Nothing specific during the consultation. Thin as a rake, loose stools, teeth grinding. Something had affected the digestive system. The rabbit was not losing hair. Just very thin and not eating much.
I had presumed that the rabbit would be eating hay and food pellets as other rabbit owners but I was mistaken. I asked the owner to send me some pictures of the rabbit at home.
The young lady sent some pictures of the rabbit's housing via e-mail as requested by me. From the pictures, this rabbit was very well cared for. It appears that the lady in her late twenties piled hay on top of the pellets in one feed bowl. So, the rabbit ate mostly hay and no pellets or little pellets. Over some months, this could be an imbalanced diet and there also could be toxins in the hay? Toxins not enough to kill the rabbit but did cause some loose stools.
Dec 22, 07
The owner noticed that the rabbit was not eating again. She text messaged for appointment. The rabbit ate a bit and she might sms to cancel the appointment.
The rabbit came the next day. She was warded for one day for observation and fluid therapy. The rabbit was given pellets and vegetables. She liked the leafy kangkong vegetables.
The owner was advised to give her a variety of diet and to get new hay from another brand. She bought the branded hay. The hay has to be put in a separate bowl.
"Pesticide free vegetables are best," I said. "Only certain supermarkets sell them and you need to look for them."
The rabbit was given a variety of food including apples. "Apple skin only," the lady said when I sms her one day. "She gets diarrhoea if given the apple itself."
"Apple skin may contain pesticide," I advised her not to give the skin as apple growers nowadays spray insecticide all over the apples to prevent insect damage. I did not know what she would be doing to source the pesticide vegetables. Christmas and New Year passed by fast. Then I got an sms from her on Jan 5, 2008.
Jan 5, 08
Sms from the owner.
Hi Dr Sing, how hv u been? To update u, I hv been feeding (name of rabbit)with pesticide free lettuce leaf n a mini carrot daily. She continues wif her new pellet n hay diet. She improves a lot n now i can feel her little tummy. She looks good. Thank you so much for your continuous care & attention.
It is important for the vet to follow up in cases where the pet is eating less and less everyday. The feeding management of the pet might be at fault rather than the disease.
With text messages nowadays, it is much more convenient rather than phone calls.
As this young lady owner has an excellent professional veterinary-client relationship, it was easy to follow up via sms. Sometimes I had to phone her for more details as sms can be quite brief.
If this case was not followed up by the vet and the owner had not bothered to e-mail pictures of the rabbit housing, the rabbit probably would have had died as she ate less and less.
This rabbit does not suffer from anorexia nervosa unlike young Singaporean girls. Most likely, the hay was toxic and the variety of diet was not eaten.
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