On Monday 6/30, Rufus suddenly stopped to eat. Here is the record of his conditions.
6/30 10:00
Give critical care 60ml + meloxicam 0.5ml (1.5mg/ml) oral
Give massage. Slow gut sound is observed. He dug carpet several times (This is normal action he does when he feel pain and try to recover from GI stasis), but quit soon.
No feces and urine observed through the day.
Rufus’s small intestine still responds my massage (more correctly, oriental “Chi” treatment which encourages intestine’s movement more active).
Usually he get well with the treatment in 2~3 hours if GI stasis is mild.
6/30 15:30
His condition doesn’t improve.
Because Rufus’s gut sound stopped and doesn’t respond my “Chi” anymore, I take him to UW-Vet.
Doctor give his dignosis of GI stasis. Rufus get 150ml fluid.
Somehow, he doesn’t show any sign of dehydration. His back skin and gum is still soft.
His condition looks typical mild GI stasis, so I agree to try fluid and get him back to home.
6/30 17:00
At home, give 20ml critical care + meloxicam 0.4ml oral + metoclopramide 0.5ml (1mg/1ml) oral.
6/30 21:00
Rufus’s fluid under his skin is mostly absorbed. No urine is observed.
He doesn’t show any sign of recovery. Stomach start to swell.
G. Flentke (a former WHRS chapter manager) mentioned about a possibility: Rufus is severely dehydrated and the 150ml fluid is not enough, though his skin doesn’t show any sign of dehydration.
I feel like it’s not a problem of intestine, but he has issues somewhere in stomach and the duodenum. Usually in Rufus’s case, small intestine and cecum stops first, feel low temperature around lower abdominal. However, this time I feel issues on stomach and somehow staff inside the stomach doesn’t get through the duodenum. I start to doubt ileus.
6/30 21:30
Take Rufus to UW-vet again. We agree that his condition is getting worse, now his stomach is full of gas, and need X-ray to proceed next step.
In the next one hour, Rufus’s stomach get harder and harder
6/30 23:00
Got X-ray image. no ileus is found!
During Rufus is under sedation, Dr. Sladky tried to release gas in stomach with tube, but does not succeed.
Make discussion with Dr. Sladky how we treat him. I feel dangerous to let him go home because his stomach is very hard, so Rufus stays in hospital care. He get fluid with IV catheter.
xray photos:
7/1 6:00
Rufus start to move around, show interest to foods
7/1 8:30
I see him at UW-Vet. He looks much better than last night.
Massive amount of gas in stomach moved to intestine. Cecum is still gassy.
He ate carrots and small amount of hay, and droped hard feces and cecum pellets.
7/1 16:00
He looks better so I take him back to home.
He eat small amount of hay and carrots. I hear clear gut sound.
He drops hard feces.
photos and movies
7/1 22:30
give 20ml critical care.
7/2 3:30
His interest to food is gradually decreasing.
I still hear his gut sound, now his stomach and intestine responses my “Chi” quickly.
I feel remaining gas in his stomach, intestine and cecum, but his abdomen have more strength than yesterday. I’m not sure why he is loosing interest to food, and looks uncomfortable.
Because his stomach is not full, give 10ml critical care to let move his intestine.
7/2 8:00
He looks tired (or uncomfortable).
Give another 10ml critical care and 0.4ml meloxicam.
Dr. Sladky’s prescription is 0.9ml for every 24 hours, but I split the doze in two.
All my bunnies tend to run out the pain relief effect in the last ~5 hours and stop eating, then they feel uncomfortable again after 6 hours. It may be because I’m using “chi” treatment too, it helps to move GI track, but the same time it tend to enhance liver function that may result in excretion of the drug earlier than prescribed.
7/2 16:00
He finished 1 inch length of carrot. I’m not sure if he ate hay or not because I was on work.
With Chi treatment he start to nibble small amount of hay.
Give 20ml critical care + 0.5ml meloxicam, but he hated to be wrapped.
Total amount of feces and urine in the last 24 hours:
7/2 20:00
I don’t hear gassy sound from his intestine anymore, but still he doesn’t recover his full appetite.
Usually the amount of hay he nibbles increases gradually, but I don’t see the sign yet.
He is very picky about hay.
Good news is he eats carrot tops, romaine lettuce, broccori, and small amount of water-soaked normal timothy pellets (~1 tsp).
He shook his head when he eat soaked pellets, it looks like he is trying to avoid to touch left cheek (or gum) with food. I hear strange sound when he is grinding. He also doesn’t eat hard part of vegetables.
Might be a teeth issue?
Size of hard feces is getting smaller than last night.
7/3 0:00
Give 20ml critical care + extra 0.5 ml meloxicam.
He resisted hardly (he ate most of them though).
I start to doubt mouth issue, because Rufus is a very sensitive boy about it.
May be that was the direct cause why he stopped to eat suddenly.
I hear normal sound from his guts and his abdominal strength recovered almost normal.
He may be uncomfortable, but for me it doesn’t seem to be a cause why he still hesitate to eat, there will be another cause (most likely mouth issue).
In the past experience about Rufus, I learned pain medication will help to improve the situation, so I gave extra 0.5 ml meloxicam.
7/3 0:30
Rufus start to hop around, and eat hay. After a while, he start to nibble small amount of vegetables and soaked pellets without my “Chi” treatment.
7/3 4:00
Rufus nibbled thick stem of hay, which he was avoiding in the past 3 days.
He also finished soaked pellets (in total 1 tbs).
7/3 9:00
I give soaked pellet (1tbs), and he finished 1/3. Also, he eat small amount of romaine lettuce.
Because he hate to be wrapped and eat critical care, I stop syringe feeding.
Give 0.3ml meloxicam (1/3 of 24 hours doze).
During the night he tried to eat some vegetables. He is still trying to avoid hard part.
However, it’s good that he start to eat by himself — without my attention.
feces from 16:00 yesterday:
the size and amount of feces is smaller than yesterday. He passed urine on two other litter boxes.
7/3 12:00
Rufus start to dig carpet, and then eat vegetables. He also finished almost all amount of soaked pellets.
I think he is on recovery track and I don’t hear strange grinding sound now, but I’m a little worrying about this long weekend… If he has a teeth issue, he may get worse again during the weekend.
However, I’m not sure what doctors can do for his teeth right now, because I guess it is very minor issue. May be I should have subcutaneous fluid in my home just in case if he get dehydrated again??
7/3 20:00
Got fluid kit from UW.
He eats soaked pellets and vegetables.
feces from yesterday
7/4 0:00
He finished remaining pellets. Give meloxicam 0.3ml.
He eats a lot of vegetables.
He also start to eat enough amount of hay, finally he is recovered?
(but still picky, he can eat oats hay and soft timothy leaves only)
7/4 8:00
He finished vegetables, but it looks like he didn’t eat in the last 4 hours.
His GI track is getting slower again.
Give soaked pellets(1TBS). Rufus finished 2/3 of it.
Give meloxicam 0.3ml.
7/4 12:00
He is losing interest to food again. Looks uncomfortable.
Guts sound become slower.
feces from last night
7/4 16:00
Since he doesn’t drink water at all, give electrolyte solution + critical care (just a pinch) with syringe. I hear large growling from stomach. I understand he was dehydrated again.Give meloxicam 0.3ml.
He looks very uncomfortable.
7/4 20:00
He eats soaked pellets a little, but looks uncomfortable, and I don’t see his GI movement. Also I feel gas bubbles in his intestine.
7/4 22:00
Rufus drinks orange mango juice 40ml (diluted with electrolyte solution 60ml), he finished all in one hour. I added another juice 30ml diluted with electrolyte solution 60ml. He drinks 1/3.
7/5 0:00
He start to eat hay, but still picky. He eats oats hay and
I still doubt teeth problem.
I give meloxicam 0.3ml.
7/5 8:00
He eats hay well up to 3:00, but it looks like he stopped to eat after I went to bed. Somehow he lose interest to food when I’m not in living…
But he finished 1tbs soaked pellet.Because I feel gas in stomach, I give 0.3ml meloxicam and 0.3ml infant gas reliever.
Size of feces is getting larger.
7/5 16:00
He doesn’t eat at all in the last five hours, and looks uncomfortable. His guts sound gets slower again. He seems to become worse in daytime.
I don’t want to disturb his sleep, but if I don’t let him eat at all, his GI gets full of gas at night as yesterday…
I give very thin critical care and 0.3ml meloxicam.
7/5 22:00
He finished water soaked pellets (1tbs).
He start to recover his appetite around 20:00, but he can’t eat hay (he shows interest but doesn’t eat).
I give hay cube and somehow he start to eat!I have no idea why a bunny can eat cubed hay but not loose hay??
7/6 0:00
Because he doesn’t drink water for 24 hours, I give electrolyte solution + critical care with syringe. give 0.3ml meloxicam
7/6 3:00
He is eating some hay, but not as much as yesterday.
Is he having teeth problem? or having Retrobulbar Abscess again so that his molar doesn’t meet in right position?
7/6 6:00
He doesn’t eat in the last 4 hours (during I was sleeping…)
give massage 20 min, and he start to eat vegetable and drink a little amount of juice.
7/6 9:30
He finish 1tbs water soaked pellets. looks better than yesterday, but I think it’s because he drink juice at 6:00 am.
Give 0.3ml meloxicam.
He dropped a lot of feces last night though.
7/6 14:00
His stomach and intestine getting larger again, and I hear gas sound…
give very thin critical car (almost water)
7/6 16:00
give very thin critical car (almost water), meloxicam 0.3ml
After one hour, he start to nibble hay just small amount.
7/6 17:00
He is eating hay. It looks like he is using only right molar to eat long hay?
7/6 18:00
Turn on air conditioner. He start to eat loose local hay.
7/6 20:30Give 1TBS soaked pellets. He finished all.
He eats feces(I’m not sure if this is cecal pellet or not). He is eating it very frequently today.
7/6 21:30
eats vegetables (parsley, celery, romaine lettuce) and hay.
Looks quite normal appetite. If he drinks pure water, I feel much better…
7/6 23:30
Drinks mango-orange juice + water, nibble hay cube.
7/7 0:00
Because he is still eating, I skipped meloxicam.
His condition will be monitored every three hours.
7/7 3:30
Rufus is eating hay and drinking orange juice + water.
However, he is trying to avoid to use left molar…
7/7 6:30
He still nibbles a small amount of hay.
7/7 8:00
He finishes 1TBS soaked pellet quickly. After that, I hear gas sound from his intestine and he looks uncomfortable.
7/7 8:30
Give 0.3ml gas reliever.