URGENT Rabbit severely ill with GI Stasis – Need help

[BunnyHelper83]

I just want to say first of all I will listen to the advice of the vet in this case above all the comments here but I have some options and to be honest I am sure that I can make a better decision from peoples advice on here.

My rabbit has been ill for over a month with GI stasis and we were hoping that she would recover but she has become worse over the last couple of days.  The vet has said that it may be kinder to put her down.  I am very upset to be honest.  I love my rabbit very much

The vet suggested to take her in for the day today to see how she would get on.  The vet called about two hours ago and said he was able to relieve the pressure in the stomach and she was able to eat some food which apparently is important and also rehydrate her with subcutaneous fluids.  

In one hour I must go and see how she is and maybe put her to sleep or try and prolong the treatment.  I don’t want to put her through excessive suffering but I don’t want to give up on her too soon.  

Any comments welcome.  

[Bam]

It really does depend on the amount of suffering we’re talking about. Has she been continuously ill for a month or has it come and gone?

Has the vet done X-rays to rule out a partial blockage? A blockage can take a long time to resolve. For blockages, hydration therapy is key.

Does the vet have any idea about the cause of this stasis? Has her molars been checked for spurs? Have you had any type of blood work done to check liver-and kidney function, blood cell counts etc?

Do you feel she’s in pain? A stasis bun should get pain relief.

The decision is yours, but since the vet has managed to relieve the pressure and get some food into her, maybe there’s some new hope?

By pressure, do you mean gas pressure, like in bloat?

[sarahthegemini]

How has she been suffering for an entire month with stasis? Stasis is the gut stopping, so no input/no output. I wouldn’t have thought a bun would survive a month?! Could you clarify please as I’m a little confused!

What I will say tho is this: if she started to eat 2 hours ago, that must be a huge obstacle she bas overcome so it sounds like she’s improving?

[BunnyHelper83]

Thank you for your replies and taking the time to help.

She died last night at home.

[Bam]

I’m so sorry she didn’t make it. You did really try.

Binky free, little one.

[sarahthegemini]

Oh no That’s terribly sad. Binky on little one xxx

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m so truly sorry for your loss. My heart goes out to you.

((((Binky Free)))))

[BunnyHelper83]

Thank you all for your kind words. It truly means a lot. The vet also sent a beautiful bunch of flowers.

The vet (who was rabbit savvy) was at a loss to explain the cause of the GI stasis. She didn’t have a blockage until the very end, it was not the initial cause. She had 4 x-rays. She had re-hydration orally and also subcutaneously when she got very ill. We tried to make sure she was eating but the gas was getting out of control and she stopped eating. She definitely got a lot of pain relief, was checked for infections. I am unsure whether they checked kidney function.

She had had GI stasis last year and we had followed the advice on the web page and changed her diet accordingly and tried to minimise other risk factors.

In terms of potential causes I initially thought that it was caused by stress from the smell of burning food from the kitchen. This happened just about the time the GI stasis this year started. She was absolutely terrified of this smell and the smell lingered and lingered for days and we couldn’t get rid of it.
The vet suspected it could have been dysautonomia. I am totally speculating but recently we had been bringing her a lot of grass from the local countryside. Apparently sometimes these grasses can have toxins in them which cause this. I don’t know about that though.
Finally, there was also a suspicion that the rabbit had been ingesting the cat litter in her poo tray when she was eating her poo. We did a test on the cat litter and we could see that it would clump together in liquid. The vet wondered if the cat litter had built up in the secum.

[joea64]

I’m so very, very sorry for your loss. I worry myself about the effect of cooking smells on my Panda and Fernando once they’ll come to live with me. I live in a small apartment – an efficiency, really, which is basically one big room plus bathroom and walk-in closet – and I’ve had problems in the past with cooking on the stove generating smoke, so I’ll have to take great care about that in the future. In fact, I’d better clean the grease trap on my stove very thoroughly this weekend.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By joea64 on 8/11/2017 9:16 AM

I’m so very, very sorry for your loss. I worry myself about the effect of cooking smells on my Panda and Fernando once they’ll come to live with me. I live in a small apartment – an efficiency, really, which is basically one big room plus bathroom and walk-in closet – and I’ve had problems in the past with cooking on the stove generating smoke, so I’ll have to take great care about that in the future. In fact, I’d better clean the grease trap on my stove very thoroughly this weekend.

If you can, open as many windows as poss whilst cooking – my Peanut is very fussy about cooking smells, sometimes they really bother him but like you, space is an issue. I live in a house but the downstairs is open plan and basically just one room and so we can’t avoid the scent issue but opening windows helps.

Btw, I think it’s wonderful how much prep you’re doing prior to your rabbit’s arrival

[Yilina]

+BunnyHelper83 I’m very sorry for your loss. It is wonderful that you did everything in your power to help her, not many people would have taken such good care of her.

Binky free, darling bunny.

[BunnyHelper83]

Thank you all for your comments, it means so very much because tbh I am incredibly heartbroken.

I hope that this post helps other rabbit owners too. Its really hard to know for sure what exactly could cause things like this but like you can simply just address the things anyway. As sarahthegemini said, just do what you can to remove the smell. Move the cooking pan out of the building, or move the rabbit if that isnt too stressful for her. I can really see Rabbit’s are not the easiest pets to keep now.

Also along the same lines if I had my time again I want to reemphasise I would just be very careful about the material used in the poo tray. The cat litter really is what the vet thought was one of the main potential culprits. It sticks to the poo and over time can build up in the rabbits secum. Might as well just use something which they cannot take in when they are eating their poo to eliminate that from harming your rabbit.

And another thing is if your rabbit survives a GI stasis try as hard as you can to find the cause because they may not survive the next one :'(

[joea64]

Posted By sarahthegemini on 8/11/2017 10:58 AM

Posted By joea64 on 8/11/2017 9:16 AM

I’m so very, very sorry for your loss. I worry myself about the effect of cooking smells on my Panda and Fernando once they’ll come to live with me. I live in a small apartment – an efficiency, really, which is basically one big room plus bathroom and walk-in closet – and I’ve had problems in the past with cooking on the stove generating smoke, so I’ll have to take great care about that in the future. In fact, I’d better clean the grease trap on my stove very thoroughly this weekend.

If you can, open as many windows as poss whilst cooking – my Peanut is very fussy about cooking smells, sometimes they really bother him but like you, space is an issue. I live in a house but the downstairs is open plan and basically just one room and so we can’t avoid the scent issue but opening windows helps.

Btw, I think it’s wonderful how much prep you’re doing prior to your rabbit’s arrival

I just want to try to get everything right. I know I’m still, as a terrified amateur, going to make mistakes, but hopefully they won’t be big ones. I’m not sure about the windows, will have to investigate that, but opening up the front door does help clear cooking smoke out.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By joea64 on 8/11/2017 12:33 PM

Posted By sarahthegemini on 8/11/2017 10:58 AM

Posted By joea64 on 8/11/2017 9:16 AM

I’m so very, very sorry for your loss. I worry myself about the effect of cooking smells on my Panda and Fernando once they’ll come to live with me. I live in a small apartment – an efficiency, really, which is basically one big room plus bathroom and walk-in closet – and I’ve had problems in the past with cooking on the stove generating smoke, so I’ll have to take great care about that in the future. In fact, I’d better clean the grease trap on my stove very thoroughly this weekend.

If you can, open as many windows as poss whilst cooking – my Peanut is very fussy about cooking smells, sometimes they really bother him but like you, space is an issue. I live in a house but the downstairs is open plan and basically just one room and so we can’t avoid the scent issue but opening windows helps.

Btw, I think it’s wonderful how much prep you’re doing prior to your rabbit’s arrival

I just want to try to get everything right. I know I’m still, as a terrified amateur, going to make mistakes, but hopefully they won’t be big ones. I’m not sure about the windows, will have to investigate that, but opening up the front door does help clear cooking smoke out.

You probably will make one or two mistakes but that’s to be expected. Just don’t be afraid to ask anything, regardless of how silly it might seem

[Rookie]

I am very sorry for your loss. this reminds me of too much of how I lost Rookie. I remember reading your first posts opening this thread and I was then too worried and hoped that this would not end the way it did for us. I am truly very sorry as I know all too similarly of what you went through and how you could be feeling.

[BunnyHelper83]

Thank you. I am sorry for your loss of Rookie. I will keep Rookie in my thoughts. I hope this post hasn’t caused too much distress to people. Again: If you are reading this and your rabbit has had a GI stasis, please thoroughly review their diet/environment and use google to try and find the cause.

[Bam]

BunnyHelper, this thread is sad, but it’s also helpful. We all get upset here when bad things happen to a bunny, but we also want to learn as much as we can from other bun owners’ experiences, good and bad. So don’t worry about upsetting anyone. You seem like a wonderful bun-owner, and it’s just so sad that your bun didn’t make it in spite of all your efforts.

[Author]

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