Fish Oil for Rabbit Arthritis?

[FlemishMom]

 When my vet diagnosed Sam with arthritis she recommended fish oil and glucosamine for starters.  We are currently using Cosequin for glucosamine–it is a cat glucosamine supplement flavored like chicken–Sam’s okay with it but Max wants nothing to do with it.  So I was very happy to find in the binkybunny store that someone had put together a joint supplement with glucosamine and other herbs specifically for rabbits.  

I have finally reached the point that I do want to try the fish oil too but am just so skeptical that my rabbits will go anywhere near it given the smell, yet my vet assures me they have  no problem with it.

 

Has ANYONE successfully given their rabbits fish oil?  I would love to hear about it.

[jerseygirl]

Gosh, id have trouble giving it to my rabbits too. Would one of the alternatives help? Rose oil? Flaxseed oil?
My sister gives her children a fish oil product to her children that is actually nice tasting! It’s sort of emulsified, sweet and fruit flavoured. Which probably means lots of sugar…

I may have mentioned this in one of your other threads: you could look into Cosamin ds (human version) as alternative to cosequin. One of BB’s past forum leaders was a vet tech and posted on here that this could be given.

[Elrohwen]

I have never heard of fish oil for arthritis! I’ve heard of it for other things of course, but not that. I’m really not sure how you would get it to a bunny in the normal flavoring, though as jerseygirl mentioned, you might be able to find a variety meant for children that has some flavorings

[FlemishMom]

The vet had said fish oil with both omega 3 and omega 6’s so I was really surprised at the selection of fish oil at Target, for starters—most fish oil was listed only for omega 3’s; there was some flazxxseed listed for omega 3 and 6; but flaxseed is a laxative for many humans so I was hesitant to use that. But then there was a Nature Made brand that purported to contain omega 3, 6, and 9’s, whatever those are– it contained a combination of fish oil, flaxseed, olive and canola oil. I thought that was worth a try.

I had decided to try delivering it via an apple quarter as I was having trouble getting Max to eat the Cosequin and hoped that would absorb into the sweet juice of the apple; then I would just drizzle a little oil over that. Well, good old Sam, he chowed right through it. At first Max wanted nothing to do with it but saw what Sam was eating, came over to eat some of it and later started gnawing on his own quarter so temporarily we may have something that works.

I think the reason the omega 3’s and 6’s are recommended is that they are critical to the manufacture of natural antiinflammatories. . . . plus supposedly having good impact on cholesterol and the heart, etc.

I really doubt they would have tolerated straight fish oil. I guess I’ll find out this evening whether it had an effect on their bowels . . . . .(Such fun!)

[jerseygirl]

Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory also. I’m pretty sure I read a post recently that a member is giving the powder from the capsules to her rabbit.
I’m curious what it does to the colour of their pee ! :p

[Bam]

I don’t know about fish-oil for rabbits but I know there are excellent supplements for arthritic horses f ex http://www.cortaflex.com/coso.html. Perhaps that could be an option seeing that horses and rabbits are somewhat alike being herbivores and all.

I have a friend who gives this supplement to his dog, a 14 year old husky, and she’s gone from barely being able to get down the steps into the garden to do her needs to taking daily long walks in the nearby woods with the other family dog (+ the owner, of course!) The difference is really amazing. She’s playful again and her good temper has returned – she was probably grumpy before because she was in pain.

The big bottle would last a very long time for a rabbit though.

[FlemishMom]

Well, they did eat the oil drizzled over apples so it can’t be too bad. . . . That’s interesting about the turmeric; I have also ordered that new Joint Supplement for rabbits that BinkyBunny carries and I believe it is primarily a glucosamine product but has turmeric, ginger and yucca to aid with inflammation too. I wonder if it will turn their pee more yellow!

I will say the three weeks of every other day injections with Adequan (a compound related to glucosamine but able to inhibit enzymes that build up arthritic deposits and help cartilage strengthen as well; developed for use in horses and also available for dogs–when do we humans get to take it?!?!?) has really been amazing. Now that they have taken it for three weeks they just get it once a week or once every two weeks depending on how they need to maintain. . . . I was a little late starting with the glucosamine and fish oil because I didn’t realize what a huge difference all these products could make as the arthritis advanced. . . Stupid me! Grateful me that they are helping as much as they are.—- believe it or not, Sam, who a few weeks ago stopped standing up altogether, last night started hopping again. It was a bit like a baby starting to crawl though–he still doesn’t get his feet completely under himself but is more like a vertical and horizontal table top with legs. He makes about two hops before he doesn’t get the legs back fast enough but he’s SO PLEASED with himself– he kept me up all last night thumping around on the floor doing this! I am so proud of him. Thanks for your support and advice! I’ll let you know how the other product with turmeric and other herbs helps out over time. They say both for it and the fish oil that it really takes six weeks before you notice anything . . . .

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