rabbit sick

Question
Our rabbit has not eaten since Tuesday morning. She seemed to be listless on Tuesday and wouldn't eat or drink. She also has not pooped. We are pretty sure that something is bothering her stomach. We gave her an enema with mineral oil and water and tried simethicone orally. She is drinking now and peeing a little bit. She also seems to have a hard time breating-she is taking quick short breaths. She also has been exposed to cedar bedding but is no longer using that bedding. I heard that it is good to put pellets in warm water and then feed through a syringe. My husband won't take her to a vet so I don't know what else to do. Any advice? Thanks

Answer
Hi Jill,

This is an emergency situation.  I urge you to use whatever means necessary to convince your husband to get this rabbit to a vet immediately.  It sounds as if your rabbit is in GI stasis.  This is when something causes the digestive system to slow down....or stop altogether which is a life threatening condition known as ileus.  Stasis is always a secondary symptom....ususally improper diet but it can be caused by just about anything.  We see this a lot in rabbit that don't get umlimited amounts of hay.

DO NOT GIVE AN ENEMA!!!  This is a rabbit....not a dog, cat or human.  The dynamics in the gut are totally different.  And the intestinal walls in a rabbit are very thin and can easily be perforated...which will result in death.  Simethicone is an excellent drug for gas pains....but it can also have a constipating effect so it should not be used in cases of stasis/ileus.

At this point, I suspect the last thing she needs is food.  Most rabbits with this condition are very dehydrated.  Rehydrating is essential to have any chance of getting her gut moving again.  Sub-q or IV infusions would be best but it is possible to rehydrate orally.  I would suggest using something like unflavored Pedialyte (stuff for human babies).  There is some evidence that fresh pineapple juice (not the canned or bottled stuff....hand squeeze the juice from a real pineapple) helps...I have used it many times in stasis cases.  Forcing food will only make matters worse.  The gut can't digest food if it's dehydrated so that starts to make her bloat and make things much worse as the pressure builds.

Failure to quickly address this condition usually results in death.  As the gut continues to slow and stop, the beneficial bacteria that digests the food starts to die off.  Not only is the decaying bacteria toxic, it allows harmful bacteria...primarily clostridium or e coli....to grow and that too is toxic.  As the pH changes radically inside the digestive tract, gastric ulcers may form and they can easily rupture and the results are not good.  The quick short breaths are an ominous sign....this rabbit is in danger and needs a highly skilled rabbit vets immediately.

Based on my years of experience and your comments about her current condition....the time window on helping this rabbit is closing quickly and you may be near, or already past, the point of no return.  Again, this is a life threatening situation and the help of a highly skilled rabbit vet should be sought immediately.