U/D He's home, they're both putting on weight and drinking far less!

Ok I thought I'd start my own thread as I'm starting to panic tonight. I have made an appointment for Weds which is the earliest I can see our usual vet but I would like your opinions on whether I should get them there earlier and see a less familiar vet.

Mischa and Mini have always drunk quite a bit. Being indoors it is warmer so to be expected. The past few months though this has been steadily increasing. I did mention it to my vet when they had their Myxo vaccs at the beginning of the month but I was unsure as to just how much they were drinking and my vet didn't seem too concerned.

Well, it seems to be spiralling out of control now. I've had them on a hay and pellet only diet as their (I suspect mainly Mini whose had uneaten cecals before) cecals were being left and caking on bums a bit (again mainly Mini). I took away their bottle which was 1 litre as I was filling it up once or twice a day and a LOT was being spilt in their litter box and on a rag I put to soak it up. I'd say at least half the amount I was putting in the bottle was leaking out when they drunk (they're messy). I gave them a standard sized rabbit bowl full and started filling it from a jug. Sometimes it was empty they were drinking it that fast. It was about a litre a day between two (again I suspect Mini is mainly doing the drinking as it seems to be mainly her at the bowl but Mischa is drinking more than one would expect too). So I got them a large dog bowl, ceramic so they can't tip it over. I've filled that twice today and it's nearly empty again. It takes a litre. So they've guzzled two litres in a day between them. :shock::shock::shock:

They are weeing a lot, unsurprisingly. They also seem to be weeing outside their box as well as inside and sometimes it seems like they are doing lots of little wees. The wees are very very clear, like water. I'm really panicking that something is wrong with their kidneys or something. But as they arn't showing any other signs of pain or discomfort, they are grooming themselves and each other, eating well, their cecals are back to normal (currently giving mini fibreplex and putting pro-biotic in their water since yesterday), they're bounding up to say hello as normal, I'm hoping it's something like a UTI.

What should I do? Wait a few more days and see the vet I know and trust, or see a different vet sooner?

PS. Sorry for the epic epic thread. If you've read this far then thank you.

UTI is my first thought on reading this. Mainly due to the amounts being drunk and peed out, and the accidents beside the tray, especially the little wees - this is classic UTI as far as i'm aware.

I think you will need to somehow work out if it is one bun or both, but I would pop both along for a consult. Personally I would want to see a vet before the weekend if it is a UTI as most infections are ascending and you don't want it to get any worse or go any higher up the urinary tract. I should think a urine sample from both buns would be in order (but guessing here - not had a bun with a UTI) and a course of antibiotics.

I personally found that the way to remove excess caecals from the equation was to remove the pellet part of the diet and replace it with a green leafy diet of veg/weeds. My buns hardly touch their water bowl, eat tons of greens and never have any excess caecs. since I stopped the pellets shortly after adopting them both. Personally, I feel veg are an important part of bunny's diet, it might be worth considering reducing the pellet concentration and slowly introducing the right sorts of veg/greens (but not the ones that cause excess caecotrophs) but I realise this is a personal preference.

ETA if it were my bun and I suspected a UTI I would be trying to get an appointment tomorrow. :wave:

I agree - I'd rather have them checked over sooner rather than later. I know it's preferable to see a vet you know and trust, but some things are better not left.

I have a favourite vet, who I prefer to see, but have seen a couple of different ones at short notice who have all been good. So now I have my fave vet, and a close second favourite!

Hope they get sorted out soon x

Thank you prettylupin. ETA and Blackberry!

I'm definitely going to phone tomorrow as soon as I am up (need to go to sleep first ) and try and get in there tomorrow.

I started reducing veg on vet's advice. I am slowly starting to reintroduce it now. Mischa had some yesterday and was fine. Mini has had a tiny amount today and I'm hoping in the morning she will be clean. Then I will gradually build up and reintroduce foods.

Whats the best way to get a urine sample?

Schuette said:

Thank you prettylupin. ETA and Blackberry!

I'm definitely going to phone tomorrow as soon as I am up (need to go to sleep first ) and try and get in there tomorrow.

I started reducing veg on vet's advice. I am slowly starting to reintroduce it now. Mischa had some yesterday and was fine. Mini has had a tiny amount today and I'm hoping in the morning she will be clean. Then I will gradually build up and reintroduce foods.

Whats the best way to get a urine sample?

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An empty litter tray, no litter, no hay.... nothing.....

*looks forward to it* :? :lol:

Schuette said:

Whats the best way to get a urine sample?

Click to expand...

Ask Liz from Rainbow Rabbits! She has had plenty of experience chasing buns around the garden with urine sample pots in her dressing gown I do believe! :lol: [Hugo's There]
Seriously, i'm not sure, perhaps get bun to use an empty litter tray and then pour it out into a pot, or bury a pot in the tray and hope for the best? If necessary a vet can express your rabbit's bladder.

Caecal passing is 24-72 hours so you may need to wait a couple of days to see whether a certain veg causes upset - just 24 hours is more common in buns with a good gut motility. Those prone to caecal upset tend to have slower motility and with our bun upset occurs after 48 hours. :wave:

Yeah I was going to give them something new and wait about three days before trying another new thing. No mushy poos since so it's looking good in that area at least!

We've got an appointment for 10.40 this morning.

Good luck with the appointment - let us know how it goes :wave:

We're back.

Their weight has dropped from 1.8 in jan to about 1.6. He had a look at their teeth and as far as he can see they're fine. I need to get a urine sample from them to find out a bit more. Then if that comes back clear a blood sample and then if that comes back clear and they're still at it a proper teeth check. We did ask if it is possible to be an infection and he said that it could be but he thinks it's more likely to be an issue with kidneys or liver cry:) as they are still quite spritely. (I don't quite understand that :?)

Anyway. They're closed on Monday so we're going to do the sample on Monday, put it in the fridge (yum!) and drop it in on Tuesday.

I really hope it does turn out to be an infection.

He said to carry on upping their veg intake as they've lost weight. I was going to be a bit more gradual but he said grass should be ok. So I'm going to give them some more dandelions and let them on the grass for 10-15 minutes and hope they arn't sticky tonight.

Aw, bless 'em. Hope the vet can find out what's wrong and fix 'em up real soon!

Schuette said:

We did ask if it is possible to be an infection and he said that it could be but he thinks it's more likely to be an issue with kidneys or liver cry:) as they are still quite spritely. (I don't quite understand that :?)

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With both of them?? I should think it if has affected them both it is far more likely to be an infectious agent than kidney/liver issues in both rabbits? :?
UTI's as far as i'm aware can ascend into the kidney. They have lost weight yes, were they overweight before? Have you been restricting their diet at all recently anyway? Surely if he felt it was significant enough to be kidney/liver issues he would have taken some blood for analysis there and then? I know mine would have done.
If they seem bright in themselves I would also question a kidney or liver issue - but then i'm no vet and probably don't know what i'm talking about.

Try not to worry, get your urine samples and take it from there. If they do deteriorate in themselves then pop them back over the weekend.

I have restricted their vegetable intake and have been giving only hay and pellets. I'm definitely going to gradually up their veg intake again.

The more I think about it the more I feel it's odd it's both of them. I'm certain the weight is where I've reduced the veggies as they've both lost the same amount.

I feel a lot better about it today than I did yesterday. Yesterday I was really panicking and you here have helped me enormously. I can't thank you all enough.

Hope everything is okay for your bunnies

awww I hope alls ok x

Thank you all! They seem to have drunk slightly less yesterday. They had half an hour on the grass and a handful of dandelions and thankfully no mush, least not yet.

I'm strongly suspecting it was the no veg which has caused this. I'm still doing the urine samples but if they come back clear and it continues to improve then I won't stress them out further.

See the reason I started reduced the veg slightly in the first place was because they kept looking bloated. Then the mucky poo became worse and worse. As I'm gradually increasing veg intake the water intake is decreasing slowly too. The wee still smells 'off', the only way I can describe it is like crabsticks. Maybe it's my nose. :lol:

They've been out on the grass again today. I've got some dandelions to give them in a mo and a little bit of cauli leaf. I'm trying to space out the veg a bit more so they don't gobble it at once. They are greedy bunnies and don't pace themselves.

Getting urine from them is one of the hardest things in the world. They only seem to like peeing on soft things. Litter trays full of bedding and hay and duvets. :roll:

Ha! I shut them on the landing with an empty litter box and bowl of water for about half an hour waiting for wee wee. Gave up and let them back in my room. Mischa went straight to a towel and did a wee so I've syringed it out from there. Hopefully it'll still be ok like that. I really don't think he's going to pee on something hard. He tends to pee on duvets and bedding, not firm things.

aww I can imagine how hard it must be

I'd have been ok cos princess used to wee in her food tray :roll: so that went in the bin-would have been easy though to get a sample haha

aww I'm glad theyre drinking less