How do you know when (if) the vet is taking advantage?

[Hazel416]

I am having some issues with Hazel over the last couple days. She didn’t touch her dinner veggies on Sunday (yesterday) night and it seemed like she had barely touched her hay all day. She was also very lethargic and still, hunched mostly in a corner of her large living area. I knew something was wrong, but being Sunday night the vet was closed. I decided I would keep an eye on her and call the vet in the morning. I even tried massaging her abdomen in case she was having some gas issues.

Then this morning she still hadn’t eaten any of her hay or veggies, and was basically in the same spot. At that point it had been about 12 hours of no eating/pooping so I brought her to the vet. Unfortunately my regular vet was not in so I had to bring her to a new one.

The vet decided to keep her there for the day. She said she could feel that Hazel’s belly was bloated and things weren’t moving well. She said they would monitor her all day, force-feeding her with a syringe, as well as injecting fluid into her, massaging her belly, and trying to get her to exercise.

Unfortunately they called back about four hours later saying still no poop, but that she seemed to be okay. But then I got another call from the vet techs maybe one hour later. The tech said the veterinarian had left but right after she left they noticed some blood in Hazel’s urine. They said they wanted to get my permission to perform a urinalysis and culture, if they were able to collect a urine sample. I agreed because it seemed pretty serious now (despite that at the beginning of the appointment the vet did not seem to think things were too bad aside from the sore tummy).

I asked the tech how this could happen, and she said it was probably a urinary tract infection. I asked how those could happen – because Hazel is so well taken care of, I want to know what to do better/differently – and she said they can just happen. She also said after the urinalysis it may be necessary to do x-rays to determine the cause etc…

The vet bill is adding up. What I thought would be a $200 visit (examination plus some meds to get things moving) has now turned into $600 and counting.

I want to know how to know when (if) they are just taking advantage, and when I should say no to further examinations/tests. I don’t know rabbits well enough to decide when they can forego certain treatments. I feel like they are more fragile than dogs, so I want to do whatever the vet recommends. But at the same time, I don’t have endless money. Does anyone have any advice? Is it possible the vet is taking advantage? When is enough enough?

I am in Canada by the way. Not sure if that makes a difference (other than the fact that we don’t have any pet insurance for rabbits).

[Deleted User]

Honestly, they sound like a really good and caring vet to try and make sure everything is right with your bun. Bunnies are much more fragile than dogs and can have numerous undetected issues at once because they hide their pain. And yes they can be very expensive. As someone who had to take out a special care credit card because Bombur cost me 2,000 on a single visit for a near death experience, I say yes they sound like a great vet. A good vet will want to explore every avenue of what could be troubling your bunny.

[Mikey]

My Bombur has UTIs about once a month, sometimes as bad as once a week. It is very true that UTIs can “just happen”. Its nothing you are doing wrong, nothing you are doing right. The only advice I could offer would be, if it is a UTI, to keep her living space as dust free as possible.

When my Badger had an unknown illness (he was choking on snot that was pooling from his mouth and nose), we ran whatever tests my vet recommended. That added up quickly to about 500$. Through that, she also noted that hes very small for his breed (1lbs dutch) and wanted to run a few more tests to ensure hes healthy. Within about two weeks, we spent almost all of our savings, close to 2,000$. He has ultrasounds done, xrays done, so much blood work. All to find out he was relatively healthy, just that he has a muscle and fat disorder (he cant gain weight or muscle easily, but loses it very quickly). To some, that might sound like a waste of money, but to hear from the vet that hes actually ok/isnt going to die any time soon from any of this, was so comforting. We also learned that he will have issues with this his whole life, which was very helpful so we know how to combat this as he gets older Of course, before running each test, the vet talked to us in depth about what that meant for us, how much it costed, and why it costed so much if we asked. She answered any and all of our questions, and calmed us down when we were worried.

So, personally, I think your vet is doing great! Their job is to find out whats wrong, and to ask you permission before proceeding on tests and treatment. I think if you have questions (“why is this happening?”, “why does it cost that much?”, “what will this test be able to tell us?”, etc) you should ask them next time the vet calls. It is just part of their jobs

[Hazel416]

Great replies, thank you both so much. I totally agree. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t just paying for nothing. But when I went back to the vet today, the tech was so informative, so caring and so helpful. She clearly cared a lot and gave me so much information and advice.

I just have one more question then, and you already touched on it but I would like to know if maybe anyone else has input… if it is a urinary tract infection, is there anything I can do to prevent these from happening again in the future? Not only to save the $600, but to save my Hazel from suffering. I don’t want her to have to go through this again. She is not herself at all and seems to be very much in pain and distress 

Thanks again.

[LBJ10]

Not a lot you can do. Some individuals are just more susceptible. Maybe her urethra is shorter or something is arranged in a way that bacteria collects somewhere. It’s hard to say.

Some people have used a urinary supplement for their buns. Oxbow makes one. I don’t know how effective it is, but I suppose it couldn’t hurt.

[Sirius&Luna]

Its very normal to keep a rabbit in with GI issues – even though not eating for a day doesn’t sound like a big deal, actually for rabbits its a major issue, and needs serious treatment. The vets sound like they know what they’re doing.

[sarahthegemini]

I’m glad you’re happy with your vet

I think a lot of it comes down to trust. We have to trust that – as vets – they are only interested in what is best for our animals. I would assume those that take advantage are few and far between. I personally would opt for every test that the vet recommends simply because I am no expert, if I was, I wouldn’t need a vet I would rather spend whatever on getting tests done that may have been unnecessary than refuse and regret later. Of course it’s easy to say that when money isn’t an issue but I’m lucky that in the UK we have pretty good animal insurance.

[Hazel416]

Thanks again for your input everyone.

I am really heartbroken to let you know that Hazel passed away very suddenly last night.

I picked her up from the vet and things seemed to be looking up (she had pooped), and I was going to be syringe-feeding her until she started eating on her own. But all of a sudden she was gone. We tried to bring her to the emergency vet but it was too late. The whole thing was a traumatic experience for me the way it happened, and I feel so bad that she was suffering.

In hindsight I am really glad I spent the money on getting all the tests the vets recommended. Obviously it was too late, but knowing now how quickly these things can escalate, it makes sense to spend the money to be sure you are doing everything you can to get your bunny better. Nonetheless, I am heartbroken.

Thanks again.

[Sirius&Luna]

I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m glad that you have the reassurance of knowing you did everything you could – it really does sound like the vet did all the right things too. Since she had been to the vet, I’m sure she would have been given pain killers, so be assured that she wasn’t in pain, even if it was traumatic for you. Sadly, sometimes these things happen, bunnies are such fragile creatures.

Hazel was obviously a very loved bunny, who had a very happy life.

Binky free Hazel <3

[sarahthegemini]

So sorry to hear this Binky on little Hazel xxx

[Deleted User]

So sorry

(((Hazel)))

[Deleted User]

I am so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you did all you could for her and it wont be in vain.

It can been expensive keeping bunnies. I spent 3k on my little one in only 6 months — but it was well worth it and his now going strong.

As tough as these little one can be, they are very complex and hide illnesses very well. You should be proud of yourself for helping her as much as you could.

[Mikey]

I am so sorry to hear all of that I dont believe that would be a UTI as they usually dont get that bad this quickly. I am so sorry for your loss. You truely did all you could have done. She went knowing you did you always showered her in love and care

[Bam]

I’m so very sorry you lost Hazel. You did everything. It can happen so fast.

Binky free, ****Hazel****

[Hazel416]

Thank you all 

[Author]

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