(RIP) S'more has been sneezing/coughing and has nasal discharge.

[JimD]

S'more has been sneezing, coughing, and has some clear nasal discharge.Her breathing is kind of labored, too.
It started the day before yesterday and seems to be getting worse.

I'm so worried.

I was super lucky to be able to get a vet appointment for tomorrow morning.
I hope it's not too serious.

Any extra prayers or good thoughts that can be sent her way would be greatly appeciated.

Here's my favorite pic from a few years ago....

And, as a Mod, I should probably stick to protocol and list the standard Infirmary details/information.

IMMEDIATE INFORMATION:


Location: New Jersey (northeastern), USA

Description (Breed, color, weight): Dutch, tort, approx. 6 lbs.

Age: Approx 8 years old

Sex: Female

Concise Summary of the Rabbit's Condition: Labored breathing, sneezing, coughing, and slight clear nasal discharge. Started 2 days ago.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / CHECK LIST:


Fecal and Urinary Output

- are the bunny's poops and pees normal? Yes.
- when did they last use their litterbox? About 15 minutes ago.
- any unusual behavior? straining to pee? unusual litter habits? None (other than previously mentioned).
- what litter and/or bedding do you use? I use Woody Pet for litter. Hay and cotton towels are used for bedding.

Medical History

- spayed/neutered? Spayed
- has s/he been to the vet or been sick before?Yes (several years ago for stasis).
- is s/he on any medications? No.

Diet

- what specifically does your bunny eat? KT Timothy Complete, Sweet Meadow’s Classic Timothy Hay, and bottled spring water.
- when and what did s/he eat last? She’s been eating normally. I gave her dinner 2 hours ago and she’s eaten about half of it so far. She’s also been munching on hay and drank some water.
- any changes in the way s/he eats? (ie: not eating a particular food, odd chewing motions, etc). No.


Other

- movement - any unusual movements? Is s/he hopping normally? She’s alert and moving around normally.
- is the rabbit molting? No, and hardly shedding either.
- any weight loss? No.
- any sign of drooling? wet face? No.
- runny eyes? No. They’re bright and shiny.
- wet nose? coughing? sneezing? Yes to all.
- is s/he breathing normally. Her breathing is labored.

Additional

- any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach? No.
- has the rabbit been outdoors? No. She’s strictly a house rabbit.
- any other pets? if so, have they been ill? All of the other rabbits are fine. None of them have direct contact with any of the others. They all have separate and detached cages/pens.

 

[tonyshuman]

Prayers sent. Make sure to ask if her heart is ok. She's getting closer to old age and congestive heart failure can cause breathing problems. I'm sure you already know that nose issues can be tooth issues too. I hope it's a simple URI or even an allergy.

 

[JimD]

Thanks, Claire.

I just checked on her and she seems to be resting comfortably, but she's still breathing harder than normal.

 

[Maureen Las]

Sounds like an upper and lower respiratory infection. Antibiotics should help

"Hugs" to you Jim and be sure and keep the updates coming....

 

[JimD]

X-rays show S'more has a lesion in her trachea.The vet said that it's probably infected,and there may be a possible tumor as well.

She was given an injection of Dexamethasone (a corticosteroid), and is having daily nebulization for three days. She's also on oral Baytril (tablets)for ten days.

 

[Pipp]

ray:

 

[Maureen Las]

Oh that sounds serious ; come on S'more don't give up /ray:

Sorry to hear this Jim
Do you plan to have more diagnostics done on her to detemine if there is a tumor or not?

"Hugs"
Maureen

 

[tonyshuman]

Oh that's not good news. I'm pulling for you guys!

 

[JimD]

S'more has shown some improvement.
Her breathing is a lot more normal.
Her appetite has returned.
She's still sneezing/coughing, but not as much...and she doesn't seem to have as much nasal discharge.

She was taking the Baytril tabs willingly for the first few doses, but has started to spit them out now. This morning was a battle of wills to get her to take it.
I may have to crush them and mix them with some baby food or something...syringing it if necessary.

She goes in for her final nebulizing today.

I haven't discussed the next step with the vet yet. I think he'll want her to finish the Baytril (10 days) and then will probably do another x-ray.

 

[Maureen Las]

If you can find a compounding pharmacy ( look for small pharmacies) the pharmacist should be able to compound the baytril mixing it into a suspension that is flavored. The vet would just need to call it in.

It Would be a lot easier to give considering that she has URI type symptoms.
Most of the vets here use one person who does it.

 

[tonyshuman]

I doubt that a compounding pharmacy will have Baytril on hand unless they routinely do animal prescriptions. It's not used in humans because of some weird side effects. You could probably bring it in and ask them to compound it, though.

 

[Maureen Las]

tonyshuman wrote:

I doubt that a compounding pharmacy will have Baytril on hand unless they routinely do animal prescriptions. It's not used in humans because of some weird side effects. You could probably bring it in and ask them to compound it, though.

Many compounding pharmacies do vet prescriptions because it is often difficult to get meds down pets.

 

[JimD]

I'm crushing each tab and mixing it with banana baby food.
S'more likes the baby food enough that she'll eat it right off the spoon.

 

[JimD]

S'more is not doing very well.

At first, she responded very well to all of the treatments....steroid injection, oral Baytril, nebulizing.
Her breathing had improved,
sneezing and coughing had diminished,
she was eating and drinking normally,
she was even taking her Baytril without too much of a fuss.

Over this past weekend, she started to eat and drink less and less,
sneezing started up again,
she started to refuse to take the Baytril and would spit/drool it out.
It feels like she's losing weight, too.

She hasn't eaten any pellets since yesterday.
She still takes treats of oats & dried papaya.
She still nibbles at hay.
She's hardly drinking any water.
She's still pooping, and she peed a little since yesterday

The vet is not in until Thursday (2 days from now).

My plan at the moment is to start syringing food and liquids tonight.
I checked my Critical Care and it expired in 2008, so I'm planning on making a slurry from her pellets.
I'll syringe Pedialyte to supplement her liquid intake.
I'll also sneak the Baytril in somewhere.
If she doesn't improve by Thursday I'll take her to the vet.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Please keep her in your prayers and thoughts, too.

 

[Pipp]

Can you put her back on the nebulizer or was that a vet thing?

I think I'd also suggest Metacam if you have some around. If it was the steroid injection that helped the most, it did so by reducing the swelling, and maybe the Metacam might help that a bit.

You're almost at the end of the 10-day run of Baytril, the vet may want to try something else.


sas ray:

 

[JimD]

Can you put her back on the nebulizer or was that a vet thing?

I'd have to take her back to the vet for nebulizer treatment.

I think I'd also suggest Metacam if you have some around. If it was the steroid injection that helped the most, it did so by reducing the swelling, and maybe the Metacam might help that a bit.

I don't have Metacam on hand. My vet would probably script me some without an office visit, but he won't be back to the office until Thursday.

You're almost at the end of the 10-day run of Baytril, the vet may want to try something else.

I think his plan was to run the Baytril, take an x-ray, and then decide what the next options would be.
If the anomaly is a lesion that's infected, the current treatments should help...or he might opt for something more aggressive.
If it's a tumor....well

 

[Pipp]

I'd give her Baby Motrin or another kind of Ibuprofen, which is pretty close to Metacam. The better she feels, the less chance there is of her system being stressed and the infection or tumor getting a better hold and compromising other systems.


sas :clover:

 

[JimD]

Pipp wrote:

I'd give her Baby Motrin or another kind of Ibuprofen, which is pretty close to Metacam. The better she feels, the less chance there is of her system being stressed and the infection or tumor getting a better hold and compromising other systems.


sas :clover:

What dosage would I use for a 6lb rabbit?

 

[tonyshuman]

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rx/drugcalc.html

ray:

 

[Pipp]

I think I worked out that about a quarter tablet (50 mg suspension?) was good for my little guys (who liked the berry flavor), so maybe start there. There is a recall on the liquid suspension, so if you go that route, check the batches against recall info.

You need to make sure she has food in her stomach.

Giving too much or too often can cause GI upsets and/or ulcers.


sas :clover: