One very sick rabbit- she has gone.

Doodee developed a hidden amssive chest infection over the weekend and managed to hide the thing
By Monday she was refussing all food and water and in stasis. Onne very urgent trip to vets in which she was given loads of drugs, oral baytril and adviced to tempt and syringe feed if tempting failed.
This morning she was staggering on one side with what looked like the start of head tilt.

One not happy owner. Straight back to vet. She has since had sub'cut fluids as the moo has worked out how to trickle any syringed water down me and I am loathed to try and aim towards the back of her throat with a chest infection. It could be the blasted infection has spread to her ears or it could be she has had e'cunni for years [rescued from neglect and abusive home by RSPCA] and the chest infection has allowed all sorts from her earlier life out to play. My vet has ordered in oral pancur and is consulting with the rabbit vet who looked at Pumpkins eyes for me.

The only bright bit was her storring enough to swear at the vet after the sub'cut fluids. She is still pretty sick. Vet has given her more jabs to combat inflamation and pain as well as keep her gut moving.

Doodee is very resistant to handling thanks to her early life, trying to treat her is causing her stress which in turn makes her breathing much worse, this seems to cause her to fall on the left side [the one the vet says sounds b.awful]. She is indoors in the warm with tempting bits, water bottle, water bowl to persuade her to sip something. I am trying to handle her with care and not have to tip her to get drugs and fluids in to her orally but this is hard work. If she was in a victorian novel I would say she is at a crisis point of either going to start fighting. If I cannot get something down her either by temptation or her accepting syringe feeds she is not going to survive long enough for the anti-biotics to work. I am hoping this is not pneumonia.
Doodee has destroyed my home, eaten my furniture chewed my oxygen lines *little !* and worked her way into my life and I suspect I will be gutted if something as ghastly as an acute infection kills her.


Has anyone else home cared for a rabbit with a nasty acute chest infection?
Did the bun survive and what tips could I try to give her the mix of rest and interest in life she needs to give her a chance at beating this thing.

I don't have any advice, sorry I hope she responds to treatment soon. Sending lots of vibes for Doodee xx

can you get the vet to show you how to do injections of the antbiotics and fluids?

They are less stressful than syringing anything into mouth when they have breathing issues.

Feedwise obviously it has to be in the mouth - but in this situation I would say to hell with it and add apple puree (or Ellas baby food mixes) to the main feeds to try and get it in.

I don't have any experience or advice, but sending vibes for your poorly Doodee. xx

Sending tons of vibes for Doodee, I hope she eats something soon and starts getting better xxx

Still nothing going in even with carrot parsnip and apple puree waved under her nose.
I have even tried the last of the strawberry flowers and blackberry flowers and she tried to wobble round so I could not put them near her mouth.
She is producing droppings but you can hear her wheezing with every breathe and the head tilt is more obvious this afternoon.

If she does not perk up a little bit this evening after another huge dose of antibiotics it may be kinder to have her put to sleep.

Sending vibes, c'mon little one

No other advice I can think of, but sending huge vibes for Doodee xxx

Got up to find she is still with us though moving like a drunk. I think the anti biotics may be finally starting to kick in.

Managed to get her to nibble three sliced bits of kale dipped in water, she ate most of one single apple leaf. Tried offering a couple of very small ripe strawberries - normally one a week would be the treat but right now anything that offers some liguid and interest has got to be tried. She has accepted a slither of fresh plantain and a couple of dandelion leaves but it looks like eating is jolly hard work. Looks like it will be another day of hunting the garden for tempting fresh nibbles dipped in water that need to be offered hourly.

Her pellets are ranging from teeny weeny to teardrop shaped larger ones, she has passed a small amount of gel between the teeny ones and the teardropped shaped ones. She still sounds like a bugpipe but the crackle sound is not as loud. Given how sick she is, that she went into stasis and how little she has eaten in the past 3 days I am not surprised. She does not seem to be quite as distressed as she was from pain and difficulty breathing yesterday but I am keeping a close eye on her.

Doodee also tried to manage a short run across the floor - it was a sort of stumbly drunken move with a prat fall but its more than she has done for a couple of days. I now have a small scratch down my face from where her foot got out of the towel whilst I was trying to get her oral anti-biotics in her first thing. Poor girl is now shattered and lying on a fleece blanket by the fire looking miserable still. Tried vet bed but she will not have it so I am using fleece blankets under her and changing them as needed.
I have no choice but to drop my car in for its brakes to be fixed this morning so I hope she manages to behave for a few hours. I will call my vet about the pancur for e.cunni' he wants to try and arrange a late evening appointment so she can have more pain relief and anti-inflamtories for her chest and sub cut fluids if she has not picked up a bit more. Poor Doodee her neck must feel like its been used as a pin cushion by now.

Sending more vibes for her, and thinking of you. xx

Really hope she pulls through this - loads of get well vibes sent her way.

Aw bless, sending lots of vibes I really hope she perks up very soon. I have a poorly snuffle bun atm too so I kind of know the feeling Hugs xxx

Just want to add healing vibes for Doodee (((((((((((((((((((((vibes)))))))))))))))))
My Mimzy got headtilt earlier this year. For two months it was a fight to keep him going but he pulled through and is still here four months later.
I hope your bun feels better soon. ((((((((((((((Hugs)))))))))))))

Vibes for Doodee!

Any news on Doodee? Hope she is a little better tonight xx

Took her back to the vets.
The simple act of trying to carefully get her in the carrier left her rolling and she collapsed for longer than I wanted to see.
By the time she was at the vets her eyes were rolling and she was not dare moving. I get vesticular migraine as one of the options TAC throws at me so I had nothing but heartfelt sympathy for the poor girl.

Vet examine her were she was lying rather than try moving her whilst everything else was clearly spinning. She has had more anti-biotic injections and sub cut fluids, first dose of pancur - the chest infection is starting to respond to to massive doses of baytril so after talking with the vet will continue with that.
She still does not want hay or grass in any form.
She is not able to drink from her waterbottle, every time she tries her eyes spin and she is down. She is now trying to get the hang of lapping water in a very shallow bowl wthout falling over. Hopefully she will continue to drink and not need sub cut fluids later today.

Chest still sounds horrible but the ghastly crackles have become a wheeze this morning.

She is trying to nibble dried plantain and dried herbage, kale is the food of choice, she has managed a piece of shredded wheat and a couple of dry pellets. Still offering a wide range of fresh wild herbage and veg as she is being very picky and what might have tempted her to nibble in the morning is not in grace by the afternoon. I am letting her nibble her way through supply of small thumbnail ripe sized strawberries [hurrah for the 'value' veg packs] in exchange for having a go at eating.

I have cleared the lounge to give her chance to move around without falling into things. If she moves her head she rools and falls over. This morning the thump noises turned out to be Doodee trying to hop around the room with head tilt and discovering she could not move like she used to, she is still falling a lot but is continuing to try. I have added some extra rugs on the floor to give her extra grip. Normally she could manage the laminate around the large rug but not at the moment.

She is still sick but does not seem as distressed and withdrawn, the head tilt is causing her real problems getting used to but it also came on very suddenly. Leaving her warm, quiet and with a range of food to pick at and water bowls. I think I may buy her a soft donout shaped cat bed for inside the carrier to give her more support and frankly so she can wedge her head on a surface when going to the vet.

Fingers crossed that TLC and supportive treatment from the vet continues to give her a chance. I honestly did not think she would still be here by Thursday.

Can your vet prescribe meclazine (Dramamine or Antivert) tablets? They can be ground up and moistened to syringe in (if Doodee will tolerate it) and will help with the dizziness and any nausea she may feel. I just took Mimzy off his after using it for the whole four months and I don't see any residual side effects. It greatly helped him balance.
More healing vibes coming your way. xx

Doodee seems to be having either the worst possible vertigo attacks or she is now having vertigo induced fits.

In tha past three hours she has crashed to the floor four times in a frozen head tilted down position. She seems terrified to move, I do not move her but provide a tactile sense of hands around her back and stroke her slowly, from my own experience I know vertigo takes away all sense of where you are in time and space as the world spins round. She then starts to try and move and flip on her side and panics for a bit wich makes the flips worse and twisting much worse. She then shakes her head and works out how to put her feet down and stumbles off back to her fleece near the fire.

I have moved anything she may get entangled in when this happens but it is horrible to see. I think the head tilt is here to stay if she can find a way to cope with it. Has anyone else had a headtilt bun whose headtilt came on suddenly following an acute chest/ear infection. Do you have any tips because right now she is one unhappy rabbit and is not even accepting strawberries.

I know when I am bad I have a head-cradle pillow that holds my head very still and in one place until the drugs decide to kick in but somehow I do not think that would work for a rabbit whose past experineces of being handled had the RSPCA turn up and seize her.

Help....not sure how long I should try and keep her going with this or what signs might point towards her being able to cope.

Tracybeakerisland said:

Doodee seems to be having either the worst possible vertigo attacks or she is now having vertigo induced fits.

In tha past three hours she has crashed to the floor four times in a frozen head tilted down position. She seems terrified to move, I do not move her but provide a tactile sense of hands around her back and stroke her slowly, from my own experience I know vertigo takes away all sense of where you are in time and space as the world spins round. She then starts to try and move and flip on her side and panics for a bit wich makes the flips worse and twisting much worse. She then shakes her head and works out how to put her feet down and stumbles off back to her fleece near the fire.

I have moved anything she may get entangled in when this happens but it is horrible to see. I think the head tilt is here to stay if she can find a way to cope with it. Has anyone else had a headtilt bun whose headtilt came on suddenly following an acute chest/ear infection. Do you have any tips because right now she is one unhappy rabbit and is not even accepting strawberries.

I know when I am bad I have a head-cradle pillow that holds my head very still and in one place until the drugs decide to kick in but somehow I do not think that would work for a rabbit whose past experineces of being handled had the RSPCA turn up and seize her.

Help....not sure how long I should try and keep her going with this or what signs might point towards her being able to cope.

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Are her eyes flicking from side to side ?

What is her respiratory rate/effort like ?

Definatly has the eyes flicking from side to side, her breathing is still not brilliant thanks to that chest infection but when this happens its seems to be rapid n the way the other rabbits are when they take fright and have bolted to a safer place.