hairball

Question
My Rex rabbit of 2 1/2 years-old died last week after seeking a vet's help.  He had a hair ball. I took him to the vet and the vet thought he would be o.k. He needed to eat which was something I could not get him to do.  The vet gave my rabbit fluids(iv) and told me to give him fresh pineapple juice.  Withing 1 day, he died.  Was there any way I could of helped prevent this? I feel terrible about this happening and was wondering if maybe a different diet would have helped.  Please give me suggestions of any kind you know.  I still have another rabbit with me presently and want to give her the best care I can. My rabbits are in my home so I was able to monitor their litter box to see if they were going to the bathroom.

Answer
Hi Barbie,

very sorry to hear about your little rex guy.

Personally, your vet sounds like he didn't do much to examine him.  He should have done an xray to confirm a blockage.  It would show up on an xray as a darker area (more dense).  If he didn't do that, given that he knew your rabbit didn't want to eat and output had slowed way down or stopped, he's a moron.  Don't care if that sounds harsh or not.

Pineapple juice can help, but you can't give that to him if there is no output (ie nothing getting through).  It is not a miracle cure that can make a large blockage disappear.  It is more of a preventative than a full-blown medicine that can just wipe it out.

The only thing you could have done at this point, was to go to another vet, one that was a good rabbit vet.  The hairball would have had to have been removed by surgery.  Depending how weak he was at that point, he may or may not have pulled through the surgery.  Probably could have given his young age.

You can do things to prevent hair blockages.  Petromalt is a great preventative.  It is malt-flavored petroleum jelly.  A decent little dab on your finger or a piece of lettuce or hay cube a day is good.

Papaya tablets from Oxbow are really good.  Has an enzyme that breaks down hair/fur protein.  

Hay.  Unlimited hay anytime they want it.  Hay fiber pushes fur through the gi tract.

And find a new rabbit vet.  If you need to find a good one start here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society recommended vet near you.

Again, I'm sorry about your little guy passing.  I am sure he knew how much you loved and cared for him and you were doing everything you could for him.

Lee