I think my vet gave up on my bunny

[Maree's Bunnies]

Hi everyone,

 

I took my bunny, Thumper, to a popular rabbit specialist a little over a week ago. She is 8 years old, intact, and seemed happy and healthy, but then she started holding up her hind left foot one day. My family thought she might have a sore hock or nail, so we picked her up, gave her a trim and treated her foot with some iodine, and waited to see if she would heal. But after 8 days of her still limping, we noticed she started getting wobbly because she stopped walking on her left back leg. So suspecting a break or fracture, we set up an appointment to see a very popular and recommended specialist clinic.

I thought the specialist was really rough with Thumpy, considering we took her in for a possible spine or leg injury. She was kind of dropping her onto the floor to see how Thumpy would stand, and she couldn’t properly, so was falling onto her side. The visit was definitely the most stressful vet visit Thumpy has ever had. We had to leave her there for 2 hours for x-rays and she looked terrified when we came back.

The vet diagnosed my little girl with a large mass on her uterus and she wouldn’t entertain the idea that it could be something other than cancer, like uterine hyperplasia or a cyst. We left with still no idea why she couldn’t walk, the vet pretty much guessed that the cancer had skipped spreading to Thumpy’s lungs and heart and instead spread to her spine, compressing it and causing partial paralysis The vet didn’t offer any next steps for further diagnosis or how to look after Thumpy in her state, saying my idea of a wheelchair would be “strange”. Thumpy was prescribed Medicam and Tramadol for pain relief and we were told to just keep her comfortable until she passes away or loses her other leg’s function or her bladder function. 

But my family and I don’t want to give up on her, she’s our baby. I wanted to ask if anyone else has had experience with uterine cancer spreading to the spine instead of the chest. We tried to bring up wanting to go to a CT scan next to try and see for sure what’s going on, because my family suspect that the maybe-cancer hasn’t spread and maybe there’s time to get it out and her partial paralysis is actually not related to the mass in her abdomen… and maybe we can save her still? We’ve been doing so much research and there are so many things that could cause partial paralysis and the more we look the more we realize just how little the vet did to test why she can’t use her leg, like we asked for a blood test and that wasn’t done. It feels like the vet kind of just seen a uterine mass and wrote Thumper off.

So I was just wondering if anyone has any advice. This has been really bizarre for us, we’ve all been a mess since the visit, and it’s hard to think straight on what we should do next. Thanks for reading everyone.

 

[jerseygirl]

Sending some {{{vibes}}} for your girl.
Im sorry the whole experience was stressful and that you received some worrisome news.

She was kind of dropping her onto the floor to see how Thumpy would stand, and she couldn’t properly, so was falling onto her side.

This sounds like the vet was testing if she could bear weight on the leg. She wasn’t dropping her from table height, right?!

Did the vet suggest any surgery regarding the uterine condition? It’s a pity they didn’t do some blood tests, as this would be good to do for an older rabbit, especially if surgery is required. Even if it were possible leg surgery you were expecting.

In my mind, this mass does take priority. If it were my rabbit, I would want to look at having the uterus removed if a vet was willing, and then find out exactly what the mass is. 

 If it is a benign mass, cyst, cancerous but not yet spread, it could be possible the mass itself is affecting movement. That would be a better scenario then metastases. The surgery may help resolve the hind leg issue but that would not be guaranteed. 

But the uterine mass is more of a risk currently.

If it is malignant, it is possible there has been a spread. It could be local or more wide spread. It also could be a newly grown tumour that has not yet spread but will at later date. There are multiple possibilities.. 

Uterine cancers absolutely can spread to other places then the lungs. All organs in the abdomen and or chest, brain, they thyroid, and yes, to bones. There have been cases of it metasticizing to the femur. You would need additional scans done to confirm this. 

If you are not comfortable taking her back to this vet, you can always ask they give you the notes and copy of x-rays and seek out another vet. You’ve paid for them, they should give you the file or forward to another clinic at least.

 I do suggest ringing to speak further with they vet you saw though and have a discussion about how to go forward. It might be a case of you both needing some time to process what has been discovered. You received some confronting news at the appointment and it can leave you reeling.  The restricted time we get with the vet doesn’t help. 

Personally, my brain often disappears when Im in the room and I end up with a bunch of questions afterwards, once I’m at home.

[Doodler]

I am so sorry for what Thumper, you and your family are going through.

I know it probably wasn’t a cheap visit but I would get a second opinion. It’s not unusual for rabbits to be scared at the vet’s office but I would be alarmed if they were really rough with my bunnies as you describe. I don’t know the background on why they are popular and recommended but from your description I would question why.

When I choose a vet I want one that knows their stuff, are kind with my animals, and are willing to take the time to explain. In your bunny’s case I can understand why they went to cancer first just because of how prevalent it is when they aren’t spayed. With that said the vet should have been able to explain why they aren’t considering any other causes of the mass or limp. I would also want the reason why they are not willing to have any other diagnostic steps done, considering you are willing to pay for it and are asking for it.

Playing devil’s advocate it could be that, based on her clinical findings, they may have no doubt it is cancer and they may feel other measures are futile based on how advanced it might be. IF that is the case, and that is a big IF, she still should have clearly explained this to you.

Can I ask why you decided to treat her with iodine? Was there something on her hock or leg that looked like it needed to be treated like that?

[LBJ10]

Hmm… it’s hard to say what is truly causing the hind limb weakness/paralysis. Uterine cancer spreading to the spine first (before anywhere else) would certainly be unusual, but not impossible. I take it no spots were observed in the lungs in the xrays?

One possibility (if the mass is causing this problem) is that the mass is pressing on a nerve. Another possibly is that the hind limb paralysis is unrelated to the mass. After all, rabbits can have uterine cancer for a long time before they show any signs of being ill. This type of cancer is often slow to spread. Then you would have to look at other causes of hind limb weakness or paralysis… like EC or other conditions. Things like EC can lie dormant and then surface when a rabbit is stressed or their immune system is compromised.

Did the vet say anything about possibly spaying her? I know she is 8, but it would be something to consider.

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