VIBES for Olive, please

[piperknitsRN]

 Poor little Olive, my Holland Lop Eared bunny.  She had been sitting in one place in her X pen (usually she’s in one of her litterboxes with SImon) for most of the day, which is unusual for her, but I didn’t think too much of it until my boyfriend tried to give her a baby carrot–which she normally goes crazy for.  Simon ate the carrots with his usual gusto, but Olive refused to even act interested.  When we picked her up, her bottom was covered with pee and a scant amount of smushed poo–definitely *not* normal. 

Since I hadn’t seen her eat anything except for morning pellets (and she had some Romaine lettuce last night) and I couldn’t for sure tell if she had pooped–she’s litter trained, but hadn’t spent much time in her litterbox,  I knew her symptoms might = stasis (or at the very least, were incredibly worrying) and I called my vet.  They were closing for the night, and suggested we take her to the emergency vet service.  Her temp was a little low, gut sounds not particularly audible, and they thought it was stasis (they decided to wait on Xrays, as even if did show a blockage, it wouldn’t change the treatment plan) so she’s staying overnight as I figured if things really got bad, they would be better at figuring it out than I would, and they could keep her in a warm incubator (my bunnies are kept indoors in the kitchen, but it’s not as warm in that room as the rest of the house, and I obviously don’t have an incubator to keep the temperature at a steady level).   

I asked about keeping Simon with her, as they are bonded and I don’t want the bond to break up, but the vet who was working said it would be best to take him home.  I personally would have liked to see them stay the night together, but the only way that would be happening is if I took her home with me, and I thought it might be better if she stayed the night since she will get vet staff monitoring her (she’s in the “ICU” section of their clinic.)

 

P.S.  How do I clean her bottom?  I know that is not the priority right now, and depending on if she ‘turns the corner’ tonight or not, I might bring her to my vet tomorrow any way and ask them, but I know one is not supposed to bathe a bunny… so, any thoughts?  

 

 

[Sam and Lady's Human]

They will clean her bum at the vet I would assume. Seems wrong to not.
Vibes to Olive!

[piperknitsRN]

 I would think they would clean her up, too, but I don’t think they necessarily will–unless I bring her to my own vet’s tomorrow.  I hope she feels better overnight, the poor dear.  Thank you for well-wishes.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

{{Vibes}}} Poor Olive-hopefully with the meds and such she’ll be ready to come home tomorrow!

[piperknitsRN]

Posted By Kokaneeandkahlua on 03/16/2012 09:47 PM
{{Vibes}}} Poor Olive-hopefully with the meds and such she’ll be ready to come home tomorrow!

Thank you, Kokaneeandkahlua.  I elected to keep her overnight at the vet clinic even though they said it was possible for her to go home with me tonight.  I just felt the extra warmth in the incubator and the fact that she would have a professional staff to treat her pain and GI stasis was worth the $45 boarding fee.  Also, if she takes “a turn for the worse” they can asses this and treat her right then, without having to wait or get readmitted again.   I miss her, though, and I’m sure Simon–her bondmate–is feeling a little confused, too.  I am hoping I can reintroduce them and they will accept one another tomorrow.  

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Absolutely! I’ve heard about some vets that keep animals overnight but there is no staff there-what’s the point? But it’s fantastic because she will be checked periodically by professional staff and can be treated immediately if needed. I bet she’ll do really good

Kokanee spent the day at the vet without Kahlua before I knew that they could stay together. Kokanee came home and was exhausted from being up and active and Kahlua went absolutely bonkers kissing her and comforting her. It was a happy easy reunion. I’m sure you can expect something similar

{{Many vibes}} And sleep vibes for you! It must be hard to be away from her

[piperknitsRN]

Posted By Kokaneeandkahlua on 03/16/2012 09:59 PM
Absolutely! I’ve heard about some vets that keep animals overnight but there is no staff there-what’s the point? But it’s fantastic because she will be checked periodically by professional staff and can be treated immediately if needed. I bet she’ll do really good

Kokanee spent the day at the vet without Kahlua before I knew that they could stay together. Kokanee came home and was exhausted from being up and active and Kahlua went absolutely bonkers kissing her and comforting her. It was a happy easy reunion. I’m sure you can expect something similar

{{Many vibes}} And sleep vibes for you! It must be hard to be away from her

Thank you; I am not especially skilled at giving my bunny syringe-fed meds or the rest of it (when she had her spay, I put her metacam mashed up with some banana–but now she won’t eat anything, so I’d have to syringe the meds directly into her mouth.  I figured it was better to let her have the IV meds and subcutaneous fluids tonight so she has the best possible care and monitoring until the morning time, even though it is hard to be away from her.  Also, since she her temp was a little low, I thought it would better for her to stay warm in their incubator.  I could bring her into my bedroom for the night (it’s a little warmer here than it is in the kitchen) but I figure professional care is what’s best for her.  I can only hope the perks of professional care outweigh the stress she is probably going through being left on her own.  

Thank you also for sharing your re-union story.  I brought Simon to the vet clinic in the carrier with Olive, so hopefully if she ‘smells different’ he might recognize the smell and not attack her.  They have a lovely little bond and I would hate to see it broken over a hospitalization.  I feel sorry for my bunny as she hasn’t spent a night alone, out of this house since I got her last July–barring her spay (the vet brought her home with him overnight–this sounds like standard care at their facility).  Momma misses her baby bunny .  And hopes she gets better soon!  

[emkvet]

Sending so many healing vibes to miss Olive!!! I hope she gets well soon, truly. I know how worried you must be. I’m glad you decided to keep her overnight at the vet’s and that she’ll have constant care. They sound like a great facility, and you’re doing all you can as well. She’s in my thoughts, and so are you and Simon.

[piperknitsRN]

Posted By emkvet on 03/16/2012 10:57 PM
Sending so many healing vibes to miss Olive!!! I hope she gets well soon, truly. I know how worried you must be. I’m glad you decided to keep her overnight at the vet’s and that she’ll have constant care. They sound like a great facility, and you’re doing all you can as well. She’s in my thoughts, and so are you and Simon.

 

emkvet:  Thank you for the kind thoughts and healing vibes–I really appreciate it.  I am worried for her but if I can say anything was “good” about this situation is that we hopefully caught it early enough and hopefully the overnight stay at the vet’s will be helpful for her.  Of course, I wish that I would have figured it out sooner.  I thought maybe something was wrong when she was sitting outside of her litterbox (funny girl likes to stay put in the litterbox most of the time), but as I thought she was eating, I thought maybe it was ok.  Rabbits really do hide illness pretty well; it’s up to us to pay attention and catch subtle signs that things are wrong.  I’ll update the group in the morning when I know more.  Hopefully she will start eating and pooping tonight at the vet’s and I won’t have to take her back in tomorrow…  But I will do that if that’s what they reccommend.  

[Nova]

Healing vibes for Olive!!!

I am having a similar problem with my Boon… Must be a full moon or something…

[piperknitsRN]

Posted By Nova on 03/16/2012 11:20 PM
Healing vibes for Olive!!!

I am having a similar problem with my Boon… Must be a full moon or something…

Oh, no, Nova!  Vibes to Boon.  I’m so sorry to hear that.  I hope Boon gets better soon!

[RabbitPam]

You did exactly the best thing for her, and I think, had you taken her in earlier, the end result would have been the same, ie. an overnight stay. Sounds like a great vet care arrangement to me, too.
She won’t be too stressed by the stay because she isn’t feeling well, so she just needs their supervision and rest. Your reasoning about her being right there if she needs more treatment is spot on. No sleepless night watching her, no 3AM emergency phone call and ride to the ICU – she’s right there.
By now she’s through the night and I’m hoping to see a good report posted soon. In the meantime,
{{{{{{{{{{{{Healing vibes for Olive}}}}}}}}}}}}

And don’t worry about the bond. K&K knows her bonded bunnies, and I think worrying about the ‘what if”s just adds to your real concern. It’s easy to pile on the worry in this situation, which is very stressful for YOU. Hope you got some sleep. She’s in good hands.

[LittlePuffyTail]

(((((Get Well Olive)))))

[piperknitsRN]

You guys are great! Thank you very much for the well-wishes and kind words. I’ll let you know later on this morning how Olive is doing… hopefully she is doing better and I’ll be able to take her home.

[piperknitsRN]

 Olive is home! She did ok overnight and started eating some hay and pellets, and this morning she passed two small stools. I am keeping her in the bedroom where it is warmer (she usually is in an Xpen in the kitchen) and gave her hay and pellets and water, but right now she seems pretty freaked out (from the car ride?) and isn’t eating anything oe acting like her usual cheeky self. I have an appointment with her regular vet at 330p.m. if she doesn’t perk up and start eating again, but hopefully she’ll be ok. Unfortunately, I have to keep her and Simon separated so I can tell if she’s pooping and eating (shared litterboxes confound that), but the car ride home with the both of them was uneventful.

[RabbitPam]

So far that’s excellent.
Keep us posted.

[binkybunnier]

sending {{vibes}} and love

[piperknitsRN]

 Thanks, everyone.  I am taking her to my vet this afternoon.  She is nibbling on hay and pellets, more active, and grooming herself, but not producing any stool yet.  The vet’s office thought maybe, if anything, they could give her more sub Q fluids to keep her hydrated (she really isn’t that interested in drinking water).  Otherwise, she seems ok right now.  

[Nova]

No stool is a sign of constipation or a slowing down of the gut…. which yeah, can be stasis. I hope the vet is rabbit “wise.” My boon has been constipated intermittently all week and two days ago it tooka turn for the worst. I had two vets, one rabbit wise and the other not, telling me to take him on and off his gut motility meds – I of course listened to the one who is rabbit wise, who advised me to keep him on them for at least a week.

If you suggest a motility drug to the vet to discuss in the case of stasis….or if the vet suggests one…. think Reglan, one of the two motility meds often used, is not effective and has way more side effects than Cisapride. Cisapride is harder to obtain because they have to make it in a veterinary or compounding pharmacy, but it’s only a couple extra bucks. Boon didn’t respond to the Reglan at all and in fact got nervous on it. After one dose of the Cisapride he was suddenly pooping normally for the first time in almost 4 days.

Anyway back to the subject at hand – It’s good to keep Olive hydrated with subQ fluids but if he is constipated he needs to get his gut moving. Fluids will help prevent the contents of his gut from drying out and creating a blockage but if his gut is static (not moving) it won’t make a difference. Also buildup of poo can also be a breeding ground for bacteria so an antibiotic might be needed too. Ask your vet….

[piperknitsRN]

Posted By Nova on 03/17/2012 03:36 PM
No stool is a sign of constipation or a slowing down of the gut…. which yeah, can be stasis. I hope the vet is rabbit “wise.” My boon has been constipated intermittently all week and two days ago it tooka turn for the worst. I had two vets, one rabbit wise and the other not, telling me to take him on and off his gut motility meds – I of course listened to the one who is rabbit wise, who advised me to keep him on them for at least a week.

If you suggest a motility drug to the vet to discuss in the case of stasis….or if the vet suggests one…. think Reglan, one of the two motility meds often used, is not effective and has way more side effects than Cisapride. Cisapride is harder to obtain because they have to make it in a veterinary or compounding pharmacy, but it’s only a couple extra bucks. Boon didn’t respond to the Reglan at all and in fact got nervous on it. After one dose of the Cisapride he was suddenly pooping normally for the first time in almost 4 days.

Anyway back to the subject at hand – It’s good to keep Olive hydrated with subQ fluids but if he is constipated he needs to get his gut moving. Fluids will help prevent the contents of his gut from drying out and creating a blockage but if his gut is static (not moving) it won’t make a difference. Also buildup of poo can also be a breeding ground for bacteria so an antibiotic might be needed too. Ask your vet….

 

Hi, Nova.  I’m so sorry you have been dealing with these issues with Boon–what a bummer!  I just took Olive back to her regular vet (who specializes in small mammals and did her spay–one of the best rabbit doctors in the city) this afternoon as she was just passing small, infrequent dry stools–just a few of them since she’s been home.  He palpated her abdomen and found a gas pocket and an area that suggested that she had some stasis.  He gave her a bolus of sub Q fluids and an injection of pain medicine, plus some  reglan and metacam to take home for the weekend.  The vet is not back in the office until Tuesday, so I am hoing that we can keep her on the up swing (who knew I’d ever be delighted by this–but she just foot-flicked around my room letting out little bunny poops–yay!)

She is really cranky right now, though–I can tell she’s had enough prodding and poking for a day and is grumpy.  But, she seems like she is doing better.  

They said to bring her in next week if she still isn’t doing well and they would draw some labs and make sure everything is ok on that front–but I think she’s going to be ok.

 

[BinkyBunny]

Sounds like your vet was on it and so hopefully your bunny is feeling even better by now. Keep us updated!

[piperknitsRN]

Posted By BB on 03/18/2012 12:39 AM
Sounds like your vet was on it and so hopefully your bunny is feeling even better by now. Keep us updated!

I think Olive is feeling better; her fecal pellets look round and moist now (before, they were misshpen, very dry and crumbly) and she seems to be getting around just fine and getting lots of attention.  I felt she was well enough to let her visit poor Simon (who binkied when he saw her).   They seem just as happy and content a pair as they usually are.  

I’m keeping her on oral reglan twice a day and a once-per day doses of metacam.   It’s a five day course of meds and hopefully she’ss stay on the mend.  It’s funny–she’ litter trained, but right now she’s pooping exclusively outside the literboox.  It’s almost like she’s helping me keep track of the fact that she’s pooping-I can’t miss it!   I’ll keep everyone updated.    Thanks for all your support!

[Author]

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