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  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Go to vet again or let him die in peace

DonnaN

New Kit
I want the best for my bunny but I feel I can't trust the vet to be straight with me on whether treatment is prolonging my bunny's misery or whether they are just looking for an excuse to charge me large amounts of money.

I took Pumpkin (7 yr old french lop) to the vet on Monday as soon as I noticed he was uninterested in his pellets (very unusual for him) and had not appeared to have touched his hay since the previous day. He was diagnosed with respiratory disease and I was given medication to syringe feed to him, as well as a sachet of what looks like mushed up pellets which I mixed with water and syringe fed him.

His snuffles (which I had not noticed before taking him to the vet) got worse though he seemed to be in better spirits with slightly more energy. By Tuesday night he was even spirited enough to growl at me as I gave him his meds. His appetite has not really improved - since Monday morning, apart from the pellet mush I fed him in the syringe, he has only willingly eaten two carrots. Won't touch pellets or hay.

Now its late Tuesday night and I can definitely see he his holding his head up as if looking up. I thought I noticed it earlier, but now it is more obvious. According to what I have googled this points to breathing difficulties, particularly "snuffles" ie his respiratory disease turned into pneumonia.

Please tell me - is my rabbit dying? Is it even worth taking him to the vet? I have already paid £50 on Monday and nothing seems to have improved and I can't afford to pay much more than say £50 more - and I might just be prolonging his misery anyway!

My parents think I'm mad even taking a rabbit to the vet as apparently "a sick rabbit often is a dead rabbit" (they grew up on farms) which might be true, I don't know, but I have a responsibility to him.


EDIT: meds= Baytril 0.6ml twice a day and metocloprymide syrup 0.4 ml three times a day

EDIT: poos - slight improvement - tiny bits of black sludge have progressed to larger, harder pellets, though still black, still 1/4 of normal size and not rounded.

EDIT: I am happy with my vet choice its just that vets in general have a reputation for being all about money. I'm told that it is policy not to recommend euthanasia as it means the owner will stop spending money on treatment which is more profitable.



EDIT: I will continue with medication anyway and give it a few days to work. But if he seems very bad tomorrow or gets much worse I will take him to the vet again.
 
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Is your vet rabbit savvy? I'm no expert on rabbit illnesses, but I wish the best for your rabbit, though you may wish to seek a second opinion from a rabbit savvy vet if your vet isn't Xx


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Were you only prescribed syringe feed? No medications?

edit: I see now you mentioned meds. What were you given?
 
Hi I am sorry that Pumpkin is unwell. It would be easier for people to advise if you could say what the medication it is that you have been given. If Pumpkin has respiratory diease it will probably take a while for it to improve. I would say don't give up on him yet and continue with the medication and the syringe feeding. Sending loads of vibes for Pumpkin.
 
Baytril is an antibiotic and metoclopramide is a gut stimulant. The trouble with bunny guts is that they slow down as a pain response. Therefore, if no pain relief is given, the gut symptoms can fail to improve. Are you seeing poos? What comes out the other end is often more important than what goes in.

In the sense of whether it's best to go on or leave the bunny to pass away, unfortunately this would probably take a long time and leave the bun to suffer for quite some time. It's obvious from your post that's the last thing you'd want.

Whereabouts are you? Someone might be able to recommend a more knowledgeable vet.
 
I want the best for my bunny but I feel I can't trust the vet to be straight with me on whether treatment is prolonging my bunny's misery or whether they are just looking for an excuse to charge me large amounts of money.

I took Pumpkin (7 yr old french lop) to the vet on Monday as soon as I noticed he was uninterested in his pellets (very unusual for him) and had not appeared to have touched his hay since the previous day. He was diagnosed with respiratory disease and I was given medication to syringe feed to him, as well as a sachet of what looks like mushed up pellets which I mixed with water and syringe fed him.

His snuffles (which I had not noticed before taking him to the vet) got worse though he seemed to be in better spirits with slightly more energy. By Tuesday night he was even spirited enough to growl at me as I gave him his meds. His appetite has not really improved - since Monday morning, apart from the pellet mush I fed him in the syringe, he has only willingly eaten two carrots. Won't touch pellets or hay.

Now its late Tuesday night and I can definitely see he his holding his head up as if looking up. I thought I noticed it earlier, but now it is more obvious. According to what I have googled this points to breathing difficulties, particularly "snuffles" ie his respiratory disease turned into pneumonia.

Please tell me - is my rabbit dying? Is it even worth taking him to the vet? I have already paid £50 on Monday and nothing seems to have improved and I can't afford to pay much more than say £50 more - and I might just be prolonging his misery anyway!

My parents think I'm mad even taking a rabbit to the vet as apparently "a sick rabbit often is a dead rabbit" (they grew up on farms) which might be true, I don't know, but I have a responsibility to him.


EDIT: meds= Baytril 0.6ml twice a day and metocloprymide syrup 0.4 ml three times a day

If you are worried about your rabbit's health, and whether he's suffering, then it's important you see a vet you can trust. If you feel you cannot trust your vet, then go find another one as soon as possible.

You only have £50 to spend on this rabbit. Therefore, you will probably be entitled to help from the P.D.S.A. I know people who use this service and it's very good. The alternative would be to borrow some money from a friend to pay another vet who you trust.

Either way, you owe it to your friend to do the very best by him, as he only has you. Nobody on this Forum can tell you whether your rabbit is dying or not. You need to seek reliable veterinary help.

In the meantime, continue to give the medications as prescribed by your vet.

Good luck and welcome to the Forum :wave: I hope you get a solution asap!
 
Good to see your edited post that there has been some improvement in the poos. That's a good sign and the thing you really need to keep an eye on.

Not sure I'd agree with you on vets. Some vets are less knowledgeable about small animals than others, but I've not found any who would recommend to continue treating a pet where the ethical thing to do would be put to sleep.

I can appreciate how stressed you must be. Especially when you have family telling you not to bother, etc.
 
You only took him the vets 2 days ago for ME thinking of leaving him to 'die' so soon would not even be a option. Let the medication have a few days to kick in and see how he goes. Like MightyMax said see if you or your parent qualify for pdsa. Rabbits get illnesses just like every other animal it by no means he i done for. Good luck hope hes better soon :)
 
I work in a vet, and they are not just in it for the money, but they are very under educated in rabbit care. It would be worth finding a vet more aware of rabbit care, who can advise more.
Metochloprimide is a gut stimulant, which is a good thing for him to be on, although my vets would also prescribe Zantac and metacam ( an anti-inflammatory) to resuce inflammation and any temperature.
You may need an alternative antibiotic too.

I would never leave an animal to die, given a choice, we do not know how much or how long they will suffer if we just wait, so I would always take an animal to be PTS. If he is improving slightly I would continue trying though.
 
I'm sorry your bunny is poorly :( When you say he is holding his head in the air, is he struggling to breathe or mouth breathing at the same time? As well as being a potential sign of respiratory distress, holding head/front end of body in the air can also be a sign of heart failure as this can cause fluid build up around their chest. In any case, I'm afraid I think it sounds as if your little one does need to go back to a vet, but if he is mouth breathing or making obvious effort to breathe, I would absolutely get him back to a vet as soon as you can, as those are signs that he is really suffering. Unfortunately if he is very poorly, he's unlikely to die in peace without the assistance of a vet :(

In my experience, most vets aren't in it for the money; there are easier ways to make a quick buck than spending 5-6 years at vet school and being bound by a professional code of conduct on ethical treatment and prevention of suffering. There will often be 'grey areas' as to whether to keep on treating or whether to recommend euthanasia, and people will differ in their views and ability on continuing to try various treatments.

I wish you all the best with your little one, whatever the outcome for him.
 
I've not met any vets who are 'just in it for the money'. There are easier ways of doing it than choosing this as a profession. They do have a responsibility to do the best for their patients. So I would recommend keeping up with the treatment. Antibiotics take a few days to show any results so it is still early days. If the poos are improving slightly, things are slowly heading the right way. It is also essential to keep up with the feeding until he is eating properly for himself as his guts won't work if there is nothing going in and he may go further into stasis. You could try softening his usual pellets with warm water, or try some veg-based non-dairy baby food that comes in a syringe type pack (eg Ella's Kitchen - apple, pear, carrot, banana, etc). My lot usually go for dandelions or grass when they are poorly.

You can always ring the vet to give them an update and ask for further advice. It won't cost extra. If you are concerned that his breathing is worse, you may be asked to take him in again, but you can ask how much a second visit would be - often the follow up consultations are less than the initial one, although any further treatment will be charged extra. He may need more baytril, or a course of different antibiotics, for example.

You are absolutely doing the right things at the moment. Keep up the treatment, keep him eating, give the drugs time to work and talk to your vet if things are not improving.
 
I'm pleased to see your updated post where you say you will keep him on the medication, and take him to the vet if there's no improvement.

I really hope things work out well for you both - good luck!
 
I certainly wouldn't give up on him yet as it is still very early days. I feel that another trip to the vets would definitely benefit him if he is displaying unusual behaviour though as it could be a symptom of something else. The only reason I would even think about putting him down this is early was if he developed a condition that he wasn't going to recover from and was in a lot of pain that couldn't be treated as a result. Otherwise don't give up on your little man yet, he needs you to stay hopeful for him as you're all he's got. Good luck and I'm hoping that he starts to feel better soon!x
 
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