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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Renal Failure?

  • This topic has 9sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by Bam.
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    • Nicolene
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      60 posts Send Private Message

        Hi everyone, I don’t think I’ve ever posted here, but I have perused this forum in the past.

        We have a 4 year old mini rex who has been losing weight slowly for the last 4 months. She has gone from 4.6 lbs to 3.2 lbs. She has had no loss of appetite and eats everything we give her. 

        6 weeks ago we discovered that her ¨heavy molt¨ was actually mites, so we took her in and got her on ivermectin. At the time she weighed 3.6 lbs and the vet (not our regular vet) agreed that she was a bit thin and said to feed her extra greens and pellets for a few weeks and see how it goes. In the weeks since then she has developed a runny nose and is sneezing, so I made an appointment for her with a new rabbit vet (who has 2 rabbits of her own, 10 and 12 years old). She weighed in at 3.2 lbs today. 

        The vet took xrays (they were clear) and bloodwork (we’ll hear tomorrow). She said she has a URI, but it’s not showing up in the lungs, and she gave us Baytril.

        I have a terrible suspicion that she might have renal failure. She eats a lot (unlimited hay, 1/8 cup of oxbow pellets, greens, and recently, a little bit of alfalfa) but continues to lose weight. She drinks as much as our other rabbit who weighs almost 5 lbs, I don’t think she is drinking significantly more than usual though. 

        She has had 2 pee accidents lately, once on my husband’s lap, and once right next to me on the couch. Though she was mad because I wouldn’t give her the ice cream I was eating, and pushed her off, and that’s when she peed the couch, so I guess part of me wants to rationalize that she was just angry. 

        I feel like bad news is coming our way, because it’s not possible to continue to lose weight even when we feed her so much more now. 

        I am bracing for the worst, and my powers of deduction suggests kidney disease.

        Does anyone have some insight for me on what to expect if it is kidney disease?


      • Bam
        Moderator
        16836 posts Send Private Message

          IF and it is just IF it’s renal disease, you should put her on a diet that’s very, very low in protein.That means cutting back on the pellets and the alfalfa, since those are sources of protein. But since she’s lost weight, you should discuss this with a vet. For a healthy bunny it’s not a problem to take away all pellets and alfalöfa for some time, but since she obviously isn’t healthy -.

          Did the vet say anything about renal disease?


        • Nicolene
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          60 posts Send Private Message

            Before the xray and bloodwork was done she said her 3 worst case guesses were cancer, liver or kidney disease. But the xrays didn’t show any tumors, sludge, stones or enlarged organs… so we wait for bloodwork. She said she could feel a little bit of hair in her stomach (as opposed to sludge), presumably from her heavy hair loss when she had mites. Se said that there isn’t anything they can do about hairballs if they are not obstructive, but anecdotal evidence says that papaya tablets do help, and she has given her rabbits that. So I ordered some from Oxbow. She seemed to be trying really hard not to suggest that she thought it was kidney disease, but she did say that kidney disease ¨for example¨ would cause these symptoms (mites and URI from the compromised immune system) and so I think that’s what she’s leaning towards.


          • Bam
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              I was wrong about the low protein diet, that’s for carnivores. Protein doesn’t seem to affect rabbits’ kidneys the same way.

              Is she spayed btw?

              This is the best I could find about kidney disease in rabbits, you’ve probably already read it:

              http://www.examiner.com/list/renal-disease-the-house-rabbit-causes-and-symptoms

              I hope someone who’s had a bunny with kidney disease soon sees this.


            • Nicolene
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                Yes, she was spayed when she was a year old. 

                I am extra sad now because I read someone else’s kidney failure thread and she mentioned that her rabbit became hyperactive and would lick everything and we went through that about 2 months ago. We thought it was weird and I mentioned it to the previous vet but she didn’t think anything of it. 


              • Bam
                Moderator
                16836 posts Send Private Message

                  Please try to not torture yourself. Wait for the test-results, then take it from there. I know it’s tough when your pet is unwell, I’m a worrying person myself, but it’s not doing anybody any good, to let your imagination run off with you in all scary directions. You are doing all you can now with the vet and the tests and that’s what matters. You have set the ball in motion. That is good and courageous.


                • Sarita
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                    I definitely say wait for the test results before you do anything and see what the vet says.

                    I’ve only had one rabbit who had renal failure and he slept all the time – the only reason that he lasted as long as he did was because I was giving him sub-q fluids – I took him back to the vet when he wasn’t getting better and she did bloodwork and discovered that. I’ll be honest due to his disease and he was so far in it, I did opt to put him to sleep – not saying that will be the case with your rabbit IF your rabbit does have renal disease…BUT do wait to talk with the vet with the results before jumping to any conclusions.


                  • Nicolene
                    Participant
                    60 posts Send Private Message

                      Thanks guys, I know I am probably jumping the gun, but we lost her cage mate to cancer 6 months ago and she is so skinny/boney and I can’t get her to gain weight. Her cage mate started losing weight and 3 days later he had lost half his body weight and we had him put down because he was so weak. It all happened so fast! Afterwards we found out it was lymphoma and the vet said that cancer will sometimes linger and then just take them in a few days.

                      I’m trying to keep positive and busy while I wait to hear from the vet today.


                    • Nicolene
                      Participant
                      60 posts Send Private Message

                        We did get good news! The vet said all her levels were either slightly elevated or low, so she called someone she knows who is an exotics internist to look over the results and she said they concluded that all the results point to her fighting an infection, the URI. So they said she needs to gain weight and take all her ABs and come in for a follow up and weight check in 2 weeks. It also explains why she had mites, due to her compromised immune system.

                        I’m glad we all the tests done, I’ll ask for the blood work to be redone in 6 weeks to be sure.

                        Thanks for the support, it was a rough 24 hours. I spent most of the night on the couch worrying that she’s going to just die.


                      • Bam
                        Moderator
                        16836 posts Send Private Message

                          Thank you for the update!

                          I’m so glad it wasn’t her kidneys after all! Let’s hope she gets well now with the ABs!
                          I know what it’s like to worry about a beloved pet, you feel so helpless and you so want to help your little one.

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                      Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Renal Failure?