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Bunny heart :(

christina83

christina83

Warren Scout
Hi, I’m writing this heartbroken.
My bunny Sweep who is going to be 10 in June has suspected heart failure.
For about two months he’s been behaving like he has GI Statis and we’ve done all the usual things to get him back on track, but the one thing that bothered us was his rapid breathing when he had it. We put it down to pain.
As his breathing isn’t always rapid and he has really good days we thought it couldn’t be his heart. This morning our vet checked his heart and she said it beats normally, then sort of disappears. I’m completely heartbroken :( he’s always been such a good, handsome boy.
She objected him with a diuretic called dimazon, she said to see if there’s any improvement in an hour, there’s been a bit, but not much.

I just wondered if anyone knew anything about bunny heart failure? I’ve had house bunnies for 27 years, but never come across this before.

Best wishes.
 
I'm so sorry to read this, I've no experience of having a bunny with heart failure, but I'm sure others on here will, and will be able to share with you. Sending lots of stay well vibes for your bunny xxxx
 
christina83 said:
Hi, I’m writing this heartbroken.
My bunny Sweep who is going to be 10 in June has suspected heart failure.
For about two months he’s been behaving like he has GI Statis and we’ve done all the usual things to get him back on track, but the one thing that bothered us was his rapid breathing when he had it. We put it down to pain.
As his breathing isn’t always rapid and he has really good days we thought it couldn’t be his heart. This morning our vet checked his heart and she said it beats normally, then sort of disappears. I’m completely heartbroken :( he’s always been such a good, handsome boy.
She objected him with a diuretic called dimazon, she said to see if there’s any improvement in an hour, there’s been a bit, but not much.

I just wondered if anyone knew anything about bunny heart failure? I’ve had house bunnies for 27 years, but never come across this before.

Best wishes.
Click to expand...

I am sorry to hear that Sweep has been diagnosed with Congestive Heart failure. I have had numerous Rabbits with Heart problems over the years. Depending on the specific problem with the heart there are some medications which can help reduce the symptoms and buy the Rabbit more time. Although of course the condition cannot be cured. These links may provide you with some useful information

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Cardiology/Failure/congestive.htm

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Cardiology/Failure/Cong_heart_en.pdf

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/CongestiveHeartFailureRabbit.htm

I have access to some further information, but I cannot post it on a Public Forum as it is Copyright protected. I could email it to you as a pdf file if you would like to read it. The information comes from an Exotics Veterinary Educational Source.
 
I don’t have any experience of this so I can’t advise, but I’m sending lots of vibes and hugs xx
 
I don’t have any experience of this but I wanted send loads of vibes and gentle hugs for you. I hope you find some treatment that helps alleviate Sweep’s symptoms. xx
 
I’m so sorry to hear your bum is poorly. I’m not familiar with this condition, but sending gentle nose rubs for Sweep xx
 
Sending Sweep lots of vibes. I hope that the vet can find some medication which will help.
 
Hi everyone, sorry for the late reply. We had to see how he did with the injection this morning, then travel back to the vets to pick up tablets. I didn’t sleep last night and today has just been lots of crying.
He’s a bit better tonight :) he’s started eating his pellets, kale and neatly had my finger off when taking a papaya treat :) he even flung his toy at me.

I’m not sure how I feel about the vets diagnosis. She only listened to his heart with a stethoscope, I read bloods are usually taken.
His jaw sometimes clicks when he eat, and I sometimes wonder if that could cause anything? I don’t know. She didn’t check his back teeth. Maybe I’m in denial or something. He was humping his brother the other day (they’re both neutered). I’m just trying to work it all out.
He does get hard, tiny poops and then goes into his weird breathing episode, I always thought it was just gi statis. He always came right a day or two later, and he was back his his active self.

Sorry, I’m waffling on. I just always thought if it was his heart he wouldn’t have good and bad days like he’s having?

Thank you to everyone that’s replied, and the links were really helpful :)
 
christina83 said:
Hi everyone, sorry for the late reply. We had to see how he did with the injection this morning, then travel back to the vets to pick up tablets. I didn’t sleep last night and today has just been lots of crying.
He’s a bit better tonight :) he’s started eating his pellets, kale and neatly had my finger off when taking a papaya treat :) he even flung his toy at me.

I’m not sure how I feel about the vets diagnosis. She only listened to his heart with a stethoscope, I read bloods are usually taken.
His jaw sometimes clicks when he eat, and I sometimes wonder if that could cause anything? I don’t know. She didn’t check his back teeth. Maybe I’m in denial or something. He was humping his brother the other day (they’re both neutered). I’m just trying to work it all out.
He does get hard, tiny poops and then goes into his weird breathing episode, I always thought it was just gi statis. He always came right a day or two later, and he was back his his active self.

Sorry, I’m waffling on. I just always thought if it was his heart he wouldn’t have good and bad days like he’s having?

Thank you to everyone that’s replied, and the links were really helpful :)
Click to expand...

In the early stages of Heart failure it can be that Bunny has good and bad days. Episodes of gut stasis are also a common occurrence. A secondary symptom as opposed to a primary illness.

Could you discuss the option of further diagnostics with your Vet. Or if your Vet is not very Rabbit Savvy you could seek a second opinion from another Vet ?

There is some information about the location of Rabbit Savvy Vets here :

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/

If Sweep does have Heart Failure then he will need ongoing medication to support his heart function for as long as possible and to keep him comfortable. Sending lots of vibes for him xx
 
I know firsthand that lack of sleep and worry can make a bunny parent question everything. From you latest post it sounds like he had a good day and that is good news for a stasis bunny, regardless of the underlying cause.
Vets can vary widely on how much testing to do before making a diagnosis. Your vet should be able to answer why addition tests were not necessary.

Sending you and your bunny some positive vibes.
 
Hi thank you, I just hoped she was wrong. I wanted it to be some sort of gut statis that made him panic or something, at least it could have been fixed.
He’s on furosemide tablets now, one every 12hours. We have to take him back on Tuesday. He seems quieter today, he’s just relaxing, but eating quite a lot. His poops are still small though. His brother (Patch) is being a good boy, he’s kissing his face a lot :)

Thank you for all the links, they’ve been helpful. I just hope I can have him a little while longer, it’s his 10th birthday in June. I always wanted them to reach the ages of 10-12.


Thank you to everyone for the well wishes too, it means so much :) x
 
Patch and Sweep have suddenly decided to hump and chase each other now. I can’t really separate them as they’ve been bonded since birth. Not sure why they’ve started to do this.
 
christina83 said:
Patch and Sweep have suddenly decided to hump and chase each other now. I can’t really separate them as they’ve been bonded since birth. Not sure why they’ve started to do this.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry :( This must be upsetting to watch. I would guess that Patch can sense that Sweep is unwell and this has caused the dynamics to change between them. I hope it settles down.
 
Thank you, that’s what I thought at first, but Sweep is the one going after Patch :/ He was doing it the other day too. They’re going to end up giving me a heart attack I think lol.
 
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