Pain relief advice please

Rubens is 8 and for the last year has lost lots of weight, we took him to the vets and they said they couldn't diagnose him without blood tests which are distressing for bun and even if they could work out what it was they might not be able to treat it. We've been feeding him porridge on top of his veg, pellets and hay which increased and stabilised his weight for a while.

He also developed a bit of weakness in his back legs which has gotten gradually worse, he's struggling to move especially if he's laid down its a real struggle for him to get up. I'm accepting the fact that he's on borrowed time, just wondered if there's anything I could give him to make him more comfortable?

Thanks in advance x

i would go for xrays and bloods. i don't think bloods is too distressing for them. our vet has taken blood from both bisc and matt before during a consult. they were both fine. if they need more blood than they could get during a consult, then he could have it taken under a very light sedation at the same time as the xrays. :wave:

I think you need to find a better vet. He needs to be diagnosed so that he can be treated. It could be many things and without knowing what it is, there is no way to manage the symptoms.

Hind leg weakness could be due to arthritis or E.C. I would be very worried if he is losing weight. Post up in Rabbit Chat asking for a rabbit savvy vet in your area. x

Is he on any pain meds? Could be arthritis.

Would your vets not try him on some Metacam for a while to see if it helped?

I think it's more likely to be arthritis as he's better having been laid in the sun so warmth seems to help. Trying to get him back to the vet and see what they say, he just looks so weak and weighs nothing it's so upsetting as he's always been really active and chunky.

Thanks for the replies x

If he is not on meds then I would be pushing for Metacam. My Inca was on it every day for her arthritis and it really helped her.

First thing i thought as i read your post was arthritis and a daily dose of metacam perhaps split in 2 to help :wave:

I agree with the fact bloods CAN be distressing but not to the point that they won't do them to help :/

Metacam is generally very well tolerated in bunnies, and there are probably hundreds of bunnies on this forum who are on daily metacam for arthritis. It's a very common problem. I'm not sure if it would be prudent to have blood tests to ensure all kidneys and liver functions are correct first though, I'll leave that up to someone more knowledgeable!

It would be a very good idea to find another vet. Rabbits are an exotic species, and unless your vet is an exotic specialist they'll have only done one module which covers all exotics in most cases. Bunnies are really quite different to dogs and cats in the way that they're treated, and many bunny owners find their vets give their bunnies a time limit even though it's something very treatable. It can be very difficult because I'm sure your vet is lovely, but it would definitely be a really good idea to get a second opinion from an exotic specialist vet. For one thing, bunnies are prey animals and so hide their pain very well. By the time a bunny is visibly in pain they are suffering, and any rabbit savvy vet would be looking to put your bunny on painkillers asap.

I'd expect an exotic specialist vet to either put bunny straight on metacam to see if there are any results after painkillers, or to do a full blood and/or x-ray workup to be certain. There are also stronger painkillers if your bunny needs it. Metacam is very easy to give - it tastes very sugary and so many bunnies will soon learn to lick it straight from the syringe :lol: If not you can squirt it onto some pellets/treats etc.

If you're having trouble finding a good vets near you you can post in rabbit chat looking for a 'rabbit savvy vet in (your area)' and I'm sure people will have some recommendations

It may be worth buying a couple of snugglesafes which are large microwaveable plastic discs. They come with a little fabric cover and they let out heat gradually for a number of hours. You may find this helps your bun

Right so we're in at the vet at 6. To be fair they are fairly savvy with rabbits, we've had a few visits over the years. I'll have him checked and push for metacam, I think he'd be ok if the pain would ease off and as I said before I'm with a number of you thinking along the arthritis lines.

I'm surprised they sent you home without pain relief, you shouldn't have to push for it.

Good luck.

i think a trial on metacam is a good idea. you should know fairly quickly if he seems less stiff and once out of pain, he should gain a bit of weight aswell. so that will be another thing to keep a close eye on. x

Dried willow is a natural pain relief I have sent hubby to snag some from the park he went with the cutters and a large carrier bag

you can feed leaves and twigs mine love them I think it helped Dumplin after his dental and I ran out of the pain relief from the vet

I give him a twig about 12 inches long morning and night he has an abscess so to keep that from hurting too it seems to be working as he is brighter in himself since I have been giving it just hope he doesn't get addicted :lol:

it's dry now and the leaves are crunchy so even better