Golden Oldies

Hi, I know a few of you here have older bunnies and was hoping you can help me. Jasper is 6 years old approx (the 1st bunny I have ever owned) At the moment she is acting a little odd and the vet can't figure out why. Friday morning she was lying stretched out in the litter basket as normal, put out the mornign pellets for her and the hubby but only hubby came to the dish. Jasper just lay there, her breathing was a bit fast but she was a aware of what was going on. Left her til later on and she was still the same but every now and then she had moved position from litter basket to ledge above and back again. We went to the vets yesterday and the vet couldn't find anything possibly wrong but as she is 6 decided to give her some baytril and metacam injections and told me to give her some more today and see how she is tomorrow. Today she is a bit better and is eating hay and parsley but still sitting there breathing really fast. Its not hot here and every one else is fine. She won't touch her pellets although when I feed them this mornign she took an interest but when I showed her the pellets she wasn't interested in that, not sure what she is looking for.
Is this just part of aging or is there more to it?? Any ideas whats wrong with her?

Angela

Is she spayed?

Hi Tamsin, She was spayed at about 1 year old after she chaged sex and had babies :lol: Kinda explains the name eh? Everyone assumes boy, poor girl. Well as far as I know she was spayed anyway, she came home with a wound in the right place. The vet had a reasonable idea about what he was doing with rabbits, I think!

Angela

Anybody got any ideas whats wrong??? She is eating hay and parsley. I have now seperated her from the hubby so I can see if she is pooping and peeing. I think she has stopped drinking altogether but I spotted her doing a small wee last night. Its very strange, one minute she looks quite perky the next she is quite listless and her breathing is really fast.

We have an appointment again tonight so will see what the vet says.
Angela

Possible Urine infection Angela?...sounds like a possibly infectious state....parsley is good as it helps the bladder....can you syringe Jasper some water in the meantime as you need to flush her bladder out.
Bladder infection also causes poor gut movement and gut statis, so it is best she does not eat dried food....are her droppings small and hard?
If so, only give hay and small handfuls parsley...remove dried food incase she is tempted to eat it later.
Bladder infections can be stubborn and we find it takes 10 days antibiotics to clear it proper in many cases, and we repeat the antibiotics two to three weeks later as a precaution.( as bladder infections reoccur quite frequently and bunnies can be laid very low once the infection has taken hold).
Good luck at the vets, and it sounds like he/ she is on the right track as your rabbit has started to respond to the antibiotics and painkillers.
It is difficult to say for sure what is going on without seeing Jasper, so it is only an educated guess above..sorry not to be more helpful.
Your Vet will advise later.

Oooooooh well thought Adele! Could possibly be and probably explains why she wee'd on the floor, it's quite unusual for her to do that. I have left her with pellets as I didn't read your message before I left for work but she's not touching them anyway hasn't since Thursday. That would also explain the strong smell of urine in Jasper and Coco's litter tray. I can't tell what type of droppings she is passing thats why I choose to seperate her from Coco. I was reluctant to as she is a bit older and has been with him for 2 years but she seemed ok with it. He's a bit clumsy and has been annoying her anyway and walloped her a few times yesterday while trying to jump over her, I hope she appreciates the peace for the day.
Im just panicking again as she is older and I don't want her suffering but what did I forget to do this morning? Giving her flipping metacam. Hopes she's ok as my work is some distance from home and it's not possible to go home for her. I did see her drinking yesterday afternoon but not all that much as usual. Is it possible that if it's painful for her to pee that she may be reluctant to drink as she knows it will be painful to urinate?
The vet was at a bit of a loss on Saturday so told me to give baytril and metacam as she knew it was a pain reaction of some sort. We will see what she says tonight.
Angela

Hiya Angela...yes there are more clues in what you said pointing to a bladder infection...bunnies tend to urinate where they would not usually go, or urinate as you pick them up (slight loss of bladder control), and urine smells stronger / sweeter than normal.

It is more common in elderly bunnies, and we have two bunnies here that kept getting recurrant bladder infections, so we keep them on a permanent daily dose of Baytril as a preventative, especially now the bunnies are 7 years plus.(and probably have mild kidney failure).

Good luck at the Vets, and although painkillers are good in some ways, just be aware that one side affect of Metacam is to impair kidney function, the last thing you need when rabbits have bladder problems.
use Metacam only if bunny is obviously in pain, but do not give unless absolutely necessary...just use your common sense and you will be fine.

Oh Angela, hope she's feeling better soon...... keep us posted.

Oh probably just as well as I forgot to give her the metacam then. She hasn't displayed any of the obvious teeth grinding, just a lot of lying down flat out on her tummy and breathing uite fast even though it's not warm. I will tell the vet the things I have mentioned and see if she agrees. It will be great just to know its something and not the end of her days, she may be 6 but she hasn't been living with me long enough

Will let you know how we get on at the vets. I also left her with a very small amount of veggies in the hope she gets some moisture from eating them. She nibbled a bit of carrot before I left.

Angela

Is it possible she could also be slightly wobbly on her hind legs with a bladder infection? I *think* I have noticed a wobble but Im not sure if I am imanagining it. Its a very slight wobbly which is sometimes there and I have never noticed it before but then I don't normally stand and stare at her for 10 mins at a time :lol:

Angela

If you are thinking along the lines of bladder it could be a bladder stone, they tend to do very small wee's when they have them and they are uncomfortable. Could the wobbliness be arthritis if she is an older bunny and you are only noticing it because you are watching her. Or maybe an ear infection causing loss of balance and feeling ill in herself - is her head straight or are her eyes flickering?
It may be worth the vets doing a quickie conscious xray to check on her bladder etc.

Hi Angela - I was wondering how Jasper is doing tonight? :roll:

I decided to leave Jasper at the vets last night so they can xray her chest and abdomen this morning. Her breathing is all over the place and having to take her on 2 buses this morning wouldn't have done her any favours so it was easier for her to be left overnight.
Heidi had a good listen to her lungs and heart again and her breathing is getting a bit noisier. She thinks it may be something quite serious. Jasper will be xrayed and then while under she will have some blood taken so we don't have to put her under again.
I have this really bad feeling which won't go away. I tried syringing her some water last night before we went to the vets but she wouldn't swallow it and it all just ran out her mouth. Thankfully Heidi will give her some fluids by injection and make sure she is stable before she sedates her.
Yesterday she ate a good bit of hay and 2 small chunks of carrot and 1 small floret of broccoli and had wee'd twice in the litter tray. It didn't smell as strong as it did the other day.
Its now just a case of waiting to see what if anything Heidi finds.
Angela

good luck to you and your bunny thumbs, will be thinking of you both.

Thinking of you Angela, please keep us posted xx

Well it would seem my golden oldie has had her day. The xray have shown up a tumour in her stomach and it's quite large. Its only a matter of weeks before she passes but she has been kind enough to give me the signs that caused the investigation and I now know what is happeneing, I have time to prepare. Her previous owner is on his way round so he can see her.
Its now just a case of making her comfortable and letting her have her last few days of peace.
Well you can't win them all.

Angela

I am so sorry Angela to hear the devastating results. You know all our thoughts are all with you and Jasper. Just give her all the love she deserves and make her last memories so happy.

Love from

So sorry Angela. There seems to be so many sick bunnies on the forum just now . I'm sure you will make the rest of the time with her special, but make sure you take care of yourself aswell. Thinking of you both.

Awww Angela I'm so sorry to hear this. As Lynn says, at least you have time to make her remaining time with you special. Give her a nose rub for me, and here's a big cuddle for you

Thank you everyone, it means alot to both of us. Now if anyone wants to tell Jasper she is dying, please do so :lol:
Her 'dad', (my ex) came round last night to see her just incase she went downhill faster than expected. He couldn't believe that she's ill, she happily hopped all over the living room, noseyed at the fishy tank, had a lookie at whats in the big cardboard box and everything else she could find. She even got upset when we left her sleeping in the living room and she had woken to find us gone. Silly girl we were just in the hall playing about with the pc, so she came through to see us and nudge us, so we were in trouble. She is eating very well, only veggies and hay though, not a problem to me, she is still pooping although they are small there is plenty of them. Metacam must be making her feel way better.
Its heartbreaking after losing Casper only a few weeks ago but it's strange Casper was found to have a tumour in his stomach as well! Not sure if theres anything to be concerned about, seems strange to have 2 within weeks of each other with the same thing.

Angela