Bunny is sick with pneumonia

[rc1986]

Hello! I am new here. Someone recommended this site to me. Sorry this is a long story, but I am just at my wit’s end.

 I have 2 house bunnies, 9 years and 7 1/2 years. The older one has had chronic snuffles for a few years. It doesn’t seem to bother her at all. She sneezes occasionally, but every vet who has looked at her has said she is perfectly healthy. However, the younger one came down with snuffles a few weeks ago, and went downhill very quickly. (She had a very poor start in life and was away from her mother too soon, so maybe her immune system isn’t the best.) The first thing I noticed was that she stopped eating hay, and she was always a HUGE hay eater. She also hadn’t eaten her cecals. So I looked her over and noticed discharge from her nose. She was diagnosed with snuffles and put on Baytril twice daily. She also had some gas in her tummy that showed on x-rays, so that plus the not eating hay made the vet concerned about gut stasis. I had to give her fluids 4 times a day, buprenorphine injections 4 times a day, syringe feed critical care 4 times a day, and the first day I had to give her simethicone.

 She seemed to be getting better with the snuffles. She wasn’t sneezing anymore and her nasal discharge cleared up. She took her meds well but HATED being syringe fed the critical care. She would refuse to swallow and just hold it in her mouth until it started to dribble out. Then when I removed the syringe, she would spit it all out! I tried all sorts of tricks to get her to take it and none of them worked. In desperation, I mixed the critical care powder with some oats and a little apple sauce and baked them into cookies. She LOVES these and will eat them right up. She still will not eat hay, however. The vet is stumped. He carefully checked her mouth and teeth and found no problems. She will eat her bunny cookies, fresh greens, vegetables, and some pellets if I hand feed them to her. She acts like she is completely ravenous when I hand her some food, but if I put the food on the ground in front of her, sometimes it’s like she doesn’t even notice it. I have ordered some different kinds of hay from binky bunny to see if she’ll eat something different. I did try giving her fresh grass, and she was not interested.

She’s been having loose poops off and on. The vet says the loose poops aren’t great, but the fact that she’s pooping at all is good, so he’s not terribly concerned about GI stasis now. Today, he told us to wean her off the fluids and pain meds and see how she does. I told him I couldn’t get her to take the liquid critical care, but she will eat it when baked into cookies, and he seemed to think that was okay. Just as long as she’s eating something.

 I was hopeful that she was getting better because the sneezing and runny nose were better, but then she started sneezing again. This morning when I went in to give her her medicine, I could hear how terribly congested she was. We had a vet appt today anyway for a recheck, so we took her. The vet listened to her lungs and said she has crackles in her right lung, and her airway sounds inflamed. He said it’s the start of pneumonia. He said to keep her on the baytril, that maybe it just needs a little longer to kick in, and that if she gets worse we should call him right away.

She is just so miserable with her congestion. I don’t know if that is affecting her appetite. I know when I have a bad cold and my nose is all stuffed up, sometimes I don’t want to eat. I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to help her? I have been wiping her nose with a damp cloth to get some of the boogies off. Would something like a vaporizer help her? I have some eucalyptus room mist that I use when I am sick, but I don’t know if that’s okay for bunnies?

Also, any tips on getting her to eat more? Syringe feeding is out. I just feel so bad for her. And I’m very worried. The vet didn’t sound very optimistic. I just want to do everything possible to help my bunny.

 Thank you so much for reading. I’m sorry this was so long!

[Sarita]

Oh, wow! I’m so sorry your bun is sick.

You could certainly do a vaporizer, I think that would be helpful.

I would ask your vet to do a culture however to determine what bacteria is causing her upper respiratory infection. Perhaps the Baytril is not the answer – it is a pretty overused medication for rabbits and certainly not the only medication for rabbits.

Also this age, rabbits do start getting dental problems – has the vet checked her teeth?  Just wonder if he could be overlooking something as far as her not eating.

 What about bloodwork – has he done any bloodwork?

[bullrider76543]

I am soooo sorry, We are sending healing vibes your way.

[rc1986]

Posted By Sarita on 07/05/2012 05:39 PM

Oh, wow! I’m so sorry your bun is sick.

You could certainly do a vaporizer, I think that would be helpful.

I would ask your vet to do a culture however to determine what bacteria is causing her upper respiratory infection. Perhaps the Baytril is not the answer – it is a pretty overused medication for rabbits and certainly not the only medication for rabbits.

Also this age, rabbits do start getting dental problems – has the vet checked her teeth?  Just wonder if he could be overlooking something as far as her not eating.

 What about bloodwork – has he done any bloodwork?

Hi. Yes, actually three different vets have checked her teeth! When she first got sick, the exotics vet I use was on vacation, so I went to two different vets but neither one knew enough about bunnies to help. They did do an exam and check her teeth, though. Thankfully the exotics vet came back, and he checked her teeth with a scope too. He is very experienced with bunnies, deals solely with exotic pets and also is a wildlife rehabilitator. He said he was very surprised that her teeth and mouth were fine, because 99% of the time when a rabbit isn’t eating hay it is a tooth problem. I guess my bunny is just special. He did not do a culture; I’m not sure why not. He did say that if my bunny isn’t better by the next recheck (in 2 weeks), he will try “more aggressive” treatment.

 A full blood profile was done about a week ago. It showed an elevated white blood count consistent with infection. She was also slightly anemic. He wasn’t sure why, but it was very slight so he said it wasn’t a really big concern. She did have x-rays two weeks ago, and besides having gas pockets in her digestive tract, they looked okay.

 It’s just very discouraging. Vet bills are over $500 now. I’m totally exhausted from the frequent medications, hand feeding her, bathing her because she’s not grooming herself, etc. and she doesn’t seem to be getting better.

[Sarita]

I might ask for a culture at this point and do the more aggressive treatment? Any idea what that might be?

Maybe a nebulizer would be helpful – do the nebulizer and add amakacin – it’s been awhile, but I’ve done that before and it is just a way to medicate in a different way other than orally.

[rc1986]

I have no idea what the more aggressive treatment would be. I didn’t ask. Someone told me that Bactrim is sometimes better/stronger than Baytril. Honestly, I was so upset at the vet’s that when he asked if I had any questions, I just said no without thinking.

Is amakacin something I would have to get through the vet? Or can you get it over the counter? I’ve never heard of it.

Thanks for the tips!

[Sarita]

Amakacin is an antibiotic so you would have to get it from your vet. You can do a nebulizer chamber and put the amakacin in the medicine chamber of the nebulizer.

I’ve used bactrim before and my vet has said it is good for urinary tract infections and I just looked it up and it’s good for pneumonia as well.

I know so many times that it is so overwhelming speaking with the vet and your mind starts reeling (at least mine does) and I usually think afterwards about different questions. I would just get your thoughts together and write them down and call and speak with him over the phone with your list of questions. It can just get very emotional speaking to the vet about your ill rabbit, perfectly understandable.

[rc1986]

Thank you for the info! The vet doesn’t work every day, so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to talk to him next. But I’ll dig out my nebulizer and maybe just the steam will help a little.

You’re right, I do need to think of questions BEFORE the appointment. Right at the end of the appt, he had said “Of course, we will need to evaluate her quality of life, and it’s possible you might have to make a tough decision,” so when he then asked if I had any questions, I was still reeling from that last statement. He was very nice about it and said that he really wished he could have given me good news, but it is still so touch-and-go.

[rc1986]

Sorry, one more question! I work at an animal shelter, and when we have kittens with upper respiratory, we use infant saline nose drops to clear out their nostrils. Would this be an okay thing to do for a bunny?

[longhairmike]

Posted By rc1986 on 07/05/2012 09:35 PM

Sorry, one more question! I work at an animal shelter, and when we have kittens with upper respiratory, we use infant saline nose drops to clear out their nostrils. Would this be an okay thing to do for a bunny?

^^^^this

 gentamicin opthalmic solution,,  i F***ing swear by it with rini and usako

[LittlePuffyTail]

I don’t have anything to add, I just want to say I’m sorry your bunny is unwell. It certainly seems like you are doing a great job taking care of her. (((Bunny Health Vibes))))))

One of my buns is absolutely impossible to feed Critical Care too. Its super frustrating, it just makes a huge mess. Your cookie idea is very clever!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Sorry your bunny is so ill! your vet sounds really competent, so that’s fantastic. Please keep us posted on progress!

It’s just very discouraging. Vet bills are over $500 now. I’m totally exhausted from the frequent medications, hand feeding her, bathing her because she’s not grooming herself, etc. and she doesn’t seem to be getting better.

I don’t think people realize how taxing caring for a sick animal can be! It’s exhausting, empties your wallet, and is emotionally trying to. You can’t explain to them you are trying to make them better, and it’s tiring to keep track of doses and think about it all the time, and schedule yourself around doses.
Vent here when needed! We understand.

Treat yourself-to a bath, curl up with a book, let yourself off the hook for some other chores or obligations, or go for a fancy coffee-whatever floats your boat. It’s stressful in so many ways, so take care of yourself too!

[rc1986]

Thank you! Yes, it’s very tiring, especially as I have been having trouble sleeping because I’m so worried about her. She’s such a good little bunny. She’s still friendly and sweet even after all the needles and medicines and being poked and prodded by vets. And I’m lucky that most of my friends are also crazy animal people who don’t blink an eye when I tell them I have spent over $500 on a bunny.

[bullrider76543]

Boy I can understand that, Blue got neutered last month and that with his meds for his skin cost me $400

[rc1986]

Hello, everyone. I thought I’d give a little update on my bun. She is sneezing less and doesn’t seem as congested. But everything else is the same. Still refuses to eat hay. She will nibble once or twice on the compressed hay cubes, but that’s it. If I hold a piece of hay up to her, she will rub her chin on it a few times and then turn away. If I continue to hold the hay up to her mouth, she will tuck her head down so I can’t get it near her mouth.

She is also still not cleaning herself well. She is constantly getting urine on her. I bathe her, but I can’t get the stains out (she is a mostly white bunny). And a few hours after the bath, she is gross again. And she is still just sitting on her cecal pellets and smooshing them, which certainly doesn’t help with her cleanliness issues.

She is still hopping around and alert, which makes it seem stranger to me that she’s not eating well or keeping clean. I was hoping to see more improvement by now (it’s been almost 2 weeks on baytril). The vet wants to do a full 3 weeks on baytril before trying something else.

[bullrider76543]

I am so sorry, I hoep your bun feels better

[bun-crazy]

I am so sorry your little girl is sick! I don’t have any advice, because I’m fairly new to bunny motherhood (I’ve only had mine for 4 months), but I want to send you healing vibes for you and your bun!! Hope everything gets better soon!

[rc1986]

I am very discouraged. She is still sneezing and still not eating hay. For a few days I thought she was getting better because she was grooming herself more and was relatively clean. But the past two days she is soaking herself with pee again and not grooming. So I’m going to have to go back to bathing her. She seems to have lost more weight and is weak. I am worried that I’ll have to put her down after all. She has to go back to the vet for a recheck this week, and I’m afraid that he’ll say she’s too far gone.

[bunbunlucy]

I know you wrote this post several years ago, but I wanted to know how your bunny is? I am hoping you reply back with good news because, I have a bunny mini lop, 8 year old female I am pretty attached to and the vet just told me after reviewing her xrays, she has pneumonia.  Her breathing is really labored and she has completely stopped eating her hay, really all of the sudden.  Same symptoms  as your bun. 

[LBJ10]

Hi bunbunlucy! Welcome to BB! The original poster has not been active on the forum since 2012 (checked their profile page). I don’t think anyone has any additional information regarding this particular case. We ask that people do not bring up old threads because it causes confusion to our members. I’m going to lock this thread. If you have a question about your bunny, please start a new thread and explain what the situation is. This will allow other members to see your post sooner and hopefully provide you with some advice.

[Author]

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