Date pulled from WWW: November 22nd, 2013 Text pulled from: http://www.allexperts.com/user.cgi?m=6&catID=703&expID=35789&qID=4834527 All Experts Rabbits/Answered Question Message posted in: November 2009 Expert: Dana Krempels, Ph.D. Subject: Abnormal Rabbit Poos- Cow Poop Syndrome or something else Question: Schroeder Poos Hi Dana, I have a male, neutered rabbit that is about 2-3 years old, I have owned him since January 2009 when I adopted him from a local Humane Society that he had been admitted to as a stray animal. Schroeder is a 5 1/2 lb Mini Lop that fits the predisposed color profile for Cow Poop Syndrome. Predominantly white with color on face, ears, midline of back. He has always had large, mis-shapen poos that look quite dry. I have another Mini Lop (unrelated to Schroeder) that is the same size- and her poos are smaller and more uniformly round. I have tried to do some reading on "Cow Poop Syndrome" but have not been able to find much info on it except for info you have given related to specific cases/rabbits. If Schroeder has this condition if there is anything that I can do to manage this proactively I would like to do so. I work at a vet clinic and had my vet research this- she even did a posting on VIN (Veterinary Information Network) and none of the other vets there had any ideas and seemed to steer her more towards ISS (Intermittent Soft Stools)- which I do not think is correct in Schroeder's situation at all. ABout 4 months ago Schroeder had a GI episode where he became very uncomfortable- gassy in his belly, would not eat, etc. I had x-rays done (twice) and he was treated with SQ fluids, Metacam, Simethicone and force fed Critical Care- and he did recover fully after about 4-5 days of intense home treatment- but I never did figure out what caused this episode. The x-rays only showed gas in the abdomen, and then 2 days later showed a reduction on gas and the force fed Critical Care moving thru his system. Schroeder is on a recommended House Rabbit diet of unlimited grass hay, approx 2 cups of greens/veggies daily and a Tablespoon on Oxbow Basics T in the am and pm. He only gets limited treats in small amounts. He always has a good appetite and eats plenty of hay, seems to drink an average amount of water as compared to my other Mini Lop. He is not overweight and has a soft, thick coat- when I adopted him he had a thin, harsh haircoat- but with correct diet he had a noticeable change in haircoat in about 5 months of owning him. I have attached 2 pictures- one of his poos, and one of Schroeder. Do you think he has Cow Poop Syndrome- and if so, is there anything I can do to manage it proactively? Would dosing Lactulose help? and if so at what dose and frequency. Does cisapride help long term with affected bunnies as it helps to stimulate colonic contractions? Would you recommend SQ fluids 1-2 times weekly? or would you recommend trying to increase water consumption thru adding a small amount of apple juice to his water- or is the increase in "sugar" likely to cause more harm than good to his GI system. Any suggestions and information would be appreciated- my vet is more than willing to work with Schroeder on this issue with any information you can provide. Thanks- Julie Answer: Dear Julie, Yes, those poops look like the ones typical of a bunny suffering from "Cowpoop Syndrome"--a congenital disorder involving faulty innervation of the GI tract. No one knows its exact etiology in rabbits, but it may have some similarities to Lethal White Overo Syndrome in horses. Here is an email I sent to someone who had a bunny with this condition. It outlines the treatments we used for Gypsy, one of the three "Cowpoop" bunnies we've had. I hope it will be helpful to you and Schroeder. /****************************************************************************************************** Note: Dr. Dana Krempels orginal email/text (below) is from eary August 2002 reposted in November 2009 ******************************************************************************************************/ Welcome to the Cutting Edge of Rabbit Medicine! :( We have a bunny with exactly the same signs as Moet. Her name is Gypsy, she's a big white and gold bunny with dark eyes, and she produces what's not-so-affectionately known as "cowpoops" or "marshmallow poops." This appears to be a congenital problem, which is not--itself--treatable. However, we have successfully supported Gypsy through *three* life-threatening (?) episodes, and I'll tell you what we know about her condition. I would not be at all surprised if Moet's condition was exactly like Gypsy's (and other "cowpoop" bunnies'). Before I relate Gypsy's long story, here's what I'd suggest you do for Moet: 1. Daily dose of 3cc Lactulose 2. Once per week dose of 1-2 cc laxative grade mineral oil. This is a preventive, and Gypsy's story will explain why. If Moet has another episode, also add simethicone, analgesia (Banamine or meloxicam, since the opioids such as torbugesic can have a slight gut-slowing action) and Reglan and/or cisapride (I use 1mg/kg of each together, as they seem to work synergistically). The most important treatment for an intermittent intestinal blockage (which I suspect Moet is suffering) is the deep intestinal massage, in which your fingers can (gently) actually *isolate* the malformed, desiccated poop in the chute, and massage it so that fluid and lubricant can soften it and push it through the intestine. And now, The Tale of Gypsy (Cowpoop Bunny who's been through it before, and who helped us develop this treatment.) Gypsy has always had huge, softish, misshapen "cowpoops." While she was relatively young, we saw no signs of trouble. But as she got a bit older (she's now about 3-4 years old), her tummy seemed to be more often bloated. One day she was feeling completely fine, and within five minutes she would not move, eat her pellets or salad, and seemed to be in tremendous GI distress. She was very gassy, but not truly bloated (I've seen this only once, and I hope to never see it again. Bloat is a condition in which the pyloric sphincter of the stomach becomes blocked or spasms, and nothing can exit. The rabbit becomes as hard and bloated as a watermelon, and even with surgery, I have never known a rabbit to survive a bloat.). We did the usual (as you do with Moet): tummy massage, simethicone, and cisapride. But this time, nothing worked. We kept this up for two days, getting abdominal radiographs done by Dr. Kelleher that showed lots of gas in the lower GI, but no solid matter. Something was blocking her upper GI. By the third morning--despite all the medical treatments--she was in so much distress that we had no choice but to take her up and have Dr. Kelleher evaluate her chances for an enterotomy. (I had to teach a class that morning, so my husband gallantly stayed home from work and took her up to Dr. Kelleher). I got the phone call at work that Dr. Kelleher was "going in"--and once she did, she found some *very* interesting (and disturbing) things. For one thing, Gypsy's entire small intestine showed signs of scarring at various locations along the length of it. It was almost as if large, dry "cowpoops" had gotten lodged there and then were successfully pushed through. I have to wonder if Moet's gassy episodes are just exactly this early stage of the disorder, and he's suffering from the pain and gas of intermittent intestinal blockages that he successfully pushes through. The other thing she saw when she found the (relatively small!) mass and opened up to remove it was that the portions of the intestine cranial (towards the head) to the mass were in intense peristalsis, while the portions caudal (towards the tail) were completely flaccid and inactive. Once the mass was removed, the lower portions of the GI went into peristaltic overdrive! It was almost as if the lack of movement cranial to the mass was somehow inhibiting peristalsis caudal to the mass. I wonder if there is a "cascade" to the innervation of the intestines that is somehow different in these cowpoop bunnies, and once a blockage starts, a potentially fatal ileus set in unless the blockage is physically moved down the intestinal tract. She closed the (longitudinal, to avoid stenosis from scarring) incision, and we spent a week force-feeding Critical Care and pushing fluids before Gypsy was fully recovered. But that taught us something. The mass we found was *not* particularly big--but it was rock hard and dry. The key, it seems, is keeping the intestinal contents of a Cowpoop Bunny very well hydrated and easy to push through the intestines. The next part seems to have been ordained by the Powers that Be. A colleague from vet school called Dr. Kelleher to ask if she'd ever used epsom salts solution orally and in enema solution to help a rabbit with a blockage, as they often do with horses. Dr. Kelleher said no, she'd never done it, but that she didn't think it would hurt. "Good!" said her colleague," Because I just did it." We heard later that the bunny passed the mass nicely and did very well without surgery. So we resolved that if Gypsy ever had another episode, we would try this, too. We didn't have long to wait. Only about four weeks after she had recovered from surgery, it happened again. This time we shot epsom salts orally *and* via enema with a pediatric ear syringe (NEVER use a catheter! Even a really good vet can tear the rectum with fatal results) and intense, deep intestinal massage. I got so experiened at the latter that I could isolate loops of intestines and actually *feel* the blockage. Very gently, I massaged the blockage back and forth, which I hoped allowed a bit of fluid to move around it and hydrate it. A day or two later, Gypsy (after suffering quite a bit) passed a large, hydrated mass of hair and poop that was apparently the problem because once it was out, she was absolutely fine, normal, and had no recovery period at all. The mass had a LOT of hair in it. She's got very long hair (though she's not an angora), so this is even more of a potential problem during shedding. We now know we must be *extra* vigilant then, and groom her a LOT to remove as much fur as possible so she won't send it through her faulty intestines. Later we heard another suggestion, to use lactulose orally. This works on the same principle as epsom salts. The solute doesn't leave the intestinal lumen, and so draws fluid into the large intestine osmotically. This is why enema is *really* important, since fluid in the large intestine *can* travel up the tract to some degree, and hydrate intestinal contents farther up. So we resolved to try *that* if this ever happened again. And it did. This time we used epsom salts orally and via enema, lactulose orally, *and* a bit of mineral oil to help the mass slide through *once it was hydrated* by the other solutions (so not right off the bat, but after a day of epsom and lactulose is best). It took her a day and a half, but Gypsy "gave birth" to another "dead mouse" of a fecal mass, and was right as rain immediately, though she was in fairly intense pain (she was trying to run away from her own guts, and couldn't find a comfortable spot) while this was happening. The cascade proceeded quickly once it started, and she released a huge pile of poops following the "dead mouse". Since the third episode, we have been giving Gypsy *daily* doses of about 3cc of Lactulose, and once a week we give her a cc of laxative grade mineral oil, just to keep things lubed up. I wouldn't ever do this to an ordinary bunny, but with a "cowpoop" bunny, it really seems to keep things very wet and prevents blockages. She also gets daily exercise in the garden, and LOTS of very wet greens in her salad. Since we started the daily Lactulose and mineral oil, Gypsy hasn't had another episode--though I can't guarantee that she won't ever have another. ***** Gypsy ultimately died from complications of this condition. Her liver seemed to shut down, and she could no longer digest food at all. This is a terrible disorder, inexorable and treatable only with palliative measures. But I've heard of some bunnies who live to be quite old despite this condition, and I hope Schroeder is one of them. Good luck! Dana Dana Krempels, Ph.D. University of Miami Department of Biology If you are happy with this bunny help, please consider making a donation to H.A.R.E., Inc. RABBIT RESCUE: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/donate.html