Barley N. Hopps
Well-Known Member
Hi, I guess I'm just looking for reassurance here as Barley's recovery from this seems slow to me, but then, I've read it can take weeks.
On Sunday, Barley wasn't as social as usual and I put it off to him snubbing me for spending more time painting a bathroom than paying attention to him! (The bathroom is around the corner from him, no paint fumes with this paint but I kept doors and windows open anyway) Monday morning he did not come to greet me as usual but was hiding behind a small grass hut in his condo. He had not eaten or used his litter box overnight so I got him a vet appointment right away.
The vet examined him carefully and noted some weight loss since his annual check-up in February, and no sounds at all from his insides. She did blood and urine work, and took x-rays and found some stomach contents but it didn't appear to be moving beyond there. She prescribed Cisapride and Metacam, and Critical Care for syringe feeding. She kept him there for most of the day, in fact, giving him fluids and keeping an eye on him. I was to give him the cisapride for 5 days but somehow it only lasted 4. (I may have overdosed him a bit by including the amount in the nozzle part of the syringe instead of measuring only 1 cc in the syringe. Just thought of that now.) He is still getting metacam today and tomorrow, once a day. Later that same day, he left some sticky specimens in his litter box, and he has been passing hard, hairy little stools since, thankfully, and peeing.
The vet wanted to do another blood test on him on Thursday to double-check something, and in the meantime, I spied some bare, red patches on his hocks so had her check them out. She had no idea why his feet were like that but she'd seen it before on a Flemish Giant who was an indoor house bunny. I'm to keep an eye on his feet, and am being extra vigilant to keep his litter box clean. (I was only cleaning it once a week, just putting a handful more of kiln-dried pine shavings on the wet part in the meantime. Now I'll clean it properly twice a week.)
It's now Saturday and he's still pretty lethargic, barely eating on his own, and I haven't seen him drink anything at all - but he's not a big drinker normally. He's eating romaine lettuce, pea shoots, flat pea pods and the odd commercial treat (Veggie Puffs and Healthy Bits) and occasionally noodles down a strand of timothy hay, but is really lacking enthusiasm.
The vet suggested I syringe-feed him a little less to make him hungry. I was getting 40 ml into him morning and evening the first day, then 40 and 20, 30 and 20, and 30 again this morning. He's really getting fed up with the syringe feeding too and often just holds the stuff in his mouth or lets it ooze out.
Can you tell me if this is all going sort of typically? Is he being slow to recover? Could sore feet have caused all this? He's on carpet, and his levels in his condo are covered in carpet which is covered with old sheets. Is all this syringe-feeding making him depressed? Is there any way I can entice him to eat more hay? It's Oxbow brand and seems to have a decent green colour so I'm hoping it's fresh.
Sorry to go on and on. He's always been such a happy, healthy boy, it's awful to see him so quiet and miserable. Any help at all is gratefully accepted!
Thanks!
Liz
On Sunday, Barley wasn't as social as usual and I put it off to him snubbing me for spending more time painting a bathroom than paying attention to him! (The bathroom is around the corner from him, no paint fumes with this paint but I kept doors and windows open anyway) Monday morning he did not come to greet me as usual but was hiding behind a small grass hut in his condo. He had not eaten or used his litter box overnight so I got him a vet appointment right away.
The vet examined him carefully and noted some weight loss since his annual check-up in February, and no sounds at all from his insides. She did blood and urine work, and took x-rays and found some stomach contents but it didn't appear to be moving beyond there. She prescribed Cisapride and Metacam, and Critical Care for syringe feeding. She kept him there for most of the day, in fact, giving him fluids and keeping an eye on him. I was to give him the cisapride for 5 days but somehow it only lasted 4. (I may have overdosed him a bit by including the amount in the nozzle part of the syringe instead of measuring only 1 cc in the syringe. Just thought of that now.) He is still getting metacam today and tomorrow, once a day. Later that same day, he left some sticky specimens in his litter box, and he has been passing hard, hairy little stools since, thankfully, and peeing.
The vet wanted to do another blood test on him on Thursday to double-check something, and in the meantime, I spied some bare, red patches on his hocks so had her check them out. She had no idea why his feet were like that but she'd seen it before on a Flemish Giant who was an indoor house bunny. I'm to keep an eye on his feet, and am being extra vigilant to keep his litter box clean. (I was only cleaning it once a week, just putting a handful more of kiln-dried pine shavings on the wet part in the meantime. Now I'll clean it properly twice a week.)
It's now Saturday and he's still pretty lethargic, barely eating on his own, and I haven't seen him drink anything at all - but he's not a big drinker normally. He's eating romaine lettuce, pea shoots, flat pea pods and the odd commercial treat (Veggie Puffs and Healthy Bits) and occasionally noodles down a strand of timothy hay, but is really lacking enthusiasm.
The vet suggested I syringe-feed him a little less to make him hungry. I was getting 40 ml into him morning and evening the first day, then 40 and 20, 30 and 20, and 30 again this morning. He's really getting fed up with the syringe feeding too and often just holds the stuff in his mouth or lets it ooze out.
Can you tell me if this is all going sort of typically? Is he being slow to recover? Could sore feet have caused all this? He's on carpet, and his levels in his condo are covered in carpet which is covered with old sheets. Is all this syringe-feeding making him depressed? Is there any way I can entice him to eat more hay? It's Oxbow brand and seems to have a decent green colour so I'm hoping it's fresh.
Sorry to go on and on. He's always been such a happy, healthy boy, it's awful to see him so quiet and miserable. Any help at all is gratefully accepted!
Thanks!
Liz