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Please Note - Medical Advice
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For those of you who have had bunnies with poor kidney function
- Thread starter joey&boo
- Start date
Jack's-Jane
Wise Old Thumper
They all varied in their specific food preferences, but all prefered fresh/wet food over hay/pellets/dried forage.
Some would eat mashed up wet pellets. When Burgess brought out the Dual Care I found many Bunnies who previously turned their noses up at a 'pellet mash' would eat the Dual Care wet
https://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-supp...ary feed for,to aid recovery and recuperation.
All had a long acting anabolic steroid injection as part of their treatment and all were also on a drug called Benazepril, which is an ACE inhibitor that is used to treat heart failure and CRF.
The anabolic steroids not only increase the appetite but they also reduce the rate of muscle catabolism (muscle wastage) that occurs with CRF. It is muscle wastage that leads to the weight loss.
http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/?id=-473807
It can be used off licence for via the Veterinary prescribing cascade
https://www.bsava.com/Resources/Veterinary-resources/Medicines-Guide/Prescribing-cascade
If Bunny is anaemic then Erythropoietin can be added to the treatment regime, again off licence
https://www.macmillan.org.uk/inform...ents/supportive-therapies/erythropoietin.html
Maintaining weight in Rabbits with CRF was certainly less of an issue once treatment was initiated
With Rabbits in CRF dietary modification should also include moderating calcium intake ( I know you are already aware of this) and phosphate intake (no carrots, banana or tomatoes)
Not sure if you have tried Joey on these ?
https://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Vetcare...jHGKOFZSG9h9nbWwS_LRn5jDm0PEJyyhoC5I0QAvD_BwE
Last edited:
joey&boo
Wise Old Thumper
They all varied in their specific food preferences, but all prefered fresh/wet food over hay/pellets/dried forage.
Some would eat mashed up wet pellets. When Burgess brought out the Dual Care I found many Bunnies who previously turned their noses up at a 'pellet mash' would eat the Dual Care wet
https://www.vetuk.co.uk/rabbit-supp...ary feed for,to aid recovery and recuperation.
All had a long acting anabolic steroid injection as part of their treatment and all were also on a drug called Benazepril, which is an ACE inhibitor that is used to treat heart failure and CRF.
The anabolic steroids not only increase the appetite but they also reduce the rate of muscle catabolism (muscle wastage) that occurs with CRF. It is muscle wastage that leads to the weight loss.
http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/?id=-473807
It can be used off licence for via the Veterinary prescribing cascade
https://www.bsava.com/Resources/Veterinary-resources/Medicines-Guide/Prescribing-cascade
If Bunny is anaemic then Erythropoietin can be added to the treatment regime, again off licence
https://www.macmillan.org.uk/inform...ents/supportive-therapies/erythropoietin.html
Maintaining weight in Rabbits with CRF was certainly less of an issue once treatment was initiated
With Rabbits in CRF dietary modification should also include moderating calcium intake ( I know you are already aware of this) and phosphate intake (no carrots, banana or tomatoes)
Not sure if you have tried Joey on these ?
https://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Vetcare...jHGKOFZSG9h9nbWwS_LRn5jDm0PEJyyhoC5I0QAvD_BwE
Thanks JJ. I shall revisit this evening as forgot I have guests all day. I've not tried those (yet). Doughnut is v kindly sending him a sample of Dual Care. He had a steroid about 10 days ago (lauragoblin ?, I don't think it made much difference but who knows. Thanks again, I'll have a good look later.
Perhaps Rudey knows bananas & carrots are bad which is why he won't touch them. Impossible to do low calcium though xx
cpayne
Warren Veteran
I think it has actually helped Doughnut, but took a while to kick in. She is eating well now but only pellets unfortunately and is preferring them wet but I give her some dry too once she's eaten quite a bit! I've posted a handful out today so you should get them tomorrow
.When I saw my specialist he said about another injection but it's too soon, so I think she'll get another one in two weeks when I see him. It is hard to tell with all the medicines she's on, is she out of pain so eating more or was it the injection but she does seem to be starving sometimes so it's probably the injection playing a part. Why she won't eat hay when she's hungry is a mystery.
joey&boo
Wise Old Thumper
I think it has actually helped Doughnut, but took a while to kick in. She is eating well now but only pellets unfortunately and is preferring them wet but I give her some dry too once she's eaten quite a bit! I've posted a handful out today so you should get them tomorrow
When I saw my specialist he said about another injection but it's too soon, so I think she'll get another one in two weeks when I see him. It is hard to tell with all the medicines she's on, is she out of pain so eating more or was it the injection but she does seem to be starving sometimes so it's probably the injection playing a part. Why she won't eat hay when she's hungry is a mystery.
See Rudeys vet said he could potentially have another shot 7 days after the first & may need to increase the dose. There again vets will assess on what else is going on for bunny & other meds they are on. I don't think he looks flat any more - there never has been pain symptoms I've been aware of. He is just not eating enough. Some foods he eats (most) make me happy but he stops after a few mouthfuls. I keep getting paranoid that maybe he's gone dental too . I'm in 2 minds to whisk him back to crab lane but I did that last week with paranoia about sludge & stones. I'm also too scared to weigh him. So yeah, digestively he is a bit of a mess. I'm so grateful to you & Doughnut for sharing some pellets - thank you
joey&boo
Wise Old Thumper
I'll feed back for sure. Are they meant as a recovery food or daily pellet?
Did your specialist have any ideas about diet?
cpayne
Warren Veteran
It is as a recovery food as more expensive, although if you buy from VetsUK a few of them it doesn't work out that expensive. I said to my specialist I'm keeping her on them as they are high fibre and also she has digestion issues, slow gut mobility, so this helps since she's not eating hay. He said that was a good idea so you can keep him on them.
Not really as she is on a very basic diet due to her gut so I don't give her veg, she gets the occasional herbs, but he said it's best to keep it simple with her, just hay and pellets.
Rabbits, much like humans, suffer from renal failure. This causes them to produce less urine and is infrequently due to cases of dehydration. Acute renal failure may occur suddenly because of an accumulation of toxins in the kidney(s), or as a result of an electrolyte imbalance.
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