Alibunmum
Wise Old Thumper
I have a foster bun, Oliver, who I have noticed drinks more than twice the aount of any other rabbit I have. I empty litter trays every day and his is sloshing with urine in the bottom.
I had mentioned my concerns to the vet a few weeks ago and we have been monitoring his weight. It is staying fairly stable around the 2.8kg mark. Today the vet gave me some urine test strips to use at home - the kind designed for humans. I emptied all litter out of his base and litter tray so that any sample would not be contaminated by litter. I did not wash anything though in case vinegar or disinfectant trace would affect the result.
He obliged with a sample in his litter tray and I was able to cover the stick in urine. All the results were normal other then protein which was showing as being ++++, the highest measure on the stick.
I phoned and spoke to the vet I saw this morning and she suspects he is in renal failure. She feels that we could go on and do a blood test but even with the results to confirm there is relatively little that could be done anyway.
Otherwise he is not too bad. A bit quieter than the other buns and I have concerns that his vision is impaired to some degree. He is currently on Baytril for a reaction in his scrotum following his neuter. I am hoping someone out there has experience of this and can tell me;
1. Is it normal for rabbits to have elevated levels of protein?
2. If he is in renal failure, what can we do for him?
I had mentioned my concerns to the vet a few weeks ago and we have been monitoring his weight. It is staying fairly stable around the 2.8kg mark. Today the vet gave me some urine test strips to use at home - the kind designed for humans. I emptied all litter out of his base and litter tray so that any sample would not be contaminated by litter. I did not wash anything though in case vinegar or disinfectant trace would affect the result.
He obliged with a sample in his litter tray and I was able to cover the stick in urine. All the results were normal other then protein which was showing as being ++++, the highest measure on the stick.
I phoned and spoke to the vet I saw this morning and she suspects he is in renal failure. She feels that we could go on and do a blood test but even with the results to confirm there is relatively little that could be done anyway.
Otherwise he is not too bad. A bit quieter than the other buns and I have concerns that his vision is impaired to some degree. He is currently on Baytril for a reaction in his scrotum following his neuter. I am hoping someone out there has experience of this and can tell me;
1. Is it normal for rabbits to have elevated levels of protein?
2. If he is in renal failure, what can we do for him?
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