Alfie needs specialist vet treatment 😥

Hi, I posted a thread a couple of weeks ago about my rescue bunny Alfie and his recent head tilt. We've been back and forth to the vet with him and got nowhere and so after doing a lot of research myself and talking to people on here who have had the same problem, I went to a specialist exotics vet who somebody from here recommended. Basically Alfie has an inner ear infection and a possible abscess. He has next to no balance and I'm currently struggling to get him to eat anything. He's on pain relief, antibiotics and vertigo medication and for the time being it's a case of waiting to see if his current medication works or not. If not the vet would recommend a CT scan to find a possible cause of Alfie's head tilt. I am unemployed due to ill health and I cannot find £800 for a CT scan for him. I can barely afford his next prescription which along with the consultation will be over a hundred pounds. I'm so worried about him, I'm beside myself with worry and upset. I rescued him 7 months ago from awful conditions and he doesn't deserve this. I love him SO much and if the antibiotics don't work I don't know what will happen. Xx

CT scans an be cheaper that that - in Cambridge they are c£500 -still a lot I know but a saving on £800- can you see if anywhere closer to you is chaper as well?

It's £800 - £1000 as it's a specialist x

Where do you live?

Are you seeing JC?

She is seeing Molly Varga at Rutland House xxxx

you must be worried sick

have you asked the vets about setting up a payment plan? it could be worth an ask just incase. alot will let you if the cost is going to be very high. hopefully that would give you some breathing space until you can sell the hutch.

best of luck x

eta: sorry i cannot help more, but i hope that molly can help and advise the best course of action to take x

On Beth, I'm sorry!

All I'm going to say, is I know how worrying and hard it is to look after a poorly bunny, but time really does help. It was much different in honeys case, but she was on a lot of medication for over 3 weeks, and we did see a slight improvement. I know this is going to sound silly but Is it really worth paying all that for a CT scan when they already know it's an inner ear infection?

When I had honey, we didn't have insurance and I paid over £2500 in a short period of only 6 months. Within that was the CT scan which showed them it was but they still didn't change anything, unless you are looking to go down the surgery route which again will be very expensive and a big operation for Alfie. I know in no way am I qualified and I'm so glad your with a specialist but this is only my personal opinion, but maybe that money would be best treating him with all the correct meds and hope they kick in soon.

Sending lots and lots of vibes for your beautiful boy xx

I agree with Ruthy and would have a chat with the vet to see how having the CT scan would change the treatment given. Having the scan may mean that surgery is an option but, even so, would it be an affordable option for you and is it something that you would be willing to put Alfie through, for example?

Thank you for your messages.
Babsie- I live in Warrington and as Roxyroller said, I am seeing Molly Varga, a specialist who roxyroller recommended. She seems to be really good, knowledgable and understanding of my situation.
Biscandmatt- yes worried would be an understatement! I have asked about a repayment plan and the veterinary hospital can do this, however they require at least 50% of the bill upfront. Which if I went down the CT scan route would be £400ish up front.
Ruthyjones- was it an ear infection that honey had and what medication was she on? Did it work? In Alfie's case they haven't said that it is 100% an ear infection as they haven't done the culture test which is apparently invasive and I didn't want that for him. The previous vet was treating Alfie for ear infection and EC to cover both bases, but when we took him to the specialist she took him off EC treatment saying that treating EC in a rabbit with Pasteurella when he may not have EC could be fatal? She said she was as sure as she could be without testing that Alfie has an inner ear infection and a possible abscess. So I think a CT scan would show if there was an abscess in which case surgery would be the only way to help him which at around £3000 is simply not doable. Would a CT scan also show if it is an inner ear infection?
I am going back to Rutland House on Monday and I'm closely monitoring Alfie desperately looking for any signs of improvement until then. I'll get a second prescription of meds, thank you so much to everyone who has donated money for this, as he's only been on this combination for 6 days (doxycycline, stemetil and metacam). I'm finding it difficult to administer the doxycycline. The others are better as Alfie seems to not mind the taste so he will swallow them, but he doesn't usually swallow the crushed doxy with juice in a syringe. So I've been putting it on a spoon with baby food but hes needing a lot of encouragement and perseverance to have it and this usually takes over an hour of keep going back and trying to get him to finish it off the spoon. I feel so so bad for him, I hate seeing animals suffering in some way. Makes me so upset. They don't deserve it. Xxx

KarenM - I'm sorry you have needed to edit and remove posts. I genuinely did not know that I wasn't allowed to make reference to Alfie's page but thank you for informing me about this.
Babsie - I live in Warrington and as Roxyroller said I am seeing Molly Varga as recommended by Roxyroller. Molly seems really good, knowledgeable and understanding.
Biscandmatt - worried is an understatement! I have asked about a repayment plan and the veterinary hospital do this but I'd need to pay at least 50% of the funds up front which if I go down the CT route would be around £400. At the moment I am just focusing on Alfie's medication and praying that they begin to make improvements. He has only been on this combination for 6 days so fingers crossed. (Doxycycline, Stemetil and Metacam). The reason I set up Alfie's page was for the next course of medication - I didn't know I wasn't supposed to be making direct reference to the site I used but I want to thank all of you who have been able to help, before my post needed to be edited. I don't know who you are as I don't know you by your first names but thank you so much.
Ruthyjones - was it an inner ear infection that honey had and did the medication help? In Alfie's case she can't be certain it is an ear infection without doing the culture test which I have been told is invasive and I didn't want that for him. He's already been through a lot in his short life and I don't want to put him through extra stress. She said she was as certain as she can be that it's an ear infection and a possible abscess. The CT would determine whether he has an abscess or not but can that show whether it's an inner ear infection aswel? I can't go down the route of surgery so I too am wondering whether a CT is needed? I will ask how the scan would change Alfie's treatment. Thank you all your for your support. This forum really is a fantastic supportive community xxx

Sorry - my posts are irrelevant! I thought it said you lived in Woolston, which is an area of Soithampton, hence my question about JC.

Sending loads of vibes for Alfie. I hope that you start to see some improvement soon. Also sending lots of hugs for you as it is so distressing caring for a poorly rabbit.

Is Molly Varga advising to have a CT scan if there is no improvement by the time you see her next Monday or is she expecting that the antibiotics would take longer to work?

So sorry that you and poor Alfie are going through this, we all know how awful it is to have a pet get sick, it makes you feel so helpless. I can't offer any advice, but just wanted to add my support along with others. Good luck at your vet visit, really hope that she can offer you a good plan of action. Give little Alfie a gentle nose rub from me, and sending you a big hug xxxx

Sorry on my lunch break so haven't got long, I'll answer more later if that's okay?

In all honest if you are not doing the surgery route, then me personally I wouldn't bother with the CT scan. Honey had 2 in the end, with the second one being pointless and I made them refund me the majority as they agreed.

So my little honey - you've probably seen from some posts it was quite tragic for her, so hopefully you have much better luck with Alfie! She started off with externa, so was in her ear canals only, however after a routine procedure it developed into an inner ear infection where she had head tilt. She had already been on a number of different anti-biotics so only had a coupe of options.

Are both Alfie's ears filled with pus? If they are surely they can try and get a culture from this? As this is what my vets did..

Meds were stemetil, marbocyl, penicillin injections, was on chlorophenical ear drops also at one point. Along with tramadol for pain relief. (For her inner ear infection). The penicillin injections were the maximum amount she could have, Daily and for 3 weeks. Xx

I think that Ruth does have a point here.
I know that you want to do everything you can for Alfie, I have been in the exact place that you are in now but if you're not able to afford the surgery then it might not be worth putting yourself or Alfie through a CT scan.

Hiro had no puss in his ears at all so we decided to go ahead with the CT scan. There was no absess but it showed that he had an awful inner ear infection which had done a lot of damage and after long discussions with Molly about his age and health we decided that surgery would be an option that could work for him. However it wasn't a decision that we took lightly. It's very invasive and it has many complications. Altogether his treatment cost around £3200 BUT we made all of our decisions knowing that we were insured. Not a lot of people have that sort of money lying around, it's admirable that you are doing all that you can to find the funds but I think you really need to ask yourself if raising the rest of the money can be done?

For now I would concentrate on the medication side of things and talk all of this through with Molly when you see her next.

Hi Beth

Just popping on to send you vibes and hope that you can get Alfie what he needs.

Also strength for yourself as this kind of thing is devastating for the human too!

Hugs xx

Fingers crossed the medication works. I think have a chat with Molly to see all of the options. I'm sure she's had many pet owners who can't afford some procedures and can advise accordingly. I spent about £2,500 trying to find out what was wrong with Doughnut and now she's on full time medication but didn't ever need surgery as she has acid reflux. I just put it all on my credit card but I understand you're in a different situation to me but certainly don't love your little bunny any less.

still alot of money upfront then even with a payment plan hopefully you can just focus for now on seeing if there is any improvement and having another talk with molly at the next appointment. you could ask about prescriptions for the meds you can order cheaper online, if you haven't already. i've found vet uk to be the best price for metacam.

and hopefully the next prescription will be in reach soon. x