Urine problems and a injured hind limb

Question
I have a 3 1/2 year old mini lopp who about six monthes ago started to exhibit urination issues with not using a litter box after moving to a new residence and anytime you would pick her up she would urinate large amounts.  I took her in to the vet and he analyzed her urine and said it was less concentrated than what he would have liked to see it be.  She was on anti-biotics for 10 days and all pellets were removed from her diet.  Things seemed a little better for a period, but she never went back to using the litter box.  After a couple of monthes I took her back, since the urination problems were started to happen once again.  Once again put her on anti-biotics for 10 days again and saw her afterwards.  He said she showed signs of improvement in the concentration of her urine, but still not at the level he would to see it.  Also blood work was done and it didn't show signs of kidney failure.  He wanted to see how she would do without more meds so no more meds were prescribed at the time.  At that same visit I told him that she appeared to not be using her left rear foot and was sitting "side saddle" often with her right leg and foot out to the side.  He examined her and didn't think there was a broken bone, but perhaps just a pulled or strained muscle.  It has been a few weeks now, since that visit and I getting seriously concerned about her health, but wary of going back to the same vet.  I read one other letter that was written to you were the person mentioned leg shuffles and I was wondering if this is what my bunnie is going through?  I am at a loss as to what to do next for her.  Could kidney stones be the cause of all of this?  Can they be detected through x-rays?  Prior to moving she had zero problems.  

Additional information: She was "fixed" at about 6 monthes of age.  She also lives with her male companion who was neutered around the same age and who has had zero problems prior to and after the move.

I hope you can help


Answer
Dear Shawn,

If you're not satisfied that the vet you're seeing is a good judge of what's going on with your bunny, then I'd suggest you use the list linked here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

to find another rabbit vet for a second opinion.

If she has hind limb weakness *and* possible renal problems, then it might be wise to consider E. cuniculi as a possible culprit.  (I'm not the one who wrote about "leg shuffling" and I've never heard of that condition, so can't really tell you much about it.)  E. cuniculi is a parasite that infects the central nervous system and kidneys, and it can cause problems in both systems.  Please see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/paresis.html

Best results and recovery are seen with prompt treatment.  Most rabbit vets these days are using Panacur (fenbendazole) or oxibendazole to treat the problem; do NOT use albendazole, as its high toxicity has proven fatal to some rabbits.  Another option is ponazuril (Marquis, from Bayer), which was developed to treat a similar parasite in horses.  

Kidney stones or other urinary tract problem can cause the bunny to walk in an unsual way, too.  Please see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/urinary.html

and do ask the new vet about radiographs to see if there are calcifications in the kidneys and/or bladder that might be treatable.

I hope this helps get you started on the road to her recovery.

Dana