Arthritic Lop Rosie

Question
I have a 5 lb lop adopted from SPCA and have no idea how old she is. Her previous owners adopted her from same place and had her for 2 years. I have had her for 3 years. Recently she stopped moving around and chasing her mate. I picked her up, found urine scald and rushed her to the vet. After 10 days in the hospital and many tests (this vet is a personal friend and treats my animals free so cost is not the reason for all the tests) nothing showed up on blood work, cultures, x-rays, or exams. Her mate and my other 2 buns are in good health.
My friend called a rabbit specialist and sent them test results. Their diagnosis is arthritis. She has trouble staying up so she gets urine on her fur. It never dries and she gets scalded. She is now on metacam but eats almost nothing.I picked up some critical care at the  clinic to feed her, but vet friend not available this weekend to give dose. Oxbow closed. How much and how often do you recommend giving Rosie? I don't want to try many sugary things because she has always been a little overweight.


Answer
Dear Sheree,

I would not force too much down Rosie, but she could probably get about 20-30cc of well-hydrated Critical Care three times a day.

Please consider that she might have a urinary tract infection:

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

which is diagnosed via culture and sensitivity test of a clean sample of urine:

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

If the metacam isn't giving her enough pain relief, please ask about adding Tramadol (it can be given *with* metacam), which is a very good combination, and should help if there is pain from an infection.

For info on keeping her clean:

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

I hope this helps.

Dana