• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Bunny hasn't eaten in 3 days!!!!! Please Help

H

Harley Girl

New Kit
To begin with, all of the vets around that treat bunnies are either closed today or cannot take any more appointments. There is a 24/7 animal hospital however it it notoriously bad and I would not have any confidence in the vets there. Which leaves me extremely worried until Monday if Harley can hold on that long.

My 3 year old has not really eaten for about three days. First she just didn't eat very much and now she has stopped almost completely. She has taken a couple bites of oatmeal and seems like she is trying to eat hay however she just bites it and doesn't really eat it. She did take quite a bit of water from a dropper but has not taken anything since then and that was a couple hours ago other than a couple bites of oatmeal again. She has not peed or pooped at all recently also.

I have massaged her and i know this very well good be a GI problem which I know is horrible. I'm looking for any suggestions people might have and if you think she can make it till Monday if I am able to keep her taking water and small (very small) amounts of food.
 
I'm sorry your bun is poorly :(

She needs to see a vet ASAP...she can't wait until Monday :( I would take het where ever you can, tell them that she needs pain relief, fluids and a gut stimulant (I hope iv got that right!)...basically go informed and tell them what you think is wrong!!
 
I agree wholeheartedly. The only place open might not be wonderful, but it is your best bet, when a rabbits gut stops it can go downhill very very quickly.

If you really really don't want to do that then just keep tempting her, by hand with all of her fav treats. Maybe soften some pellets into a mash with warm water, if this was caused by bad teeth then that might make it easier for her to eat. - But don't force any food into her as if this is a blockage then that could make things much worse!

BUT if she hasn't peed or pooped in a while then she really needs to see a vet. Also are you sure you could get an appointment on Monday anyway as it is a bank hol? The Animal hospital is at least open.

Sending loads of vibes her way, I hope you can get her eating again.
 
She just took several bites of carrot. I was wondering if it was her teeth also but she seemed to eat the carrot fine. She probably ate about a forth a regular size carrot (the top skinner part) which is much more than she has before. Although I'm still very worried. To be honest I really don't want to take her the animal hospital because I had a cat go there for a teeth cleaning and ended up passing away. It is widely believed that the animal clinic really doesn't care about animals. I do have an appointment made for Monday but until then I think the stress of taking her to the other vet could be very damaging. I am very good with her and would like to do whatever I can.
 
Sorry I had an additional question I meant to include with my reply. Since she has now eaten something, and she just ate about another fourth of the carrot, any idea how long it should take things to pass through her. Basically when could I be expecting to see any droppings ?
 
Cat died from teeth cleaning :shock:

Ok, try any fresh herbs if you have them, broccoli always used to get my first bun out of not eating, and just give her love and keep her warm and comfortable. Any food you persuade her to eat is good, and that she is eating even small amounts is also good. She sounds like she is in very good hands!

edit cos just saw second question! I have no idea I'm afraid, but if she does 'perform' that would be a wonderful sign!
 
your rabbit is ill. take her to the vet.

have you tried chasing her about a bit? it sounds cruel but it gets the gut moving.
 
Harley Girl said:
To begin with, all of the vets around that treat bunnies are either closed today or cannot take any more appointments. There is a 24/7 animal hospital however it it notoriously bad and I would not have any confidence in the vets there. Which leaves me extremely worried until Monday if Harley can hold on that long.

My 3 year old has not really eaten for about three days. First she just didn't eat very much and now she has stopped almost completely. She has taken a couple bites of oatmeal and seems like she is trying to eat hay however she just bites it and doesn't really eat it. She did take quite a bit of water from a dropper but has not taken anything since then and that was a couple hours ago other than a couple bites of oatmeal again. She has not peed or pooped at all recently also.

I have massaged her and i know this very well good be a GI problem which I know is horrible. I'm looking for any suggestions people might have and if you think she can make it till Monday if I am able to keep her taking water and small (very small) amounts of food.
Click to expand...

She may not 'make it until Monday'

She needs to be examined by a Vet

Sorry to be blunt here, but by not obtaining appropriate Veterinary Care for her you are causing her additional suffering. If she does not make it how will you feel knowing that you did not do all you could for her ?

If she has a blockage in her guts she wont pass any droppings, so answering your question about 'when will you see any' is impossible as none of us know if she has obstructed or not.

This link will explain just how serious the situation is, at the very least your Rabbit needs pain relief

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

Please get her to a vet

ETA- Have just re-read my post and I am sorry that it comes across as harsh. It is just hard not to get upset when hearing of a sick Rabbit who is almost certainly in pain and is not receiving even basic analgesia :cry:

I REALLY am not a 'nasty' person, but I do find it hard to keep my cool at times :oops:

I do hope that you are able to get your Rabbit to a Vet before Monday and again I apologise for the harshness of my post.
 
Last edited:
Pineapple Juice

With Gut Stasis a solution we have found which has worked on numerous occasions is to feed your bunny with a syringe with a small amount of pineapple juice in it - the juice just seems to get the gut moving - you can then feed also water and mashed up food in the syringe as well, but get the pineapple juice in first - 3 times a day, morning, lunch and night.
 
The bunny has not pooped recently so a blockage needs to be ruled out before force feeding. It really needs to see a vet.
 
take her to a vet, ask for a gut stimulant and pain relief. do not syringe feed her. she might have a blockage.

ask for metacam and a gut stimulant.

she really does need to see a vet right now, even if you dont think that vet is very good. at least if you go in with the right information you can control the situation.
 
My reply is probably a bit late, but you can syringe fluids (boiled and cooled down to just slightly warm is ideal). Fluids can sometimes get the gut moving and allow the food to pass through.

I do understand how you feel about not so good emergency vets. Unfortunately, if the bunny hasn't passed anything in days, it's really an emergency though.
 
I can only echo what others have said, bunny needs an emergency vet to find out the cause of the stasis.
 
Your rabbit NEEDS to see a vet, and very soon. When rabbits stop eating, they need to see a vet within a couple of hours, not days. If you are worried about the level of care she will receive, do not let her out of your sight when you are there and make sure they are telling you exactly what they are doing before you approve treatment. You will at least be giving her a chance by getting her to the vet, by not doing so she is unlikely to survive, and if she does survive till Monday the situation will be extremely dire.

First of all, the vet needs to establish whether there is a blockage. If there is a blockage force-feeding or gut stimulants can have devastating effects.

If there is no blockage, your rabbit needs a gut stimulant and painkiller (if in the UK this will be metacam) by INJECTION, as oral medication wont be absorbed properly as the gut has stopped moving. You also need to get some liquid recovery food (Oxbow Critical Care or Supreme Recovery) to syringe feed her with. I would also reccommend getting fibreplex whilst you are there. If she is dehydrated, which by this point I think is likely, your vet may also want to give her fluids.


Can someone please add to this post with more specific information about the meds that the owner of this rabbit needs to ask for when she goes to the vet. :wave:

If you are in the UK, please remember that Monday is a bank holiday, so it is unlikely your normal vets will be open until Tuesday.
 
I'm so sorry you lost your cat, but could it have been a reaction to the anaesthetic? That can happen sometimes, it doesn't mean the vet is bad. I think right now, any vet is better than no vet. I really hope you can see a vet today. Sending lots of vibes xx
 
I appreciate all the comments left by people and everyone's concern. I was already prepared to read everyone's encouragement to take her to whatever vet I can however I have good news to report. She has started eating some more carrots and passed some very small droppings. I spent several hours with her in the middle of the night and she also ate a couple pellets out of her bowl.

I'm sure I do sound like a bad Mom to several people out there but unless you live in the Antelope Valley in CA and have heard the horror stories of the clinic it is hard to understand. Regardless I appreciate all the advice and good thoughts. I was giving her pedialite by the dropper which she seemed to love so I knew she getting re-hydrated. I also think massaging her belly helped significantly, she seemed to like it.

I am keeping her appointment on Monday of course and will still monitor her closely but she is eating small amounts about every hour now and like I said there are about 4 or 5 small droppings. I know she isn't out of danger yet but I was so thrilled when she picked up her pellet bowl with her teeth to move it where she wanted and took a couple bites. (Thats what she does, she rearranges everything all the time)
 
Harley Girl said:
I appreciate all the comments left by people and everyone's concern. I was already prepared to read everyone's encouragement to take her to whatever vet I can however I have good news to report. She has started eating some more carrots and passed some very small droppings. I spent several hours with her in the middle of the night and she also ate a couple pellets out of her bowl.

I'm sure I do sound like a bad Mom to several people out there but unless you live in the Antelope Valley in CA and have heard the horror stories of the clinic it is hard to understand. Regardless I appreciate all the advice and good thoughts. I was giving her pedialite by the dropper which she seemed to love so I knew she getting re-hydrated. I also think massaging her belly helped significantly, she seemed to like it.

I am keeping her appointment on Monday of course and will still monitor her closely but she is eating small amounts about every hour now and like I said there are about 4 or 5 small droppings. I know she isn't out of danger yet but I was so thrilled when she picked up her pellet bowl with her teeth to move it where she wanted and took a couple bites. (Thats what she does, she rearranges everything all the time)
Click to expand...

You definitely need to stick around this forum because such levelheadedness in response to this thread is great. We need level headed people here.

I definitely hear and appreciate that it's very difficult to get to a vet that is competent. If you can 'limp' her to tomorrow, by keeping her warm and hydrated that is on option (and do remember to give a heat source). However, if you get to a point where she has deteriorated then likely she will die anyway, and if she is going to die anyway, then you're going to lose nothing by going to the animal hospital. I know that sounds blunt, and I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of a better, less blunt, way to say it. I guess that is she is going to die then at least you would be giving her a chance if you took her to the vet hospital, rather than just letting her die.

Obviously, ideally you would be calling an out of hours vet who could see her and treat her competently, but I think it's a case of weighing up, in each moment, what the lesser of the evils she is dealing with are at that point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Abcess or possible tumour - UPDATE
Replies
16
Views
308
tonibun
T
J
Bunny still isn't right following vet stay
Replies
17
Views
272
a reader of books
a reader of books
L
Gi stasis, no vets available
Replies
9
Views
199
ERCD
E
Back
Top