Bunny intensive care

[GemmaW]

So, our girl bun, Mini, has been sick on & off since Feb this year, starting with stasis then a run of UTIs and urinary incontinence (see here:https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/130436/Default.aspx)

We now know that she has a bad infection in her bladder, as a result of it’s position in the pelvis. It’s a v resistant bacteria, so she’s being treated with sub-q penicillin, plus a multitude of pain killers, motility drugs etc etc. Unfortunately 4 days after starting treatment she stopped eating & became v dehydrated. We rushed her to the vets & she was admitted to their care on Tuesday morning.

We saw her tonight, and though she’s eating a bit on her own now, she’s obviously pretty poorly. She’s just about maintaining her weight after dropping from 2kg to 1.6kg since feb.

The vet we saw doesn’t have great bedside manner unfortunately & she didn’t seem optimistic. We basically need to keep her well til the antibiotics do their thing. I have no idea how much it’s costing us to keep her at the vets (she’s there til Monday at least) but I do think they can do more than we can at home when we’re both working. The vet either doesn’t know, or won’t say, how long they expect her to need the pencillin for. They will do a urinalysis next week to see how the infection is reacting to the antibiotics.

I’m obviously beside myself and need all the good vibes out there for our Min. She looked so sad today, they have her on opiod painkillers so think she’s pretty spaced out. We just don’t know what will happen or how long she can keep this up. Anyone had a similar experience?

G

[Sarita]

Okay so from what I understand the vet doesn’t know how long it will actually take for the condition to improve with the pen-g shots, is that correct? And she started the pen-g shots 4 days ago? Is that correct?

[GemmaW]

If the vet knows, she hasn’t told us. She just said they’d run some tests again next week which will tell them if the infection has improved. Mini’s first shot was last Thursday, so 8 days ago. They are every two days so she would have had 5 by now in total.

The original vet we saw at this practice was great, so I will be insisting on speaking to her on Monday to get a more full update. Our appointment was specifically made with her this afternoon, but unfortunately she was called away, so we got the other vet instead who didn’t seem massively keen to give us any info.

This is a vet practice we have been referred to for their specialist knowledge, as our own vet had run out of ideas for the symptoms Mini has been presenting since March. So it’s a relief to have finally gotten to the bottom of Mini’s problems for the last few months. We’re as confident as we can be that this irregular positioning of the bladder, which causes the pelvis to pinch and irritate it (leading to the infection of course), is to blame. But of course, now it’s a case of how she responds to treatment for an infection that may have been brewing since early March…and it’s certainly not been plain sailing so far.

[Sarita]

Hopefully you will be able to speak with the first vet.

I think it’s best if the vet will be honest with you so you can decide if the treatment is going to really work as you do not want Mini to suffer.

[GemmaW]

Absolutely.

Of course it goes without saying that I’d do anything if it will make her better. But I really don’t want to put her through an aggressive treatment that has little chance of success. I just have no idea at the moment if we’re making progress or if we’re just treading water. It’s making for a very anxious time…

[stella'smom]

just wanted to say so sorry for what you and min are going through… hugs <3

[GemmaW]

Thanks Stella’s Mom, I really appreciate it. I’m feeling a bit more positive this week – we’re still taking it day by day, but she’s started eating pellets again and has gained a bit of weight back. She’s still being syringe fed as well though. The vets want to keep her until they think she can maintain her weight herself, which may be a while yet. I’m going to try to visit today. This is practice we were referred to, so it’s not local, and they only allow visiting at lunchtime…not ideal! My work are not loving me right now!

The important thing is going to be seeing what kind of progress the antibiotics are making with the infection *fingers crossed*.

[Author]

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