Senior Rabbit post-surgery…Melanoma?

[jarn]

Hi all!

I think I used to be a member of this forum but I can’t remember my user name, so I re-registered. 

I’ve had several bunnies throughout the years, and right now have one – Eco.  Her bonded partner, Nikolai, died in May due to complications from head tilt (we couldn’t get him eating on his own again after 3 weeks of supportive care – he improved a bit, but once we started syringe feeding less he started losing weight again, and it didn’t seem right to syringe feed him indefinitely.  He was 12, he had a good long life and I hope wasn’t too uncomfortable at the end.

Eco is around 10 years old.  On Saturday, we found a large nasty-looking lump on her right shoulder.  She saw our bunny vet Monday, who thought it looked like a melanoma, and on Tuesday she had surgery to remove it.  We’re awaiting the results of the biopsy. 

The good news is her bloodwork all looks good – her white blood cells are good, so if it is malignant, I’m hoping this means it hadn’t metastasized.  Fingers crossed! 

She tends to snuffles, and we noticed she has a bit of a runny nose.  She has some antibiotics, but isn’t quite eating and drinking normally post-surgery yet, so I’m waiting until she does to give them to her.  She’s on pain meds once a day.

We brought her home Tuesday evening, and she ate a bit of hay and spinach as well as some freeze-dried strawberry.  Since then, she’s eaten a variety of greens, a little bit of kibble, and some hay.  She has been very picky about hay for some time now, since around when Nikolai got sick.  We’ve settled on botanical hay and meadow hay as what she’ll eat, but in my opinion she doesn’t eat enough.  She does eat her pellets and her greens though, isn’t losing weight, and her teeth look good, so I’m not too too worried though I’d prefer if she ate more. 

She’s not drinking a lot though.  I’m assuming this is in part because we’re giving her more greens than normal.  Should I be worried?  Her poops look normal, not dessicated.  She lives in Leithworks condo and the whole first floor is yesterday’s news litter (I’ve never been able to litter train her) and I don’t particularly notice pee in the usual spot but that doesn’t mean she’s not going.  I’d do the pinch test to check her hydration but I’m afraid that will irritate the surgery spot, which is looking pretty good.  

That’s it, really.  Any thoughts would be appreciated. 

Thanks all!

[Sarita]

I wouldn’t worry too much about not drinking so much – maybe just wet her greens before you give them to her. It sounds like she is recovering well, so that’s great.

I cannot speak to her particular bump but I’ve had many elder rabbits who have developed fatty tissue lumps in various areas but seems like moreso in the chest area and I wonder if perhaps that is the same for Eco. They always tested benign so hopefully Eco’s will as well. Vibes to Eco.

[jarn]

Thanks Sarita. We are wetting her greens some now just to be on the safe side. She does seem to be recovering well, which is a HUGE relief.

Nikolai had a fatty tissue lump next to his eye that was benign (we did a needle biopsy), but this looked…different. That doesn’t mean it’s not benign though. Fingers crossed! I’m just glad it’s off her.

[jarn]

I heard Eco drinking this morning, and her water is down a bit!

She ate more hay, almost all of her pellets (except for a bit she spilled) and most of her nighttime spinach.

And she looked really happy and active bopping around last night when we gave her out time – I’m not sure she really needs to be kept quiet any longer.

PHEW

[LittlePuffyTail]

Glad your bunny is doing well.

[jarn]

So Eco had invasive cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma. I’m SO glad we got her the surgery so quickly. The biopsy said they got it all, and they also said that type of cancer doesn’t metastasize.

But some stuff I’m reading on google (admittedly about humans) says it is prone to reoccurence, so we will have to watch her carefully.

[JackRabbit]

So glad they got it all and glad she’s feeling better!

[Author]

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