Dorian has another upset tum

[prince dorian the bun]

He’s been not feeling well since around 2:30ish (about 4hrs). I have tried 3 doses simethecone and Metacam. He luckily isn’t getting worse,  but is not great either.  He won’t eat and is acting like he can’t get comfy. I have given him a couple massages and some weak peppermint tea. He did have a few poops early on, but none anymore.

My vet situation is not good and I am running out of ideas. I do have some critical care I was thinking of giving him, but don’t want to make things worse. If anyone has an advice on what else I can do that would be appreciated!

Oh and he is molting,  he tends to get these during molting, but usually he’s recovered quicker.

[prince dorian the bun]

Ended up feeding him some critical care which seemed to perk him up. He ran about like toddler on a sugar high and refused to eat hay or greens but did eat a small piece of apple and tried to get more. He’s stopped being so hyper and has had a little hay and drank a lot of water, so here’s hoping he’s on the mend.

[Ana William]

I’m glad that Dorian are bettere 🙂

[DanaNM]

I’m glad he perked up! My go-to when a bun is off are to start with fluids and simethicone. If that doesn’t help I feed them and give metacam (if I have it and the bun has had it before). If I’m unsure I usually just do a very small amount of food and see how that goes. It sounds like your intuition was the right move in this case!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[prince dorian the bun]

Thanks Dana. I hate that both of them have this issue, it’s always a horrible feeling of I might lose one of them and I can’t even rush them to an emergency vet. It’s always around molting and  I don’t believe it’s fur ingestion, suspect it’s some hormonal change or such. Dorian never got as bad as Miu did, but he still was in so much pain and I didn’t feel like the metcam helped with that (but maybe it did eventually?). They barely get treats, only 1/4 cup of pellets a day for both of them to share, eat a ton of hay get a variety of leafy greens & Dorian especially always gets gold stars at the vet appointment. So just at a loss for prevention.

[DanaNM]

Some buns are just really sensitive, unfortunately. My Bunston was like this, where he would just get these random “attacks” of poor appetite and gut slowing. You could try going on a hay-only diet for a while to see if that helps? Some buns are sensitive to pellets or a specific green, or a specific pellet ingredient. Or you could go hay-only just around molting time to see if that helps.

Do you have sub-q fluids? Those can also be really helpful as a first think to try at home when a GI episode hits, and are unlikely to do harm. Myra used to get these bouts of pain with molting and sub-q fluids would perk her up almost immediately. Since these things happen regularly with your bun I would ask your vet if they can prescribe you a bag of fluids and show you how to give them (one bag will keep for a very long time, even if you use some of it).

Personally, I don’t hesitate to syringe feed when a bun won’t eat, unless I have a clear reason suspect a blockage (not just molting, but something like they’ve eaten a large amount of some foreign material). At the rescue I volunteered at, all the senior staff all feel the same and my old vet said that is usually their first course of action even when a blockage is suspected, because the goal is to try to push the blockage through. The only time they really wouldn’t was in a case of true bloat. Obviously that’s my personal choice and it’s not without risks, but there are also clear benefits to syringe feeding right when a gut slowdown is suspected, so I feel it’s worth the risk.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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