Furby has a lump

Since Furby (one of the Lymington buns who is deaf) had his dental a short while ago he hasn't been quite 'right'. He is still on baytril as the vet found a sign of infection. He said that some of his teeth had disappeared - and Furby isn't an old bun. Furby hides when it is meds time and struggles with me - so he is still quite fiesty.

I wondered if he still had toothache but gave him and Faye some chopped (not grated) carrot and he nommed that enthusiastically and is also eating pellets OK.

Tonight when I was giving him his baytril I noticed one side of his face looked swollen. It was dark outside so I thought I may have imagined it but when I felt, one side has a huge lump Furby didn't seem to try and move away when I touched it so I don't think it is painful. It is solid, not soft.

I am imagining all sorts of terminal illnesses for my poor boy. Fortunately, I have tomorrow off work so I will be able to take him to the vet whatever time they have free. I am on-call all weekend though - but will take him to work with me if needs be.

I have metacam in as Dylan needs it daily and was wondering if I should give Furby some just in case he is in pain. What do you all think? He had metacam after his dental so I know how much to give him. I'd hate him to spend the night in pain. He is still eating so I don't feel I need to rush him to the vet tonight and my finances are dire after having my car fixed this week (but that wouldn't stop me taking him if I felt he needed it).

I was wondering if it's an abscess. If it is, it's huge, but I'd have thought he'd have found it painful to be touched. Tigger (cat) wouldn't let me touch his face when he had an abscess.

I seem to have had lots of poorly pets so far this year (but I guess I do have quite a few).

If anyone has any spare vibes for Furby, we would really appreciate them. He does look 'sad' and if he wasn't eating I would be panicking, but he had his breakfast and his supper as always.

Oh no I really hope it's something easy to cure & that Furby will be ok! Lots of vibes for him xo

Does sound like it could be a tooth related abscess. If it is an abscess then he will need a better antibiotic than baytril to fight it. Hopefully whatever it is can get treated quickly x

Sending lots of vibes for your special boy. xxx

Sending tons of vibes for Furby, I hope he'll be ok xxx

Mega vibes for Furby. What a hard time you are having lately.

I don't know about the metacam.

I'm just going to bed and I'm going to give Furby some metacam. I can't see that it will do any harm and I want him to have a good sleep tonight as it will be stressful for him tomorrow when I take him to the vet, especially if he has to stay in.

Thank you all for the vibes and support.

I'm certainly spending a lot of time at the vets recently. The nurses and receptionists know my voice now

Have a vet appointment at 10.00 am. Furby wasn't interested in brekkie and looks VERY sad

I am so, so, worried about my little man. I think he had a rough life before he came here (was one of the Lymington breeding buns) and I want him to have lots and lots of love and happiness - he is only young.

Have to clean out all the buns in the pouring rain when I get home (can't put it off any longer). Am really going to enjoy my day off and am working all weekend

A lottery win about now would be really good, but Furby being OK would be better.

aww poor furby I really hope the vets can make him better again.
sending vibes xxx

Thank you for the vibes.

Furby did have an abscess, which the vet has lanced. I did ask about pain relief first but decided against an anaesthetic. It was very quick and I was able to hold Furby and he was great - didn't struggle at all. The stuff that came out was disgusting - and the vet seemed determined I had a look:?

I did ask about stronger antibiotics than Baytril but he said there was a risk of it upsetting Furby's gut flora. I've got a prescription for some more Baytril and the vet also put a capsule in the wound which will dissolve and put antibiotic direct into the blood (I think).

The sad news is that the vet thinks the abscess will recur as it's due to the way Furby's teeth roots are. He was horrified when I said Furby had been used to breed from as it is probably a genetic problem.

I am to leave the wound for a couple of days and then express again, give Baytril twice daily. I asked about pain relief and I can give metacam (which I already have for Dylan).

If the abscess doesn't clear up I will ask for stronger antibiotics but he didn't have brekkie today so I didn't want to risk him going into stasis and thought I'd see how this capsule works.

Furby has been amazingly good, yet he must have been in pain. Will have to get him a nice treat. Not sure if he will be able to eat a fenugreek crunchie (although he did eat carrot yesterday).

oh karen...im so sorry....casper had osteomyilitis in the end and our vet was pretty useless looking back...hindsight is a wonderful thing!!
When the abscess is opened the vet needs to take a culture swab to determine which aerobic and which anaerobic infecions are present and treat accordingly. Personally i find the overuse of baytril on bunies so frustrating....esp in pasturellla and parasitical infections. casper could have been treated so much better....hindsight is a wonderful thing.

casper had his abscesses in his tooth root and jawbone

bertie once had an abscess under his chin...but nothing in his teeth or jaw...xrays proved that. but to see the thing being excised...made me faint! he was lucky it wasnt attached to bone..just between flesh and skin. It never grew back but i do wonder if it was pasturellla and its how it spread through bertie and was prob the pasturella got into his body!

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=503

sorry keep nodding off...will reply properly later...xxxxx

Poor poor Furby. I really hope the abscess doesn't come back.

Thank you guys.

The vet said to leave the wound for a couple of days and then express the gunge again. It has now scabbed over though and doesn't look anywhere near so swollen so I'm not sure whether to take the scab off (which will hurt poor Furby) or leave it if it's healing. I touched it and Furby didn't struggle so I don't think it is sore at the moment.

Furby was damp so he must have been out in his run today, rather than huddled in his litter tray in his sleeping compartment as he was yesterday. He and Faye usually spend all their time in the run, even in the really cold weather, just going to their hutch for brekkie and supper noms.

Tigger's abscess came back a couple of times - it was a nightmare to get rid of but at the risk of tempting fate he has been fine for a good six months now.

Furby's face looks much better than it did so hopefully we are moving in the right direction for my lovely little man.

I would recommend taking the scab off. It will be uncomfortable for Furby, but you want to make sure that you get as much Pus out of the abscess as possible. I have had to pick a few scabs off abscesses in my time! Nice!

The bead that the vet put in should help to kill the infection from inside. If the pus does not totally clear up by cleaning and the antibiotics then I would definately try Manuka Honey, it really does work wonders with abscesses. You need to get as high a UMF Manuka as possible, I use UMF 25+. You clean out the abscess, getting as much pus out as possible, flush with whatever your vet has given you for cleaning then put manuka in the 'hole' and smother it on the abscess. It really is a miracle how it can cut through pus.

Nice job for tomorrow before work

I won't do it now as it is dark and raining outside and I can't see properly.

Where do I get this honey? I like honey but don't have any in at the moment - or is it a completely different honey to that sold in the supermarket and put on toast? Might be worth me buying the honey before I take the scab off if I can find somewhere to buy it tomorrow.

It is a totally different honey to the one in the supermarket, but it can be used to eat as it is meant to help your insides keep well

It is expensive, but really it works. I get mine from holland & barratt. This is the one that I use, it keeps for years really so as long as you keep it in a dark place then you can always use it. http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=3154&prodid=3351&cid=198&sid=0

Some people also feed their bunnies a small amount of it daily as well as applying it topically.

You will use hardly any of it in the abscess so it would be better if they sold smaller tubs!

This should be a good read for you http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/abscess_management.PDF

I didn't pick the scab off in the end as the wound looked flat, not lumpy. Furby was quite happy for me to touch it too.

Today when I got in from work he was flopped out in his hutch, which warmed my heart as he hasn't flopped for a while. Hopefully, he is feeling better. He is still having Baytril and Metacam. I checked the wound again at supper time and it hasn't grown at all but is still flat so I don't think there is any more yucky stuff in there.

The capsule the vet put in the wound seems to have helped a lot.

Am keeping a close eye on Furby but he is eating with enthusiasm - pellets as well as hay and veg - so I don't think his teeth or jaw are hurting.

He is such a good boy. Very smoochable This is an old photo of him - he seems to be permanently moulting.

Awww, good update I hope the bad abscess is all gone!!

Kermit said:

Awww, good update I hope the bad abscess is all gone!!

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So do I. I will keep checking and if the area looks swollen again I will take the scab off and express anything inside. At the moment it all looks very dry and flat - well as flat as the other side is anyway. The vet shaved the fur off the area so it is easy to see and Furby is pretty good at letting me touch him there and doesn't even flinch so I don't think it is sore at all.

I am just so relieved I saw him flopped out today as I have been worrying he is in pain, even though he is eating well and coming out into the run as usual.

Tigger (one of my cats) had a recurring abscess in the same area of his face and I know that was a nightmare to clear up and he had to wear a cone and be kept indoors. It took weeks to go completely. Just hope Furby is now on the road to recovery.

Does sound like the bead done the trick