Bunny’s eye was getting “better” until this morning when he could not open his right eye again.
So I took him to the vet’s and it was found that Bunny still has an ulcer, but it isn’t very deep and it is already healing. However, the eye got infected (could be due to scratching or pawing) by bacteria (visible white spots under the upper eyelid). The infection is quite bad. So, while the eyedrops was healing the ulcer, the eye got infected and we did not know.
Bunny has been prescribed the stemcell eyedrop now (Sodago in Nicol eyedrops) and he has to be put back on Baytril (the antibiotic) for 8 days for the eye infection. The vet doesn’t think that Baytril caused Bunny’s constipation. It could be stress and also dehydration. We can continue with the Beazyme anti-inflammatory, and transdermal Tramadol for the pain in his eye.
The vet said the eye ulcer is most likely not related to his cystitis even though the same happened in October 2021. Sometimes even dry eyes can cause eye ulcers.
As for the constipation, the vet palpated Bunny’s intestines and there were faeces that needed to be pushed out. It wasn’t rock hard, so Bunny was given an enema. I was worried that it might not work as even two enemas did not work in July 2021 last year. If it did not work again, the vet said we would have to try Cisapride (a medicine to increase the movement in the intestines). Thankfully the single enema worked this time, and Bunny even defecated twice quite quickly after it was administered. Hopefully his bowels are cleared now.
The vet suggested a blood test to be done to determine Bunny’s pre-existing kidney condition so that we know if there is a need to increase his subcut fluids. The blood test results showed that his creatinine level is border line “normal” but it has doubled from March last year (from 104 to 204 now). The previous urinalysis also showed that Bunny’s urine is very diluted and I noticed that his urine output is a lot these days. So, Bunny is getting dehydrated (losing water through his urine due to his kidney condition) and this could be one of the reasons for his constipation. So the vet asked to increase Bunny’s subcut to 200ml three times a week now. Hopefully this will also help with his tendency towards idiopathic cystitis (the urinary problem).
Bunny’s weight loss also indicates that he is losing protein through his urine although this could not be detected in the urinalysis since his urine was very diluted. With his kidney condition, this is not unexpected.
So now, we hope the eye will heal and the constipation issue will improve with increased hydration through subcut. As for the kidneys, we already know there is no turning back. It’s all about managing the condition as best we can.
The vet listened to Bunny’s heart too and it is an “old heart”. Well, Bunny is going to be 16 years old in May and he is also FIV+, so organ deterioration would happen faster. We will just have to manage this.
Bunny has to be on the e-collar to prevent him from scratching or pawing at his infected eye.
Feel better soon, Bunny!
We really hope that the increased subcut will help with his kidney condition, the constipation and the urinary problem. The vet said to continue with the Lactulose at 2.5ml twice a day but we can stop the B-12 for awhile since it might be “heaty”. The daily Gentle Digest probiotic will continue.