Rabbit Stroke

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
On Tuesday morning, i woke up to find a letter from my parents (who had gone to work) to say that our rabbit (kitty) wasn't feeling too well.
I waited in all day for my mum to come home from work so we could go to the vets. While spending time with kitty and internet research(a lot on this site) i seemed to think that she had head tilt and darting eyes. We took kitty to the vets and she thought that kitty had an inner ear infection and has given us some antibiotics.

Since then i have noticed that kitty is dribbling out of one side of her mouth, can't blink on eye, can't move an ear and looses balance all on the same side. I am worried that she may have had a stroke.
Today she is really bad. While we were feeding kitty her antibiotics (through a syringe with a towel over her head just like when we cut her nails) we fed her water and home made smoothie (her favourite) because she will not eat. Her balance is really off and she can roll around on the floor trying to get balance until we calm her down. She wasn't that bad yesterday. It's the most distressing thing i've ever seen.

She was fine one night and the next morning she turned out to be bad.
Is there any chance that rabbits can recover (obviously not completely) from a stroke and get some balance back and be able to eat, drink and clean themselves?

Thanks in advance
Jon

ANSWER: Hi Jon,

Your description certainly sounds like a vestibular infection.  The ears are very suspect to infections in the middle and/or inner.  It is technically called torticollis..and is also known as wry neck or head tilt.  The darting eyes is known as nystagmus.  Since a rabbit can't see directly in front, the scanning is an effort to establish a point of reference.  Something that really concerns me is the drooling.  While that can be a symptom of pain from an ear infection....it also leads me to be concerned that the ear infection might be secondary to another issue...possibly an abscess in the jaw.  

Did your vet culture any debris in the ear?  What antibiotic is being administered?  Was any x-rays performed on her skull?  Pain meds are crucial.

The spinning (vertigo) is the same feeling we get with sea sickness...and you treat it the same.  Some rabbits will respond favorably to meclizine...it's the active ingredient in the motion sickness drugs.  We have had some success by feeding small portions of real ginger snaps...the cookies.  Not the fake one....real ginger seems to help with motion sickness.  Ask your vet about this.

Rabbits do not technically have strokes.  While it is possible to have what we call a "vascular accident"..that usually results in more traumatic neurological deficiencies than what you have.  It is also possible that your bun has a condition known as E Cuniculi.  It is a protozoan infection that can infect the brain.  Contrary to popular belief, this protozoa does not directly cause the tilt...it compromises the immune system to allow a bacterial infection to grow. In the many cases of tilt we have seen here....only one was not caused by a bacterial infection.  That one was a wild cottontail with a massive head injury.

Is recovery possible?  Very much so.  With every case that has started here, we have been able to correct it.  We do have two buns that came from other facilities that don't look like they will correct since they were improperly treated at the onset.  The key to overcoming this is to attack aggressively as soon as possible.  I am not a vet but from my perspective and experience, most vets do not treat aggressively enough due to the reputation of rabbits and antibioitics.  I use many drugs now that were considered "off limits" to rabbits just a short time ago.  

Let me know what the antibiotics are, her weight and what you are feeding her and providing to her as far as any other care.  Treating this might be long term....we have treated for as long as 8 months at a stretch...but recovery is possible.  I'll be looking for your response.

Randy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Randy,
Thanks for the reply.
The darting eyes have stopped now, or at least they're no longer noticeable. The head tilt has also disappeared, its only slightly noticeable when she is sitting down.

No debris was cultured from the ear, we were given '40x bay'. We have been told to give her this for 3 weeks, but if she does not improve, take her back in 1 week. I think we might be taking her back to have another check. No x-rays were performed and she does not appear to be in any pain. She is still purring lots (maybe even more than before) when we clean her. It's purring and not teeth grinding.

It seems that her only problem is her head at the moment. If she looks up at something, her left side of her head will suddenly drop to the floor. I think the reason for the drooling is that the whole left side of her face is numb. Her ear won't move and it looks like her mouth is a little numb there too.
She is a one and a half year old dwarf lop. On Tuesday she was 3.02kg. We will get this checked again when we next go to the vets. I managed to get her to eat lots last night. The reason she wasn't wanting to eat anything i was giving her is because it was all hard food. I'm now picking out soft and limp cabbage leaves and she can't get enough of them! We are also feeding her toast soaked in water and different things mashed up (including her usual pellets dissolved in warm water). She is drinking lots of water mostly from a syringe.

Thanks again
Jon


Answer
Hi Jon,

Don't mean to be a black cloud here.  Your news is great.  But don't let your guard down.  Infections, particularly ear infections, in rabbits don't tend to surrender that easy.

You mentioned a couple of things that scare me.  Cabbage usually causes gas in many rabbits.  Be very cautious.  Much better choices are romanine lettuce or dandelion greens..but don't overdo it.  And toast is a huge no-no.  It can easily upset a gut.  Like many other things, a little won't do any harm but I would not be giving her bread.  Try some alfalfa hay instead....introduced slowly over a period of a couple of days.  Alfalfa has a lot of energy and calories.  And I think you have a mini-lop rather than a dwarf.  Minis weigh in about 6.5 pounds...almost the exact weight of your bunny.  I suspect the drug you are using is Baytril.  If so, this drug is much more effective when injected sub-q...if you have the desire to do it that way.  And it tastes nasty even when it is flavored.  Keep me posted....and don't let your guard down.  These things have a way of rebounding on you...keep up the treatments and maybe even more than 3 weeks.

Randy