Diet

[EmilyL]

 My Abby has been struggling lately with illness, and I’m still not sure if she’s better. I’m sure some of you remember her and her illness from last week. I thought for sure she was better after starting her on the 4th antibiotic. There were no longer reddish-brown stains all over her cage floor and she was binkying and going crazy again. Yesterday, I noticed some more stains but these were more brown than the previous ones. Then this morning she was making what sounded like the purring noise, and she does that all the time when I cuddle her, but I’m not sure that she’s ever done it just sitting there falling asleep. Then this afternoon, there was one big brownish stain on the cage floor, and there was one little brown thing which I think may have been a piece of poop. Anyways, I’m trying to figure out if these stains are the same kind as before (meaning her cancer may have returned) or if these may be loose stools that are being smeared.

She used to eat a lot of pellets and I realized how fat she was getting so I reduced it to a small handful at nighttime. She gets unlimited orchard grass hay (she does not like timothy hay that much), and gets large portions every couple days of spring mix (romaine, baby spinach, etc) and carrots, with occasional fruit (when I was trying to get her to lose weight I replaced her yogurt treats with raisins, and if I’m eating fruit she’ll get a slice. Is this a healthy diet? I’ve read some articles that say rabbits are better off just eating hay all day with small amounts of salad/fresh herbs for dinner. I ask because if these are runny stools I want to fix it because I NEED to know if she is sick (it’s killing me not knowing if it’s cancer).

Thank you and sorry for the long post… Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

[kamdynandsunshinesmom]

I can totally understand where your coming from because I was in your shoes a year and half ago. Kamdyn kept falling over and after taking him to the vets and trying lots of medications thinking it was head tilt nothing was working. Finally after 5 months we did an exray which confirmed 1 of 2 things either an infection or cancer. The vet didn’t think it was infection since he was on antibiotics for a long time and it didn’t get better. I took kamdyn for a 2nd opinion and she sent records to a rabbit specialist and it was confirmed kamdyn had a cancerous tumour on his spine. I was heart broken. Now kamdyn would never be able to hop again or move around like a normal rabbit. I ddin’t realized there were so many rabbits living that are disabled. I came in contact with a disabled rabbits yahoo chat which was very helpful. Now I have kamdyn on a routine. He gets metacam twice a day to control his pain from the cancer. His entire cage is handicapp accessible. I bath kamdyn once a day clean his cage about 5 times a day. He has towels and fleece in his cage. He doesn’t use a litterbox anymore because it just wasn’t working for him. I wanted so bad for kamdyn not to have cancer or become disabled. I have now excepted the fact and taking care of a disabled rabbit is something so special for you and the rabbit. Here is a link for some helpful info on taking care of a disabled rabbit http://www.hopperhome.com/Disabled%20Rabbit.htm. Kamdyn does have a messy bottom most of the time I just have to give him a bath everyday. He has lost some weight because he doesn’t move around so he lost muscle because when you don’t have it you lose it. I asked the vet and she said his weight isn’t a concern he still looks healthy. I hope everything works out for the best and I will keep you and your bun in my prayers. Have a Happy Thanksgiving from me and my bunnies!

[kamdynandsunshinesmom]

I can totally understand where your coming from because I was in your shoes a year and half ago. Kamdyn kept falling over and after taking him to the vets and trying lots of medications thinking it was head tilt nothing was working. Finally after 5 months we did an exray which confirmed 1 of 2 things either an infection or cancer. The vet didn’t think it was infection since he was on antibiotics for a long time and it didn’t get better. I took kamdyn for a 2nd opinion and she sent records to a rabbit specialist and it was confirmed kamdyn had a cancerous tumour on his spine. I was heart broken. Now kamdyn would never be able to hop again or move around like a normal rabbit. I ddin’t realized there were so many rabbits living that are disabled. I came in contact with a disabled rabbits yahoo chat which was very helpful. Now I have kamdyn on a routine. He gets metacam twice a day to control his pain from the cancer. His entire cage is handicapp accessible. I bath kamdyn once a day clean his cage about 5 times a day. He has towels and fleece in his cage. He doesn’t use a litterbox anymore because it just wasn’t working for him. I wanted so bad for kamdyn not to have cancer or become disabled. I have now excepted the fact and taking care of a disabled rabbit is something so special for you and the rabbit. Here is a link for some helpful info on taking care of a disabled rabbit http://www.hopperhome.com/Disabled%20Rabbit.htm. Kamdyn does have a messy bottom most of the time I just have to give him a bath everyday. He has lost some weight because he doesn’t move around so he lost muscle because when you don’t have it you lose it. I asked the vet and she said his weight isn’t a concern he still looks healthy. I hope everything works out for the best and I will keep you and your bun in my prayers. Have a Happy Thanksgiving from me and my bunnies!

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