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QUESTION: I have a 4 1/2 year old dwarf male lop rabbit.  Two weeks ago he had an absess just under the flap of his ear debreeded.  It did not drain well because of the thickness of the puss.  He is on penicillin shots every other day and enroflaxcin twice daily.  He is being fed the Oxbow formula 3-4 times a day.  His vet said he has/had pasturella.  His nose was runny and his eyes were crusty.  After two weeks on the meds his nose and eyes are clear and the abscess is all but gone.  My or rather his problem is eating.  Aside from the formula and a small amount of vegetables and maybe 15 cheerios.  I cant get him to eat his hay or his pellets.  I have been to two different vets.  the first one told me he was incurrable and to put him down.  The second told me that he may need to be on the meds for 6 months or so and after that if no better to face reality.  To clarify I give him cheerios to try to get any calories at all in him and he does eat some of them.

I am at a loss.  I am at work 9 hours a day away from the house and so I give him the formula at 7 am and then not again until 5:30 pm and again at 10 pm.  How long can he live like this.  Is it over and I just am not facing it.  I dont know what else to do.  Also he had some points on his teeth filed two weeks ago as well and i am not sure how long something like that bothers him.

do you have any ideas or suggestions.?

Thank you

shelly

ANSWER: Dear Shelly,

Please don't take the advice of any vet who tells you to euthanize him for not eating.  It could be that the pain of the abscess and the stress of the constant medication are eliciting some degree of GI tract slowdown, which can cause inappetence:

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

It's also *very* likely that he may have more molar problems than were already treated.  Inappetence is very often linked to molar problems, and I'd suggest that you find a very experienced rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

who can take a look deep into the mouth to check for any spurs that might be causing pain and problems.  Head radiographs will reveal whether there is any bone involvement in the ear abscess, which could cause pain for him while he chews.

If your vets have not already prescribed pain management, then they are missing a *vital* part of any rabbit abscess treatment protocol.  Please ask about giving your bunny a combination of metacam and tramadol, which work together to provide *fantastic* pain relief.  That alone might help your little guy enough to get him eating on his own again.

I hope this helps.

Dana

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

QUESTION: Dana,

Thank you for the advice.  I will ask about pain management on his next appointment on 5/29.  His vet is on the recommended list of vets in the upstate NY area.  I will ask her to check again on his teeth.  After his abscess drain procedure and teeth procedure I asked if he was in pain and she said "he doesn't look like a bunny in pain to me" so we went home without any pain meds.  He does take the oxbow formula fairly well.  He gets tired of me putting the syringe in his mouth though.  He does eat "very " sporadicially of cold cereal and some fruit and greens.  He drinks allot.  His vet told me to put pedialite in his water.  He drinks frequently throughout the day.  I thought at first that I was feeding him too much formula and maybe he just was not hungry.  I tried today to cut back on the formula to try to force him to eat his own food.  

I will follow your advice though next tuesday when he sees his vet again and ask about his teeth and pain meds.  Come to think of it he does still grind his teeth when we have cuddle time every night.  but his dr. said when she put him under she filed a few points down in the way back.  

i will try anything at this point to get him to "come alive" again.  He is my buddy.  by the way his name is Jack Rabbit McNamara

thank you

shelly
ANSWER: Dear Shelly,

I'm glad you have a good vet for Jack Mac!  :)

Yes, those molar spurs can recur, and cause problems when you least expect them.  I'd certainly have that checked.  

His tooth grinding when you cuddle could be tooth purring, though, if it's just a gentle little "chirring" noise.  Tooth grinding from pain is usually a loud, non-rhythmic CRUNCHING sound that's not nice to hear.

I hope the problem is nothing more than some cryptic spurs, and that your pal will be back to his old self soon.

Dana

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

QUESTION: Dana,

Ok, Jackie Mack went back to his vet today.  She checked all his teeth again and said she saw no points, no abscesses, nothing that could explain him not eating.  He did grind his teeth when she put the scope in his mouth though.  

He is at 1.49 grams.  I know its not allot.  She said he was very thin.  I have been giving him the oxbow formula but now he is even fighting taking that.  He does *nibble* a small amount on some food.  He drinks fine and eats greens.  

His vet said his blood work was normal.  She can only surmise that his pasturella is so bad its effecting his GI tract and how he absorbs nutrition that he eats.  I told her I dont know how else to get him to eat except to try to cut back on the force food and let him get hungry enough to eat.  

She said to try it for a few days going to once or twice a day and see if he takes it.

She said he isn't suffering at this point but his quality of life isnt what it was and she doesn't know how else to treat him unless I choose to feed him 5-6 times a day for the rest of his life.  She said if I dont see a turn around by monday she things I have done everything I can and I may want to put him to sleep.  

have I done everything I can???  Should I try another vet.  thats two vets now who said I have done all they think I can.  How else can I get him to eat.  I asked her if its scary or painful for them to be put down and she said she lets him fall asleep first like when he went in for surgery and then gives him the shot.

I dont know what to do.  My heart is breaking and I feel like I let little man down.

through tears.


shelly

Answer
Dear Shelly,

Without seeing Jackie and knowing just what's going on, it's really hard for me to guess what might be a reasonable next step.  If you have seen vets on the HRS list, then that's definitely a good thing.  But have you considered contacting Mary Cotter, the head of the New York chapter of the House Rabbit Society to see which of the NY vets *she* would recommend?  She is *really* experienced with them, and might have some good suggestions.

I don't want to publish her email address here on a public forum, but if you write to me at dana@miami.edu I'll send you her email address.

How is Jackie's GI motility?  Are his poops normal?  It's really weird that it sounds as if *something* is causing him discomfort, but nothing seems to show up on exam.  Head radiographs?  It's just so hard to know when a case is this mysterious.  But I'm betting Mary will be able to say whether the NY vet(s) you've already seen are at the "top" of her list, or whether she would suggest you see another one.

I hope that will help.

Dana