Hi all,
Some of you may have seen my previous posts about Sparky.
He is nearly 13 years of age and is a nethie rex cross.
Back in 2016 he had head tilt caused by an ear infection; blood panel was taken and it was negative for EC. Ever since he recovered, his balance has been a little off and he's also developed cateracts in both eyes. It came to a head a few months back (November/December) when he rolled, panicked and couldn't right himself.
Vet check up showed it was another ear infection as well as some arthritic changes in left leg. He was prescribed with marcobyl (sp?) 0.58mi once a day and 0.5ml of metacam twice a day and has been having check ups every two weeks.
Since he's been on the medications he has improved and his mobility is a lot better than it has been over the last few years, which may be down to the metcam easing the arthritis.
Throughout everything he has carried on eating as normal (excel mature rabbit nuggets - approx 30g per day) plus endless amounts of hay as well as occasional amounts of kale.
When he went to the vet today they have said the ear infection has cleared up and to stop the marcobyl, the metacam should continue for his leg, specifically, his knee and they will review the dosage in a month when he will another check up.
What is of concern however, is that he has lost about 50g in weight over the course of the last month - he was 1.47 and is now 1.42. The vet has said to monitor this and to try and weigh him every week and if he continues to lose weight then they will need to do bloods /more investigations. They have also said to keep an eye on how much he is drinking so seems they may be thinking possibly a kidney disorder? It is a bit tricky to measure his water intake as he has bowl and he never finishes the whole thing in one day but we obviously tip away whatever he hasn't drunk and give him fresh water.
I'm just hoping that the weight loss may be because he is more mobile/moving around more because he's in less pain with his leg rather than anything more sinister. Just wondered if there is anything i could give him to ensure he maintains his current weight and maybe put a little more on?
Thanks.
Some of you may have seen my previous posts about Sparky.
He is nearly 13 years of age and is a nethie rex cross.
Back in 2016 he had head tilt caused by an ear infection; blood panel was taken and it was negative for EC. Ever since he recovered, his balance has been a little off and he's also developed cateracts in both eyes. It came to a head a few months back (November/December) when he rolled, panicked and couldn't right himself.
Vet check up showed it was another ear infection as well as some arthritic changes in left leg. He was prescribed with marcobyl (sp?) 0.58mi once a day and 0.5ml of metacam twice a day and has been having check ups every two weeks.
Since he's been on the medications he has improved and his mobility is a lot better than it has been over the last few years, which may be down to the metcam easing the arthritis.
Throughout everything he has carried on eating as normal (excel mature rabbit nuggets - approx 30g per day) plus endless amounts of hay as well as occasional amounts of kale.
When he went to the vet today they have said the ear infection has cleared up and to stop the marcobyl, the metacam should continue for his leg, specifically, his knee and they will review the dosage in a month when he will another check up.
What is of concern however, is that he has lost about 50g in weight over the course of the last month - he was 1.47 and is now 1.42. The vet has said to monitor this and to try and weigh him every week and if he continues to lose weight then they will need to do bloods /more investigations. They have also said to keep an eye on how much he is drinking so seems they may be thinking possibly a kidney disorder? It is a bit tricky to measure his water intake as he has bowl and he never finishes the whole thing in one day but we obviously tip away whatever he hasn't drunk and give him fresh water.
I'm just hoping that the weight loss may be because he is more mobile/moving around more because he's in less pain with his leg rather than anything more sinister. Just wondered if there is anything i could give him to ensure he maintains his current weight and maybe put a little more on?
Thanks.