Blood in urine + clotting

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 9sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 2 months ago by JMC.

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- 02/21/2018 at 11:56 AM
  Madi Labella
  Participant
  3 posts
  HI all! I’m hoping for some clarification or help with my little bun’s situation. I got her almost 3 years ago from a woman on craigslist who had to re-home her as she was moving, the woman told me she was not spayed and did not know how old she was because she previously received her from a family who couldn’t give her an approximate age. She has been such a wonderful addition to my life, we are extremely bonded now and have a great routine. Two days ago I noticed a dark red spot on the carpet, she is litter trained but in the past two weeks or so she has been peeing in weird places around the house. I did some research and found alarming reasoning for the blood I found, including uterine cancer but thought maybe she was just dehydrated. Then yesterday I checked her litterbox and found a small bit of blood and was sure it wasn’t due to dehydration. I called my vet, the only vet I trust with a bunny, and the soonest he can see us is next wednesday first thing in the morning, a week from today. Today she leaked a tiny dime size amount of blood in her spot where I give her her morning treat, she licked it clean. I examined her litter box and found blood that was clumped, not a ton but enough. Based on her age and what I’ve read online I am pretty sure she has uterine cancer because she’s at least 5 and not spayed. She’s not drinking much but when i put a hint of fruit juice in her water she drinks a ton. She’s eating a lot still, always has. No sign of GI stasis in the slightest and is her usual self. I’m concerned about leaving it for a week, every thing I read says at the sign of blood an ASAP vet trip is needed and I don’t want her in any pain or even worse, to lose her before wednesday. If it is uterine cancer, how does it progress? any bun owners who have experienced this disease? Is it okay to leave for a week or should I search for a vet who can take us sooner? My vet is dedicated to treatment and I know he will give me the best advice moving forward and can’t afford him let alone a vet visit before seeing him so I’m conflicted. My priority is my bun but if it’s fine to wait a week to see the best of the best I’d rather do that. Is this the early signs and symptoms of uterine cancer? Or does bleeding mean she’s fairly progressed and doesn’t have much time? Thanks for the help in advance, sorry for the long entry. Very worried ,
- 02/21/2018 at 9:59 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  Uterine cancer is definitely a possibility. I think it’s important to remember that it took awhile for this to develop. Changes in the uterus can occur over the span of years. Just because there is blood at this point does not necessarily mean it has spread. There have been cases here on BB where a bunny was exhibiting similar symptoms. The vet did a spay a short time later and it was found that the cancer had not left the uterus. There have also been cases where there were no noticeable symptoms and the cancer had already spread to the lungs (the most common place for uterine cancer to spread). So I would not take this as a sign that all hope is lost. If she can be seen next week, then that’s great. The vet may just recommend having her spayed ASAP.
- 02/21/2018 at 10:47 PM
  Rain
  Participant
  547 posts
  I think it is uterine cancer. By age three, an unspayed doe has 60% chance of getting uterine cancer. Like LBJ10 said, it takes a while for the cancer to fully spread. A week is not a lot of time, which means she will be okay. It’s good that her eating habits are good. You could try giving her soaked veggies to hydrate her. I think she’s still in the pretty early stages, and should be fine after getting spayed. I don’t want to come off as rude, or questioning your care, but is there a reason why she wasn’t spayed earlier? I know that you are a very caring and devoted owner, because anyone can see that with how you put her as your top priority. I’m sure that she will be fine because it seems she is in the early stages. If you start noticing cloudy fluid, aggressiveness, lethargy or loss of appetite, then that is a sign that she is in the later stages. Continue to monitor as you are already doing and make sure to watch for these symptoms. Sending lots of love and hope to your bun!
- 02/22/2018 at 12:37 AM
  Madi Labella
  Participant
  3 posts
  Thank you for your replies! I just worry and didn’t want to give it a week if she needs immediate care. I didn’t spay her because I didn’t realize how important it was, I’ve had another bun but he was male and since I got him from the pound he was nuetered. I figured since she had 2 previous owners who seemed to really care about her that it wouldn’t be an issue if my other bun was nuetered as I figured it was to prevent breeding and to calm their demeanor. Reading about her symptoms in the past few days I’ve realized what I’ve done and am overwhelmed with guilt. I care deeply for her and she truly is my best friend. I’ve scheduled the spay with my vet after her tests on Wednesday and if she’s fit enough he will go ahead with the spay, so I’m hoping that if it is cancer it’s still only just in her uterus. She has never bled before, eats as much food as I’ll give her, and is the most social, happiest bun so maybe you’re right and it is just the beginning stages. I’ll pay anything for more time with her! And from what I’ve read, it’s very treatable if it hasn’t spread beyond the uterus. Thanks again for your replies, I just don’t know what cancer timeframe looks like for a bun or how quickly it can progress and dont want to take any risks! But feel better after reading your replies.
- 02/22/2018 at 4:23 AM
  Sirius&Luna
  Participant
  2320 posts
  Please don’t feel overwhelmed with guilt, lots of people don’t realise how important spaying is, and lots of vets don’t advocate it in the way that they should. There’s no point feeling regretful about what you haven’t done, and you clearly have the best interests of your rabbit at heart. You have noticed that there’s a problem, and you’ve made an appointment with a good rabbit vet to get it looked at. That’s all you can do at the moment!
  
  Assuming it is cancer, it’s likely that she’ll need an emergency spay, and then they’ll be able to tell you more about whether it has spread and further treatment. Fingers crossed that a spay will solve it! Please let us know how she does
- 02/22/2018 at 11:12 AM
  Rain
  Participant
  547 posts
  Don’t worry, I didn’t understand why neutering and spaying was important at first either, and actually thought it was cruel for the animals. Yes, as Sirius&Luna said, don’t feel guilty. It is not your fault, and I’m deeply sorry if I made you feel like it was. Everyone can see that you love your rabbit from the bottom of your heart.
  Believe me, I have seen owners that have actually done bad things to their rabbit, and after seeing them, I know that you are not one of them. You are able to realize when you have made a mistake, and you are quick to take action, instead of denying it and blaming it on the creature itself. That’s what makes you a good rabbit owner.
- 02/28/2018 at 8:04 PM
  Madi Labella
  Participant
  3 posts
  Thank you both for your kind words! No, you didn’t make me feel the guilt, I felt that on my own as I was sad I waited so long. I love my bunny and there’s no denying I’ll always do my best for her and treat her like the princess she is. Today was crazy, she finally had her surgery this morning and my vet who is an absolute expert and genius with every animal said it was one of his toughest yet. It took an hour and a half instead of the usual half hour spay and he had a hard time getting the uterus out as it was completely inflamed, poor baby. He showed me it when I went to pick her up and told me it was way bigger than a normal rabbit uterus, also that it had blood inside and thankfully, only pre-cancer cells which means no cancer anywhere else. The bleeding was due to an infection and he said if I had waited even just one more week she wouldn’t have made it. Which is crazy because this morning he was telling me the risks and since she is an older rabbit it was a bit more risky. He was confident and said I should but that if I needed time to think about it we can schedule for next week, thank God I gave the go ahead and he removed it today. He is the most trustworthy vet and absolutely the best there is. I’m confident not many vets could have pulled off what he did today, she didn’t take well to the anesthesia so he had to intubate which they usually don’t do with bunnies because their airways are so small. But he did it, and saved her. I am so grateful and so so so happy to have her back at home. She’s currently sleeping in her room having some peace and quiet time. Gave her water and fresh hay right when we got back and she drank so much and even ate a little too. Everyone at the vet fell in love with her, she is just such a special rabbit and I can’t wait for more memories with her. Feeling more gratitude than I’ve felt in a long time. Thank you for the advice and concern! It really helped me stick to my decision of seeing my vet, who knows what would’ve happened if I took her somewhere more available and they tried to do the surgery. Anyone reading this who has a rabbit that is bleeding, consider the possibility of infection and go asap! Thanks again for the help.
- 02/28/2018 at 8:40 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17244 posts
  That’s wonderful! I’m so happy things turned out well. Hopefully she will recover quickly. I’m sure you will be keeping a watchful eye on her!
- 03/01/2018 at 4:30 AM
  Sirius&Luna
  Participant
  2320 posts
  I’m so glad it went well! It’s great that she’s been eating after the spay too. Wishing her a speedy recovery!
- 03/01/2018 at 12:57 PM
  JMC
  Participant
  15 posts
  I’m so happy to read your positive update, and wish your little lady bun a fast recovery. I’m sure she’s so grateful to be at home with you, already feeling a little better. It was very emotional reading your original post as I can only imagine the panic and worry I would feel going through that. It sounds like your vet is very caring and dedicated, and the surgery came just in time. Wonderful news.
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