Schroeder- Cow Poop Syndrome

[KatnipCrzy]

  I had been following and posting on an earlier thread that Jerseygirl started about Cow Poop Syndrome.  I read up on what I could find and even had my vet look into it- and she was not able to find any information on it- so with her advice on what to ask and describe I submitted a question directly to Dana Krempels and just got the answer last night.  I posted a pic of Schroeder’s poos on the thread so there could be no misunderstand of describing the poos.  (The other vets my vet consulted tended to think it was ISS-Intermittent Soft Stool- which can be common with an incorrect diet, etc).

  Dana Krempels thinks that Schroeder does have CWP and has recommended some things to help manage it and to hopefully prevent it from ever being a huge, scary issue again.  I just forwarded the info to my vet- so will be working with her on developing a treatment/maintenance plan.

Right now I am trying to find out if Lactulose is already sweet or not.  My husband works at a major pharmacy and is going to check into flavoring (compounding) the Lactulose.  I will keep you guys updated on what I find out and what we decide to use as a treatment plan.

The attached link does show a pic of Schroeder’s poos- so you can see what “cow poop syndrome” poo looks like- very mis-shaped, large, and dry looking.

http://www.allexperts.com/user.cgi?…ID=4834527

[Sarita]

I’m glad at least you know. This is such a weird thing. I’ve heard about it alot and it seems to be a mystery for everyone.

I think it’s another one of those things in rabbit medicine that just hasn’t been studied much like bladder sludge and you may hear lots of conflicting information from rabbit vets.

Luckily I don’t have any rabbits with these features to worry about this syndrome.

Keep us updated…interested in all the info you can uncover about this.

[Deleted User]

Katnip, do the droppings look like this every time consistently, or can an affected rabbit have normal poos intermittently?

[KatnipCrzy]

Schroeders poos are pretty consistently like the photo.  I have had him for 10 months now- and I at first attributed it to stress of new home, pretty radical diet change (he was eating cheap pellets, little hay and no veggies before I adopted him) and he is a voracious eater- unlike picky Cotton. 

I had always associated the term “cow poop syndrome” with a bunny that would have mushy stool- and his poos are on the dry side- so assumed it was “just him” and normal- and though now it does sound as though it is normal for Schroeder but is an actual medical condition.

[jerseygirl]

Julie, thanks for posting this. It’s helping build the knowledge on this. That copy of the email Dana gave you is probably the most I’ve read on this. With specifics about care at least..  She seems to be a go to person having first hand experience of CWP syndrome.  I have to admit, I read thru this this morning before work and was left a bit saddened.  It does help though to have some proactive measures to manage things

The thing that confuses me is the description of the poos for Cow poop bunnies. The large and soft or marshmellowy does not fit Jersey or Schroeder it seems. Though Dana did say in her reply to me “Sometimes the condition first manifests as a variety of poop shapes other than the normal “cocoa puff” type.”
The pic of Schroeders poos is what I get with Jersey all the time. She’ s been drinking alot more over the last 6 weeks or so but still pretty dry poop. I’m reposting this from other thread as it refers to sodium and I wonder if this has anything to do with the drier poops, though hear it is attributed to the mush poop. There’s also some things that I missed the first time round reading this that are cause for concern – such as “excessive thinness” and possible connection to E.C> (???) 

2) Megacolon
The megacolon (congenital aganglionic) and ‘an inherited disorder of the GI tract, the more’ common gene in rabbits with En En, ie ‘what gives it the characteristics of the mantle Hotot, English Spot, etc.. ie, white with black or brown stains around the eyes and / or back.
This is an abnormal accumulation of feces in the intestines, which can not be expelled feces symptoms include huge, misshapen, often inflammation; you can have frequent episodes of diarrhea or loss of mucus alternating with moments of gut stasis. Bunnies with this problem have difficulty ‘to assimilate nutrients from food, sometimes not produce ciecotrofi and often have problems of excessive thinness.
It seems that this problem is caused by a malformation or malfunction of the colon and / or blind. It was’ discovered that rabbits with En En gene show a reduction in the rate of absorption of sodium through the wall of the cecum. This indicates a Excessive liquefaction of ingested material in the proximal part of the large intestine.
This might be a late complication resulting from (and amended by) various exogenous and endogenous sources of stress, worsened by the metabolic status of the rabbits En En ipotireotico but it ‘very probable that the genetic difference compared with rabbits with a single gene is precisely En at the intestine.
The only therapy is to administer prokinetic drugs and extra hydration during episodes of stasis and to follow the diet with particular attention, always providing much hay.
It ‘possible that the neurological symptoms (or stress) RESULTING FROM’ Encephalitozoonosis cuniculi cause intestinal malfunctions. source: translate.google.com.au/translate

Jersey has been losing weight. At first I thought it just a small difference with scales at the vet but now I’m seeing and feeling it too and have been thinking she could have intestinal worms or something. I’m feeling like a hypochondriac. Something for another thread perhaps.

Does Shroeder have weight issues/fluctuations? Also, do you ever see him produce cecals or eat his regular poop? Eating fecals is the first thing that brought me to finding out about CWP. Lightchick had posted about Lizzie doing this (excessively at the time) and since Jersey was doing this too, I did some searches. CWP came up because there was the thought that fecal and cecal matter were mixed.

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