Coughing

[Crittercrazyjen]

I just recently had to take my rabbit Theo (who's a girl, btw)into the vet because she wasn't eating much at all. In fact, it was exactly a week ago. Her droppings were still normal. At the vet's office, we did find out that her top right tooth has a little spur on it, as well as her bottom left one. They were tiny spurs and didn't seem to be causing any problems or cuts in her mouth as of yet, but the vet did recommend that I bring her back in to get her teeth checked in 3 months and did warn me that we will need to have them floated at some point. The vet said, though, that she was pretty sure the tiny spurs weren't what were causing her to not eat.

There are two possible other reasons for her not having eaten. I was out of town the weekend before Theo stopped eating, and my mother who was watching my bunnies for me accidentally fed them the wrong pellets the whole weekend. Don't get me wrong, they were still rabbit pellets, but they just weren't the same brand we had been feeding the bunnies. We had accidentally purchased the wrong brand a few months before. My mom saw the wrong pellets first and, not knowing any better, fed those as opposed to the regular ones. I had forgotten we even had those pellets anymore, so I feel bad that I didn't warn her which brand to feed them. Anyway, that could have caused some stomach upset, I know.Also,the not eating might be due to hergoing through her shedding phase right now. She's areally fluffy lionhead, and for the past few weeks, the furhas just been flying off her as the weather has gotten warmer. We've been trying to keep her well groomed to minimize the amount of loose hair she ingests when she bathes herself, but it has been difficult keeping up with how much flying hair she'sbeen producing.

The vet wasn't able to figure out what had causedTheo to stop eating since there were multiple possible culprits. Since that was the case, she just recommened that Icut out all pellets for a while and increase her intake of greens such as kale, parsley, and cilantro and keep a watchful eye for any more symptoms showing up. I've still been feeding her hay regularly.Anyway, thetemporary change in diet has seemed to help:biggrin2:. She's now eatingravenously again (although I still haven't worked my way up to feeding her her normal portion of pellets yet).

Anyway, last night I hadher out on ourscreened-in porch for a little play time and noticed throughout the houror so that we were out there that she had a couple of coughing fits.I only noticed about 3 coughing fits which each consisted of about 5-6 coughs. Is this something I should be worried about? Could it have something to do with her bout of not eating last week? Do you think that it's probably just because she's molting and is getting hair caught in her throat? If so, is it okay for me to give her that gel stuff (i forget what its called) that you give cats to help them pass hairballs?:? I know that this was a long explanation :rollseyes, but I just wanted to make sure that you had all the facts. Thanks for any help!

 

[Maureen Las]

I don't think the coughing fits are related to the fur ingested although the episode of not eating could have lowered her immune system and brought out a latent infection.
Don't give her the hairball stuff for cats as rabbits cannot cough up fur anyway and that is just a petroleum based product that is outdated for use in rabbits

I wouldwatch to see if she coughs anymore today

If she doesn't cough anymore I would not be worried and wouldn't do anything

however if she continues to cough you will need to go back to the vet and hopefully get a strong antibiotic for at least a few weeks duration

 

[Crittercrazyjen]

Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it! I tend to be a worrywort mommy to my bunnies, and I was afraid I wasn't doing something that I should be doing to remedy the situation. I'll continue to keep a close eye on her and see if she's still coughing. I haven't noticedTheo coughingso far today, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed ray:

Thanks again!

 

[tonyshuman]

Angieluv is right--bunnies don't cough up hairballs. The petroleum laxative is popular around here (local HRS and Humane Society both use it), but I also don't like it. Coughing would be from a head cold, that could have developed while she was ill from the pellet switch. If she keeps it up, she needs to go to the vet, and they'll prescribe some antibiotics for it.

If you're worried about her ability to pass hair in the poop, you can add canned pumpkin (unflavored) to her diet--a tablespoon or two a day. It contains wet fiber, and that helps a lot. My guys also benefit from adding Oat Hay to their diet, as they love it and it's a bit coarser than Timothy, just what they need during a molt. Finally, I like to give my guys Bene-Bac whenever they have a poop issue. It is a probiotic that helps their intestinal bacteria.