Senior bunny with respiratory infection and possible pneumonia

[BooBooBunny]

My 10 year old bun was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection last November, we did a culture (pseudomonas is apparently the one causing the problems)  and the vet prescribed him antibiotics.  Fast forward several months and a few antibiotic courses later, he is still sneezing.  I took him back to the vet last week and she did blood work and an x ray.  The x ray showed what the vet believes is pneumonia (she only got one looking down from the top, she was afraid to do one with him laying on his side because he was getting very stressed out), but his blood work was normal – no high white blood cell count or anything.  Because of his age and condition, the vet gave me the speech about the possibility that he will continue to decline quickly and preparing myself to make hard choices.  At best she believes he will be on antibiotics the rest of his life, and she doesn’t expect that to be very long if he doesn’t start improving soon.  He is still eating and drinking well, although he lost some weight between the november vet appointment and the one last week.  I know rabbits are good at hiding illness, but to me he still seems his normal self other than the sneezing. 

I know I have to be realistic because of his age, but I want to do everything I can to keep him comfortable and keep him with me as long as possible.  He has been getting SMZ TMP (I think, I’m not at home at the moment so I don’t have the bottle to check) for about a week now, which is what he started out with, he is sneezing less and when he does sneeze its not as loud as it had been, but I am guessing i should have seen more improvement by now if it were going to work. The other antibiotic he was on a few times was zeniquin i believe, but that one too never completely got rid of the infection. The vet did mention the possibility of using a nebulizer, has anyone had success with that?  Id hate to put him through sitting there with a mask on if it didn’t stand a good chance of working.

So I guess I’m just wondering if anyone has had any experience with treating older rabbits with respiratory infections or pneumonia, or with this specific bacteria or using a nebulizer. I’m so concerned about him, any advice would be greatly appreciated!      

[Stickerbunny]

I don’t have experience with older rabbits. But, my 3 year old has been having sneezing issues since November as well. Off the antibiotics, she sneezes. On them, she doesn’t. We haven’t done the extra testing yet, but it’s the same with her… other than sneezing, she seems perfectly healthy. And my vet gave me the same speech that given the condition and symptoms likely on medication the rest of her life until she declines, etc. I would say if you notice pain or a noticeable decline in life quality, prepare yourself. But, until then, do whatever treatment options you can and enjoy your time with your baby. Hope the treatments work for a while at least. (((vibes to your bunny)))

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m sorry that I don’t have any advice for you. I just want to send you and your bunny some (((Well Wishes)))).

[Sarita]

I have used a nebulizer in the past for one of my rabbits and it’s a good way to get the medication in the bloodstream via a different route and seems to be less stressful.

I basically set up a chamber with a large plastic storage container and cut a whole in it for the nebulizer and put bunny inside with a towel to play with. I wish I could find a link showing my set up but they have all seemed to disappear – it was from a guinea pig website.

[BooBooBunny]

Thanks for the wellwishes and good vibes for my bunny. I’m playing phone tag with the vet to see if she wants to switch his meds, but she wont be in til tomorrow. Sarita, where did you get the nebulizer you used, and was it expensive? The vet said they could be very pricey. I could be imagining it because im worried about him, but I also think he is breathing kind of quick. I just want my baby to feel better for whatever time he has left.

[Sarita]

I just got my nebulizer off ebay. I think it was very similar to this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aeromist-Plus-Nebulizer-Compressor-with-Disposable-Nebulizer-Kit-/251529140054?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a904e1756

I didn’t want the mask – you want the mouthpiece so you can cut a small hole in the plastic container and place the mouthpiece over that whole.

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