anz07
New Kit
Hello all,
My five year old male lop has been suffering from chronic bladder sludge for the past few months. About 9 months ago, he went off his food (which he had eaten since he was a baby) because they changed the size of the pellets...this was enough to turn him away as he's very fussy! Since then, I've been trying him on lots of other foods - some he ate and some he refused to eat. In typical bun form, he decided he liked the sugary muesli best and developed a urine infection a couple of months after staying on this mix.
Long story short, he had antibiotics which resolved the first infection and the vet then put him on a diet of vegetables. He was having celery, kale and mint leaves every day, alongside hay and a more hay-based pellet diet (although he ignored the pellets most of the time). All was going well and he appeared very healthy but then developed another urine infection a month later which was much worse. We had numerous tests done to rule out many different things and the vet came to believe he had bladder stones. He had an operation where they realised it was bladder sludge and crystalised calcium/food particles. They flushed out his bladder and he pulled through. After this, all his fur grew back and he was back to his usual self in a couple of weeks which was fantastic. I knew the problem was likely to reoccur but was heartbroken when it started up again recently (less than a month after his op). My vet put him on antibiotics again and we discussed options...I was also told that euthanasia was on the table. After all this (sorry, this is a very long and tedious story!) I was referred to a specialist in London who was very helpful. She inferred that the underlying issue is his weight. He's not obese by any means but is a little bit over what his weight should be and, as he is an indoor rabbit, he has quite a sedentary lifestyle. So I had to leave him at the specialist vet clinic for the last 3 days where they had him on fluids and also diagnosed him with eye problems and ear mites (all of which he is being treated for). He seemed to come out with more problems than what he went in with!
I brought him home yesterday after paying another £600 bill (the whole process so far has cost in excess of £2,000). He looks very run down and isn't responding much. The vet said this was something that we could 'manage' over time as oppose to 'cure' completely but she seemed positive and said euthanasia should never have been recommended. But, all in all, I'm increasingly heartbroken at seeing my bun with red raw skin because of the scalding and tired of having to try and stay positive in light of him looking utterly miserable. That said, I will do anything I can to keep him around for as long as possible, providing he's not in pain. He's on pain killer, antibiotics, eye drops and skin cream - all of which are incredibly difficult to administer considering I work full-time and some of this needs to be applied 3 times a day.
Anyway, after all that information, can anybody help me?! Is there any formula that has worked for anyone who has been in a similar situation to me? I am now feeding him low calcium veg (cucumbers and cauliflower) and lots of hay. He doesn't have a companion but has lots of attention from the 4 family members living in the house with him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
My five year old male lop has been suffering from chronic bladder sludge for the past few months. About 9 months ago, he went off his food (which he had eaten since he was a baby) because they changed the size of the pellets...this was enough to turn him away as he's very fussy! Since then, I've been trying him on lots of other foods - some he ate and some he refused to eat. In typical bun form, he decided he liked the sugary muesli best and developed a urine infection a couple of months after staying on this mix.
Long story short, he had antibiotics which resolved the first infection and the vet then put him on a diet of vegetables. He was having celery, kale and mint leaves every day, alongside hay and a more hay-based pellet diet (although he ignored the pellets most of the time). All was going well and he appeared very healthy but then developed another urine infection a month later which was much worse. We had numerous tests done to rule out many different things and the vet came to believe he had bladder stones. He had an operation where they realised it was bladder sludge and crystalised calcium/food particles. They flushed out his bladder and he pulled through. After this, all his fur grew back and he was back to his usual self in a couple of weeks which was fantastic. I knew the problem was likely to reoccur but was heartbroken when it started up again recently (less than a month after his op). My vet put him on antibiotics again and we discussed options...I was also told that euthanasia was on the table. After all this (sorry, this is a very long and tedious story!) I was referred to a specialist in London who was very helpful. She inferred that the underlying issue is his weight. He's not obese by any means but is a little bit over what his weight should be and, as he is an indoor rabbit, he has quite a sedentary lifestyle. So I had to leave him at the specialist vet clinic for the last 3 days where they had him on fluids and also diagnosed him with eye problems and ear mites (all of which he is being treated for). He seemed to come out with more problems than what he went in with!
I brought him home yesterday after paying another £600 bill (the whole process so far has cost in excess of £2,000). He looks very run down and isn't responding much. The vet said this was something that we could 'manage' over time as oppose to 'cure' completely but she seemed positive and said euthanasia should never have been recommended. But, all in all, I'm increasingly heartbroken at seeing my bun with red raw skin because of the scalding and tired of having to try and stay positive in light of him looking utterly miserable. That said, I will do anything I can to keep him around for as long as possible, providing he's not in pain. He's on pain killer, antibiotics, eye drops and skin cream - all of which are incredibly difficult to administer considering I work full-time and some of this needs to be applied 3 times a day.
Anyway, after all that information, can anybody help me?! Is there any formula that has worked for anyone who has been in a similar situation to me? I am now feeding him low calcium veg (cucumbers and cauliflower) and lots of hay. He doesn't have a companion but has lots of attention from the 4 family members living in the house with him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
