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Elderly bunny with balance issues, could it be stress of losing her partner?

Pandora1

Warren Scout
My bunny is doing well and is moving around and eating well without gut stimulants. She will stay on antibiotics for at least another 2 weeks for the ear infection.

I feel so sorry for her without her buddy (he passed away one week ago suddenly). She is 10 and a half, is that too old for a friend. She has cataracts so not sure how much she can see, she doesn't seem to bump into anything and I keep her set up the same so she knows where everything is. When you have two bunnies that really love each other its heartbreaking seeing one on their own.
 
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Hi all

Looking for advice and some vibes for my poorly bunny. We went on holiday on 16th September and left my two bunnies at boarding. Had a message on 17th that my boy bunny had breathing problems and they had taken him to the vets. Sadly he passed away the same evening. We requested a Post Mortem as it was very sudden and we were concerned about our female elderly bunny in case it was anything contagious, he was fine when we left them. It turned out he had kidney cancer and a stomach ulcer, poor boy. As they were both taken to the vets together my other bunny witnessed his distress with his breathing problems. I asked the vet to let her see him after he had passed, which they did.

At this point my female bunny was fine, eating and drinking. On Tuesday she was taken from the vets back to boarding but was showing neurological signs as soon as she got there, but appeared fine at the vets. She had to be taken straight back to the vets and given supportive care, they kept her until we returned on Sunday. We picked her up yesterday, it was upsetting to see her as she had lost a little weight, her eyes were slightly flickering as she had been moved, and one of her legs seems slightly splayed but she is able to move around a bit, but doesn't really want to.

She is on anti-inflammatory, two gut stimulants, antibiotic, something for her balance issues. She is ten and a half years old. She had quite a lot to eat yesterday but not as much today but I have recovery food as back up. We have to consider her quality of life I know, is it possible she can recover from this and could it be the stress of losing her partner as they loved each other so much and it breaks my heart seeing her like this and on her own.

Any advice welcome.

Thanks


Hi Pandora, I'm so sorry to hear about your boy bunny and now also your little girl.

In my personal opinion yes, it could well be stress and grief that has lowered her immune system and allowed something that may have been underlying to come to the surface.

Is your vet also treating for E.C. using Panacur? (fenbendazole)

You could also boost her immune system yourself with something like echinacea. There are lots of brands and opening a capsule or giving some herbal extract would be a good idea:

https://www.baldwins.co.uk/baldwins-echinacea-angustifolia-herbal-fluid-extract

I usually use capsules, but if you use a tincture make sure it's alcohol free.

It sounds like otherwise your vet has all bases covered. As you probably know, there can be multiple causes of balance issues ..ear issues, neurological as well as the parasite E.C.

There's some info in these links which might help a bit, but it's no substitute from a good vet doing a full and thorough assessment.


http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/Ecuniculi_Lft.pdf

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/head_tilt.htm

http://www.veterinarywebinars.com/m...oads/2016/03/Study_Notes_Ear_Nose_Rabbits.pdf

http://www.dechra.co.uk/therapy-are...cs-antifungals/disease-information/e-cuniculi

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/paresis.html

http://www.disabledrabbits.com/paralysis.html

http://rabbit.org/hind-limb-weakness-in-the-rabbit/

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Differentials/paresis.htm
 
Hi all

Looking for advice and some vibes for my poorly bunny. We went on holiday on 16th September and left my two bunnies at boarding. Had a message on 17th that my boy bunny had breathing problems and they had taken him to the vets. Sadly he passed away the same evening. We requested a Post Mortem as it was very sudden and we were concerned about our female elderly bunny in case it was anything contagious, he was fine when we left them. It turned out he had kidney cancer and a stomach ulcer, poor boy. As they were both taken to the vets together my other bunny witnessed his distress with his breathing problems. I asked the vet to let her see him after he had passed, which they did.

At this point my female bunny was fine, eating and drinking. On Tuesday she was taken from the vets back to boarding but was showing neurological signs as soon as she got there, but appeared fine at the vets. She had to be taken straight back to the vets and given supportive care, they kept her until we returned on Sunday. We picked her up yesterday, it was upsetting to see her as she had lost a little weight, her eyes were slightly flickering as she had been moved, and one of her legs seems slightly splayed but she is able to move around a bit, but doesn't really want to.

She is on anti-inflammatory, two gut stimulants, antibiotic, something for her balance issues. She is ten and a half years old. She had quite a lot to eat yesterday but not as much today but I have recovery food as back up. We have to consider her quality of life I know, is it possible she can recover from this and could it be the stress of losing her partner as they loved each other so much and it breaks my heart seeing her like this and on her own.

Any advice welcome.

Thanks

Goodness what an awful time you are having :cry: I am very sorry that you lost your Buck :cry:

It sounds as though the Vet is covering all bases as to the possible cause of your Doe's neurological symptoms. You have not mentioned her also being prescribed a 28 day course of Fenbendazole (Panacur/Lapizole) ? One possible cause of the neurological symptoms is EC. Whilst Fenbendazole wont 'cure' the condition it can reduce the number of EC spores circulating within the Rabbit's bloodstream thus minimising further damage from EC spores irrupting into the cells of various organs/the CNS.

With regards to her quality of life,I am sure that you will do whatever is best for her. She may improve as her treatment continues. It is really a case of taking things day by day at the moment. When does the Vet want to review her ?
 
Hi Pandora, I'm so sorry to hear about your boy bunny and now also your little girl.

In my personal opinion yes, it could well be stress and grief that has lowered her immune system and allowed something that may have been underlying to come to the surface.

Is your vet also treating for E.C. using Panacur? (fenbendazole)

You could also boost her immune system yourself with something like echinacea. There are lots of brands and opening a capsule or giving some herbal extract would be a good idea:

https://www.baldwins.co.uk/baldwins-echinacea-angustifolia-herbal-fluid-extract

I usually use capsules, but if you use a tincture make sure it's alcohol free.

It sounds like otherwise your vet has all bases covered. As you probably know, there can be multiple causes of balance issues ..ear issues, neurological as well as the parasite E.C.

There's some info in these links which might help a bit, but it's no substitute from a good vet doing a full and thorough assessment.


http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/Ecuniculi_Lft.pdf

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/head_tilt.htm

http://www.veterinarywebinars.com/m...oads/2016/03/Study_Notes_Ear_Nose_Rabbits.pdf

http://www.dechra.co.uk/therapy-are...cs-antifungals/disease-information/e-cuniculi

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/paresis.html

http://www.disabledrabbits.com/paralysis.html

http://rabbit.org/hind-limb-weakness-in-the-rabbit/

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Differentials/paresis.htm

I'm sorry for the loss of your buck and also that your doe is now poorly :(

I agree with what MM has said and think it's very likely that the stress has made an existing underlying problem present itself.

I would favour treating her for EC (panacur) as well as her other meds.

I hope she shows signs of improvement soon.

Sending lots of hugs. This must be very upsetting for you.
 
Thank you so much for replying. It has been an awful time for us as also we lost our cat under 7 years old very suddenly with acute kidney failure, all in under 4 months. The vet treating her is not my normal vet, but one used by the animal boarding as they are a rescue centre as well. They are very good vets, rabbit savvy. The vet asked for a call back today to see how she is at home, and we have an appointment for Thursday with her. They haven't mentioned Panacur but it did occur to me, I will mention it when I speak to the vet.

Thanks again for your support, I will keep you updated. x

Pandora
 
Thank you so much for replying. It has been an awful time for us as also we lost our cat under 7 years old very suddenly with acute kidney failure, all in under 4 months. The vet treating her is not my normal vet, but one used by the animal boarding as they are a rescue centre as well. They are very good vets, rabbit savvy. The vet asked for a call back today to see how she is at home, and we have an appointment for Thursday with her. They haven't mentioned Panacur but it did occur to me, I will mention it when I speak to the vet.

Thanks again for your support, I will keep you updated. x

Pandora


Aww you're welcome x

I'm sorry to hear about your cat. What a time of it you're having :(

On Thursday will you be seeing your normal vet or the one used by the boarder?
 
Yes she will be seeing the vet from the boarders, which is probably a good idea as they know what she has been like since the beginning of the neurological problems, and it keeps continuity.

Pandora x
 
Yes she will be seeing the vet from the boarders, which is probably a good idea as they know what she has been like since the beginning of the neurological problems, and it keeps continuity.

Pandora x


Yes I agree, and especially if they are good with her, it makes sense :)
 
Hi

Just to update, my hubby spoke with the nurse and she said treating with panacur can be dangerous if it is not EC, could lower immune system and lead to death. They could do a separate blood test for EC.

Panacur
 
Hi

Just to update, my hubby spoke with the nurse and she said treating with panacur can be dangerous if it is not EC, could lower immune system and lead to death. They could do a separate blood test for EC.

Panacur


Taken from the MSD data sheet:

In a 66 rabbit trial, no clinical, biochemical or haematological abnormalities were seen at 3 times the recommended dose for 30 days. Panacur Rabbit has an excellent safety profile in rabbits

I am really surprised to hear this from the nurse, and if I were you I would be querying this with the vet.

My vet has prescribed double the dose of Panacur for 6 weeks instead of 28 days, and feels it is safe to do so x
 
Hi

Just to update, my hubby spoke with the nurse and she said treating with panacur can be dangerous if it is not EC, could lower immune system and lead to death. They could do a separate blood test for EC.

Panacur

Some Vets are of the opinion that use of Fenbendazole without a definitive diagnosis for EC is not appropriate for the reasons you mention. There is some evidence that Fenbendazole has a negative effect on bone marrow production. This in turn can cause immune system problems.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15131104

http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/?id=-449405

That said there are many Vets who consider that risk to be negligible and that it is better to cover EC in the treatment protocol.
 
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Hi

We will speak to the vet tomorrow and query again, also could get appointment brought forward and get a blood test done for EC.

Thanks again.

Pandora
 
Hi

We will speak to the vet tomorrow and query again, also could get appointment brought forward and get a blood test done for EC.

Thanks again.

Pandora

I know, it's so difficult to know what to do for the best. All you can do is run it by your vet. It depends on whether they think the good will outweigh any possible risk.

Good luck xx
 
Thanks Jane, will take a look at that info on EC. Spoke with the vet and he said with the symptoms my bunny presented he thinks it is an inner ear infection and will continue with antibiotics. He will do the blood test for EC if we want. She is showing some improvement, eating a little better, moving around a little but still a bit wobbly. Her leg seems to be less splayed and she can use it. She has had blood test for kidney and liver, which came back ok.

Pandora
 
Thanks Jane, will take a look at that info on EC. Spoke with the vet and he said with the symptoms my bunny presented he thinks it is an inner ear infection and will continue with antibiotics. He will do the blood test for EC if we want. She is showing some improvement, eating a little better, moving around a little but still a bit wobbly. Her leg seems to be less splayed and she can use it. She has had blood test for kidney and liver, which came back ok.

Pandora

Hopefully the improvement will continue with the ongoing antibiotic treatment :)
 
Thanks Jane, will take a look at that info on EC. Spoke with the vet and he said with the symptoms my bunny presented he thinks it is an inner ear infection and will continue with antibiotics. He will do the blood test for EC if we want. She is showing some improvement, eating a little better, moving around a little but still a bit wobbly. Her leg seems to be less splayed and she can use it. She has had blood test for kidney and liver, which came back ok.

Pandora


Of course it's essential that the antibiotics are continued in the case of suspected inner ear infection.

I am glad that she is improving a little and that the blood test came back good :)
 
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