Vet found a lump in my bunny's abdomen today

[MargoPlicatus514]

Nemo, my neutered male 4 1/2 year old Holland lop, has been having runny poop (from not eating cecotropes) and not eating as well as he used to for a few months now. He also seems to be a bit more lethargic and quiet. I didn't think much of it because he had been through some moves from home to home in that time, and I attributed it to stress.

However, I was told to get him checked out as the issue seemed to be going on for longer that it should have been. He went to the vet today, and the vet found an abdominal lump attached to Nemo's stomach. He thought it might be a abscess, so Nemo received a shot of penicillin and a week of antibiotics (Baytril). He is returning to the vet in a week to check on his progress. If nothing changes, the vet thinks it's a tumor, and the prognosis isn't good.

My questions are: Has anyone experienced this with their bunnies? If so, did it end up being a tumor or an abscess. In the cases of a tumor, did you continue treatment or let it run its course? How long did your bunny live?

 

[tonyshuman]

I have not heard of this. I am a bit confused though about the runny poop. Cecotropes are more mushy and sticky, not really runny. If your bunny really isn't eating cecotropes, that's not a huge issue, and can usually be fixed with diet changes. If he has diarrhea, that's a more serious problem. If your vet is confusing diarrhea and ceotropes I would be wary.

It might be a good idea to have an ultrasound or x-ray done to get a better idea of what the lump is. A lump attached to the stomach would be pretty strange. I haven't heard of any such thing.

 

[MargoPlicatus514]

Sorry that was my description rather than the vet's. I had my bunny terminology confused. There are some cecotropes as well as runny, smeared poop. It's usually stuck to his rump as well as all around his cage.

If he doesn't show improvement next week, they're going to perform an ultrasound. For now, they're hoping that it's just an abscess.

 

[Maureen Las]

I had a Holland lop who had an abdominal mass. The vet was able to aspirate fluid from the tumor ( biopsy) and send it to a lab for cytology. It was indeed a cancer called fibrosarcoma. I had the mass surgically removed once but this type of tumor is aggressive and returned almost immediately. I had to have him euthanized due to complications from the cancer.
I have another rabbit who has a lump on his right side. It turned out to be a lipoma (merely fat cells) and is harmless.
Can you visually see a lump on your rabbits abdomen or is this a lump that the vet felt upon exam ?

Maybe you could ask the vet if he could biopsy the lump. An ultrasound also is fine but would not be able to identify the cell type if it is a tumor. Sounds like he is treating for an abscess to eliminate this as a diagnosis but treating for a week with baytril would not be sufficient

 

[DUSTBUNNY-CLYDE]

so sorry!! best wishes!!!