Abscess :(

[avarismom1]

So I haven’t posted here in probably well over a year – life just gets so busy.  I don’t know if anyone remembers me.  I had Dragonfly (who died one night very suddenly, with no warning) and Hopper-Hoppers.  They both had a rough start, and we took them home when they were being given away in a TINY rusty wire cage.

Anyway, Hoppers has an abscess.  It popped up out of no where on Easter Morning – I knew it was a little lump but didn’t really realize how serious it could be.  By Monday morning it had doubled in size, and we got a vet appointment for 4:00 that afternoon.  I spent the day googling abscesses (don’t EVER do this, it was horrible).

So it doesn’t involve teeth or his jaw at all.  It is under his ear (he is a mini lop) and right directly behind his eye.  Because of the location she said that they wouldn’t even attempt surgery to remove it.  That there would be nothing left to stitch closed and surgery was just not going to work.    She said we could do a cranial x-ray and see how much of his inner ear was involved but then they would refer us into tufts to try and find someone willing to attempt the removal.

So he is on baytril and azithromicin.  She said that realistically there is a slim chance that the antibiotics will work, but we will try for 2 weeks, and that then I would have a hard decision to make (crap I am crying typing this).

So things are not looking great for the hops.  On the bright side, he is eating, drinking, (we are giving critical care too so that the antibiotics don’t disrupt his belly) and playing just fine.

So besides just sharing my craptasic news, I wanted to ask does anyone know about any homeopathic, holistic, supportive care type things I could or should be doing?

I make soap and scrubs, and healing salves and have EVERY essential oil known to man at my disposal.  Would a warm compress of tea tree oil and lemongrass or lavender help?  I know essential oils are HIGHLY toxic to cats, but safe for dogs and horses.  I haven’t found anything saying they are harmful to bummies, but I can’t seem to find a ton of info on proper dilutions and stuff.

Thanks for any help anyone might offer!

[Sarita]

I think I would ask about some pain meds if you think he is in pain. I don’t know of any homeopathic solutions for abscesses.

Has it increased in size at all since you’ve noticed it?

[NuggetBuns]

I’m so sorry about the news! Every time I come across an abscess case, I fear the end result because I’ve read my share of stories when Nugget had one and they were all so sad. I’m surprised Hoppers’ doubled in size over night, glad you noticed it and took him to the vet right away! Nugget had one on his forehead and it grew so big that it was pressing on his nose and caused nasal problems. We had no idea anything was wrong because he came from a pet store and had the abscess all along, we just thought he had a big forehead. Anyway, our vet was able to cut it open and drain it without putting Nugget under since it was just growing under his skin, but since yours is behind Hopper’s eye, I can see how dangerous doing surgery would be.

You could get second opinion from another though, hope is not lost! The antibiotics should keep the abscess from spreading/growing, but not sure what else you could give him. As long as it doesn’t get any bigger and bother his eye, he might be able to live with it. Keep us updated on his condition.

[avarismom1]

I think it is shrinking. It had grown so that it parted the fur and you could see it. Now his fur is mostly covering again. I should have taken a before pic. The vet did, and dent it to 2 other vets to see if they could offer a better solution – they agreed with her. We go back to the vet on Tuesday so all paws crossed. And he doesn’t seem to be in any pain or be bothered by it at all, so that is good!

[avarismom1]

sorry computer froze!

[bunnluff]

My dwarf has had an unusual sort of lump on her jaw for awhile now. It doesn’t seem to be getting any bigger, but she does scratch at it an awful lot and won’t let me touch it. She’s already been to one vet for it who prescribed exactly what your vet did. It did nothing, as I knew would be the case. Now I’m wondering what I could possibly do to make her more comfy. I tried essential oils to no avail. She seems to be in relatively good spirits but it makes me so sad to know she’s in discomfort

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m so very sorry to hear your bun is dealing with this. I don’t know a whole lot about abscesses but I know that some vets will do a biopsy of it to find out what type of bacteria is in it.

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