Sudden Paralysis

Fast Facts First:
1. No trauma by caregivers
2. Healthy diet
3. Bob was almost 8 years old

ok, trying to make a long story short...
My family and I were out of town. A friend was caring for Bob and Zues. She arrived home at 7 pm. Both bunnies were fine and playing. By 10:30, Bob was on his back and unable to sit up. She said it looked like he was having a seizure. She took him to a vet. The vet said that Bob's hind legs were paralyzed. He was uncomfortable obviously. The prognosis was not good.
About a week before we left, my husband noticed something odd and worried about Bob. He said that Bob's behavior for about 30 seconds, reminded him of his grandmother's TIAs (trans ischemic attacks), basically, mini strokes. Bob was twitching a bit and his eyes looked funny. My husband couldn't really describe much further. I know we cannot compare humans with rabbits, and I know that rabbits don't have strokes per say, but can have something similar.

Has anyone had any kind of experience like this? Or have any info on rabbits and strokes?
Thanks for any info.
Marybeth

I'm so sorry about your bun.

With the paralysis and also possibly exhibiting neurological symptoms the week before, he may have been affected by the parasite e. cuniculi. It can cause damage in a rabbits brain and nervous system, resulting in neurological symptoms and paralysis. The eye twitching or nystagmus, is also a symptom that can occur with EC. This is just a guess though. It is a common cause of hind limb paralysis in rabbits(aside from trauma), but there are other things like infection, stroke, and tumors that can also cause these symptoms.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=490
http://www.woodward-vets.co.uk/information/Encephalitozoon%20cuniculi.pdf

Thanks for your input Jenny.
I did read up on EC. I kinda ruled it out since he had no other symptoms like head tilt. I also looked at this article that came to the conclusion that with EC, rabbits for the most part, will not become disabled.
I also have another bunny, who has not been infected (as far as I can see).
www.rabbit.org/journal/3-2/e-cuniculi.html

I also don't see how he would've been in contact with it.

The more research I do, the more I don't know.:nerves1
I should probably stop. I'm thankful that his experience was fast.
Now, I focus on Zeus, who is missing Bob terribly.

Thanks again, JBun.

EC actually can often cause disability with paralysis. I know of others rabbits that had developed hind limb paralysis due to EC. So it does happen, it's just that head tilt seems to be one of the more common symptoms of it. It all really depends on where the spores end up, that determines the symptoms produced. Not saying this is what your bun had, but all of those symptoms are ones that can occur with EC. The only way to really know for sure would be to have a necropsy done.

Not all rabbits will exhibit symptoms of EC, even though they may have carried it at some point. It's believed that more than 50% of rabbits have been affected by EC, but most don't develop clinical symptoms, and the rabbit remains healthy. So it is possible for one rabbit to become sick with it, while the bonded partner remains healthy. Many rabbits will be born with it, and others can pick it up from pretty much anywhere, as it can be spread onto things like a rabbits hay, from other animals.

This is another article on EC if you are looking for more info, but it's a bit more technical.
http://www.gwexotics.com/wccms-resources/a/5/0/e/77554b90-a660-11e0-a685-0050568626ea.pdf

I dont think I would rule out E. cuniculi. Could the rabbit have had seizures?

If there is paralysis then that means nerve damage. I personally dealt with paralysis in my rabbit Juliet. With my Juliet we first noticed her loosing weight she was so skinny and when we got her out to evaluate her she was not walking right at all! I was so worried about her and i took her immediately to my vet. I do not know how to explain her walking but she definately wouldnt binky or run. It pained me to even see her move. I felt so guilty for keeping her alive for the weeks i did. We took xrays of her spine and no break. She was eating and drinking water. We put her on an antibiotic to treat any suspected middle ear infection. No improvement. My mom did reading and found out about E cuniculi. So few vets know much about it and how to treat it where i live. But i didnt want to keep her living like this. It was to the point were her quality of life was no longer what she deserved. I looked in the books (luckily i work at a vet clinic and can easily look up tests and call places) so I found Texas A&M had the titer test. In books the only real way of diagnosing Ecuniculi is by doing a biopsy of the affected tissue. And the affected tissue starts with the brain and spinal cord. So my decision came to euthanasia and a necropsy. Her titer came back positive (512) and affected tissue was found in her brain and spinal cord. It was a horrifing experience. I would suggest the first step for Bob is a trip to the Vet for an exam and xrays. The radiographs will rule out a break of any kind (even though you may not think theres a break you can never know for sure unless rads are done). There is a titer test like i said for EC and if its suspected I have been told to perform two titer tests within 2 weeks of each other. If the second test is higher then an infection can be suspected.

I think hers was a worst case scenario. I really don't think doctors and people of this day know enough about the parasite. I also had another bunny pass suddenly. He stopped eating and started having diarrhea and passed away all in 10 hours. I performed a necrospy on him and it was determined that he passed from e. cuniculi as well. They were complete opposites from each other as far as symptoms (other than decreased appetite) but yet they both had the same diagnosis.

I haven't ruled it out, its just from what I've read, Bob didn't experience anything until the day he died. What my husband witnessed could've been a fluke. If he had been having seizures, I didn't know (which doesn't help my guilt!)
All I know is that he was on his back, unable to get up. My friend said that it appeared he was having a seizure.

I read an article about neurological disorders. Bob has never liked being touched. I know that rabbits can be stoic and picky anyway. When he was a baby, he was abused by another rabbit. He was urinated in on, and Bob was left with part of his ear gone.

The vet, who I am now upset with, just said it could be anything, trauma, blood clot, bacteria. I was so distraught at the thought of him suffering, and me being 12 hours away unable to get there in a timely manner, I listened to her advise to put him down.
I admit, I am in the middle of the mourning process. I am now angry and want answers. Three hours prior to the "attack" he was fine.
I am even starting to question the treatment of him by the caregiver and her family. Although I trust them completely and don't think they really handled him improperly.

It tears my heart out to think he could've been ok and I shortened his life. His life started out rough to begin with. I hate that it ended this way.
Forgive me for ranting. I am just so upset and sad. I truly appreciate your time, thought, and effort in giving me info.

Marybeth :sosad

I totally understand. I am so sorry for your loss as I know how hard it is personally the only real way to know what happened is to have done a necropsy. I choose to do that for most of my bunnies that pass suddenly just so I can have something to calm my mind

The only other thing I can think of as far a behavior prior to our trip was this- Bob had some heavy breathing the day before. We had taken him to get his nails trimmed. He has done this numerous times before. He wouldn't like it, but would 'recover' rather quickly when we got home. This time, we noticed that he had heavy breathing for quite awhile after.
I'm trying to think if he had a decrease in activity. He liked rest by the glass door, often laying out like a cat. He didn't run like he used to. I figured he was 7. He was getting up there in age...close to 70 (from what I read).

woahlookitsme said:

I totally understand. I am so sorry for your loss as I know how hard it is personally the only real way to know what happened is to have done a necropsy. I choose to do that for most of my bunnies that pass suddenly just so I can have something to calm my mind

Click to expand...

I would, but he is already to Honor Thy Pet.
Again, it all happened so fast. This was my first experience with the death of a pet. I also immediately focused on the surviving companion, Zeus.

You shouldn't blame yourself at all. It's a hard choice, and made much harder when you aren't able to be present and see for yourself what is happening. You relied on the vet to give you the best advise concerning your rabbits care, but that advise may not have been your only or best option. Paralysis in rabbits isn't always a reason to pts, and any vet that immediately jumps to that conclusion, in my opinion, isn't a very good rabbit vet. Sometimes the paralysis can successfully be treated with little to no lasting damage, and even when the treatment isn't successful some rabbits can still live happy lives despite being disabled, as long as it isn't clearly causing them to suffer and they are able to receive the extra care that they would need, and still have a good quality of life.

To really know what the cause of the paralysis was and if there were treatment options, takes additional diagnostics such as xrays, blood tests, etc. Did the vet never offer the option of additional testing to figure out what might be going on? With the proper testing the vet could very well have determined if it was trauma, blood clot, bacteria, etc, and thus been able to provide the proper treatment. Based on your vets statement that 'it could be anything' and if no additional tests or options were offered, I would be having serious doubts about the vet. I don't want what I'm saying to be upsetting to you, though I'm sure it is as it would be very upsetting to me if I were in your place, but I feel that based on your description of your rabbits condition and if his condition wasn't more critical than the paralysis, then I feel like you may not have been given the best advise concerning your rabbits care. If it were me, I would be questioning the vet concerning the matter, and possibly lodging a complaint and be looking for a different vet.

The caregiver is likely blameless in all this. Sudden paralysis in rabbits does happen, and not that infrequently. Not only is there the EC parasite that can cause it, as well as stroke, but there is also spinal injury which rabbits are particularly prone to. I've read of several accounts of people's rabbits becoming suddenly startled by something, panicking, jumping, and hitting their head, and becoming paralyzed, just while sitting in their own cage. So the sudden onset isn't unheard of with rabbits.

Again, I'm very sorry that you lost your bun. I know the heartbreak, I know how easy it is to blame yourself and second guess what was done and what could have been done differently. It's never easy, and makes it all that much worse if you then have to question the vets treatment, or lack there of.

I agree J. I have come to blame the vet. She did not offer to do any testing. This is where I feel I have failed Bob. Being so far away and distraught, I didn't think fast enough. I took her word that paralysis meant no quality of life.
Although my job would make it very difficult to have given him the care a disabled bun would need. Perhaps the quick decision was a blessing. I know right now, going through the grieving, I'm questioning and angry, and feeling guilty. I just miss him so much.
Thnaanks Jbun

JBun,
The third article you shared, the more technical one, was the most helpful. I had read it a few days ago, but wasn't really comprehending it since I was not reading it thoroughly. I reread it this morning with a calmer mind, and I think EC may have been the cause. Looking back, I can connect things some things with his behavior.
Perhaps the vet didn't do a blood test because it wouldn't have been diagnostic. On the other hand, she didn't ask herself enough questions either. There were too many "it could be"s.
I am not sure what his quality of life would've been had we tried treatment.
I do know though, that he is happy, legs working, and parasite free now.

Thanks again ladies for your knowledge.

I'm glad the article was helpful. It's one of the better ones I've found in explaining the disease.

Quality of life is very important. Some rabbits wouldn't cope well with suddenly being paralyzed and can get depressed. Treating for EC can also be difficult on a bun too, especially if they are difficult to handle and medicate, as this treatment takes over a month.

You're right, he's happy and in no discomfort now. One small blessing, when they are able to go peacefully.