HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Benji - 11 years old!

I can't believe that Benji is already 11 years old today! He is an old man now, his hind legs are a little weaker, but he is still the same friendly, cuddly and wonderful little bunny enjoying life! What a start he is.

Tommy's and Alaska's move

Yesterday, I dismanteled and discarded of Tommy's and Alaska's old cage. They have now moved into River's cage. I was worried at first because they would never use a litter box and that is imperative in that cage. But as it is just laminate and carpet in there and only the little box contains newspaper and hay, they have had no problem using the litter box and have been perfectly clean! Great stuff!

I gave the wall and the carpet where Magic still is now a good clean, it was necessary. It looks much better again now.

I am still toying with bonding Magic with Tommy and Alaska or perhaps with Dakota as he does look very lonely now and I think he is also pining a little. But I am not sure whether the cage will be big enough for three, and with Dakota I don't want to risk any injuries as she is so big and he is so small. I'll have a think about it all...

Benji - mites again

On Sunday, I gave Benji another bath as the mites have returned. However, he got quite stressed about it this time, so I won't be doing that anymore with him, eventhough it is the most effective way to treat the mites. But I will from now on treat him regularly with Advantage Drops to keep it under control. He is 10 1/2 years old and too old to be stressed out.

River and Charlie ashes home

On Saturday, I picked up River's and Charlie's ashes! I put Charlie's ashes next to Apollo's, her first partner! I miss the two bunnies, it feels quite empty in the room without them!

CHARLIE has died too - my brave girl finally lost her battle!

Tonight I came home and found Charlie collapsed! I knew immediately that there was nothing more that I could do for my little girl. She has finally lost her battle!

I bedded her comfortably and stayed with her. She was comfortable, not in distress and breathing calmly! I wanted her to die here at home, not at the vet's where she would be frightened and where she would have felt Magic's distress too. I stayed with her a couple of hours, then I just went toilet quickly and when I came back she had gone!

I am devastated, even more so as her death comes just 24 hours after River's very untimely death last night... On the other hand, Charlie's brain is all healthy again now and River will be waiting for her!

Sleep tight, my little angel! We will miss you lots and Magic will feel very lonely too without you bossing him around!

Poor River

Last night at around midnight, I gave all the bunnies their pellets as usual. River is always very keen and rushes his food, probably because he only used to get a few pellets due to his teeth.

After a few pellets he suddenly started choking... I tried everything to get the pellet(s) dislodged including turning him upside down. But nothing worked and he continued to struggle breathing and lots of fluid coming out of his nose! When it became obvious that nothing was going to work, I called the South London Emergency Clinic, but no-one answered the phone. I tried twice with no luck. Then we decided to take River just down there, but when I got back upstairs, he was just taking his last breath and I lost him!

I am absolutely devastated that I couldn't help him! The same once happened to Apollo (I think it was) and I successfully managed to sort him out. But not this time with River.

I brought him to the vet's this morning for an individual cremation. He will be coming home again on Saturday.

Sleep tight, my beautiful and special boy! God obviously needed an angel urgently and chose you.

RIVER's DIED! 18/03/2007 - 27/07/2009

River choked to death just after midnight! I can't believe he's gone. I'll post more later...

Charlie and River

Charlie is doing really well on these steroids. She was in for another shot today and she has not had any episodes/fits at all since being on these new steroids! I am so pleased that she is doing so well. She is still very skinny, but very happy and active.

River has started being funny with the water bottle again, not sure why at all!

Update Charlie and River

Cornel said that Charlie had another seizure yesterday, but she came out of it ok.

This morning, we were off to the vet again for her injection. This time is was Ian and he gave her a longer lasting steroid. It should last for the full week now. I have booked her in for next Wednesday, but of course will be back sooner if need be.

I will also start feeding grass to her on a regular basis. I don't think she is eating a lot of hay, so I need to get more food into her. I don't think she has lost a lot of weight, but because she is already skinny as it is, she can't afford to lose any.

Other than that, she is happy and fit. She doesn't seem to mind the travelling anymore and was very lively and happy in the travelling box today - and even gave Ian a lick. :-)

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River surprised me the other day when he started to drink from the bottle again! I have no idea why because he has been drinking from a bowl for the last few weeks and months... I don't know what's changed, but he started to ignore the bowl, but use the bottle again! Makes life easier for me too.

Update

On Thursday evening, she had another fit where she threw (literally!) herself around the cage. I grabed her and held her until she calmed down... then she was back to normal and eating.

On Friday morning, Charlie was still fine, so she got her injection and has been fine since. She is due another shot on Wednesday.

Charlie Update

Yesterday, Charlie was a lot quieter again and wasn't too keen to eat in the evening. It was only day 3 since the last steroid injection. In fact, Charlie's legs were getting quite wobbly and uncoordinated again as well, so I decided to have her put to sleep today unless there was a miraculous recovery.

This morning, she still looked quiet and disinterested and I still thought the time had finally come.

But when I came home from walking the dogs, I found her much perkier, very keen to eat, hopping fine... And I have yet again, postponed the last deed. She is obviously just not ready yet to go. :-)

Tomorrow morning I have an appointment for another steroid injection. I so hope she continues to do well. Of course for myself, but even more so for Magic. They are so very close and are almost always snuggled up to each other when resting.

Some new pictures

These pictures were taken in April this year

First up is Trystane, our biggest baby

Charlie had another injection

Last night, I felt that Charlie was getting slightly worse again, but she was still eating, so decided to watch her. By this afternoon though, she wasn't eating anymore and clearly seemed in pain and was uncoordinated, so I took her to the emergency vet (yet again). It was a very quick appointment (and Jackie only charged half of the surcharge because of it) and by the time we got back home, she went straight to eat again and was fine.

I am so glad it worked again, though it did last a day less than expected. I shall take her back on Friday to "top up" this time round so I won't have to take her in on Sunday again...

Charlie is doing well

Yesterday, I was watching Charlie all day as the steroids seemed to start wearing off again. However, she never got bad enough to have to go to the vet's out of hours. This morning in fact she seemed brighter again, but I still went to see Mark who gave her another injection. He seems to think that a brain tumour or some other servere brain problem is the most likely scenario in Charlie's case! I am not sure as it is strange that she seemed to feel better this morning than she did last night before she got her shot... We'll see! I am just so pleased that she is doing so well - for however long it lasts.

Charlie still doing well on day 6 of steroids

I am so pleased that Charlie is still doing well! She is moving well, eating well and also drinking without problems. She seems in good spirit and is pretty active.

I do think though that she has lost her sense of smell as she doesn't react at all now when I put food in front of her unless I shake it or Magic is eating (she is also getting to know my voice indicating that I have put food down).

I am so happy that Charlie is doing so well!

Charlie still doing well

I was terrified to check on Charlie this morning in case she had relapsed again, but Charlie was bright and still strong. She is happy, moves well, eats well and was drinking too.

Ash, my vet, is due to call me back today so I can update him and check when I need to top up the steroids.

Vera

Charlie's relaps and nearly didn't make it

When I got up this morning, Charlie had completely collapsed! She didn't move anymore at all, the limbs didn't work and after eating a few pellets first thing, she then refused all food. I was so disappointed, she did so well last night and I was positive that we had some more time left with her. But this morning was so bad that I really thought it was the end of the road for her. She just didn't respond to anything anymore. I called the emergency vet, luckily it was Ash again, the same vet as yesterday. So he knew the story. I was sure we weren't going to bring Charlie back home! However, Cornel said we should try another round of steroids seeing that she responded so well last time. I think the vet wasn't too sure about it, but we decided to go ahead with it. I have no idea what he injected (well, obviously the steroids), but it's flipping miracle stuff. By the time we got home, Charlie was "up and running" again, drinking from the syringe and eating pellets and greens and some hay for England! I can't believe the change in her. She was quite literally at death's door this morning, and although still slightly wobbly (more a little weak than wobbly actually), she is active, well co-ordinated, seems happy and content and is eating and drinking well. So it looks like little Charlie will remain on steroids probably for the rest of her life, however long this is... may be days, perhaps and hopefully weeks even! She is such a darling and such a fighter. Here's some pictures
I just took.




And with Magic

Charlie, my brave little girl

Charlie made a full recovery from her lung infection! It was great to see her happy and healthy again.

However, last night I noticed that she was a little unsteady when hopping and although she was eating, she didn't seem as keen as usual. This morning she was a lot worse, she kept running into corners squeezing her head into the corner... her legs seemed uncoordinated at times, when she groomed herself her front legs crossed over and she'd loose balance. Twice she had something like a seizure where she shook and moved and trying to run completed uncontrolled.

I took her to my vet's this afternoon (it was Ash that saw her), who checked her over from top to bottom, let her hop on the floor (and sure enough she ran into a corner again) and when he checked her ears (as she seemed sensitive around them), she had another one of those seizure like episodes. She also tried to groom herself and the vet saw how her legs crossed over very strangely.

Ash agreed with me that it looked like she has a neurological problem of sorts, the most likely causes would be EC or a head trauma. The latter unfortunately possible as she is blind and could potentially have run into something when out of the cage without me knowing about it.

Ash gave Charlie a steroid injection and gut motility drugs (as in the morning, she wouldn't eat anymore either) as well as Baytril and Panacur to take home. He wasn't hopeful though, and I must admit, it was my gut feeling too! Although I would never continue treatment for my pets if there is no hope and they are in pain/uncomfortable, we wanted to give Charlie at least a chance and see how she was going to do over the week-end!

After I got back from the vet, I soaked some Allen & Page pellets (and wow, don't they soak well... perfect for syringe feeding). Charlie took the pellet sauce quite keenly from the syringe without me even having to constrain her!
A couple of hours later, I offered her some rocket salad, spinach and cos salad... and she ate, and ate, and ate... It was such a joy to see!

Now, just about 20 minutes ago, I gave the bunnies their dinner (pellets) and Charlie ate very keenly. She is like a different bunny, moving around the cage, eating all the time, well coordinated, not going into corners, happy in herself...

I can't believe the change in her! I know that the steroids are masking things, but right now, she doesn't look like she is going anywhere soon! She is such a brave little girl!

Charlie continues to improve

Charlie has improved lots over the last few days. She is now eating normally again including hay, her breathing is much improved too (though still slightly heavier than normal I think). I have now run out of Septrin and need to find out from Obi whether she needs it for any longer. I still have some Baitryl which I am still giving her as well as the metacam.

Update on Charlie

On Wednesday before our holidays (22nd April) I stopped the antibiotics as I was running out on them and it was also 10 days. However, from then, Charlie got worse again.

On Friday, I took her back to see Obi. He agreed that she was a bit better, but not good enough. He gave me antibiotics for another three weeks.

Emily looked after Charlie whilst we were on holiday. At one point, Charlie had diarrhea, but recovered without problems. We then also gave her Fibreplex to help her digestion, which works.

Since then, Charlie has improved lots. She is eating fine, though haven't seen her eat hay, just pellets and greens. But I think she is putting on weight steadily. Her breathing is still not great, but not as bad as it was.

She is happy in herself, hopping about without problems and generally seems to cope very well!

She is due back at the vets next week (I'll probably take her Friday as I have the day off then) and we will assess progress and discuss further treatment.

Charlie is a brave little girl!

Charlie is much better

Charlie is eating properly again now, just as fast as normal and normal quantities. I am so glad about this, I was so worried about her. Her breathing is still not 100%, but so much improved!

Charlie is getting better

Last night, Charlie was eating basically normally... pellets, greens, hay... This morning, the same again. Her breathing is still not right of course, but she is not stretching her head upwards so much anymore, so it is obviously getting more comfortable. I so hope she fully recovers! She is such a darling.

Charlie: been to the vet's

Cornel and I went to a fair and then for a meal. When we got back at just after 9, Charlie's breathing had got worse. It had deteriorated so much that I called the emergency vet. Obi was on call.

He took some x-rays of Charlie's chest (and Charlie was such a good girl, it was all done without sedation!). There was a big whitish area in her lungs where it should have been black. Obi says that it is either an infection or tumours... The only way to diagnose for sure would be to take a biopsy, which is not an option at the moment as Charlie's breathing is not good enough to knock her out for it.

So we are currently treating her with two types of antibiotics. If she responds to this within 2 to 3 days, then it is an infection, if not, then we are looking at something much more serious! I hope it is not! Only time will tell now.

I am worried about Charlie

Charlie's breathing doesn't seem 100% right. I noticed it this morning... it is sort of shorter and slightly heavier than normal. I'll be watching her tonight and tomorrow. If it doesn't get any worse, I will take her to the vet Tuesday morning, if it does get worse, I'll take her to the emergency vet. I do hope she is ok. She is already 8 years old, so everything out of the ordinary is a worry!

Here's a couple of pictures I took of Charlie today and one of her mate Magic.

Tommy and Magic are bonded

Yippee.... Tommy and Magic are finally bonded. I let them run around in the room for 24 hours, all was absolutely fine. So this morning, I took the partition out of their cage and they are great, no arguments or anything at all. They look like they have always lived together! Result! I am so pleased.

River and Magic/Tommy

River is eating fine again; still not drinking from the bottle. So next time he needs a dental, I will insist on an x-ray to find out what is going on.

For a few weeks, I have now been letting Magic and Tommy run around together in the room for a few hours. There was and still is some chasing and a little bit of fur, but all not a problem at all. They seem to get on quite well. In fact, on Wednesday night, I saw Magic groom Tommy for the very first time.
I will try to get them fully bonded over Easter so I can open up their cages and they can then share the big cage rather than just half each!

Filing down the teeth

River had another dental yesterday. He came through fine. Cornel picked him up from the vets. When I got home, I gave him some greens and hay, and he ate both fine. Overnight, he has also eaten some pellets. So I think we are on the way of good recovery again.

River back to the vet's

Since River had his dental in January, he has been eating just fine. However, he seems to find it difficult to drink from the water bottle. So I either used to squeaze it a little bit for him to make it easier, and over the last couple of weeks, I put a water bowl in for him.

Last night, I noticed that he wasn't too keen on eating, though was eating pellets when I left the room to go to bed. This morning however I found most pellets un-eaten and the water wasn't drunk.

So I have booked him into the vet's tomorrow to find out what is going on. I will give him some metacam tonight. He was eating kale when I went out for work this morning, so he should be fine until I get back.

There is something going on in his mouth, be it an abscess or something else. I have a feeling he will be needing an x-ray.

River is eating again

I gave River some painkiller yesterday, but not today... And he is eating again. I have seen him eat hay quite a lot today, his pellets have gone in a flash for the first time in a week! I think the dental worked, eventhough the vet had her doubts. The next few days will show, but I am confident. River seems very happy in himself too.

River doing ok, but still reluctant to eat...

River is doing ok and started eating broccoli and carrot soon after he came home last night. However, he is still not eating hay and has painkillers. I will leave him on metacam for a couple of days to recover properly, then see whether he eats the pellets without it... If he doesn't, then we have to investigate further.

River is having a dental

I did a little experiment with River and gave him some metacam on Monday and Tuesday and he started eating the pellets and some hay again (though not particularly enthusiastically). I did not give the metacam on Wednesday, and he stopped eating the pellets and hay alltogether, though still happily munching away on greens.

So something very specifically in his mouth is hurting him!

So I took him for a dental today as the vet mentioned that he had slight spurs. The vet just called me and said that she has filed down the spurs, but they really were small and didn't appear to cause any problem.

We'll see how he fares... if his eating habits don't improve quickly, then perhaps an x-ray for abscess etc might be on the cards. But for now, I just hope that we have caught it very early... Can't wait to get my baby home tonight.

Still not 100%

River continued to only eat the greens that I provided. So on Sunday morning, I gave him some metacam. This means he then ate the pellets and some hay! However, it is still not very enthusiastically... I keep giving him the metacam, and will stop it tomorrow. If he then does not pick up his pellet and hay intake again promptly, I will get his teeth sorted. I know the vet said that they aren't bad enough to cause any problems, but I know that once they actually look at them properly, it is often a different story (see Apollo, who Mark didn't think was that bad, but turned out to have very messy teeth).

But for now, River is bright and happy, so I am not too concerned just yet. But I am pretty sure that he is due a dental...

River is not eating properly

Last morning, I noticed that River hadn't eaten all the pellets, though most were gone. In the evening, he had eaten hardly any and hardly any hay either. He did however eat his greens without problems.

Today, I took him to see the vet. He checked him over from top to bottom and all looked fine, though he did say that River had some small spurs on his teeth, though he wouldn't expect them to cause any problems for him. River got an injection of motility drugs.

River is still not eating pellets and hay, though has been eating greens happily! I will give him some metacam for the night and see how he is in the morning. I have a feeling that those spurs are causing him more problems than the vet thinks...

Charlie is 8 years old!

It is already seven years on the day that I adopted little Charlie. Charlie is my very first rescue bunny and she is doing so well!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY and HAPPY 7TH GOTCHA DAY, beautiful girl!