Urolithiasis

So Titchy had a sudden dash to the vet yesterday after I found him straining to wee in the early hours of Friday morning...very random and so sudden it was crazy. I can't tell you how horribly distressing it is watching him strain, knowing how uncomfortable he is. My vet found he was sore and swollen, took him for an xray and inserted a catheter. He had a blocked urethra and said he did have some bladder sludge, although she didn't consider it a bad case of sludge and claimed she'd seen a lot worse. He was unblocked and flushed out with saline solution. The poor little guy went through so much and must be feeling pretty sore The whole procedure cost me £346.32

He's now banned from eating his favourite vegetables, unfortunately they have a high calcium content, so no dandies, clover, kale, spring green, carrot tops.

The day after he seems active, but he won't touch much food, no pellets, he's picking over hay and nibbling on grass. I'm worried about his lack of food intake because he's a real big foodie so this is cause for concern for me. Last night he had some recovery diet and I think another lot is imminent, for now I'm letting him pick over what he wants naturally. I've noticed him straining again to wee which is worrying me but he is passing little puddles. The vet explained that his winky muscles could painfully contract stopping him from weeing so I need to keep a really stern watch on him, which naturally considering the enormity of the problem was what I would be doing anyway. So it's a good sign that despite the straining he is producing little drops of urine? He's on an anti inflammatory and painkiller for 2 weeks. I'm waiting for a call from the vet now so they can tell me if the straining is still normal, I just, really hate seeing it as it looks so painful.

I wondered if anyone else has had this problem, my vet said she'd never actually seen it in rabbits before, and browsing through the forum I haven't found much to indicate loads of others do. But to be quite honest I'm worrying so much because I'm terrified of losing him. I lost the most beautiful bunny in 2007 and it haunts me everyday. With the three I have, some would say I'm obsessive about their health, I spot things in their health that the vet says he wouldn't even spot on his own rabbit. I just can't take the idea of losing them so this time with Titch, I just feel a bit lost and scared tbh.
So my questions are:

Has anyone else got a rabbit with this health problem?
What vegetables can he eat and what can't he eat?
What's normal behaviour the day after GA, I understand he's sore but should he still be straining? Shouldn't he be eating more than just picking over hay and grass?
He's still perfectly safe on Timothy and meadow hay?
He's on adult excel pellets but is it best to change to a pellet diet which specialises in urinary tract health?If so what are the best ones? My vet gave me a pamphlet for a brand new science selective mono forage pellet diet yesterday to research but I can't find information online.

Being a little unsure of myself now any help and guidance is greatly appreciated. I never want Titch to go through this again
Thank you

I am really sorry Titch is poorly and has bladder sludge. I am not knowledgeable on this particular subject, but I am sure there are other people on here who have, and who may be able to offer you some advice. There are some very knowledgeable people on here. My bunny has kidney issues so I too have been concerned about calcium content of foods.

I dont blame you for watching out for any signs of ill-health, bunnies are so good at hiding illness sometimes that we all have to watch out for small signs of illness as we are the only ones who are going to be able to notice. Try not to get too stressed about things though (easier said than done, I know) because they can pick up on it.

I'm glad he's got pain relief, as sometimes they can stop eating if they are in pain which can lead to gut stasis. Is he eating now? If not its cause for concern, and you may need to contact the vet for advice about this - if your vets are closed now, you could phone your out of hours vet for advice.

Its good you have some recovery to give to them, and nibbling hay is good too.

I hope someone will be along soon to give you more advice on bladder sludge - you could also use the search facility on here.

There have also been some threads about calcium content on food. I will try and do a search for you for some of them.

I dont know what to suggest about pellets but did see that Science Selectives were bringing out a pellet for buns with bladder problems, so perhaps that might be useful, I dont know enough about it I'm afraid. As with any new food remember to introduce very gradually.

Nose rubs for your bun and vibes for his recovery.

ETA: a bit about the SS pellets here: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=283078&highlight=calcium

And here for a thread about calcium (its long but has a lot of useful info in it and links to lists of calcium/food values): http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=277366&highlight=calcium

And a thread started by another member about a bun with urolithiasis too: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=241500&highlight=urolithiasis

Hope this helps.