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Alfie has a bladder infection

**Bonnie**

Mama Doe
Alfie was acting very strange last night, he kept lifting his tail to go for a wee but nothing was coming out, he looked like he was getting irritated poor thing. He ended up in a ball with his eyes shut, not eating or drinking.

I took him to the vet about 9.00pm and he said he has Cystitus (can't spell that but its a bladder infection lots of women get!) & gave him a pain relief injection he said it was prob caused by the antibiotcs that he has been on (he had been on them for a month)

He stayed in with me and about 6.00am this morning he was back to his ole self, he starting eating pooing but not weeing!

Im sure he hasn't had a wee yet but he is eating and running around.

I've had to come to work but has anyone else experienced this??

Anything i can do??

not antibiotics now because he's finished the course now.

Thanks alot!
 
hi

aww - poor lad :( sounds like he's on the mend now he's eating - if he's eating wet cabbage leaves etc he'll probs get enough water from that now it's winter :)
 
Thanks Elve.

I hope he isn't suffering and im at work. He seemed his normal self when i left for work so he must be cured (i hope)

he can't have snuffles and cystitus!!

Bonnie
 
Poor Alfie, half a cranberry and echinasea tea bag sprinkled on his dry food once a day is good for bunnies with cystitis and bladder sludge. You could just use a normal cranbery one as Cranberry's are good for anyone with urinary problems but as Alfie has Snuffles as well the Echinasea will help him.

Janice
 
Thanks all!

I can't wait to go home and see if he is ok...I feel like i maybe shouldn't have left him but he was running around and eating.

Janice, i said to the vet can i give him cranberry juice and he said it was toxic to buns. I think i need to actually cranberry and not the juice.

Will see how he is later and take it from there.

Thanks xx
 
I am quite surprised to hear that cranberries are toxic to rabbits, it seems a little strange that some foods are made specifically with small animals including rabbits which have them in it like:
Critter berries made by Oxbow http://www.oxbowhay.com/link.sp?page=CritterBerries
Apple and cranberry stickle treats http://www.penstone-petstore.co.uk/..._Rabbits___Small_Furries_169.html&CatalogBody

Vitamin C or cranberry tablets - Vitamin C can aid in the healing of the damaged urinary tract tissue after surgery or catheterization. In addition, studies have demonstrated that the levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in rabbits under stress drop dramatically. Since disease or surgical procedures can cause stress it is likely that vitamin C will be of benefit in these cases. Studies in humans indicate that cranberry juice contains alpha D-mannopyranoside that helps to prevent bacteria from adhering to the bladder wall. In addition it is a good source of vitamin C. Therefore you can supplement rabbits healing from urinary tract disease with cranberry tablets based on their vitamin C content at 25 to 50 mg of vitamin C per pound of body weight one to two times daily. Do not use cranberry juice cocktail, which has very little cranberry juice and in addition are loaded with sugar. If cranberry tablets are not available, use regular chewable vitamin C tablets for the vitamin C source.
this is a quote from http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=514&S=5&SourceID=43

Janice
 
I agree, i saw on bunny bazarre i think it was, they were selling cranberry.

i think that he was referring to cranberry juice which may not be 100% natural like the fruit?!

I wonder if i can get a cranberry from Sainsbury's??? will look tonight.

Thanks!

Bonnie
 
OMIGOD have just read this... :shock:

Straining to urinate. The rabbit takes longer than usual to pass a smaller than usual amount of urine. This straining behavior is frequently mistaken for constipation. True constipation is an extremely rare event in the rabbit. Occasionally the condition can be so painful that the rabbit will cry out or moan when urinating, although this is rare. You should consider it an emergency if a rabbit is continuously straining without producing urine. This indicates that there may be a complete blockage of the urethra (the tube the urine flows through out of the bladder) and if this is not corrected it could result in the pet's death within 24 hours besides being incredibly painful.

oh blimey, shouldn't have come in to work....hope he's had a wee!! surely if he was drinking/eating running around he is ok???????? :?
 
If you can pop into a decent chemist and see if they sell cranbery tablets as mentioned in that thread I gave you. Even a large supermarket with a decent chemist section may have something suitable or see if you can find something on line which is ok.

Janice
 
Try not to worry too much about that article, although it says that there may be a blockage, it seems far more likely that he has got cystitis caused by the long course of antibiotics, as you said earlier. Do let us know how he is when you get home, won't you?
 
Alfie kennedy said:
Alfie was acting very strange last night, he kept lifting his tail to go for a wee but nothing was coming out, he looked like he was getting irritated poor thing. He ended up in a ball with his eyes shut, not eating or drinking.

I took him to the vet about 9.00pm and he said he has Cystitus (can't spell that but its a bladder infection lots of women get!) & gave him a pain relief injection he said it was prob caused by the antibiotcs that he has been on (he had been on them for a month)

He stayed in with me and about 6.00am this morning he was back to his ole self, he starting eating pooing but not weeing!

Im sure he hasn't had a wee yet but he is eating and running around.

I've had to come to work but has anyone else experienced this??

Anything i can do??

not antibiotics now because he's finished the course now.

Thanks alot!

Hi Alfie,

cystitis in animals is often brought on by stress, so wonder if its the snuffles making him a bit run-down?

Make sure he is drinking properly to flush out the toxins.
 
Morning all,

Thanks for your posts!

Alfie is absolutely fine and dandy, he is back to his old self now which is great, drinking weeing, eyc in fact since he had this i haven't heard him sneeze or seen any discharge from his nose!!

we have the vets tomorrow morning anyway for a nose swab and check-up.

Thanks to you all for your help x
 
Just read this post and I'm glad Alfie is better.

I just want to warn people to be on the lookout for signs as described. My poor little bunny, Larry, displayed these signs but I didn't pick up on it quick enough. He seemed to be fine in every other way, but when I took him to the vet it ended up with him having to have an operation to try and find out what was wrong.

Unfortunately, he did have a blocked urethra and the vet couldn't do anything for him so he had to be pts. I was absolutely heartbroken and still blame myself for not spotting something was wrong quickly enough.

If somebody else can learn from my mistake and a bunny is saved then perhaps Larrys death won't be in vain.

Thanks
 
Really sorry to hear that, don't blame yourself though x

Alfie had a slight infection due to his antibiotics, he has had lots of wee's, i was down on my hands and knees last night in my suit looking for wee's - pure class!! :lol:
 
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