Peanut update

August 28, 2006 l 2 Comments

I am one WORN OUT bunny momma. Peanut’s care alone requires a lot of time and energy, but there are a lot of other things going on that have me stretched in a million different directions. Classes start next week. How sad is it that I need a vacation from my summer vacation! Anyway…

We saw Dr. G this morning. He said basically what he told me before: Peanut isn’t improving, she’s adapting. And he’s right. Peanut is no better than she was two weeks ago. I’m not expecting her to be healed, I’m not even expecting significant improvement, but aside from her learning to lean on things (and therefore stay mostly upright) she’s the same as she was when she got sick almost four weeks ago.

She’s lost two pounds since the beginning of June, most of that being lost just these past few weeks! For the past two weeks she’s been eating Critical Care (with a little Ensure mixed in) three times a day, in addition to unlimited hay and whatever pellets she manages to eat (probably around a couple tablespoons a day). She’s drinking on her own, and her hydration is fine. I can’t get her to eat more than she already’s consuming, so why is she losing weight?!

He repeated what he said before about some bunnies handling this really well, and some not handling it so well, and that there may come a time when I have to make a decision about her quality of life. Like I haven’t been thinking about that every minute of every day for the past two months… He said that an x-ray or MRI will likely do little to help us prognostically.

I asked him about keeping her on antibiotics for longer than two weeks, in case the infection was still there. He said given that her initial infection cleared up (or appeared to) with a relatively common antibiotic, if this was another infection, putting her on one of the most powerful antibiotics available (Doxy) in combo with Orbax, should have produced some change, however small. If that were the case, he’d keep them on her longer. In this situation, he’s concerned that keeping her on Doxy any longer could really mess up her GI system, and he doesn’t think it’s helping.

He wants to see her in 30 days for a weight check. That’s all.

I’m tired. I’m frustrated. I’m stretched thin, both emotionally and financially. So when I recapped the visit with mom, I started to cry. It can’t keep going on like this. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel. The vet has offered *nothing* that would give me hope to see my rabbit better. I know, I know, even good vets can get it wrong. He’s one of the leading rabbit vets in the area. Other vets love him, patients love him, die-hard-knowledgeable rabbit people love him. So why can’t he help us??? Why isn’t he doing more?

*sigh*

Happy Birthday, Beeper!

August 25, 2006 l 3 Comments

Ms. Attitude? Oh yes.

And 17 years young…

too sweet

August 21, 2006 l Leave a Comment

Christine (or rather, Christine’s bunnies - Bella and Onzlo) gave Peanut a ‘Get Well’ card yesterday.

It’s tough being loved.

q & a

August 20, 2006 l 1 Comment

How are the other furry members of your family? I trust PJ is getting along with everyone.

For the most part, yes. The cats are still separated and we haven’t been able to keep them together for more than thirty minutes at a time. PJ is a high energy cat and the cats still aren’t tolerant of his mock charging and chasing, even if it is all in good fun. I recognize that the girls expend most of their energy playing with each other, and PJ is really wanting that, so hopefully things will smooth over as time goes on. Most of his time with the girls is spent getting him to chase an interactive toy, like a feather on a pole. It channels his energy and allows the other cats to see that for the time being he’s not interesting in play tackling them.

Ironically, the two cats who couldn’t stand PJ have been the most tolerant of him. Steph even slow blinked at him the last time he was out playing, and he responded in kind. This is very good progress. Scully, on the other hand, does her best to avoid her son. He enjoys chasing her and she enjoys doing all she can to avoid him. I’m not sure how long she thinks she can keep that up, but I’m not going to force introductions until she’s ready. In the meantime, we try to keep PJ focused on things other than antagonizing his poor mother.