URGENT - Bun w/"snuffles" up for adoption - really wanted to take her

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juliew19673

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Kimberly posted on RO's temporary site on Yahoo that she had a Foster bun Zoe, that had the snuffles (treated for an recovered) and was a rescue and only has til Saturday to live as she will be taken to the pound as she is a Rabbit Haven foster and they are out of room, but having been tested positive for Pastuerella the pound will put her down.. I contacted Kimberly and said - "No your 4 hours from me and I'll pick her up"..

I then spoke with my Vet who said it was a really bad idea to do this (bring the bun into Baxter!'s world) as he might get the same disease and come down with Wry head and litany of other problems..

Is that correct? As I am now just broken hearted that this sweet spayed girl will be put down as no one is going to take a bun that basically has HIV of buns.. If my Vet is wrong and I can bring her into the mix I'll do it in a heartbeat but being new to buns, not sure what it is that I'd be taking on and do have the responsiblity of making sure Baxter! is safe first..

Any insight from you all appreciated.
 
I only have a second to reply, but I found this quickly online from http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/past.shtml


"
Your Bunny Probably Has It- Pasteurella by Astrid M. Kruse, DVM

The word "Pasteurella" strikes fear into the hearts of many bunny lovers. It conjures up images of nasty abscesses, of sticky noses, of sick sad bunnies. An understanding of what Pasteurella is and what it does is important in keeping your bunny healthy. Pasteurella multocida is a type of bacterium, a single-celled organism that can be inhibited or killed by specific antibiotics. Pasteurella can be acquired from anywhere, especially other bunnies, and often humans who may carry it on their skin or clothing. The bacteria enter the body via the nose or open wounds and start growing. Over half of all rabbits carry Pasteurella bacteria in their bodies, but most are not sick. A healthy immune system either eliminates the bugs from the system, or keeps their numbers and location tightly controlled where they are harmless. However, some rabbits are not able to destroy the Pasteurella that has colonized their bodies and develop pasteurellosis, clinical disease. Pasteurella infection is diagnosed from positive nasal cultures, obtained by sticking a sterile swab up the nose, smearing the bunny boogers on an agar plate, and seeing what bacterial colonies grow. However, the mere presence of Pasteurella does not establish that Pasteurella is actually causing the current disease since most bunnies test positive."
 
Thank you NZminilops for the link.. But now I'm a little worried that the link states in can be transmitted to cats and I have one that is 19 years old..

Really trying to find a way to save this sweet bun from the "death chambers"..

:bigtears:
 
I've had cats around rabbits with pasteurella and never had an issue, not sayng you wouldn't though. I read somewhere that almost all mammals have some form of pasteurella anyway, wish I could find where I read that.

I really hope something can be done for this bunny :(, you must be really worrying and stressing.

 
I read the post about Zoe. She is just so sweet and she's been through so much, poor girl.. and I can see why you want her so badly. I'm sorry I don't have any advice on Zoe having pasteurella, but I'm sure you'll get good advice from the other more knowledgeable RO members.

Please update this thread, my heart goes out to Zoe and I hope she finds a loving home soon :(


 
Julie, I don't have anythin to add unfortunately because I don't know enough about pasteurella, but I want to let you know I'm thinking of you and the girl bunny and hope everything works out okay!
 
juliew19673 wrote:
Kimberly posted on RO's temporary site on Yahoo that she had a Foster bun Zoe, that had the snuffles (treated for an recovered) and was a rescue and only has til Saturday to live as she will be taken to the pound as she is a Rabbit Haven foster and they are out of room, but having been tested positive for Pastuerella the pound will put her down.. I contacted Kimberly and said - "No your 4 hours from me and I'll pick her up"..

I then spoke with my Vet who said it was a really bad idea to do this (bring the bun into Baxter!'s world) as he might get the same disease and come down with Wry head and litany of other problems..

Is that correct? As I am now just broken hearted that this sweet spayed girl will be put down as no one is going to take a bun that basically has HIV of buns.. If my Vet is wrong and I can bring her into the mix I'll do it in a heartbeat but being new to buns, not sure what it is that I'd be taking on and do have the responsiblity of making sure Baxter! is safe first..

Any insight from you all appreciated.
We've never had any problems with the rabbits making our cats sick either. When our Netherland Dwarf, Miss Betty came down with Wry Neck we went through the whole illness and nursed her back to health with no sickness among the cats.

I wish we were closer Juliew....my heart is so broken after loosing Sidney and the thought of a bunny loosing its life because it doesn't have a home makes me feel worse. Will keep the sweet girl in our prayers.



 
I have Ringo his is postive for Pasteruella and not one of my others have it. Though another was sick but with something else.
 
Where is this shelter?I suggest some eduational events might be in order. If they apply the tested for pasteurella rule to all species, they would euthanize all mammals (including the humans working at the shelter and those that tested them and euthanized them) and nearly all birds. Pasteurella is carried subclinically in nearly all warm blooded mammals (including humans) and many birds. We have brought many rabbits with "snuffles" (and most of you know how much I hate that term) into our rescue succesfully with only minimal modifications because of the pasteurella.

To make a very long story short....all rabbits and just about every other living mammal has pasteurella present in their bodies most commonly in the respiratory system. If any animal is healthy, their immune system can handle this bacteria quite easily. Pasteurella is an opportunistic bacteria....it's really kind of a wuss. It only appears when their has been a compromise in the immune system for some reason. I have rescued hundreds of rabbits and would have no problem bringing this rabbit into my rescue. Not to say that I don't isolate for a while and make sure the condition is properly treated....but I think this is more of an educational issue with the opinions stated in this thread.

And as far as cats....unless your vet is on another planet....a cat is the absolute nastiest animal in the world. Their mouth is full of bacteria....including very nasty strains of pasteurella. Check with any wildlife rehabilitator and you will find that a cat bite...even a small nick of a tooth....introduces such a huge amount of bacteria (mostly pasteurella) that any small neonate such as a rabbit or squirrel....and birds....will die within 48 hours from that bacteria from a cat...many times even if we get antibiotics started immediately. A cat if filthy. Want additional proof? Call your personal human doctor and ask him/her if a dog or cat bite is more serious and which passes the most harmful bacteria.

I could go on and on about how totally wrong this view of pasteurella and rabbits is....and I am shocked that a vet would make such a statement. When I hear such ridiculous statements coming from professionals, it just makes me cringe. Sorry for the rant but I hear this type of old inaccurate stuff all the time. I need a headache pill now. Again, sorry for the rant here.

Randy
 
We lost a bunny to pasteurellaa few years back. Unfortunately, we also were not using a bunny-savvy vet at the time. Our vets did all they knew to help him, and they were all about educating themselves to serve...they just did not have the expertice or experience that would likely have helped to extend Stewart's life beyond his 2 short years.

That said, I must add that even in my and the vets' ignorance, we did a lot of things right. And none of our other 2 bunnies (at the time) or 10 cats had even a hint of the illness. One of our cats at the time was disabled, and 2 struggled with other illnesses of aging...so they definitely had compromised immune systems that would put them at risk.

Stewart even had a bonded mate during his life. Gingivere loved Stew more than anything. They were inseperable. Yes, there were times when they lived separately and were even isolated from one another. But during times when his illness seemed under control, they wereside-by-side, and she suffered no harm.

I don't have any advice for you about the treatment options available to you. But I assure that a rabbit-savvy vet who does a thorough exam and some tests will be able to get you on the right track.
 
ra7751 wrote:
And as far as cats....unless your vet is on another planet....a cat is the absolute nastiest animal in the world. Their mouth is full of bacteria....including very nasty strains of pasteurella. Check with any wildlife rehabilitator and you will find that a cat bite...even a small nick of a tooth....introduces such a huge amount of bacteria (mostly pasteurella) that any small neonate such as a rabbit or squirrel....and birds....will die within 48 hours from that bacteria from a cat...many times even if we get antibiotics started immediately. A cat if filthy. Want additional proof? Call your personal human doctor and ask him/her if a dog or cat bite is more serious and which passes the most harmful bacteria.

Randy

While I may not know rabbits as well as you; I do know cats and dogs...and while your specific commentrelated tocatsposted above is not totally inaccurate you make it sound (at least to me)as if those of us who have both cats and "any small creature" living together,should run for their lives and seperate them as if cats had venom coursing through their veins.

There is nothing wrong with the information you gave, yes, cats do have a mouth full of bacteria. But please consider that someone out there may be totally new to the world of cats, and it is not a fact thatsmall neonates WILL die (as you suggest) within 48 hours of being biten by a cat simply because of the bacteria that a cat has in its mouth. Consider that if a catgets hold of acreature smaller than itself (especially a wild creature), for example,in such a small creature there isas muchof a chance that this animal is going to succumbfirst to something other thanthe bacteriafrom the cats mouth. Just the trama/fear associated with being attacked/mauled by a cat (or a dog for that matter)can kill a squirrel or bird, especially in my experience.There need not be any broken skin, or the tinest of scratches. Also consider that small neonates are more likely to suffer internal injuries that are not easily detected (even by a vet)and they may linger for 48 hours before succumbing to internal injuries.

I have rescued and attended to a "multitude" of cats and dogs....(birds and squirrels)with a variety of medical conditions. I have been biten, scratched and been forced into situations where it would have been "wiser" for me to practice the handling of these animals with a little more caution. But hind sight being what it is, I can tell you that I have never suffered much beyond a red, irritated looking wound that with common sense treatment (proper cleaning and application of antibacterial ointment)didn't result in proper healing. I am aware that some humans (especially children, pregnant womenand older individuals whose immune systems may not be at their peek performance) should practice a little more caution handling cats; but this is for any number of reasons BESIDES the fact that the cats mouth is filthy.

The same is true when treating any creature that suffers a bite or scratch from a cat. Seldom when I worked at the vet did we jump to give antibiotics to an animal that had just been mildly biten byotherwise "healthy"cat. Small wounds seldom required a course of antibiotic treatment as long as the wounded animal hadn't been setting out in the heat and suffered from "other" more serious encounters with flies.

Now, for example, if the cat that bit the animal/human was a known feral, had never been vaccinated, lived out of a garbage can or killed rodentsto survive there would be a higher chance that a course of antibiotic treatment would be perscribed for safety sake. But that would be the same case with a dog bite....and in both humans and other domestic animalsthe least of your worries is pasturella when you've been biten by a stray, uncared for, starving cat OR dog I assure you. There are other illnesses far worse that can be picked up from the bite of a stray cat or dog other than pasturella depending on the human/creature having been biten.

I appreciate that you were venting. But I too dispair when information is given (or lack there of), especially by one who seems to be highly regardedfor the information they give.

You have to use common sense and not ignore any wound (big or small)from any animal wild, domestic or other.Saying that cats are "filthy" in context with what this topic is actually about is in my opinion quite harsh, and misleading. Especially to those who have no experience.
 
Thank you one and all for your advice; at this time I've not heard back yet from Rabbit Haven as to Zoe.. :( So now not sure what will happen.. I hope with the info that I gave them they will at least keep the bun and/or give me a call/email..
 
Any more info on this bunny?
 
Update: After Randy informed me that Pasturella was "NOT" a guaranteed/toxic death sentinceto bunsI tried contacting Rabbit Haven to get Zoe and other than Kimberly, the fosterer emailing me back stating it was up to the Director, I could not get an answer from then as to Zoe's status.. So my heart broke over the weekend and I have no answer, but will NEVER let this happen again..

I CAN"T undrstand how my VET who is supposed to be one of the BEST Exoctic Vets in Los Angeles does not know as much as You all on this site .

Sad and plerplexed..
 
juliew19673 wrote:
Update: After Randy informed me that Pasturella was "NOT" a guaranteed/toxic death sentinceto bunsI tried contacting Rabbit Haven to get Zoe and other than Kimberly, the fosterer emailing me back stating it was up to the Director, I could not get an answer from then as to Zoe's status.. So my heart broke over the weekend and I have no answer, but will NEVER let this happen again..

I CAN"T undrstand how my VET who is supposed to be one of the BEST Exoctic Vets in Los Angeles does not know as much as You all on this site .

Sad and plerplexed..

I'm sorry Julie, I didn't see this until just now. I apologize for not replying.

Randy pretty much said it all. When I first got into rabbit rescue I had many, many Vet's tell me the same thing. Experienced ones and non experienced alike.... I just had to learn on my own.

"We have brought many rabbits with "snuffles" (and most of you know how much I hate that term) into our rescue succesfully with only minimal modifications because of the pasteurella. " - Same here. We had a proccedure that we go through each time, and we have never ever had a problem.
 

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