Gracie’s tail is shot

[skibunny8503]

I wasn’t sure whether to post this here or not but I thought I’d let everyone know how she’s doing…

Gracie can no longer get her tail up to pee.   I think her arthrtis/paralysis/EC or whatever she has went to her tail now.  We gave her another shot of adaquan so she’ll be getting it twice a week now.  I think it does help her mobility but not with her tail.  When she hops around it now just wigges around like she has no control of it.  It stays down when she pees making it so she pees on herself ALL the time.  We gave her a bath twice on Tuesday, once yesterday, and she needs another one today after supper.  I think I’m just pulling onto strings but does anyone have any experience with this or advice.  I’m not really expecting anything I guess I just want to make sure that there’s nothing else we’re missing.  I’ll call her vet in Akron to see what he says tomorrow but I doubt he’ll say to much.  It pains me to say that I think the end might be inching up close for her.  We’re doing everything we can but her rear just looks so bad and it can eventually get infected.  It’s difficult because she is eating very well but as of the past few days she does seema bit miserable.  I really wanted more time with her but I don’t know if that’s going to happen.  But when I cry almost every day when I give her a bath, I know in my heart she just isn’t going to magically get better.  I feel bad for her and even for Archie.  I just keep going through the scenerio in my head of the dreaded day when we do decide and it just breaks my heart.  I think with my first bunny it was easier for me because he was so bad and I had moved out and he was living with my family.  I’m so much closer with Gracie than I ever was my other rabbit, Mickey.  

[MimzMum]

Oh sweetie, I’m sorry to her Gracie is struggling. I don’t have any advice to offer, but I’ll be sending along many healing and stabilizing vibes for your dear bun! ((((((((((Gracie)))))))))))))))))
I’m almost in the same boat here. After thinking I’d gotten Mimzy’s arthritis under control (he apparently has a large spur poking up from his left hip joint now) and had also eliminated his incontinence and ‘snuffles’ problems, they are all back and with a vengeance. He also seem like he doesn’t want to lift his tail to pee, put that with he doesn’t seem to realize sometimes that he IS peeing and then we have a big mess to clear up.

I can’t find anything to set him on that he won’t tear into pieces and maybe swallow, so bedding or Carefresh is out. But I do put some of my less expensive orchard grass into his box to help keep his bottom off the moister litter in his pan, if I don’t have time to scoop it frequently. When he’s in his xpen I feel like I’m constantly on the lookout for a spill and armed with paper towels and cleanser (for the floor) and puppy wipes for his bum until I can get him to the sink to wash him.

Bunny bum baths are very rough for me to give, I have very squirmy bunnies who don’t want anything touching their rear ends. I commend you that you are able to get through these frequent ones with Gracie.
Keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers! I know this must be an incredibly difficult time for you right now.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m so very sorry to hear that Gracie is so unwell. I truly wish I could say something of comfort or helpful advice but all I can do is offer my support and ((((Gracie))))) vibes. Hopefully someone else will have useful information for you. **Hugs**

Mimz- Sorry to hear about Mimzy too.

[Elrohwen]

I’m so sorry that Gracie is getting worse 🙁 I know how hard it is to go through those last days, so you have major hugs and support from me. I don’t have any advice other than you’ll know when the time is right. You guys have been fantastic bunny parents to her and she’s so lucky to have spent time with you guys.

[skibunny8503]

Posted By MimzMum on 08/18/2011 10:15 PM
Oh sweetie, I’m sorry to her Gracie is struggling. I don’t have any advice to offer, but I’ll be sending along many healing and stabilizing vibes for your dear bun! ((((((((((Gracie)))))))))))))))))
I’m almost in the same boat here. After thinking I’d gotten Mimzy’s arthritis under control (he apparently has a large spur poking up from his left hip joint now) and had also eliminated his incontinence and ‘snuffles’ problems, they are all back and with a vengeance. He also seem like he doesn’t want to lift his tail to pee, put that with he doesn’t seem to realize sometimes that he IS peeing and then we have a big mess to clear up.

I can’t find anything to set him on that he won’t tear into pieces and maybe swallow, so bedding or Carefresh is out. But I do put some of my less expensive orchard grass into his box to help keep his bottom off the moister litter in his pan, if I don’t have time to scoop it frequently. When he’s in his xpen I feel like I’m constantly on the lookout for a spill and armed with paper towels and cleanser (for the floor) and puppy wipes for his bum until I can get him to the sink to wash him.

Bunny bum baths are very rough for me to give, I have very squirmy bunnies who don’t want anything touching their rear ends. I commend you that you are able to get through these frequent ones with Gracie.
Keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers! I know this must be an incredibly difficult time for you right now.

 

Oh MimzMum I’m so sorry to hear about Mimzy!  I have the same problem with Gracie, I have a fleece blanket in their cage.  Archie will chew on it but for the most part Gracie will sit on it.  It also helps for absorbing pee.  Yes same with Gracie, sometimes she doesn’t realize she’s peeing or that she has to go but can’t feel back there and can’t push it out.  Is Mimzy’s bum all urine soaked sometimes?  Yeah, luckilly Gracie is a pretty good bunny when it comes to baths.  But she’s starting to get upset when I pick her up, she has lunged and scrapped her teeth (she’s older so biting won’t hurt me since she’s not as quick) on my arm.  My mom said sometimes when they’re older and there’s stuff wrong with them or they’re in pain that animals will act out.  She might be getting to that point.  There’s sometimes when I look at her and know it’s time but then she’ll give me this look and I just can’t let her go.  It’ll be even harder as my pregnancy goes further.  Right now I’m not showing too much and I can move around but towards the end I’m going to just need my husband to help me with her (which he’s more than willing).  I don’t want to push her aside because we’re having a kid, I’m not one of those people that wouldn’t put her down because of that.  I’ve never lost someone close to my heart before so I think it’ll be pretty difficult whenever we do decide.  I’ll send vibes for your bun too (((((Mimzy))))  And thanks to the rest of you guys, it’s good to know I can talk on here and vent about this.  No one else would really understand that doesn’t have a rabbit.

[MimzMum]

I’ve had a little luck getting Mimz used to one of the older mattresses I used to use for Fiver. He still likes to dig and tear at it though, and I don’t want him swallowing any of it. As it is, after a few days using it, his poos are dwindling in size (not sure if it’s ingested bedding or just inappetance) and he wet himself last night by sitting in the same spot in his litter pan repeatedly where it was excessively wet. (Just what I’d been trying to avoid, I don’t know why it was so soaked? He must’ve made a ton of wee yesterday.) And he was so tetchy about having his bum washed, it was ridiculous, but it was pretty well-covered and he was leaving pawprints on the habitat floor. >.< I took him out on puppy pads on the bed so I didn't have to bend (rough on my back) and he was really combative, then weed again all over the pad! I think we have a couple of cranky old bunnies, my dear!
Luckily he has a lot of fur back there, so hopefully it won’t get too close to his skin, but still….. I know he can feel something because I was taking some loose butt fluff off and he was jolting every time I did it!

I’ll continue to keep you and Gracie in my prayers… I know this has to be very hard on you and to be pregnant at the same time, the emotions don’t get a break, do they? No one here is going to think you’ve just ‘given up’ on her, not a bit! You’ve been doing all you can do and if she has those moments where she is tired of being prodded and patted, well, that’s just her illness talking. It’s when you don’t see any good days peeking through the bad that things need to be thought through.
Still, you can look at her convalescence care as some of the closest bonding you and she can do, these moments have a specialness to them that almost none other in your lives together will have had.

Bless you! ((((((((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))))))

[jerseygirl]

{{{Gracie}}}

I get a bit emotional when I read about Gracies ups and downs so I can only imagine how hard it is for you Ski.

Do you think it’s possible she could have a sprain or even a fracture in the tail? It wouldn’t take much if her bones have deterioated.

[skibunny8503]

Posted By MimzMum on 08/21/2011 10:49 PM
I’ve had a little luck getting Mimz used to one of the older mattresses I used to use for Fiver. He still likes to dig and tear at it though, and I don’t want him swallowing any of it. As it is, after a few days using it, his poos are dwindling in size (not sure if it’s ingested bedding or just inappetance) and he wet himself last night by sitting in the same spot in his litter pan repeatedly where it was excessively wet. (Just what I’d been trying to avoid, I don’t know why it was so soaked? He must’ve made a ton of wee yesterday.) And he was so tetchy about having his bum washed, it was ridiculous, but it was pretty well-covered and he was leaving pawprints on the habitat floor. >.< I took him out on puppy pads on the bed so I didn't have to bend (rough on my back) and he was really combative, then weed again all over the pad! I think we have a couple of cranky old bunnies, my dear!
Luckily he has a lot of fur back there, so hopefully it won’t get too close to his skin, but still….. I know he can feel something because I was taking some loose butt fluff off and he was jolting every time I did it!

I’ll continue to keep you and Gracie in my prayers… I know this has to be very hard on you and to be pregnant at the same time, the emotions don’t get a break, do they? No one here is going to think you’ve just ‘given up’ on her, not a bit! You’ve been doing all you can do and if she has those moments where she is tired of being prodded and patted, well, that’s just her illness talking. It’s when you don’t see any good days peeking through the bad that things need to be thought through.
Still, you can look at her convalescence care as some of the closest bonding you and she can do, these moments have a specialness to them that almost none other in your lives together will have had.

Bless you! ((((((((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))))))

 

I have that problem with the fluffy bed I got for Gracie.  If she was alone she’d do great on it but Archie likes to chew it up and I didn’t want him to injest it so I took it out.  I had bought those palace pet beds and put them in the tunnel because she had peed by there before and we just got new carpet.  Archie doesn’t dig to much at them and he can’t tear them up.  I might buy a few more to put in the spot she sleeps in.  Days like this kill me because she was energetic today and seemed in good spirits and those are the days I don’t want to think about letting her go.  I did tell her (yeah I seem like a crazy bunny mom talking to my rabbit) that if she felt like she had to go (because she’ll sleep the whole day in that spot) to hop over by the blue rug (pet bed) and pee there.  Well I think I actually got through to her because later that day she sat up and looked paniced like “I have to go but if I move I know I’ll pee”.  She peed a little on the carpet and ran over to the bed and I think she peed the rest there and looked alittle embaressed.  I found her back to her normal spot after hiding out in the tunnel.  I haven’t had to wash her YET so that’s good but she might need a grooming appt. soon.

Gracie has thick fur too and the urine just soaks right into it.  It might be easier for you to have her shaved back there because I was kind of surprised when they did it once in an area I couldn’t see and she had urine burn.  It’s also easier to wash and dry too.  Don’t buy a cheap dog grooming tool because they won’t work, you have to get the really expensive kind to get rabbit fur.

I did call the vet in Akron just to see what he would say.  He said the Adaquan I’m giving her doesn’t really work to well on rabbits (I paid $97 for a bottle too!) but I do believe it is helping her some with mobility or I’d like to believe so. Either way there’s no side affects so he said I could keep giving it to her if I want.  I asked him if it was just from her arthritis/spine and head said yeah that’s what happens is it gets to their tail (so I don’t believe she has a broken tail because sometimes she can get it up but it’ll be shaking).  He said to give her the metacam with tramadol which I’ve been slacking on the tramadol because it’s in the fridge and I forget about it.  But I have plenty there so I’ll give it to her (I think I can do it twice a day).  He said that will help with inflamation but he didn’t really give me anything else to do and I think he had to go so I didn’t really talk to him that long.

She definately is preparing me/us for a baby, taking care of her all the time and wrapping her up in a blanket.  She even likes to be held on her back (or else she’d pee on me).  I couldn’t imagine if she fought me on getting baths, that must be so hard.  Maybe with time Mimzy will get used to them and give in.  Gracie used to fight me on meds but then finally would give in because she knew it helped her.  How old is Mimzy now?  When we got Gracie they though she was 5-6 years old so she’d be around 7-8 years old, maybe older I’m not sure.

[jerseygirl]

I did tell her (yeah I seem like a crazy bunny mom talking to my rabbit) that if she felt like she had to go (because she’ll sleep the whole day in that spot) to hop over by the blue rug (pet bed) and pee there. Well I think I actually got through to her because later that day she sat up and looked paniced like “I have to go but if I move I know I’ll pee”. She peed a little on the carpet and ran over to the bed and I think she peed the rest there and looked alittle embaressed. I found her back to her normal spot after hiding out in the tunnel.

<3 This makes me think you're going to make a great Mum. : )

[skibunny8503]

Posted By jerseygirl on 08/23/2011 07:57 AM

I did tell her (yeah I seem like a crazy bunny mom talking to my rabbit) that if she felt like she had to go (because she’ll sleep the whole day in that spot) to hop over by the blue rug (pet bed) and pee there. Well I think I actually got through to her because later that day she sat up and looked paniced like “I have to go but if I move I know I’ll pee”. She peed a little on the carpet and ran over to the bed and I think she peed the rest there and looked alittle embaressed. I found her back to her normal spot after hiding out in the tunnel.

<3 This makes me think you're going to make a great Mum. : )

 

Thanks, I hope I will be

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