Suspected Pnemonia

Question
Hello,
My rabbit is a mini lop named Maxine. She started breathing heavy and has lost about a pound in weight. I took her to my vet and she thought a bacteria had caused pnemonia. I'm giving her batril and metacam. I personally have ashtma and use an albuterol nebulizer. Could I use that on Max and give her some relief with breathing? I just started the antibiotics yesterday so hopefully that is going to help but in the meantime I hate to see her struggling. I don't want to hurt her though and didn't know what albuterol would do to a little rabbit.
thanks! Dan

Answer
Dear Dan,

I would not use the albuterol on the bunny without your vet's advice.  But you *can* get her on a nebulizer that will help her breathing.  Ask your vet about this.  If you have a nebulizer for yourself, you can rig up a mask for her, too.  Our vets use a combination in the nebulizer chamber of:

Sterile saline (10ml, the carrier)
2.0cc amikacin (50mg/ml; antibiotic)
1.0cc aminophyllin (to open the airways)
0.3cc acetylcysteine ("Mucomyst"; loosens mucus)

and we nebulize for about 10 minutes, several times a day.   This can make a HUGE difference.

Note also that heavy breathing can be caused by a thymoma (more common than you'd think in rabbits), a growth/cancer of the thymus.  When it gets big enough, it can impinge on the lungs and cause difficulty breathing. So if the antibiotics are not helping, this is something to consider.

I hope she will be fine soon.

Dana