Life expectancy question

[Alexmack2016]

Hi all, I’m hoping to get some opinions on my rabbits possible life expectancy from anyone who’s had a similar experience. Her vet wasn’t very optimistic 3 years ago but she’s still going.

 

I have a 5 year old spayed Satin rabbit, 9 pounds. She has chronic kidney disease, anemia, porphyria and extensive dental disease with abscesses in the jaw, she’s also tested positive for e-cuniculi and was treated with fenbendazole when she was she showing symptoms. Her vet thinks her kidney disease might be a result of the e-cuniculi or porphyria, she has regular blood work to monitor it, her creatinine and urea is higher each time she has blood work. She’s had surgery to drain the abscesses in her jaw but they saw that the infection was too deep and already in the bone so they weren’t able to get everything out. She’s on weekly penicillin injections to keep the infection under control and Meloxicam and gabapentin for pain. I know Meloxicam is not good for the kidneys but I’d rather keep her pain free. She’s very prone to GI Stasis, too many episodes to count and also has bladder issues. She gets sub q fluids regularly.

 

She’s lost weight this year, which the vet said is consistent with kidney disease. She drops in weight but then remains stable at her new weight until she’s hit with another episode, then she loses weight again and stays at the new weight.

It’s been a pretty rough year and I didn’t think she’d make it but she’s miraculously bounced back again. She doesn’t have the same energy as she used to but she’s also getting older and I’m starting to accept that she won’t be with me forever. I’ve talked to the vet about putting her to sleep the last time she got really sick but she recovered after 3 weeks of syringe feeding and sub q fluids everyday and now I’m hesitant to go that route because I don’t want to make that decision too soon.

I’ve read online that the life expectancy for a Satin rabbit is 5-8 years but does anybody know the life expectancy for a rabbit with all these medical conditions?

 

She’s such a happy girl 🙂 She just saw her vet yesterday and she said she’s stable and to just continue with fluids and meds. I’d really appreciate any thoughts or opinions. Sorry for the long post!

[LBJ10]

Rabbits can live 10-12+ years. I think those old estimates are based on a time when we A) didn’t routinely spay rabbits, and B) not a lot was known about rabbit medicine. We have come a long way and, as a result, many rabbits are living longer… even those with medical problems.

Unfortunately, kidney disease is something that can definitely shorten life expectancy. How long a rabbit lasts depends on how quickly the disease progresses. And yes, EC can damage the kidneys and I know there have been members on here in the past with rabbits that had kidney disease.

To slow progression, I believe a low protein diet is recommended. Chronic kidney disease is also treated with fluids.

How long ago was the EC flare? And how long did the treatment last?

[Alexmack2016]

Thank you so much for the quick reply. It was in 2019, her vet recommended having her tested for EC after she was sick for awhile and her kidneys got drastically worse within a month (she had blood work done 30 days apart). Came back positive and she was on fenbendazole for 28 days, she started getting better after the first 7 days. She was put on fenbendazole again earlier this year after the same thing happened.

 

Her diagnoses 3 years wasn’t very optimistic but the regular fluids have made a world of difference. Her vet doesn’t want to give me a life expectancy because of how up and down she is, healthwise but she always seems to recover. I’m glad to hear rabbits can outlive the google life expectancy.

But every time I feel better about her kidney disease, I remember the abscesses she has along her jaws 🙁

Thanks!

[LBJ10]

Do her kidney values improve after EC treatment? If this is chronic kidney disease caused by EC, then you could see improvement. Unfortunately, frequent EC flares won’t make that easy.

And yes, dental abscesses can be very worrisome. Some people have seen success with antibiotic treatment if all of it cannot be removed surgically. Injections are more effective than oral antibiotics. Did you vet consider antibiotic beads placed in the jaw as an option?

[Alexmack2016]

Yes, there’s minor improvements in her kidney values after treatment but it’s never within the normal range. The treatment seems to just stop the drastic decline. Her vet said the kidney damage can’t be reversed, only slowed down with the fluids? Do you have a different opinion?

She also has porphyria which her vet believes contributes to the kidney damage, apparently this is not a commonly diagnosed illness in rabbits so I’m not able to find much information but it’s hard because it has similar symptoms to EC. A few months ago she had trouble walking one night and seemed like she was losing function and feeling in her back legs. She got better a few hours later (I was massaging her back and legs all night) but I thought this was the EC. I took her to the vet in the morning who said it was a probable porphyria attack since she regained function in her legs pretty quickly. Porphyria can cause painful cramping, which is what she seemed to have had. This hasn’t happened again since that night.

She gets weekly penicillin injections for the abscesses but I wish the vet had done the antibiotic beads now, I only learned about that after the surgery. She doesn’t do well under anesthesia so I won’t be putting her through another surgery.

She’s happy and seems to be doing well, I understand kidney disease can shorten lifespan but I hope I have a few more years with her.

[LBJ10]

Kidneys cannot regenerate/repair damage. However, when you treat for EC, it’s possible to see some improvement in kidney function (if the EC is targeting the kidneys). I’m not positive, but it could be due to inflammation. So when the inflammation subsides due to treatment, the kidneys are able to regain some function even if they are damaged.

And yes, fluid treatment helps slow down progression of kidney disease. How well it works probably varies from case to case.

I don’t know about the porphyria. I mean, EC can affect the liver. But I’m not aware of any cases where EC was suspected of causing porphyria.

 

[Alexmack2016]

oh no, it’s not the cause, totally separate issues but they have similar symptoms. She’s doing well on the fluids and responds well to medication, positive vibes for her. Thank you so much, you’ve made me feel much better 🙂

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