Advice needed please.gi stasis/fur blockage prevention

Hi

My boy has had three lots of blockages in the past 3. Weeks, I know it's not his food because I'm very careful with what he eats and even weigh it all out, he also had organic and home grown produce.
I rescued him in September any never had any problems until this hot weather came. I'm convinced its fur blocking his tummy and whilst he's fine today I'm constantly worried when the next lot will come.

He is a Rex and constantly grooms himself. Apart front the obvious of keeping him groomed, lots of fibre in diet,exercise etc can anyone recommend a prevention?..

I read that Papya tablets can help but then I found conflicting reviews? :?

I need some ideas please,:thumb: do any of you use anything to prevent this awful blockage happening??

Just bumping this up for you. I've only ever had a bunny with one fur blockage, and after taking my vets advice about using a 'slicker brush' daily to get all the loose fur out, have never had this problem again. Really hope someone can help more.

Ah thanks roger rabbit :thumb:

Has he been to the vets when he's been ill? What did they say? :wave:

Yes he's been and had to stay in etc, they didn't really say anything, just that its probably a blockage :roll: when asked could it be fur they said its highly possible :evil:

You can try your best to prevent it by grooming him a couple of times a day, making sure he has plenty of fluids. Maybe add something to the water to tempt him to drink more.

I also give my buns fresh pineapple juice when they have a moult (I know it is not proven to break down hair but some people say it has something in that may do this). I get a fresh pineaple, cut it up and squueze the juice. I give a 5ml syringe every couple of days for about a week as you do also have to er on the side of caution with it being sugary too.

Aw thank you bunny babe, :wave: very kind of you to reply.

It's worth a go isn't it, he pooped just now it was all caught up with fur, I just know that's the problem. :|

Willowsmum said:

Aw thank you bunny babe, :wave: very kind of you to reply.

It's worth a go isn't it, he pooped just now it was all caught up with fur, I just know that's the problem. :|

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Some people do use furminators but I think they can be quite dangerous if not used gently but if it is really bad it "could" be an option if used VERY cautiously.

If he does start to go sluggish get him admitted to go on a drip as fluids are the main thing to help get stuff to pass through. I personally would not give anything more than this without a vets advise as I believe that some "lubricants" can actually make things worse.

Personally I would not administer anything like Kittymalt to a Rabbit unless instructed to do so by a Veterinary Surgeon after he/she has actually examined the Rabbit. Giving an oil based paste to a Rabbit could exacerbate the risk of a full blockage by coating the ingested fur in oil, preventing any possibility of rehydrating it, especially if the Rabbit's GI tract motility is 'sluggish'. So a dry mass of fur covered in oil could remain static within the GI tract when peristaltic action has slowed down/stopped

Kittymalt also contains Fish Oil,not exactly appropriate for a herbivore

Ingredients
Active Ingredients per Tsp: Mineral Oil (950 mg), Fish Oil (50 mg). Inactive Ingredients: Lecithin, Malt Syrup, Mono and Diglycerides, Potassium Sorbate, Sorbic Acid.

http://www.directionsforme.org/index.php/directions/product/CATSUPP/00026851007197


These links may be useful to read

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=484

http://www.directionsforme.org/index.php/directions/product/CATSUPP/00026851007197

quarterbunny said:

1.) Fish oil is just that... oil, it contains no meat or fish parts. (besides rabbits have been consuming tiny amounts of meat in their lifetime for thousands of years, does eat their placentas which is spongy meaty tissue full of blood vessels)

2.) If my entire post had been read, the information I posted talked about doing a lot of other things first before giving kitty malt. The link information also says right at the top "to be used in conjunction with ongoing care from your vet" and if you look at the bottom where she attributes the information to, not one, not two, not three, but five veterinarians. "References
Krempels, Dana M., PhD. GastroIntestinal Stasis, The Silent Killer. 1997, 1999, 2000.
Brown, Susan, DVM. Sluggish Motility in the Gastrointestinal Tract. Hand-out. Midwest Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital, Westchester, Ill.
Cheeke, Peter R. Rabbit Feeding and Nutrition. Orlando: Academic Press, 1987.
Jenkins, Jeffrey R., DVM. Feeding Recommendations for the House Rabbit. The Veterinary Clinics of North America, 1999.
Ten plus years of hands-on experience “in the trenches” of rabbit rescue and care.
I would also like to thank Drs. Bronwyn Dawson and Sari Kanfer of Dr. Domotor's Animal House in Monrovia and Dr. Ann McDowell of Chaparral Pet Hospital in Claremont - for answering my constant questions, loaning me books and passing on updated diet and medical information/papers as they get them! "

3.) If the rabbit is still pooping, then his GI tract is definitely still moving, and by coating the fur in the tract it makes it slippery and move a little easier, increasing comfort of passage, etc.

4.) A veterinarian has examined the rabbit, she has told us that. She said that the rabbit was kept on in the clinic for a bit, and when she asked if it was a blockage the vet said "it very well could be" If it were my rabbit, any of my 40 rabbits and they had seen a vet, but the vet offered nothing in the the way of help, and I was dealing with something that could be life threatening if not handled, and my rabbit was still pooping some. I would give it after trying to get more water into my rabbit, feeding wet lettuces and so on... that way I have done my due diligence towards my pet.

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We will have to agree to differ. You are entitled to your opinions as I am to mine

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply

You can see why I'm worried,there's conflicting advice for everything! :shock:

Anyway, I discovered all the grooming equipment I bought was a waste of time as hand plucking worked wonders last night, I got out so much fur (only lose stuff that wanted to come out) plus willow preferred it and was more comfortable, the brushes seemed to pull the fur.

Please please keep any tips/advice coming my way, it's good to learn new things from others :wave:

Willowsmum said:

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply

You can see why I'm worried,there's conflicting advice for everything! :shock:

Anyway, I discovered all the grooming equipment I bought was a waste of time as hand plucking worked wonders last night, I got out so much fur (only lose stuff that wanted to come out) plus willow preferred it and was more comfortable, the brushes seemed to pull the fur.

Please please keep any tips/advice coming my way, it's good to learn new things from others :wave:

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That is so true !! :lol:

I too have found that 'hand grooming' is more effective during a moult, especially with my Rexes. Lots of exercise and optimum fibre and fluid intake will also promote good gut motility. Fur is a 'normal' finding in the Rabbit GI tract, it only becomes a problem if the gut motility is reduced.

Good luck with the grooming, I usually end up covered in more fur than the Bunny :lol:

quarterbunny said:

I started using this thing>>> http://www.pledge.com/en-US/Products/Pages/fabric-sweeper-for-pet-hair.aspx On my rabbits. I had gotten it for getting the dog fur off my couch, but at a show I saw this one lady using it on her rabbit. (it's a little lightweight plastic thing with two thin pieces of a carpet like material on the inside... have you ever got bunny fur on black pants? You know how if it wont dust off you kinda use your fingers to roll it off, same concept just with the little carpet pieces. I figured I would try it, went home and ran it back and forth over bunnies backs and was pretty well pleased here is a video of it in action on furniture and stuff http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTgeGqoHk6s

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What an excellent idea, where did ou buy it?

Willowsmum said:

What an excellent idea, where did ou buy it?

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Just my local grocery store *groceries sell alot more than food here in the states, lol* in the cleaning/dusting section They only cost about a dollar here, the way they work is the carpet pieces inside it rock back and forth and the action pulls fur into the little collection cup in the back. once you are done, you just unsnap the lock on the back part and empty the cup. on rabbits I noticed it acts like a hand rubbing back and forth and anything loose gets caught up and pulled into the collection cup.... my rex rabbits like it especially, maybe because their dense fur is kinda like upholstery fabric to begin with, and they shed in those tiny clumps so it does a more thorough job...lol

Jack's-Jane said:

Personally I would not administer anything like Kittymalt to a Rabbit unless instructed to do so by a Veterinary Surgeon after he/she has actually examined the Rabbit. Giving an oil based paste to a Rabbit could exacerbate the risk of a full blockage by coating the ingested fur in oil, preventing any possibility of rehydrating it, especially if the Rabbit's GI tract motility is 'sluggish'. So a dry mass of fur covered in oil could remain static within the GI tract when peristaltic action has slowed down/stopped

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I agree with this - the information cited as evidence of its use is all 10-15 years old or more. Today, bunny savvy vets say that you should absolutely not give an oil based lubricant (some vets in the uk give liquid paraffin rather than kittymalt) for the reasons that Jane has outlined above...dehydrated rabbits absorb fluid from their intestinal tract in order to prevent their vital organs from becoming dehydrated. Adding an oil based lubricant, far from helping it to 'slip along' (as may have been thought back when those referenced documents were written before they knew in detail about the biomechanics of the rabbit gut) simply means that it coats those dehydrated contents, meaning that it is much harder to rehydrate them. So the gut is then trying to process a concrete blockage, rather than one that is softened and loosened. I have heard some of the country's very top rabbit vets say exactly this very recently - that liquid paraffin treatments are no longer recommended and it is now thought that they do more harm than good, for the reasons outlined above.

Willowsmum - has your vet thoroughly examined your bunny and his teeth to rule out pain? A recurrent GI problem is very often not a GI problem at all, very often the bunny stops eating and his gut slows down because of pain. If this has happened a few times in a few weeks, this would be my prime suspicion, as it sounds as if the medication from your vet gets everything going again, but whatever is causing the underlying pain is not resolved so the problem just recurs. A bunny who has stopped eating will of course then see a build up of everything undigested and it can look like a blockage, but very often this is the result, not the cause.

Personally I would be wanting a thorough check over and thorough dental examination to try and find out if/where the bunny is in pain or illness which is resulting in repeated GI stasis.

I do hope your little one is ok and you manage to find out what is going on x x