Larygneal Problems?

[Emilykatelyn]

So my bunny, Lucy, has been sounding congested for a month now. She’s been sneezing and her breathing sounds slightly stressed. Around two weeks ago I was sitting home with her and she was eating pellets. All of a sudden she had this fit where she started sneezing and coughing. Her mouth started to get really watery and it sounded as if she was chewing on something. At that time I didn’t realize she was choking, I had no idea what was wrong with her. It was brief and lasted maybe a minute then she get over it and cleaned her face, continued to eat.

I took her to the vet the very next day. I explained to the vet she has been coughing, sneezing ect. The vet checked her out and whenever she would press on Lucy’s throat she would start making this stressed/congested noise. She came to the conclusion that Lucy had an upper respiratory infection and sent her home with antibiotics. 

Lucy has been taking her antibiotics once a day for a little less than two weeks (the antibiotics are to be taken once daily for two weeks exactly). Her signs have not gotten any better. She still coughs every day and sneezes. Her activity has been decreasing every day. What was once an extremely energetic bunny is now a bunny who sits in a corner anytime she’s out of her cage and just lays there.

Last night I had given Lucy pellets, and around 7-8 minutes later she started having one of those fits again, except this time it was much worse. She kept sticking her nose into the air, taking her paws and frantically rubbing them around her mouth and her mouth slowly started getting more and more saturated as she chewed on some kind of substance inside of her mouth. I then realized she was choking. It kept getting worse, more fluid getting all over her face, she kept sticking her nose into the air trying to breathe. We rushed her to the emergency vet. When we got into the room they checked her out, by then she had stopped choking and actually had eaten some hay in the waiting room. They checked her pulse, and her teeth. They saw no problems with either. They wanted to give her an x-ray, but Lucy was too stressed and kept fighting them off of her. So they sent us home saying she was okay and stable, and to check with your vet as soon as possible.

I did some extensive research since last night trying to figure out what was wrong with Lucy. Today she is fine, but her activity is still decreased and her breathing is still stressed, sneezing, ect. I saw a few cases online where people’s rabbits had this same issue where they were consistently choking on their food while also having difficulty breathing. They said it was “Larygneal Paralysis.” Now I’m not sure if that is exactly what is happening to Lucy. But I would like to know if anyone has any opinions or similar experiences?

Her signs are:

Congested breathing, sneezing, decreased activity, coughing, choking when eating pellets.

Please let me know if you know anything about what’s happening to my little bun!

[LittlePuffyTail]

My best guess, and it’s only a guess since I’m not a vet, maybe she aspirated a piece of food or saliva during the choking episode and it caused pneumonia? Did your vet mention possible aspiration? Did the coughing and sneezing start before the first choking episode?

I really feel for you because my Bindi had a chocking episode with pellets and it was extremely scary for me. He recovered and is now only allowed to eat wet, softened pellets. I suggest this for your bun since it happened twice. Just put warm water over the pellets until they puff up and are completely soft and mushy. Bindi loves them like this and gobbles them up.

[Emilykatelyn]

I believe the coughing and what not started after the first period. She has been sneezing on/off for, like, a year, because she was sick last year with an upper respiratory infection. But she remained active and her normal self regardless of the occasional sneezing. But the coughing and choking just started within the past few weeks. I am going to see my vet Thursday, because that was the soonest she is available. Hopefully there are no more problems with choking until then. How do they cure pneumonia? The vet never mentioned anything about aspiration, because she kind of disregarded the choking episode I told her about and focused more on her breathing problems. 

[jerseygirl]

Id definitely make another appointment with your regular vet. You may have to try a different antibiotic and some anti inflammatory meds also to reduce swelling in either nasal passages or throat. How did you go giving the last antibiotics? Did she take them ok, given her breathing issues?
It could still be nasal and or dental issue and she dealing with excess discharge coming into mouth, or excess saliva.
{{{Lucy}}}

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