rabbit with a bulging eye

[hol5]

my rabbit is currently on antibiotics to try and make the swelling go down, but have been told by the vet this is the first course of action to take. if this does not work then he will need sedating and xraying etc just for a diagnosis.
I feel guilty putting my rabbit through this just to bring him round and then end up having to put him down. The vet seems to be sure it is a tumour to start with, surely the best for the rabbit (he is 8) would be to put him down?
Advice would be very much appreciated......

[chaleguy]

I'd probably have him put to sleep, unless of course you have bags of cash to pay for all those tests.. good luck.

[jenty]

as a rabbits life span is from 7-12 years i personally would have him put to sleep so he will have no more suffering..dont feel guilty as its the kindest thing to do...

[hol5]

thanks for the quick responses, my immediate thought is that he will be better off going sooner, its just i feel so guilty. It does'nt help when the vet seems to want to go down the diagnostic route first, i had the horrible thought that they are thinking of the money? I understand they want to be sure, so do i but its going to be nearly � 250 just to find out? I want whats best for the rabbit, NO one else.

[Noweia]

It's quite possible that your rabbit has a tooth root abscess. This is a much more common cause of a bulging eye in rabbits than a tumour. That's why the vet is prescribing antibiotics - the infection may respond to that, giving the rabbit enough relief and the vet enough time to remove the offending teeth.

If you feel your rabbit is being put through too much, discuss this with your vet. In the end, it is your rabbit and the ultimate decisions about treatment are down to you, not the vet.

[sparkler]

I'd just give the antibiotics a chance and see how he goes with them before panicking, but if you don't have the money for the vet to treat him why not try the PDSA!
My rabbit (who was 10 1/2 but sadly passed 2 weeks ago) had been to both the vets and the PDSA and I have to say the PDSA were much better at looking after his needs than my vets.