Rabbit making strange sound, like when a cat has a hairball….

[Bunny Bride]

I have noticed this on two days, about a week or so apart. On those mornings I heard my rabbit make a weird sound, similar to someone trying to cough something up—pretty identical to the cat hairball sound. On both days he made the sound intermittently, starting once every 10 minutes, then going to roughly once in an hour, and then disappearing. So now today it has occurred for the second time. I am hesitant to take him to a vet unless absolutely necessary because the last time a vet visit brought on stasis.

I do not believe these are sneezes, I have heard him do that before and it’s different. Doesn’t seem like a hiccup either. So I am guessing it’s a choking type noise, like something is stuck or aggravating his airway?

The only possibility I can think of is in the evenings I let him graze in a big hay box. He frequently digs a hole and buries his head down into the bottom of the hay box because he seems to like those tiny pieces. This is of course also where the hay dust settles. Could this be causing the problem? The thing is he has done this for two years and I have never noticed the problem before, so I don’t know why it would happen now. All else seems normal—he is eating good, no eye or nose discharge, and activity level is his usual. Any advice appreciated cause I am getting worried, thank you.

 

 

[Hazel]

With the hay dust I would expect sneezes rather than choking noises. Maybe he’s eating too fast? My rabbit will eat his pellets too fast and has choked on them a couple of times, luckily he managed to bring it back up. Now I scatter his food around the room or put it in a treat ball to slow him down which seems to do the trick. If your bun is choking on the hay rather than pellets I’m not sure how one could prevent that. Maybe keep him out of the big hay box so he doesn’t get into the small pieces?

[LBJ10]

Hmm… it does sound like he might be choking on something. If choking is a problem, bunnies tend to choke on pellets. Hay, not so much. So if hay is causing him to choke, then you have to wonder if he’s having difficulty chewing.

[Bunny Bride]

Thanks for the input. Yes I am going to take away the hay box for a while and see if that helps.

In reply to the second poster—I did not think of that, but pellets makes a lot more sense because this noise occurred after his morning pellets both times. Whereas the hay was eaten the night before, so isn’t as relevant time wise.

Any idea what can cause them to suddenly start choking on pellets when he never did before? I started feeding him in bed as opposed to his ex pen. Also I no longer give salad greens due to grocery store issues with the virus. So I am wondering if either of these changes could have caused this?

[LittlePuffyTail]

Difficulty with pellets could be a dental issue. Would make sense for him to be having difficult if he’s unable to grind them up properly. Has your bun ever had his teeth checked or molar spurs filed down?

[Wick & Fable]

If it is choking and it begins to happen with increased frequency, your rabbit may experience an episode where he’s not successful as easily in dislodging it, or not successful at all. We have had cases where owners find their rabbit following an unfortunate choking episode. Some rabbits do successfully dislodge it, but damage is done to their nose/respiratory system which has led to respiratory injuries/infections. It is rare of the large majority of rabbits to choke on food, so it’s good you’ve been observant and are asking about this!

How do you present the pellets? Some rabbits are naturally vacuums when it comes to eating pellets and can endanger some of them by being so darn excited by them! For those rabbits, the recommendation is to not present the pellets in a pile, but scattering them around to forcibly slow the rate of consumption. This may help reduce the likelihood of choking, in addition to making sure dental-wise everything is a-OK.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Bunny Bride]

He gets his pellets all in a bowl together, an 1/8 cup twice daily. It’s weird that he just started doing this, I have never heard him make this sound prior. Yes that is my worry that he will get a full blown choking episode. Or like you said the respiratory issue. In these last 2 weeks the noise seemed somewhat isolated, like each time I heard it maybe 3-4 times total and then about an hour or so later did not hear it again.

As far as dental issues go I honestly do not know because he hasn’t been to the vet in over a year because the last time it caused him to go into stasis. He is an especially nervous bun. I do know when I took him as a baby the vet said she would be keeping an eye on his molars because she noticed a small beginning of spurs, but not enough to treat. Is there any way I could tell on my own if he has them?

I will try doing smaller piles of pellets instead of the bowl. He does LOVE eating, more so than my other bun, he gets insanely excited for food. So it is very possible that he inhales the pellets. The only question is why now because he was always this way, yet I never noticed this sound. But I guess that’s with anything. Thanks for your help!

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