12yr Old Netherland Male - My Beloved Littleblack Isn't Right. :(

I have a 12yr old (turned 12 in April 2014) Netherland Dwarf Male, who is my light of my life. He is on 3mls Loxicam a day for his stiffness.

Littleblack was fine 2 days ago, but I heard his gut sounds were loud again - they had been quieter after I placed a platform in front of his water bowl so he changed the angle he was drinking at. It seemed to help.

The last 48 hours he was a little quieter in himself, but has still been moving and hopping about, and following me around the house.

Last night I went to feed him, and noticed he had eaten the 'extra's but not the main Oxbrow basics, and there seemed to be less droppings, but not massively less. The gut sounds had gone again back to his normal sounds. I made a mental note to check again today. I re-filled his feed bowl at about 1am. I also noticed his ears being a bit cooler over the last 24 hours. I added extra hay to his cage.

Today I woke up feeling really ill. Spinning head, and my voicebox in agony. I pretty much stayed in bed all day sleeping. At 5pm I got up and looked in on Littleblack as he wasn't in bed with me like usual. I saw his completely full food bowl and knew something was wrong. I was in the bunny savvy vet by 6:15pm.

His heart is fine, his breathing is fine, and his weight has stayed exactly the same since August. He is blind now, and a bit deaf, and stiff. His guts sounded fine too. He didn't really appear to be in pain. But he is definitely a lot quieter in himself. The vet didn't know what is wrong.

He gave him some fluids, 0.2 of Emeprid injection for gut stimulation, and 0.1 of Vetergesic. He also gave me 5 doses of Cisapride Oral Suspension (another gut stimulant), to be going on with. He also gave me some Supreme Recovery Rabbit Sachets to feed him on. He warned that the Vetergesic will make him sleepy, and told me not to worry about that.

I don't know, it's just a thought - but I don't know if he's just had a mini stroke, or something. When he stands, his front legs seem to cross over, and his back legs, sit a little wider. He sits right on his tail, rather than on his feet.

Anyway, at the moment, he is in his cage sleeping again. He occasionally gets up and hops slowly across to the other side, and then lays down again. He is currently sitting up grooming himself slowly. He drank a little water on his own, picked at a blade of hay, and then went back to sleep.

The vet said to try and get some Supreme Recovery down him today - but he isn't having it. He spat it all out, and really didn't want to chew. He is much better of Oxbrow's Critical Care, so I will get some tomorrow, first thing.

My head is still spinning, which isn't helping my focus. Everytime he hops, I am swinging my head to check he isn't falling over or something, as the hops are less 'hoppy'. He just seems to want to sleep at the moment. I guess that's the injection.

Has anyone had this sort of experience with their elderly bunny?

You can make 'recovery' with their normal pellets - use the dust from the bottom of a bag, crush some up (pop in freezer bag and whack with rolling pin) or soak them to they soften into mush. You might find just softening them and offering them under his nose works.

I hope he perks up soon

sorry i can't advise but wanted to send vibes for your little old bunny and i really hope he begins to improve soon. x

Did they check his ears and teeth? I hope he's ok soon. Xxx

How is Littleblack doing now ? I would advise trying to keep fluids going into him and also to make sure he is warm.

hope littleblack is ok x

Sending lots of gentle vibes for Littleblack xx

I can't seem to keep his temperature level, even though the heating is on in this room. I filled a sports sock (only sock I had) with rice, microwaved it for 40 seconds, and wrapped it in newspaper, and buried it under the hay.

As soon as the other vet opened, I dashed over there and got a sachet of Oxbrow Critical Care. I got home, gave him the Cisapride, and fed him slowly 20ml of OCC, and on top of that 5ml of water. It was a fight but we got there.

When done, I was so dizzy and sick, I lay down, and pulled him with me, like a kid with a teddy bear. He settled too, and we were both only awoken by my coughing. I hope he hasn't caught my bugs!

Anyway - 90 minutes later, another fight, but another 20ml of Critical Care, an additional 5ml of water, and a few smaller very sticky droppings, and 2 big pee's (normal colour, and smell), later, and he's back in his cage, sleeping again.

I rang first bunny savvy vet at 10am, and asked whether they think putting him on some Anti-biotics as a precaution, would be wise.... The vet is in surgery, and I'm still waiting for the call back.

On the plus side, he isn't as cross legged currently, as he was, but he is incredibly quiet and sleepy, and drops off super fast. I really do wonder if this is a bunny equivalent of a stroke, although he hasn't a head tilt.

Oh and stargrrlclaire - yes teeth perfectly fine. Ears clear too.

At the moment, the biggest fight I seem to have, is keeping his temperature steady. His skin under the fur seems reasonable, but his ears cool very fast, as does the surface of the coat.

I need to lie down again, the room is swaying, and I have another feed in 40minutes.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I need my bunny buddy right now, and I really am not up to saying goodbye to him just yet...but then I guess... we never really are.

Cold ears doesn't necessarily mean they are cold. My bun's ears fluctuate during the day and sometimes they are very hot and sometimes cold, think it depends where they've been sitting and what they've been doing.

It sounds like you are doing all you can for him. Personally, I would not give antibiotics at this stage because it can upset his tum even more.

I can't advise any more than others have. He is an old bun and it may be that he is just feeling tired. Mushing up his pellets may help and keep trying to feed him his favourite things.

Did the vet check his back teeth with a scope?

Yes, it's normal for the surface of the fur to be cool, it's because the fur is so well insulated it traps the heat - like the outdoor wall of a well insulated house will feel cold. They regulate temperature via their ears, so again, the tips being cool isn't necessarily an issue if the rest of the bun is warm. How he feel under the fluff? I wonder if he's feeling cooler to you because you're running a bit hot being unwell yourself

Did the vet take his body temperature with thermometr e in bottom?

Tamsin said:

Yes, it's normal for the surface of the fur to be cool, it's because the fur is so well insulated it traps the heat - like the outdoor wall of a well insulated house will feel cold. They regulate temperature via their ears, so again, the tips being cool isn't necessarily an issue if the rest of the bun is warm. How he feel under the fluff? I wonder if he's feeling cooler to you because you're running a bit hot being unwell yourself

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Lol - Tamsin, I hadn't thought of that.

I called for my mother to come into the room and check. His ears were cooler. Then she said "ooh you look pale", right as I flopped back down on the bed, a little wobbly. LOL. Unfortunately, even though he is in a clearly not happy way, Littleblack stuck out a paw in her direction and summoned a growl, and a very weak back foot thump. I think he thought she caused me to go woozy. Either way, to calm him down, she left us to it. Gosh I love my little guardian. Lol. We lay down and fell asleep for an hour, before I settled him back in his cage.

The vet called and said that there didn't appear to be any signs of infection, so antibiotics at this stage, are not really necessary, and that it is perfectly plausible that his ears are cooler, as when unwell, it can happen. He said to keep an eye on it. He also said to increase the Loxicom to 2.3mls twice a day, instead of 3mls once a day, just for a week, as Littleblack's guts could be a little tender as they had slowed right down, so that might just help him through.

He also said that if it is a stroke, then its a matter of time to see what happens, but I should try and look on the bright side currently, that I have got food into him, and water, and I'm doing all I can. However, I am free to bring him down tomorrow for a recheck if I wanted to.

As always -Thank you so much for your support everyone.

mini lop1 said:

Did the vet take his body temperature with thermometr e in bottom?

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He did, but didn't say there was anything wrong with it.

I hope Littleblack has a comfortable night and that he will be feeling brighter by tomorrow. I hope that you will be feeling better soon too xx

I hope you both feel better soon. From what you have said it sounds like you have a great bond....how lovely x

3mls? Do you mean 0.3mls?

Vibes for your old man, he is such a wee soul xxxx

Jinny said:

He did, but didn't say there was anything wrong with it.

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then hopefully it wasn't of concern ie, to low or high

Sending vibes for Littleblack.

I hope you both feel a lot better very soon.

Vibes for Littleblack.

(I have a little black nethie myself ...)