sending lots of vibes for Roo xx

Encouraging News

I've just received a call from the vet to say that Roo hasn't deteriorated.
So far he has had 160ml of fluids (same as you recommended Jane) over 2 sessions & will receive a further treatment this afternoon.

He also says that although we are not out of the woods yet.... he is brighter...
At present he is a wobbly 'Spaced Out Bunny', having had a painkiller that makes him forget 'nasty' memories..... Hopefully this will help when he goes back again tomorrow!

My vet says he must be feeling the benefit of the hydration as he is beginning to show signs of his usual 'ratbag' behaviour!

All being well I can collect him early this evening

Thank you all for the bunny vibes.... I don't know what's in them... but they are working THANK YOU