A Brand New Bunny

Last Thursday I took Gizmo over to see her vet prior to them boarding her for the weekend. She is a geriatric bunny (8 years old) and was having some problems with balance in her back legs and wasn't hopping out of her house (hopping in wasn't a problem). I also noticed that she was sleeping a lot more than she ever did. These problems had been progressively getting worse over the past few months but I didn't think she was in pain as her appetite was very good. Dr. Ingrid came in wanted to know what was going on and did a thorough exam and said that Gizmo looked and sounded good. When she was examining Gizmo's back legs, she noticed a response and said she wasn't sure that Gizzie wasn't in pain. She then wanted to see her hop on the floor. We noticed that Gizzie would "list" to her left and would knuckle, at times. both of her feet. Dr. Ingrid wasn't sure if Gizzie's change was due to a neurological problem or arthritis but she said the treatment would be the same. She recommended Metacam, an NSAID, and that they could get it started that evening. She said that if it was neurological the Metacam wouldn't really help but if it was arthritis we should see an improvement in a few days. I got Gizmo settled in her new temporary home and then we got ready to go to South Bend.

On Monday, I picked her up. The girls said that they weren't sure of any improvement but I should be able to tell once I got her home and settled back in to her normal routine. Well, let me tell you! I've got a new bunny. She still has a little listing to the left but she hops around and is able to get in and out of her house. She also tried to get up to the 3rd level of her home; something she hasn't done in over a year!

Gizmo, has a new treat every evening. A 0.3 ml dose of honey flavored medicine that makes her smack her lips! I feel so bad that I didn't take her to the vet sooner but am really glad that Gizzie is feeling better!