Hi, new member here, hello.
I'm turning to the internet in desperation. I've had a very sick rabbit since Jan/Feb (yes we have taken him to the vet multiple times), he's 7.5 years old. He dropped a lot of weight quite quickly over the end of January, we took him to the vets, who at the time suggested that he might be on his way out.
Since then he's been on a combination of gut motility drugs, pain relief, critical care and a high fibre hay mix we make ourselves, he's essentially been only syringe fed since Feb. He has option to eat dry food, veg and hay but just wouldn't touch it. We managed to keep his weight stable but not get anything on him, he did however beg to be syringe fed every hour on the hour without fail so he was obviously feeling hunger. Why he wouldn't eat solid food the vet still can't answer, his teeth are normal, the only thing he did find was that the gut sounded a little slow. The vet refused to xray him due to his low body weight, but he did start pooping normally for a while.
In the last week his weight has dropped drastically after a small bout of diarrhea after which he stopped cleaning himself. I've been wiping his legs/rear with a damp cloth to stop him getting sore and we've taken him back to the vets and have him on a higher dose of motility drugs, but it hasn't helped. He's been refusing all food and drink for the last few hours, i can get it in his mouth but he'll either dribble it back out or swallow it very slowly over the course of the next hour, meaning I can't get enough into him to maintain his weight. He's passed no stool and very little pee, and apart from the odd panicked scrabble is struggling to even hold his head up. Unfortunately there is no out of hours vet service near me so I'm at a loss for where to turn for advice.
I do think this is the end for my little man, I will be ringing the vet in the morning if he's still with us.
My question is - is there anything I can do to make him more comfortable as it doesn't seem like this isn't going to be quick and I don't want him to suffer? I'm fairly certain he won't survive a car ride to the vets in the state he's in tomorrow anyway.
I'm turning to the internet in desperation. I've had a very sick rabbit since Jan/Feb (yes we have taken him to the vet multiple times), he's 7.5 years old. He dropped a lot of weight quite quickly over the end of January, we took him to the vets, who at the time suggested that he might be on his way out.
Since then he's been on a combination of gut motility drugs, pain relief, critical care and a high fibre hay mix we make ourselves, he's essentially been only syringe fed since Feb. He has option to eat dry food, veg and hay but just wouldn't touch it. We managed to keep his weight stable but not get anything on him, he did however beg to be syringe fed every hour on the hour without fail so he was obviously feeling hunger. Why he wouldn't eat solid food the vet still can't answer, his teeth are normal, the only thing he did find was that the gut sounded a little slow. The vet refused to xray him due to his low body weight, but he did start pooping normally for a while.
In the last week his weight has dropped drastically after a small bout of diarrhea after which he stopped cleaning himself. I've been wiping his legs/rear with a damp cloth to stop him getting sore and we've taken him back to the vets and have him on a higher dose of motility drugs, but it hasn't helped. He's been refusing all food and drink for the last few hours, i can get it in his mouth but he'll either dribble it back out or swallow it very slowly over the course of the next hour, meaning I can't get enough into him to maintain his weight. He's passed no stool and very little pee, and apart from the odd panicked scrabble is struggling to even hold his head up. Unfortunately there is no out of hours vet service near me so I'm at a loss for where to turn for advice.
I do think this is the end for my little man, I will be ringing the vet in the morning if he's still with us.
My question is - is there anything I can do to make him more comfortable as it doesn't seem like this isn't going to be quick and I don't want him to suffer? I'm fairly certain he won't survive a car ride to the vets in the state he's in tomorrow anyway.
x
