GI Stasis feeding advice needed - RIP

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Schell86

Schell86

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I have been treating my rabbit Einstein for GI stasis since Saturday. He has been to the vet, they gave him pain medicine (metacam) and SQ fluids as well as some flea medicines (capstar and revolution- he was infested thanks to my dog bringing them in the house). They sent us home with critical care and instructions to feed him hourly Saturday and then 4x a day after that. I've been giving him simethicone twice a day as well.
Einstein started pooping Saturday night and the poops are getting larger. He is also starting to fight the syringe feedings. Normally he is a very skittish rabbit and doesn't like being handled. I feel like I am stressing him out more trying to feed him. He starts breathing real heavy when we touch him and is starting to make these grunting noises as well. As long as we aren't trying to touch him, he breaths and sounds normal. BUT he hasn't been eating on his own yet. greens. We've tried romaine lettuce, parsley, and cilantro- all he has rejected. He is a picky rabbit on a normal days- prefers his hay and pellets over fresh, but he normally eats these things. I start to think he is doing better but he just keeps refusing all his food.
So my main question is, do I continue syringe feeding him even though its stressing him? Is there anything else I can do to tempt him? How long does it normally take rabbits to start to bounce back from stasis?
 
Did the vet check his teeth(including molars) to make sure they aren't the cause of him not eating? Did they send home any gut motility meds as well?

Have you tried just mixing up the critical care and putting it in a little bowl to see if he will eat it on his own? Unfortunately if he won't eat anything on his own, you will need to continue the syringe feeding or he will just get sick again.

If he is acting more like his usual self, feeling better, and pooping, but he still won't eat on his own, I would highly suspect a dental issue to be the cause. A rabbit that has stasis due only to a digestive issue, will generally start gradually eating its food again as it starts feeling better. If this isn't happening, then it's likely the rabbit is still experiencing pain that is stopping it from wanting to eat, and the most likely cause would be a dental problem causing the pain. So if the teeth weren't checked, it would be good to have that done tomorrow.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html
 
Dental issues could still be a possibility as spurs towards the far back of the mouth can be missed in a conscious dental exam, so a dental exam under GA may be needed. And if it were a tooth infection causing lack of appetite, this would likely need an xray to determine.

It would probably be good to ring the vet tomorrow and discuss your concerns. You could also ask about a gut motility med being helpful or not. Though if your bun is pooping fairly well now, you may not need one as motility may not be the problem for why your bun is still not eating.

GI stasis can take some time for it to resolve completely. It took two weeks for my bun to get back to normal. He would start pooping again, then it would stop. But each time as he started pooping and feeling better, he would always start eating more and more on his own. So with your bun not doing this, it's why I suspect there may be something more going on. A rabbit that is clearly feeling better, should be eating, and if not there is a reason why, and it may take further diagnostics, like xrays, dental exam under GA, blood tests, to try and figure out what may be causing your bun to continue to not want to eat. GI stasis is really just a symptom of some other health problem, it's not always directly linked to a gut issue. Basically anything that causes a rabbit to feel pain, can cause them to stop eating and eventually the result will be gut stasis. So it would be good to discuss with your vet if further diagnostics may be needed at this point, or if it should be given a few more days to see if he will start eating on his own.

eta: Is he drinking on his own? Does he seem to have any trouble urinating or does all of that appear normal?
 
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He is urinating, I haven't noticed any straining. I think he is drinking-the hair around his mouth is wet, but that may be from sniffing the water bowl. He will inspect things I put near him but I can't tell if he is actually drinking the water.
 
Went to the vet again. They trimmed his front teeth which were not aligned right. We spotted a sore on his tongue as well. The vet thinks there maybe issues with his back teeth but Einstein is to weak for the dental exam. The vet says his color is looking better and he isn't dehydrated so we have been doing something right. He is still concerned that he is anemic from the fleas and suggested a blood test and a day of observation/frequent feedings with them on Thursday. The loud breathing we hear when we try to feed him is just stress, his lungs sound fine.
They gave him more fluids and stronger pain meds. Next step is blood tests. He still seems really weak and not interested in his food but I'm hoping the teeth trimming helped and that we start to see some improvement soon.
 
I'm so sorry your bun didn't make it. These health problems can be so complicated and difficult to treat. I've lost a bun to GI stasis complications as well. It's difficult to turn around once they go downhill. You did all you could to figure out what was going on and help your bun.

Rest in peace Einstein.
 
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