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Rabbit had a Stroke, Help!!

kat21582

New Kit
Hello!!

My rabbit is eight years old, and is an indoor rabbit. When i got up this morning her head was tilting to the right and walking round in circles, and eyes going back and forward. She was still drinking water, and eating food and having a wash.

I took her to the vets and they said she had had a stroke and gave her a steroid and antibiotics injection, to give her a chance as she is still very alert. Hence trying to jump off the vet table. They said to bring her back in the morning, then will make a decision whether or not she be put to sleep. I know the next twelve hours will determine, what we do.

My rabbit is still alert and drinking, eating food and comes to greet me. She is still moving around alot still to the right, but the circles are alot bigger and occasionally she goes straight.

If she is how she is now in the morning, would i still be cruel to choose not to put her sleep. She is eating,drinking alert but her head is still turning to the right.

Any help appreciated.
 
Did the vet mention E.cuniccili or an ear infection, these can both cause circling and eye movement. It may be worth putting you rabbit on antibiotics and panacur, in case it is either of these. If it were my rabbit, and it was eating, poohing and not distressed, I would give it a chance- but that is me.
Hope she recovers, and I am sure there will be somebody with more expericence along soon.
 
The first thing I thought about when I read that was EC too. I'd ask your vet if they had considered it. A course of Panacur wouldn't do any harm even if it wasn't EC, would it?
 
If the vet has said it is definitely a stroke then she has done the right things for her - the next 48 hours are crucial as if they have another stroke in this time it is usually fatal.

I am sending all the vibes that I can to your little one - xxxx
 
This does sound like EC.
My bunny has EC related head tilt. He got this last April, and his symptoms were like your buns, but MUCH worse, as he couldnt even stand and had to be have food and water put to his mouth!
Honestly, my boy was in some state, but with TLC and meds he is still here, running about like a maddy, albeit with a tilted head (some buns head rectifies with treatment, my boys didnt)
I think if you can put in the time to give your bun some nursing, then there is a possibility she can pull through this.
My boy had 6 weeks treatment of Panacur & Baytril. If you feel your bun needs it, i would also recommend Metacam for pain relief.
The fact that she is eating and drinking deffo says that she wants to fight this and get better!
One think to not be freaked out by if it happens is rolling / tumbling. This can happen alot with the head being tilted and her being off balance. My boy still does this every day, but just gets right back up again.
Here is a video of my boy....
http://s374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/kirstykermit/?action=view&current=P1011145.flv
this was a few after he first got ill, thats why he was so skinny, he was worse than that!
Now he is much better, but still has a jaunty wee head, as below!!
P1011387.jpg
 
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When our 5 year old bunny had a stroke 3 months ago he was in an awful mess. The tumbling was very distressing for us and as he found cleaning difficult he soon looked terrible. Everyone who saw him said we she have him put out of his misery and I must confess it crossed my mind a few times. However after two months of love, patience and hard work caring for our sick bunny he has finally made a 90 percent recovery. We didn't take him to the vet or medicate him. We did improve the quality of his diet buying him longchain fibre pellets, organic hay and plenty of fresh carrots to nibble on. (Before he rejected pellets but since being unwell seemed to find them easier than his previous mix). We had to give him a heavy shallow bowl for water which needed frequent refreshing throughout the day as he could no longer use his bottle. As he could no longer use his toilet we found that lining the cage floor with newspaper which we could change twice a day was the most practical way of dealing with his sanitary needs - sawdust was out of the question what with all the tumbling and water bowl and toilet mess. I can't emphasize enough how glad I am that we persevered with our bunny and ignored advice to end his life. It was a difficult time for us all and our family has learnt a lot through the experience of caring for a very poorly creature. Today my daughter took our little fella out in the garden where he was clearly overjoyed to be in the grass and sunshine. My advice: don't give up. :love:
 
When our 5 year old bunny had a stroke 3 months ago he was in an awful mess. The tumbling was very distressing for us and as he found cleaning difficult he soon looked terrible. Everyone who saw him said we she have him put out of his misery and I must confess it crossed my mind a few times. However after two months of love, patience and hard work caring for our sick bunny he has finally made a 90 percent recovery. We didn't take him to the vet or medicate him. We did improve the quality of his diet buying him longchain fibre pellets, organic hay and plenty of fresh carrots to nibble on. (Before he rejected pellets but since being unwell seemed to find them easier than his previous mix). We had to give him a heavy shallow bowl for water which needed frequent refreshing throughout the day as he could no longer use his bottle. As he could no longer use his toilet we found that lining the cage floor with newspaper which we could change twice a day was the most practical way of dealing with his sanitary needs - sawdust was out of the question what with all the tumbling and water bowl and toilet mess. I can't emphasize enough how glad I am that we persevered with our bunny and ignored advice to end his life. It was a difficult time for us all and our family has learnt a lot through the experience of caring for a very poorly creature. Today my daughter took our little fella out in the garden where he was clearly overjoyed to be in the grass and sunshine. My advice: don't give up. :love:

This is a really old thread that you have responded to. Glad your bunny is coping well tho :)
 
When our 5 year old bunny had a stroke 3 months ago he was in an awful mess. The tumbling was very distressing for us and as he found cleaning difficult he soon looked terrible. Everyone who saw him said we she have him put out of his misery and I must confess it crossed my mind a few times. However after two months of love, patience and hard work caring for our sick bunny he has finally made a 90 percent recovery. We didn't take him to the vet or medicate him. We did improve the quality of his diet buying him longchain fibre pellets, organic hay and plenty of fresh carrots to nibble on. (Before he rejected pellets but since being unwell seemed to find them easier than his previous mix). We had to give him a heavy shallow bowl for water which needed frequent refreshing throughout the day as he could no longer use his bottle. As he could no longer use his toilet we found that lining the cage floor with newspaper which we could change twice a day was the most practical way of dealing with his sanitary needs - sawdust was out of the question what with all the tumbling and water bowl and toilet mess. I can't emphasize enough how glad I am that we persevered with our bunny and ignored advice to end his life. It was a difficult time for us all and our family has learnt a lot through the experience of caring for a very poorly creature. Today my daughter took our little fella out in the garden where he was clearly overjoyed to be in the grass and sunshine. My advice: don't give up. :love:

Thank you for this post it has made me feel more at ease. My rabbit had a stroke yesterday, we hasn't eaten in a couple days and can't really move much. We took him to the vet last night where he was given a steroid injection. Today he is a lot brighter, taking his food by syringe and wanting water he is also eating dandilion leaves and parsley! So I am so happy! Last night I thought he wouldn't make it but from how he is today and your comment I am very optimistic and cannot give up on him. He hasn't given up! He's a fighter! :)
 
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