# Anybody had experience of Cachexia



## Guest (Nov 6, 2011)

As earlier thread that only got 1 reply, how sad is that due to this being a PET FORUM. 

Have has to search other options, has anyone had Cachexia in there rabbit??


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

i'd never heard of it before Kath maybe thats why youve not had much response, anyhow ive had a google and it says you need to seek 'immediate medical attention', have you got a rabbit savvy vet? a lot of regular vets arnt too good with small animals (i registered our bunnys with a different practice when we had them, because the vet their knew his stuff when it came to rabbits).......really hope he gets better soon.

Rabbit Health - Pet Travel from Pet Relocation


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## Pinkchi (Feb 5, 2011)

Its not something i've ever heard of...but did a quick google search and found this
Chronic Weight Loss and Tissue Wasting in Rabbits | petMD

It doesn't sound good though 
If you have a rabbit that is starting to suffer and experiencing significant weightloss and muscle wastage I would seriously consider pts.

One of rabbits went downhill really quickly a couple of months ago. He rapidly lost weight, although still had a very good appetite. His teeth were of concern so we had a dental done but to no avail  The vets couldn't diagnose anything and he was getting skinnier and skinner. It was doing him no favors and I couldn't see my boy suffer so I had him pts

If you tell us a little more about your rabbit? Then that might help get some more answers? Its hard to say much when we aren't sure what exactly is going on


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2011)

Thank you both for your response it is of great help believe me, i have done nothing all day but look to what i can do and for vets that specialise in rabbits as was shocked to find out that not many vets actually know about rabbits, that is such a shock. 

He is a male french lop rabbit and he is 5 years old, he has always been a "Big Boy" but he has lost half his body weight i would say in 2 weeks maximum, as he lives outside a lot, (he does come in every few days) you do not notice as much i suppose, but i brought him in yesterday and was shocked at how much weight he HAS actually lost, he is half his size that he was, when you stroke him all you can feel is his spine, ribs, head bone etc. Is really shocking, am keeping him in the house to see if he is weeing and pooing, he is eating normally so i do not think it is his teeth, he has always been a massive eater, would eat everything.  and STILL is eting everything so that is why i am worried i suppose as why would he lose weight if eating loads??? 

Thanks again xxx


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## bewitched (Jun 9, 2010)

We had to have my Alfie put to sleep due to massive weightloss. He was still his happy self, eating, drinking, weeing, pooing. Vet could find nothing wrong. He had some spurs but nothing major, vet did them. Still no luck. Put him to bed one night, he was running around and binkying. 8 hrs later he was face down unable to get up. He was weeks away from his 5th birthday.


Sorry, that was no use at all, just sounds like your boy.
I hope you get him sorted, fingers crossed for you xx


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2011)

bewitched said:


> We had to have my Alfie put to sleep due to massive weightloss. He was still his happy self, eating, drinking, weeing, pooing. Vet could find nothing wrong. He had some spurs but nothing major, vet did them. Still no luck. Put him to bed one night, he was running around and binkying. 8 hrs later he was face down unable to get up. He was weeks away from his 5th birthday.
> 
> Sorry, that was no use at all, just sounds like your boy.
> I hope you get him sorted, fingers crossed for you xx


Aww am so sorry hun, thanks though as much as it isnt good news, it is a help to me.

It does sound so much like my boy doesn't it. :-((


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

KathrynH said:


> As earlier thread that only got 1 reply, how sad is that due to this being a PET FORUM.
> 
> Have has to search other options, has anyone had Cachexia in there rabbit??


The lack if replies was probably only due to it being a weekend and people are busy with their family and animals. Really it's asking a lot of many replies in just a few hours. Most people come online on an evening when they have more time.
It could be one of many things. French lops are of course big rabbits so if they do get ill they go downhill quicker (in my experience anyway) 
I'll keep my fingers crossed he's ok.
Please keep us updated hun


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2011)

jo-pop said:


> The lack if replies was probably only due to it being a weekend and people are busy with their family and animals. Really it's asking a lot of many replies in just a few hours. Most people come online on an evening when they have more time.
> It could be one of many things. French lops are of course big rabbits so if they do get ill they go downhill quicker (in my experience anyway)
> I'll keep my fingers crossed he's ok.
> Please keep us updated hun


Thanks hun, i will put a pic up of him for you to see how big he was. xx


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## jo-pop (May 27, 2011)

Can you get him to a vet in the morning?


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2011)




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## Guest (Nov 6, 2011)

jo-pop said:


> Can you get him to a vet in the morning?


I am in work tomorrow hun, i am going to phone them tomorrow though and get an appointment ASAP.


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## purple_x (Dec 29, 2010)

Poor Barney  I dont have any advice or anything but I really hope everything is ok with him. Let us know what the vets say.

He is a gorgeous bunny  x


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2011)

purple_x said:


> Poor Barney  I dont have any advice or anything but I really hope everything is ok with him. Let us know what the vets say.
> 
> He is a gorgeous bunny  x


Thanks hun he is gorgeous but he is not the friendliest of rabbits and hates being picked up but the past 2 days i have had him in the house, i pick him up and he just cuddles me and that is NOT like him at all!!!


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Am sorry you have not had much help before this thread! Weightloss is a hard one as I said before. Where abouts (APPROX!!) are you? Google exotics vets.

Yes the fact he is so listless/cuddly. That's how my Saffy was...she was not a cuddly rabbit...AT ALL lol! But she got very...well went limp when i picked her up...no fighting back. Turned out she had a severe UTI. She didn't recover properly am afraid. Maybe it is an infection that anti-bs will treat. But it is entirely speculation am afraid! vets will be able to test. 

Awww he is one chunky lovely bunny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2011)

niki87 said:


> Am sorry you have not had much help before this thread! Weightloss is a hard one as I said before. Where abouts (APPROX!!) are you? Google exotics vets.
> 
> Yes the fact he is so listless/cuddly. That's how my Saffy was...she was not a cuddly rabbit...AT ALL lol! But she got very...well went limp when i picked her up...no fighting back. Turned out she had a severe UTI. She didn't recover properly am afraid. Maybe it is an infection that anti-bs will treat. But it is entirely speculation am afraid! vets will be able to test.
> 
> Awww he is one chunky lovely bunny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Thanks hun, i am in Barry, South Wales, could anybody help me with a rabbit vet as i cannot find one in my area so far xx


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

KathrynH said:


> Thanks hun, i am in Barry, South Wales, could anybody help me with a rabbit vet as i cannot find one in my area so far xx


You're right there isn't much. I have seen this though...is about half hour away from Barry (according to Google Maps). Is the same for me....I have to travel hour for mine :O

Hope this helps!


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2011)

niki87 said:


> You're right there isn't much. I have seen this though...is about half hour away from Barry (according to Google Maps). Is the same for me....I have to travel hour for mine :O
> 
> Hope this helps!


Thanks hun but cannot see it, was it a link? xx


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

theats because cachexia isnt an illness as such, it is just a technicall term used to describe weight loss/muscle wastage

sorry iv skim read through most of this so appolagies if i go over any thing thats been said before
has he seen a vet at all? my first thoughts would be dental related, rabbits can make a good show of eating when their back teeth are causing them immense pain, the state that the teeth can over grow too can also stop them swallowing, so while they appear to be making a show of eating, hardly any of the food is getting down

another thought, as sad as it is, is 5 is VERY old for a frenchie, they only average about 6 - 7 years, simply because of their size, they have the same size heart as a nethie, which in their life time suffers from the enormousness strain of simply keeping a bun of that size alive
so their immune systen weakens, and they are much more prone to picking up infections and such too

he really does need to see a vet now, the sooner you see a vet the greater your chances of beating whatever it is


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2011)

Lil Miss said:


> theats because cachexia isnt an illness as such, it is just a technicall term used to describe weight loss/muscle wastage
> 
> sorry iv skim read through most of this so appolagies if i go over any thing thats been said before
> has he seen a vet at all? my first thoughts would be dental related, rabbits can make a good show of eating when their back teeth are causing them immense pain, the state that the teeth can over grow too can also stop them swallowing, so while they appear to be making a show of eating, hardly any of the food is getting down
> ...


Ok thank you for your reply, i will be on the phone first thing tomorrow don't you worry, i always thought 5 was old for a rabbit but was talking to a friend and she had one that lived till 10!! So thought oh that is ok then barney is not old at all!!

xxx


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## Yorkshire Puss (Sep 21, 2011)

For a normal sized rabbit 5 is quite young but as Lil Miss says for a frenchie it is very elderly


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

it very much depends on the breed.
the larger the rabbit the shorter the lifespan im afraid 
as a rule we always say rabbits are capable of living to over 10

nethies (smallest) are capable of living to their mid - late teens!
frenchies 6 - 7
continental giants 3 if you are lucky

good luck at the vets, please let us know how you get on, hopefully barney still has a few good years left and you can sort this problem out


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## Guest (Nov 7, 2011)

Sorry I didn't see this thread until now 
I can only echo what has already been said I'm afraid, he really needs to see a vet asap.

From everything said I would guess he is having teeth problems, even if he appears to be eating fine if his teeth are causing him problems he won't be able to digest his food properly I would suspect this will be due to his age.

Once you have seen a vet and ruled out or sorted his teeth you can try giving him foods to help him put on weight, like porridge oats and barley rings as due to his age he might need a little extra support to help keep the weight on.

I hope you get this sorted soon


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## AmyCruick (Jul 20, 2009)

My boy Sugar who died a couple of years ago lost weight rapidly and then his muscles wasted despite him continuing to eat like a gannet! In his case it was because of a tumour that he had on his spine  

Hopefully in your rabbits case it won't be as serious as that but I think only a vet will be able to tell you.

Hope its nothing serious and he gets better


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## Guest (Nov 9, 2011)

AmyCruick said:


> My boy Sugar who died a couple of years ago lost weight rapidly and then his muscles wasted despite him continuing to eat like a gannet! In his case it was because of a tumour that he had on his spine
> 
> Hopefully in your rabbits case it won't be as serious as that but I think only a vet will be able to tell you.
> 
> Hope its nothing serious and he gets better


He had to be PTS the morning, they said it was his intestines had stopped working and he was 5 so quite old, there was nothing they could do.

I am utterly devastated. Thank you xx


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## 1290423 (Aug 11, 2011)

I had to google it too!
Seems a fair bit of info relating to it if you google it Kath.


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