Oh dear that is sad, i have been in a similar position when you cant afford the treatment, if she is still happy and eating etc then maybe you could just carry on keeping it clean and clearing it out and hope for the best. In the mean time you never know what might turn up.
I believe if the only other option is to put her to sleep then you could at least wait untill she tells you she is ready and then there really is no other option. xx

Danielle, I’m so sorry to hear about Holly’s problems. One of mine had a horrible abscess on his jaw last spring and I was afraid we’d lose him.

You didn’t say where Holly’s is, but is it somewhere you can drain it and keep it clean? Simba hated to be caught and held down every evening, but with someone holding him I was able to clean the pus out and squirt in the neosporin. Took several weeks, but it seems to be healed up now. (although I know it may come back in time) It didn’t bother him either, just the treatments. He’d hide and glare daggers at me.

My vet had to do the initial opening of the abscess and trim away the hardened skin over it, but she was very obliging in letting me watch and showing me what to do in between checkups.

Kathy

edited: I just found your other post and saw that the abscess was under the chin, pretty much like Simba’s. Our vet said as long as it didn’t compromise the teeth we could treat it with no discomfort to Simba. If Holly’s is the same, I hope you have as much luck.

It just takes a bit of practice to be able to lay an uncooperative bunny down on his side so you can get to the abscess to work with it, but we got to where we could spread him out on a thick towel and he’d just give up and try to nibble the disgusting drainage as we cleaned it. I used a syringe to squirt peroxide into the abscess and it really liquified the thick gunk and make it easier to completely empty so it could be packed with the neo. You could almost see it healing day by day.

I think you could certainly do as Kralspace suggested. I would talk to your vet about this.

It doesn’t have to be fatal and it can be treated successfully.

I’m not sure either that I would listen to what 4-H says about the euthanasia for pasturella. I think it’s best to make these decisions with a vet who is knowledgeable and sympathetic (which it sounds like your vet is).

Here are some good articles from vets that will explain pasturella to you.

http://www.rabbit.org/care/pasteurella.html

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/past.shtml

OH my you  have a full plate right now.  $ is hard too.  Best wishes and healing vibes for Holly

Pasteurella USED TO be the #1 killer of rabbits, but it is now often possible to treat.  Pasteurella is the name of the germ, and it tends to affect rabbits in 2 ways – upper-respiratory-infection or abcesses.  My Pepper has the chronic pasteurella that makes her sneeze sometimes – she goes back on antibiotics for a while and she’s fine until the next flare-up. 

Your situation is a bit different than mine – in your case it’s the abcess itself and not necessarily the particular germ that is the problem.  Abcesses are hard to treat in rabbits because their system tends to “wall off’ the infection in an abcessed pocket so oral antibiotics can’t touch it.  Treating it involves draining and cleaning the abcess and treating with either injectable antibiotics or implanting little plastic “beads” that slowly dissolve and release the antibiotic in order to fight the infection at the source. 

When you look online for “pasteurella”, most of what you will see is for the URI form – you might get more relevant information if you also added the word “abcess” to your search.

Most 4H programs are geared towards animals in more of a farm setting than a housepet.  If you keep rabbits as livestock, then pasteurella is very contagious and can affect your entire stock.  But a single or bonded housepet is an entirely different situation.

 I wish the best for you and your bunny and hope i am never in your position. I would not euthanize your bunny till there is no other choice I think it is used as a solution for too many problems and not right

Hope your bun feels better

Take heart Danielle! As kralspace has experienced, you may be able to treat this and keep up preventative care without surgery yet. Holly may be a bit off toward you from the vet visit and antibiotics. Nice to hear she’s starting to come around. It might be good to talk with your vet more and see if you can do home treatment – or regular drainage. If surgery is required down the track, they may have payment options. Hopefully you won’t have to go down surgery track though.

Oh, I am so sorry.  We have had so many VERY expensive vet bills in the last year.  Between our cat and Jack’s bladder stone surgery and Rucy’s earlier tooth trims and jaw surgeries to remove infection and more teeth,  we have never spent so much at one time, and it drained the pet savings account – even though we have pet insurance, we still have to fork out a ton up front.  I have been lucky to have an emergency vet and my regular vet who will allow payments.  Maybe your vet will do the same.

But with this economy, and things really getting tight, I understand the worry of how in the world to afford it!   And of course, even when you find answers, just all the worry before then can be a huge downer.

There is a great humane society article about how to afford vet care – and there are tons of linked resources to groups that actually help with vet care.  Check it out,  Maybe there will be something that will help you if you do have to face the possibility of surgery.  http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/w…_care.html

I also  know just the thought of THINKING about all of this can feel like extra weight when you may already feel completely burdoned by everything.  Hang in there.  Something will work out.

I’m sorry you are feeling frustrated! I know, it’s tough when you have a full plate and you need to do what’s best for everyone. I like Kralspace’s suggestion of trying to take care of things yourself, of course with the vet showing you how to go about it.

My guess with the 4-H perspective is that since it’s a breeding program, they probably figure there is no point in keeping a sick bunny alive, there is always another one (or another ten!) right around the corner. That’s very different from how us house rabbit folks feel, we of course know that each individual bunny is special and worthy of care and health and happiness. I’m so glad you are going to try to work something out for Holly. I would look into payment plans if the vet feels the surgery is her best bet. Multiple vet visits will add up and become just as costly as having one surgery.