Bunny with kidney problems

Dixie was taken to have her front teeth burred on Wednesday 24th January. After she came home she was more subdued than usual and then on Sunday stopped eating and also drinking. She was back at the vets first thing Monday and left there. They checked her teeth and found a spur on her back teeth that was cutting into her and had not been picked up the previous week. She was dehydrated and so they kept her in and carried out some tests. A blood test showed that there was kidney failure and possibly problems with liver function and I was told that she should be put to sleep. I told them that she was to given every chance to recover and she was kept at the vets to be rehydrated and treated with antibiotics. On Wednesday 31st the blood tests were repeated and although she was now rehydrated and eating small amounts the results showed a massive deterioration. I was told that there was no hope for her and that not putting her to sleep was only delaying the inevitable but she did not seem to be distressed or in pain and responded to me when I went to see her and so again I asked for her to be treated for another night. The next day there was still no apparent change and the vet said there was no point keeping her there and that I should take her home, I don't think that she was expected to survive for more than a day or two.
As soon as she was home she started to look more alert, she hopped around and started eating. Initially it was only by pushing all her treats in front of her but she quickly started eating chopped apple and chopped tomato and by last night and today progressed to nibbling hay, pellets and shredded cabbage.
She went back to the practice on Saturday for them to check her progress. They were surprised how well she seemed to be and gave her another injection to keep her hydrated.
I cannot understand how a rabbit that is so ill that it should be put to sleep can be so alert with no sign of discomfort and be eating and drinking almost normally. There seems to be a contradiction between what I am being told and the way that Dixie behaves and so have decided to take her to a practice specialising in rabbits for another opinion. I have to accept that the tests showed kidney failure but I am hoping it is not to the degree that I have been told. Does anyone have experience of rabbits with this problem?

I'm sorry I have no advice but i can sent vibes to your wee Dixie.xxx

Sending lots of vibes to your little bunny.

I don't have any experience in particular to offer advice or opinion.

However, I was thinking just recently that whilst it never ceases to amaze me how quickly rabbits deteriorate, I think we all recognise that, it equally never ceases to amaze me just how quickly they can pick up again. Or are they good at fooling us? Or do vets give up too quickly at times? :?:

Brilliant for persevering with this little sweety and I truly wish her all the best.

Fiona x

one of my rabbits had kidney failure, i didnt know anything about it til the day she died. she was hopping round binkying and everything, no sign of pain, later that day i came out and she was hiding under the hutch. i took her straight to the vets and she died. it was very surprising being so sudden, the vet checked her over etc, confirmed kidney failure. im sure the bunny will let you know if its in pain and if itwants to carry on and fight it will let oyu know. as you said you can tell better than the vets how the bunny is, they just tell you whats wrong.

Can this be moved to a different section ?
I think he'll get a lot more replies ..
Thank you
x x x x x

My Maisie had severe problems with her kidney and liver tests last summer and she is still here and eats well. I am surprised your vet suggested pts particularly as she is not exhibiting frailness and seems quite happy. I think Francis Harcourt Brown, a fantastic rabbit specialist, has a practice up North and it might be worth asking for a consult with her. She might be able to look at the blood tests you have already had taken and advise you if she thinks she could treat Dixie.

PS Her practice is in Harrogate, North Yorkshire 01423 508945.

Tilly currently has renal failure, she was diagnosed last september and has been having 3 weekly injections of steriods and vitamins ever since, the first few months were touch and go and then she seemed to stop deteriorating! She hasn't become any better but she is certainly more active and more like her old self. She drinks alot more than a normal rabbit (about 700 -700mls in one day) and she cannot put on weight as she can not remove the things she needs from her food, but she is not loosing weight. I keep her in the warmest part of the garden as bringing her inside stressed her too much, there hutch is covered so as to stop the wind and rain.

my first continetal giant Leela came to me with kidney problems. she was reluctant to eat and losing weight rapidly. she was unable to control her bladder and dribbled urine constantly. all the tests came back negative and nobody knew what was wrong with her, then sudden she began to regain her appatite, she started to put on weight. several months later i mentioned this to a vet who thought it could have been caused by a type of parasite which she had managed to flush from her body. this was never confirmed but i thought i would mention it as it may be of some relevence

Dixie is seeing Frances Harcourt Brown today. How I wish I lived near that practice.

I was just wondering if there was any news on Dixie?

Fiona x

my last bunny, Little Happy had kidney problem. But knowing there are 2 of them, and he has partial failure in 1, and quite okay on the other, he lives a good life after the discovery.

Even if both kidney has partial failure, they can easily live a reasonably long life (my one did). The following guideline is important and you should apply it to your bunny:

take him to the urine spot every 2 hr. regardless whether he needs to go or not. Do not wait for him to go to the urine spot on his own. It's a common problem among rabbits that they hold on to urine until the last minute. After he pee, use a towel to clean the urine and leave the towel there. So next time (2 hr. later), you take him to that spot, he knows it's time to pee if there is something to pee.

I assume his urine is quite clear, and his fur is a bit dry? Those would be symptoms of kidney failure. But there is no reason to consider PTS as an option. Your vet is crazy.

Hi,
Over the years I have had a lot of guinea pigs and rabbits and have experienced a similiar thing many times. We all have faith in the Vet we take our pets to but they are only human and my Vet told me to take a really sick guinea pig to someone who specialised in small animals because their training in rabbits, giunea pigs, rats ect is a very small amount of time. I took my Vets advice and found someone and had a second opinion and my guinea pig lived longer and got the right diagnosis. This Vet lived 60 miles from me but I still took all my small pets to her all the time. She also believed that if your pet is in pain you will know and they will not eat and will show you they are in pain. She also told me that (as we all know) small animals go down so quickly when they are in pain, so if your rabbit is eating and taking notice of their surroundings....give it a chance because it is not ready to go.
Carol

I recently lost my lovely boy bun to kidney failure, a complication from untreated EC when he was a younger buck.

Harley deteriorated very quickly - he was fine even early in the evening he went to the vets, but seemed very off colour by 7pm so he went in as a emergency. My vet suggested the same as yours - to have him pts. However, I wanted to give him a chance and he stayed on fluids that night. By 11pm apparently he was a different rabbit. He never stopped eating an drinking and charmed all the nurses.

Sadly, he went to the bridge the next morning at the vets, but it was peaceful and he choose when he ready. I don't regret keeping him alive that night - he was happy and settled.

Really glad you could get Dixie to Harcourt Brown - I was planning to take Harley to see her once he was stable and could make the journey

Hello everyone

I took Dixie to see Frances Harcourt Brown and the result was no kidney failure. Most of the test results were back within normal range except for calcium and phosphate levels which were showing higher than normal suggesting that there may be some underlying problem. She is otherwise back to normal but perhaps still slightly underweight to what she was.

I am so pleased that I did not take my local vets advice and observed Dixie's behavior instead. After relating Dixie's story to Frances Harcourt Brown she said that she treated the rabbit not the test results.

My own vet seemed a little sheepish about Dixie's recovery and attempted some back tracking on the advice given. Listening to her however, it was a sad reflection that part of the advice given was based on experience of people not being prepared to put in the time or pay the cost for the welfare of a rabbit.

So far so good, I have to keep a special watch on her. She is back to drinking large quantities of water, more than that of other pairs combined.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Brilliant news, good on you.
Wishing good vibes to Dixie.xx

bunnygran said:

Hello everyone

I took Dixie to see Frances Harcourt Brown and the result was no kidney failure. Most of the test results were back within normal range except for calcium and phosphate levels which were showing higher than normal suggesting that there may be some underlying problem. She is otherwise back to normal but perhaps still slightly underweight to what she was.

I am so pleased that I did not take my local vets advice and observed Dixie's behavior instead. After relating Dixie's story to Frances Harcourt Brown she said that she treated the rabbit not the test results.

My own vet seemed a little sheepish about Dixie's recovery and attempted some back tracking on the advice given. Listening to her however, it was a sad reflection that part of the advice given was based on experience of people not being prepared to put in the time or pay the cost for the welfare of a rabbit.

So far so good, I have to keep a special watch on her. She is back to drinking large quantities of water, more than that of other pairs combined.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

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Hello Ron :wave:

I am so pleased you saw FHB
As to Dixie's drinking I have one Bun, Jake, who started to drink LOADS and wee loads too. He was tested for everything and a Diagnosis of Diabetes Insipidus was made. He was started on twice daily injections of Desmopressin. HOWEVER, for reasons neither me nor our Vet understand Jake's condition resolved and he is now on no treatment and symptom free........... :shock: :?
Whether it was the 2 weeks on Dessmopressin that 'put things right' I dont know.............. :?

Janex

Jane, it's miracle because Jake has a miracle mom :thumb:

Hello Jane

Thanks for the response. Diabetes had occured to me as a possibility and I will discuss this with the vet on the next visit. This will be very soon as Dixie has bad problems with her front teeth and If she has recuperated sufficiently will probably have them extracted this time instead of being burred again. It is so sad that such a lovely natured gentle rabbit should have these problems.

Take care

Ron

Glad Dixie is fighting on!

Fiona x

How awful that if you'd listened to your own vet Dixie would have been at the bridge by now Isn't it about time vets learnt more about the smaller animals as well as the bigger ones.

I'm glad she's showing some signs of improving and send you all my best wishes for her to continue to improve.

Kathryn x