Kali’s first emergency vet trip…

[Whisky The Bun]

I was a little late letting Kali out of her cage this morning. She seemed fine when I made my coffee, but then I got distracted with work, and let her out about 2 hours later than normal. And at that point, she refused to eat. Tried a couple different things to entice her, but no luck. So I called her vet and we made an emergency trip in to see why she wasn’t eating. Vet suspects her teeth, which have some spurs. So we gave her fluids just to make sure she’s hydrated and a dose of metacam and the vet gave me two things in case the pain meds didn’t get her eating again. Thankfully by the time we got home she was ready to eat. I’ll keep her on the metacam for 24 hours. And we’ve got an appointment for her teeth at the end of May (unless there’s a cancellation sooner). And in the meantime if she has another painful day I have meds for her. The tooth surgery is going to be super pricey, which sucks, since it’s looking like she’ll have to have it done at least once a year. To the tune of $400-800 (depending on if they have to pull any teeth or just file them down). Fingers crossed they just file them. And that she doesn’t need to stay overnight. She had her teeth filed during her spay surgery last June. So that’s only 9 months between filings. This is why I went on a Facebook rant earlier about people who get bunnies thinking they’ll be a cheap, low maintenance pet. And I refrained from ripping my friend’s girlfriend a new one at the bar tonight for thinking it was ridiculous to spend that kind of money on a rabbit.

But the good news is that Kali seems to be feeling just fine tonight, hopping around, eating, pooping, etc. And thankfully she likes the taste of the metacam, so giving her a dose before bed was easy once I convinced her it wasn’t another shot. ?

[Bam]

I’m glad Kali seems to be doing fine tonight! Horrible scare though. The taste of Metacam is luckily often appreciated by buns,

Teeth issues are, as you know, common in rabbits, but sometimes you can get the teeth in better shape with lots of hay and fresh grass. If you have access to pesticide-free grass from areas where racoons don’t hang out, it’s just as good for the teeth as hay. My bunny Bam’s teeth got a lot better with fresh grass (he was a lousy hay eater but readily ate fresh grass).

If this inappetence returns she’ll need the tooth burr sooner than at the end of may though. If the teeth are preventing her from chewing her food properly, that could cause gas, and gas is painful. You can give baby gasdrops (simethicone) for gas.

[Bunny House]

I do want to say, teeth do not get pulled unless they are dead because if a vet pulls them, the jaw can break so it’s only best to file them. My New Zealand gets trims every 6 months because she had a couple of teeth that died from an abscess.

People think buns are cheap animals, when in fact they aren’t, and can be more expensive than dog and cat care but people still think they are “cute fluffy things”

I’m so glad she’s doing better! Critical care is a great tool to have Incase she does stop eating and she needs to be force fed. You can also try different species of hay and see if that helps since some buns can be so picky along with the fresh gras like bam said

[Whisky The Bun]

She eats tons of hay, thankfully. And chews on apple sticks regularly, as well. 

The vet said the issue is that her mouth is so tiny that her teeth are crowded, so they’re not wearing evenly. She may have to have her teeth filed once a year or more for the rest of her life. 

I’ll bring up the teeth pulling thing with the vet. I think that was a last resort kind of thing. 

I’m just so glad she’s eating and pooping. If she has another episode (the vet said she thinks she just pinched her tongue, the burs weren’t that bad yet, so she thinks it was just an acute injury and not to the point where they’re bothering all the time yet) then I’m sure the vet will squeeze her in for surgery sooner (and I’m on the cancellation list so if another appointment opens up before then we’ll get her in sooner). 

[Whisky The Bun]

Just a quick update. Kali hasn’t had pain meds for roughly 24 hours now. She’s eating great, although taking her time a little more than normal, and is running around being her usual self. She’s also decided that all the extra attention means she’s the boss now. It’s pretty adorable. Fingers crossed things will keep going well till her surgery. She’s in a better mood than she’s been in for awhile.

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