Apologies if this is a long post.
My absolutely beloved bunny Pand who is 7 years old hasn’t been well for the last week. It came suddenly and out of nowhere and I suspected it to be a bout of gut stasis as I have had other bunnies who have suffered from it including her sister who unfortunately had to be euthanised due to it after being only discharged the day prior not even 2 years ago. Pand on the other hand has never come down with it until now. Signs of not eating, drinking, toileting and generally looking uncomfortable made me instantly panic which all happened in the evening when her vet was closed (and of course all my medication stash had expired) so I rushed her off in the morning where I found out Zantac, which has always been given to my bunnies in the past has been mass recalled and is no longer available in Australia, and despite there being other gut moving drugs the vet suggested sub skin fluids as she was dehydrated, metacam/meloxicam (which was in the largest dose i’ve ever seen given) and Critical Care (which is always fun) only. She stayed the night and was discharged the next evening but I could still tell something wasn’t right so again, she was rushed back in the morning. She stayed several nights and continued what they had been doing with no improvement, she was switched to Tramadol, blood work was done which came back completely clear, sedated her for suspected dental problem (which only ended up being and minor spur of a tooth) and full body xrays. Her xrays unfortunately showed the devastating reality that shes suffering from a enlarged heart which they suspect is why she is not eating or drinking on her own. Shes since had an appointment where I had to travel over the travel restriction limit in place here to a heart specialist yesterday for further testing with another blow, her heart enlargement is being caused by the leaking of one of her heart valves. They couldn’t tell me if she had fluid in her lungs but her breathing is normal at this point in time and her blood is well oxygenated. They’ve given medication which is commonly used in dogs with heart trouble that she is to have twice a day which may assist in slowing the progression but they didn’t seem to really know, nor could they give a prognosis of time.
She still will not eat or drink on her own unless I pretty much stick it in her face and swish it around her nose (I have seen her pick a very few pieces of hay herself), her poo is still small and irregularly shaped. She is having critical care 3 times a day but as i’ve had trouble in the past with force feeding other bunnies, shes proving to be no different, if not worse, shes extremely well behaved but as soon as I burrito her up in a towel for a feed all hell breaks loose, she gets extremely worked up and that cant be helping her heart.
She has a appointment with her vet later today but id like to know does anyone have any suggestions on things I can do to assist her? Or has anyone had experiences of bunnies with heart trouble? I’m absolutely devastated and just about at my limit with stressing and depression rearing its ugly face back into my life.
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