Critical care substitutes??

:wave:My 9 yr old blind bunny is currently having additional critical care via syringe. She loves it. The vet has said that she has a kidney mass and does not intend to do anything heroic as she is so frail. However, she has put on about 200g on over the past two weeks and will eat some grass, pellets and carrots. I am giving her anything she will eat really. She is off her hay not suprisingly but I feel I don't want to stop extra feeding in case her wt drops (which I feel it will) Has anyone else had this problem? Critical care is not cheap and I am wondering what sort of other clever substitutes people have given. Any advice please? Thank you in advance.

Do you buy the Oxbow one? Do you get the bigger sachets or small sachets? And do you buy online? Much cheaper than vets.

:wave:Thank you for replying. I am getting them on line 141g for just over £8. Can you get them any cheaper than this besides by a couple of pounds for a bigger sachet? She turns her nose up at my efforts involving mushed up ss :?

I have a dental chinchilla who can only eat critical care and will only eat the expensive Oxbow fine grind version. It costs me £20 a week to feed her, so I know what you mean about the expense.

I have found that Vet UK is the cheapest. You can get the regular version of Oxbow CC in a large bags, so it is much more cost effective.
Unfortunately for me, they only do the fine grind in little packets, I could do with buying it by the sack load. :roll:

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-supplies-pet-rabbit-care-c-649_197/oxbow-critical-care-for-herbivores-p-2426

Tracy said:

I have a dental chinchilla who can only eat critical care and will only eat the expensive Oxbow fine grind version. It costs me £20 a week to feed her, so I know what you mean about the expense.

I have found that Vet UK is the cheapest. You can get the regular version of Oxbow CC in a large bags, so it is much more cost effective.
Unfortunately for me, they only do the fine grind in little packets, I could do with buying it by the sack load. :roll:

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-supplies-pet-rabbit-care-c-649_197/oxbow-critical-care-for-herbivores-p-2426

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:wave:Yep, this is where I'm getting it from at the moment. It's costing me just about the same as you. Have you tried making your own 'stuff'?

:wave:Hi again Tracy. Where can I view the quilted blankets that you make? Completely different topic I know, sorry.

Can anyone share their rescue/recovery recipes with me? Could trade you for old school chocolate concrete!?? Or not.

Have you tried feeding her soaked porridge oats? Mine will often eat these when they turn their nose up at everything else. Especially good for weight gain - might be worth a shot. Other than that, I can only suggest using the 'dust' at the bottom of the pellets bag - I always have a good handful of pellet dust at the bottom of the bag :roll:.

Old bunnies are a worry aren't they? Flora is 10 in March but she's still in reasonably good health (touch wood). Hope your girl continues to remain pain free and happy.

:wave: Thank you, I will try the oats. She is on metacam so should be pain free but is blind and very unsteady on her feet. She mostly sits whilst OH makes a nuisance of himself! (Nicking her pellets, playing leap frog etc) I would like her quality of life to be so much better but I can only do my best. Yes, oldies are a worry.

bunnybobby said:

:wave:Hi again Tracy. Where can I view the quilted blankets that you make? Completely different topic I know, sorry.

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There are some pics on this thread http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?319302-Padded-Fleece-Pet-Blankets-(profit-to-Kirkby-Pet-Welfare)-New-Fabrics-Added-to-Post-1&highlight=kirkby

Back to the soft food....I've not tried making a substitute for Milly, she is so very fussy. She won't have mushed pellets, she would rather starve. I tried mixing a small amount of the normal Oxbow CC in with the fine grind to get the cost down a bit, but she knew and wouldn't touch it.

Mackers suggestion of soaked porridge oats sounds a good idea, but it would be something Milly could only have a bit of now and again. Too many oats can give chins constipation, but I might give this a go as a treat for her. :thumb:

Tracy said:

I have a dental chinchilla who can only eat critical care and will only eat the expensive Oxbow fine grind version. It costs me £20 a week to feed her, so I know what you mean about the expense.

I have found that Vet UK is the cheapest. You can get the regular version of Oxbow CC in a large bags, so it is much more cost effective.
Unfortunately for me, they only do the fine grind in little packets, I could do with buying it by the sack load. :roll:

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-supplies-pet-rabbit-care-c-649_197/oxbow-critical-care-for-herbivores-p-2426

Click to expand...

I have always bought the larger packets from them in Fineblend no problem. It is a bit more expensive than the green though but much easier to syringe.

bunny babe said:

I have always bought the larger packets from them in Fineblend no problem. It is a bit more expensive than the green though but much easier to syringe.

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They only do the Fine Grind in small 100g packets at £9.72 each, which is the size I buy. Milly eats 2 packets per week.

I've been looking for nearly 3 years and and I cannot find anywhere that does larger sizes than this.

I bought a box of Recovery critical care for Frankie while he was poorly. We compared the ingredients to his excel nuggets and the nutritional percentages were almost identical. So we started grinding up the excel nuggets in a clean coffee grinder, mixing with water and syringe feeding him with that - he loved it. We'd leave the syringe on the floor and he'd throw it into the air whenever he wanted feeding - which was pretty much every hour! It really worked and eventually he started eating softened nuggets on his own again. We checked with the vet and she confirmed that this was fine to do. It is a much much cheaper way of doing it than using critical care.

Sadly Frankie has now passed away, but I hope this advice might be useful to you.

How about sweetening the SS with a little grated apple/pear? or mixing with a little of the fruit drinks, sorry their name escapes me at the moment :roll:

My has this board changed over the years!!! surprised my account is still active roflol struggling to manoeuvre around it, probably need to update something lolol

Bunnybobby, I believe we met in the Hungry Horse today! My girls were parked by your husband, they said he was falling asleep lmao, he was probably wondering what had happened to you too lol

If you want to meet locally, don't hesitate to pm me *wink* <<<< emoticons aren't working for me *hmmm* or if you just want a bunny chat you now know who I am!

To those who remember me, I still have EddieBun, he will be 10 this year but old age has brought a few health problems over the past few years, the past year being moreso! I lost Marcel de Bun or should I say Marcelly big bum back in 2010....totally gutted me but Eddie took the loss really bad *sad face* which was hard for me also. Anyway, its just me and Eddie now, he is a permanent house bun, snuggles up on the settee with me at night, still trashes cardboard boxes like there is no tomorrow and *whispers* sometimes sleeps with me under the duvet if I crash out on the settee lol - don't worry though, he does let me know if he needs a wee lol

To those who have loved and lost, my heart goes out to you. To any old members, Hi, hope you and yours are all well, time has really flown these past 5 years. To those starting out in the world of wabbits....they are amazing little critters that steal your heart and your home will never be the same once you realise that you are a mere tenant in your own home!!!

@Bunnybobby, it was good to meet you today, shame we didn't have longer to chat, amazing we have bunnies the same age!!!

Best wishes

Denny

Denny, I have sent you a pm. Hope this is ok? xx