Did these medications kill my bunny? :( Metronidazole + Ranitidine + Metacam

[TingBunners]

My baby bunny of 6 years died today after an abrupt call from the vet. They did “blood tests”, but with a limited sample because they couldn’t find her veins. They said there were traces that make them suspect liver & kidney problems (but couldn’t tell what they were exactly).

 12 days ago, she went to emergency vet for eating chocolate, and boarded for 2 days (despite us being concerned that she’d be stressed). We came back with 3 medications:

– Metronidazole 0.63ml every 12 hours for 10 days, at 125mg/ml. I was concerned about this amount because it’s been found cancerous in rats, and the dosage seems rather high (she is only 2.5kg bunny).

– Ranitidine 0.3ml every 8 hours for 3 days, every 10 hours for 7 days, 24 hours for 7 days. At 25mg/ml

– Metacam 0.5ml every 12 hours, at 1.5mg

After the vet, she got better in 2 days and was eating normally. Then, on day 10, she started eating less and got lethargic. Both those conditions worsened, until day 11, she wouldn’t eat, so I force fed her Critical Care and meds. She was swallowing until… she stopped swallowing.

I took her to our regular vet this time, who did the mentioned blood tests. They recommended to keep her overnight, which I complied. But they called us this morning, saying that she was on an oxygen mask. Another call 30 minutes later, and she’s gone.

I do wonder if the medications given to her were “over-kill”, and that it may have caused her kidney & liver problems. The vet suspected cancer, which one of the medications were known to cause. I hate the idea of having religiously force-feeding my rabbit something that would’ve killed her (she never complied with eating the Metronidazole, unlike the other meds). I have no idea if we could have avoided this problem if I just let her stay at home – she wasn’t monitored overnight. And I wish she had passed away in the comfort of her own home.

[Beka27]

Wow. I am so sorry she passed. That is heart breaking…

I personally cannot speak to those medications/dosages as I’m not a vet and I don’t have experience with the first two, just metacam.

Why was she given medication for such a long time because she ate chocolate? I could see observing her for a couple days but was she actually experiencing toxicity from the chocolate?

Did you follow up with your vet after the ER vet released her? Were they on board with the meds and dosages?

Sorry for the abundance of questions…

[Monkeybun]

The medication wouldn’t have caused cancer that fast, so I would rule that out as a cause. At least from the medication. It’s possible there could have been cancer there though… unless you get a necropsy done, it’s really hard to say.

[Sarita]

I doubt that they would have caused the cancer (if she did indeed have that) – although she may have had cancer it was not due to medications she was given in a 2 week period. You may have done a necropsy too as MB suggested to see if that could have given you more insight.

My condolences to you on the loss of your rabbit.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I want to offer you my condolences on the loss of your bunny. I wish I could offer you some helpful advice.

((((Binky Free Bunny)))))

[CheriB603]

I’m so so sorry!

Do you mind me asking… was she spayed? I know unspayed buns have a very high incidence of uterine cancer and was wondering if that might be the case. I know it doesn’t change anything – but just thought it might help another bun owner. Take care. <3

[Fiona Hopsalot]

[Sindri]

I am sorry to hear about your bunny. I am sure that you are second guessing and struggling with what you could have done or did you do the right thing when it came to her care but you did your best. As far as the meds go I am not sure if that was the cause of death. I would perhaps get a necrosy and find out what the cause of death truly is if you are able to.

[tobyluv]

I’m very sorry to hear about the loss of your bunny.

[MoveDiagonally]

I’m so sorry for your loss.

[TingBunners]

Thank you for your condolences, Beka27, LittlePuffyTail, Sarita, Fiona, Sindriona, tobyluv, MoveDiagonally. Yes we absolutely miss Tingting around the house; nobody’s finding a place to look extremely lazy or making demanding pokes or even, the sweetie bunny kisses. We expected her to live longer, but and most importantly, she had a good life – we showed her that we loved her, and she showed us that she loved us.

Beka27, the ER vet gave metacam for suspected back arthritis (related to her age?) and the other 2 for her poopy butt. We asked the vet about her dosage when we brought her in , and she said it was fine…

CheriB603 & Monkeybun: she’s spayed to reduce her chances of cancer; I hope it wasn’t cancer (pain)

Sindriona, yes that’s our disposition exactly, though we know we did our best (and she knows, and God knows, too)

[DebbieP]

I’m so sorry for your loss.

[Beka27]

You’re probably not going to know. Metronidazole is an antibiotic, Ranitidine is Zantac (I had to look this one up bc I wasn’t familiar with it), and obviously Metacam is a pain med as you mentioned. They’re all used in rabbits. I’m not familiar with all of the dosages, but if your vet confirmed that they all sounded right, I have to assume that the meds themselves were not the issue. It could have been an underlying liver/kidney issue that prevented her from handling what another, healthier rabbit would have been able to filter fine.

It’s important that you don’t beat yourself up over this. She had a very loved life with you… And she got more years than many bunnies do…

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