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Help please - sick rabbit, vet cannot resolve

So pleased to read a positive update:thumb: I really hope he continues to improve:thumb: sending lots more vibes for him xx
 
Thanks all. Managed all Tom's meds tonight. He's also on anti-biotic eye drops now.
Weird thing this evening was that when I picked him up, his tail was hanging down, like it was ready to fall off !
Is the tail just fur or is there bone / cartilidge in there too ? It is still attached, just very floppy maybe.
Why would that happen ?
 
ToffTom said:
Thanks all. Managed all Tom's meds tonight. He's also on anti-biotic eye drops now.
Weird thing this evening was that when I picked him up, his tail was hanging down, like it was ready to fall off !
Is the tail just fur or is there bone / cartilidge in there too ? It is still attached, just very floppy maybe.
Why would that happen ?
Click to expand...


It can sometimes feel a bit floppy, but yes it's bone.

Scroll down on this link, and you'll see a rabbit skeleton:

http://www.justrabbits.com/rabbit-anatomy.html

Vibes for a good night for you all and Tom x
 
Thanks for that link, very interesting.
I'm a bit worried he's broken his tail then if that's possible. It's never hung down underneath him like this. He is very thin and has been falling over a fair bit.
I've been cleaning / dabbing aroiund his tail a lot as it is often soaked in urine as he is not using the litter tray so I've seen his tail a lot over the last few days. Something appears to have changed.

Thanks for all the vibes. Hoping for a good night. It's been a very tiring, stressful week and had to stay up late most nights to catch up on work.
 
ToffTom said:
Thanks all. Managed all Tom's meds tonight. He's also on anti-biotic eye drops now.
Weird thing this evening was that when I picked him up, his tail was hanging down, like it was ready to fall off !
Is the tail just fur or is there bone / cartilidge in there too ? It is still attached, just very floppy maybe.
Why would that happen ?
Click to expand...

If EC is involved this can effect the central nervous system. A 'floppy tail' can occur if there is EC induced damage to the nerves that control tail movement.

Is Tom managing to keep his bum clean ? As he has had diarrhoea if he now has soiled fur under his tail this could make it droop.

I hope that Tom has had a comfortable night x
 
ToffTom said:
Thanks for that link, very interesting.
I'm a bit worried he's broken his tail then if that's possible. It's never hung down underneath him like this. He is very thin and has been falling over a fair bit.
I've been cleaning / dabbing aroiund his tail a lot as it is often soaked in urine as he is not using the litter tray so I've seen his tail a lot over the last few days. Something appears to have changed.

Thanks for all the vibes. Hoping for a good night. It's been a very tiring, stressful week and had to stay up late most nights to catch up on work.
Click to expand...

You're welcome :)

I hope it's not broken - I doubt it. It's more likely to be due to his exhaustion and muscle wastage. He has to exert to do any muscle movement at the moment, and he's a bit weak.

I hope he's OK today?
 
ToffTom said:
Thanks for that link, very interesting.
I'm a bit worried he's broken his tail then if that's possible. It's never hung down underneath him like this. He is very thin and has been falling over a fair bit.
I've been cleaning / dabbing aroiund his tail a lot as it is often soaked in urine as he is not using the litter tray so I've seen his tail a lot over the last few days. Something appears to have changed.

Thanks for all the vibes. Hoping for a good night. It's been a very tiring, stressful week and had to stay up late most nights to catch up on work.
Click to expand...

If he isn't using his litter tray it could be because he is struggling to get in it. Have you tried a low entry litter tray? I've seen a lot of people using potting trays like this one :)
http://www.millracegardencentre.co.uk/tidy-tray-black.html
 
roxyroller88 said:
If he isn't using his litter tray it could be because he is struggling to get in it. Have you tried a low entry litter tray? I've seen a lot of people using potting trays like this one :)
http://www.millracegardencentre.co.uk/tidy-tray-black.html
Click to expand...

I made him one from a cardboard box when he was downstairs but now he's just on a whole floor of sawdust so I can clean up wherever he's been.
That link you provided is a good design though, thanks.

Tom seems to have crashed big time sadly. I really thought we were getting somewhere yesterday. He was stronger and back on his food and maintaining good balance even when knocked by Toffee but this morning back to him not being interested in food again and very lethargic. He's just been to the vets again and they gave him another steroid and some for us to bring home to do tomorrow and Monday but he is so weak now he can't keep upright - keeps falling on his side. He seems to have no energy.
Vet gave him subcutaneous fluids also. Unless the steroid gives him a boost again quick, I think he is going downhill quickly. At least he is back home with his beloved Toffee, so feels safe and warm hopefully.

Noticed that he has a sore on the rear of his right foot, which he doesn't want to put down. So when he is crouching, he's leaning forward to keep it from touching the ground. That must be stopping him from getting any decent rest. I've changed his bedding for the blue paper pellets which are much softer than sawdust and bits of hay and it seemed to be keeping him cleaner too, which was a relief.

Don't know what more we can do now. I feel we have tried everything.
The annoying thing is that the diarrhoea seems to have nearly stopped. Poo is more like toothpaste now, which is an improvement.
He was so much better yesterday, I was really hopeful that we were getting somewhere.
 
I'm sorry that he has deteriorated again :cry: one thing is for sure and that is that no one could be doing any more for him than you are. You are giving him the best possible chance. I really hope he can recover. I'm sending lots more vibes to him xx
 
Jack's-Jane said:
If EC is involved this can effect the central nervous system. A 'floppy tail' can occur if there is EC induced damage to the nerves that control tail movement.

Is Tom managing to keep his bum clean ? As he has had diarrhoea if he now has soiled fur under his tail this could make it droop.

I hope that Tom has had a comfortable night x
Click to expand...

He hadn't been cleaning himself. I've been doing that. His tail (front under part) was always soaked in urine and faeces so I've been using paper towel on it twice a day and sometime a rabbit grooming wipe to clean it up. That's why I noticed the sudden change in it drooping.
 
ToffTom said:
I made him one from a cardboard box when he was downstairs but now he's just on a whole floor of sawdust so I can clean up wherever he's been.
That link you provided is a good design though, thanks.

Tom seems to have crashed big time sadly. I really thought we were getting somewhere yesterday. He was stronger and back on his food and maintaining good balance even when knocked by Toffee but this morning back to him not being interested in food again and very lethargic. He's just been to the vets again and they gave him another steroid and some for us to bring home to do tomorrow and Monday but he is so weak now he can't keep upright - keeps falling on his side. He seems to have no energy.
Vet gave him subcutaneous fluids also. Unless the steroid gives him a boost again quick, I think he is going downhill quickly. At least he is back home with his beloved Toffee, so feels safe and warm hopefully.

Noticed that he has a sore on the rear of his right foot, which he doesn't want to put down. So when he is crouching, he's leaning forward to keep it from touching the ground. That must be stopping him from getting any decent rest. I've changed his bedding for the blue paper pellets which are much softer than sawdust and bits of hay and it seemed to be keeping him cleaner too, which was a relief.

Don't know what more we can do now. I feel we have tried everything.
The annoying thing is that the diarrhoea seems to have nearly stopped. Poo is more like toothpaste now, which is an improvement.
He was so much better yesterday, I was really hopeful that we were getting somewhere.
Click to expand...


I'm so sorry to read this update :(

It must seem like one step forward and two backwards with Tom.

I hope the second steroid helps him x
 
Steroid seems to have had no effect this time. Difficult to inject it as he is so thin his scruff is virtually non-existent. He won't eat anything now, not even cabbage or dandelion (which has always been the things that he would eat if nothing else). Feels like we are just keeping him alive with Recovery at the moment and he seems fearfully of moving much in case he falls over. No much of a life for a rabbit. I think we may have to put him to sleep. Anyone any ideas ? Think we have tried everything now unless the Panacur or Penicillin suddendly does something dramatic, which seems unlikely.
 
ToffTom said:
Steroid seems to have had no effect this time. Difficult to inject it as he is so thin his scruff is virtually non-existent. He won't eat anything now, not even cabbage or dandelion (which has always been the things that he would eat if nothing else). Feels like we are just keeping him alive with Recovery at the moment and he seems fearfully of moving much in case he falls over. No much of a life for a rabbit. I think we may have to put him to sleep. Anyone any ideas ? Think we have tried everything now unless the Panacur or Penicillin suddendly does something dramatic, which seems unlikely.
Click to expand...


I'm so sorry :cry:




http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-8/quality-of-life.html


http://rabbit.org/end-of-life/


http://www.disabledrabbits.com/quality-of-life.html


http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?270142-Quality-of-Life
 
ToffTom said:
Steroid seems to have had no effect this time. Difficult to inject it as he is so thin his scruff is virtually non-existent. He won't eat anything now, not even cabbage or dandelion (which has always been the things that he would eat if nothing else). Feels like we are just keeping him alive with Recovery at the moment and he seems fearfully of moving much in case he falls over. No much of a life for a rabbit. I think we may have to put him to sleep. Anyone any ideas ? Think we have tried everything now unless the Panacur or Penicillin suddendly does something dramatic, which seems unlikely.
Click to expand...

I am really sorry :cry: As the Vets have not been able to establish a definitive diagnosis, which is not a criticism, just how it is sometimes, then any treatment is really just fire fighting. You have certainly gone to great lengths to try to help Tom. But sadly sometimes there is nothing more that can be done. I dont know if Tom is at that stage now, I am not in any position to judge. But it does sound as though he is really struggling now. I am very sorry :cry:
 
I'm very sorry to say that Tom died last night.:cry: He was at home and his last moments whilst very difficult were with his beloved Toffee.
We actually thought he was improving yesterday. His appetite was up, his balance was terrible first thing but then got better but he stopped eating after lunchtime and then went downhill.
He was buried at home today. Our girls wrote him a thank you note for being our lovely rabbit and hoping that he has met his Mum and Dad and brothers and sisters in Heaven. We filled his grave with flowers and things that he liked to eat from the garden. It was beautiful and he looked peaceful. After we finished we made a cross for him out of sticks and a few moments later Toffee came across the garden a kissed the cross all on her own. Very moving.

We all miss him very much. I am heart broken. My friend has gone.
Thank you all for your advice and support over the last weeks. It was much appreciated.
 
Last edited:
ToffTom said:
I'm very sorry to say that Tom died last night.:cry: He was at home and his last moments whilst very difficult were with his beloved Toffee.
We actually thought he was improving yesterday. His appetite was up, his balance was terrible first thing but then got better but he stopped eating after lunchtime and then went downhill.
He was buried at home today. Our girls wrote him a thank you note for being our lovely rabbit and hoping that he has met his Mum and Dad and brothers and sisters in Heaven. We filled his grave with flowers and things that he liked to eat from the garden. It was beautiful and he looked peaceful. After we finished we made a cross for him out of sticks and a few moments later Toffee came across the garden a kissed the cross all on her own. Very moving.

We all miss him very much. I am heart broken. My friend has gone.
Thank you all for your advice and support over the last weeks. It was much appreciated.
Click to expand...

I am so sorry :cry: Tom could not have asked for a more devoted carer, you did absolutely everything within your power to try to help him. May he now rest in peace xx
 
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