Cookie passed out at the Vets

[HoneyPot]

So first off, over the past 5 months, Cookie,who originally weighed 3 pounds to start, has lost a pound.He has been more active lately and has been getting less pellets (whichhas been fixed - my mom wasn't giving him enough and I just realized).

(And just as a bit of background, Cookie is my family's bunny at myparent's house and I usually see him about once a week or so).

His poop has been really small for a while now, but he is eating andplaying, peeing and pooping normally (although small). Actscompletely healthy and happy.

I took him to the vet who found he had small molar spurs which sheclipped. She then took him to the back room to take someblood because she wasnted to run some blood tests but didn't return for20 mins. When she got back (I was very worried by thatpoint), she told me that after taking the blood, she set him down andhe wabbled and started to pass out, so she had him on oxygen and waswatching him to make sure he was doing ok.

Cookie stresses out really quickly, so I am sure it was just the stressthat got to him. . She also thought the same.

The blood tests came back and everything looks fine. She recommendedgiving him the right amound of pellets and bringing him back in to beweighed in about 2 months - or if I notice that he is still losingweight.

I asked the vet if the small poo could mean he has some kind ofintestinal block, and she said not likely since he is not acting sickat all and is still eating everything he is given.

So maybe he is healthy and I am worrying for nothing? What doyou guys think? The small poo and him losing weight isbothering me.

___________
Nadia

 

[jordiwes]

Awwww Cookie!

I've never heard of a bunny passing out before!

I think if you guys give him extra pellets over the next couple of weeks, he should be fine.

Was he tested for worms?

Is he eating his hay?

I think with his teeth all better and more food he should be right as rain in no time.

 

[HoneyPot]

Eating hay normally - not as much as I wouldlike, but he's so picky. We have to gradually switch him fromone bag of hay to another (same brand - but he KNOWS when we change thebag somehow). So sometimes he goes a day or so without eating any ofthe hay before he just gives in.

She didn't check him for parasites, but that's something I might ask her to do if I am still worried in a month or so.

__________
Nadia

 

[naturestee]

Poor Cookie! He has a "delicateconstitution." Isn't that what they used to say aboutVictorian women who fainted while wearing corsets?

I think the vet sounds right in thinking that he lost weight because hehad less pellets and he had a molar spur, especially since hisbloodwork came back normal. If he still doesn't improve, thenget the fecal test. You shouldn't have to bring him in forthat unless the vet wants to see him. You usually just need asample.

Does he drink much water or eat many veggies? Sometimes poopscan be small because they're not getting as much liquid as they shouldfor the dry food they're eating. It can usually be helped bygiving a water bowl instead of a bottle, flavoring the water, orfeeding canned pumpkin.

Is there any chance you could get Cookie a bale of hay so he doesn'thave to switch bags often? Bales are often better quality andcheaper anyways, they just take up lots of space.

 

[HoneyPot]

Naturestee - good ideas. He eats lotsof veggies, but doesn't drink as much water as I wouldlike.I'll probably switch him out to a bowl, I'mnot a big fan of bottles. Also - I'm going to look into thebale of hay. The farms around here only do Timothy/Alfalfamixes, so if I get a bale, it will have to be a mix.. and I've beenafriad of getting a whole bale and Cookie not liking it.Although - the whole bale is probably way cheaper than the bag ofKaytee.

Thanks! I feel a bit better about the whole thing. I get so worried.

____________
Nadia

 

[Smelly]

Passing out is prettycommon for almostany animal when blood is taken. Humans do itsometimes. Animals do it sometimes. My sister hasand I've gotten VERY lightheaded from blood being drawn.

 

[pamnock]

I would certainly be concerned about the rabbitlosing 1/3 of its body weight - the loss of 1 pound is a major concernfor such a small rabbit.

I would start the rabbit on a small amount of Nutri Cal to get someweight back on it. I wouldn't be concerned that the rabbitisn't drinking much. Rabbits that eat a lot of veggies oftendon't drink as much because the veggies/greens provide a high amount ofmoisture in the diet.

Pam

 

[naturestee]

Smelly wrote:

Passing out is prettycommon for almost any animalwhen blood is taken. Humans do it sometimes.Animals do it sometimes. My sister has and I've gotten VERYlightheaded from blood being drawn.

Lightheadedness isn't too unusual if you're donating blood, becausethat is a large amount of blood to loose especially if you're near thelower weight limit. But passing out is not common.I used to work in a lab at a blood donation center, and trust me it'snot common for people to pass out. Those who have the mostproblems are usually the ones who are terrified of the sight of blood,but animals don't have that problem. My guess is that Cookiepassed out because of stress combined with a weakened body, especiallysince he hadn't been eating as much as he should have been.

Nadia, did they test his blood sugar? It might have been lowfrom not eating enough, which would make him more likely to faint fromthe blood draw.

 

[HoneyPot]

They did test blood sugar and it wasok. He was eating a lot of other things (veggies and hay),but only getting 1/8 cup of pellets when he should have been getting a1/4 cup.

___________
Nadia

 

[jordiwes]

Hey Nadia,

What's the latest with Cookie? I hope he's putting some weight back on!