very sick bunny

Helloo,

Molly went into surgery on friday to have his abscess removed from behind his ear. He now has a huge gaping hole at the side of his head. The vet told me to flush out the pus.. but yesterday I did it twice and nothing came out so now I am wondering if Iv done it wrong. I poured warm water into the hole, then saline solution then washed it off with some more warm water.

Is it me being really thick but what does pus actually look like? I can't tell if there is pus in the hole or his insides.. (sorry to be gross). He is not eating that much (a few pellets here or there) but I spose that is from the wound and the stress of everything.

Any help would be appreciated but I am afraid its not looking good for my bunny

xxx

I'm sorry Molly isn't well still. I have no experience with sick bunnies but I'm sure someone will be along soon who does

Sending vibes and noserubs to Molly xx

Hello

Rabbit pus is thick and looks a bit like cream cheese. If there is none coming out of the cavity that may be a good sign indicating there is no residual pockets of infection. Keep on with the flushing though.

Has Molly got DAILY pain relief? This is important as a Bun in pain wont eat and their guts stop working. So if Molly does not have pain relief you need to obtain some from your Vet TODAY.

Is Molly on any systemic antibiotics?

This link gives some info re managing abscesses

*WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTOS*

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/abscess_management.PDF

Janex

Thanks Jane for the info,

I am taking him to the vets now, he is only on baytril? is this not enough? vets really make me angry because mine seemed to think Molly was a bit of a lost cause.

suzy_d said:

Thanks Jane for the info,

I am taking him to the vets now, he is only on baytril? is this not enough? vets really make me angry because mine seemed to think Molly was a bit of a lost cause.

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Hopefully the Vet will be able to confirm whether or not there is any more pus forming. I am sure some pain relief will make Molly feel more comfy and therefore more inclined to eat.

Your Vet may feel he/she can only prescribe an antibiotic licenced for Rabbits in the first instance (ie Baytril) Some Vets are reluctant to prescribe off-licence when it comes o Bunnies.
Other options include Depocillin which MUST be given by injection. You would need to discuss this with the Vet.
Did the Vet take a swab from the abscess to identify the exact bacteria involved and therefore making it possible to ensure a suitable antibiotic is prescribed?

Janex

Just come back from the vets. There is no pus from the wound and there wasn't any yesterday so the vet was pleased about that. He said the surgery should have removed it all so it is a bad sign if there is pus. I just have to wash it to keep it clean.

He prescribed some metacam which iv just put on his veg. A very very small drop though. We have to go for a post check on tues. He said if it reoccurs in the same place its gonna be difficult to remove again because of its position. He referred to it as a 'bit like cancer' which upset me loads.

xxx

suzy_d said:

Just come back from the vets. There is no pus from the wound and there wasn't any yesterday so the vet was pleased about that. He said the surgery should have removed it all so it is a bad sign if there is pus. I just have to wash it to keep it clean.

He prescribed some metacam which iv just put on his veg. A very very small drop though. We have to go for a post check on tues. He said if it reoccurs in the same place its gonna be difficult to remove again because of its position. He referred to it as a 'bit like cancer' which upset me loads.

xxx

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Try not to worry what MIGHT happen. If the entire abscess capsule was excised then hopefully a recurrence is less likely. I would just try to ensure that Molly keeps eating as keeping his guts going is also important.
The Vet could have used a more tactful analogy..... :?

Janex

Hope you start to see some improvement soon.

Incidentally, my vet said the other day that some new dosages for metacam have just been released, which are much higher than previously. :?

yes..the old vets who were waiting for bif to stop eating over a week or two to put her down also said the amount in a bunher size is 5 drops!

changed vets and my aby is here still and recovering wonderfull and seems to be so much ahppier i wont say fuly recovered as we still have squishy poo overload no matter what but thats stress related petra said and shes still a nervy little bun...but at least there are piles of healthy poos to go with it!
years ago i seem to remeber kibbles having four drops on her fave treats too and that was a while back!

i do hope the area remains clear..its awful how some vets are so insensitive and write bunnies off as they do not have any experience in nursing bunnies..
thats whay if you have a vet who keeps rabbits it makes life easier!

I think there have been some threads about manuka honey for abcesses, but I dont know enough about it to say more than that. Hopefully someone else might be able to help.

I just wanted to say keep your chin up, my bun had 4 abscess lanced and flushed on Thursday and two of them were just under his ears, but he's recovering well as at one point I didn't think he would make it. No matter how bad they are bunnies are such resilient things, your doing everything right by Molly.
Sadly abscess do come back eventually due to their teeth so keep the wound open for as long as you can cleaning it, a good antibiotic can do wonders! I started injecting my bunny Piggy with Norocillin back in November and hers has not come back!
Talk to your vet about any concerns you have (I would however recomend changing your vet!)

Cheers
Sal x

loulouembers said:

I think there have been some threads about manuka honey for abcesses, but I dont know enough about it to say more than that. Hopefully someone else might be able to help.

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Manuka honey (very expensive, but available from health food shops) is renowned for it's anti-bacterial healing properties. It has been used by many with success, but should be used with vet treatment and not instead of. Is is often used on buns with abscesses in their mouths. You simply coat the abscess with the honey - using a cotton bud or similar. However I do believe that this is mainly used before any removal of the area. Or in cases where the abscess cannot be removed

Cheers for the advice guys

Molly has been eating all day fresh veg but not his pellets (which he usually scoffs!) but least he is eating something. He also was doing binkys earlier which is impressive considering he had agressive surgery only a day ago.

Washing his wound 3 times a day with saline solution, it looks clean and no pus so far. I am not getting my hopes up or anything though because I know the reoccurance rate for these things are high. I had no idea how common it is for rabbits to get them

I just have to keep doing the best I can and hope my iccle bunny rabbit can get through it xxxx

suzy_d said:

Cheers for the advice guys

Molly has been eating all day fresh veg but not his pellets (which he usually scoffs!) but least he is eating something. He also was doing binkys earlier which is impressive considering he had agressive surgery only a day ago.

Washing his wound 3 times a day with saline solution, it looks clean and no pus so far. I am not getting my hopes up or anything though because I know the reoccurance rate for these things are high. I had no idea how common it is for rabbits to get them

I just have to keep doing the best I can and hope my iccle bunny rabbit can get through it xxxx

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Well a Binky tells me Molly is really benefitting from all your care

Janex

depocillin injections for abscess

Just wanted to post a message of support and inspiration for anyone out there who's looking after after a rabbit with an abscess
My rabbit was diagnosed with one a year ago and after a few fruitless weeks on Bayatrill my amazing vet mangaged to convince the practice to allow him to be given depocillin injections. This was the only option for me as he was such an active outgoing rabbit I didn't feel surgery to remove the abscess would ultimately help his quality of life (he's also had on going teeth problems for 2 years) and as he was acting so well I didn't want him to loose this.
Anyway he was on injections every other day for about 6 weeks then 3x a week for about a month then 1 a week for 3 weeks. The abscess went and a year on he's still fighting fit!!. The only issues I had were learning to give the injections (not that hard) and the vet was initially given me pre drawn up injections and the depocillin seems to harden after a while, I found it easier to keep the bottle at home and give straight from that
Basically I just want to tell people not to give up and if you have too fight with your vet to get the right treatment for your rabbit. I'm so lucky without my fab vet my lovely bunny wouldn't be here today