Goodbye, Quincy
I am saddened to share the news that we had to put Quincy to sleep today. His age and arthritis made movement for him difficult, and for the past week and a half… he was largely unable to move around without assistance.
Posts Tagged "quincy"
Quincy’s Bad Days
While he’s had a predictable pattern of good days, bad days, and then good days again… this has been the longest stretch of consecutive bad days. So far, we haven’t seen very much in terms of improvement, but Liz and I are still holding out hope that he rallies a bit.
Trouble with the Curve
Quincy has been having some bad days, lately. The worst happened this past Saturday and Sunday, where he wasn’t really moving around that much, having problems with his left leg. On Saturday, it was the worst. I ended up having to pick him up out of the litterbox, because he was unable to right himself. And then I had to…
Not a Lucky Foot
Got this picture of Quincy tonight, with him sticking out his right foot. I think he’s doing this for more balance, as it’s his left foot he’s been struggling more with lately.
Quincy: Bad Days and Good
Come Sunday, he was really bad – not moving much at all. And at times, when he headed for something, he curved – with his left leg not looking like it was moving at all. At a few points, it seemed like he was army-crawling. He looked in poor spirits.
Powerwash Prep
We spent a good deal of the day getting prepped for work. But unfortunately, when all was said and done… the powerwasher had some issues. There was water coming through, but there was a leak somewhere that Bob couldn’t fix without taking the engine apart.
Quincy and Phineas Get a New Maze, New Cottage
The recent spat of litterbox incidents made Liz think that perhaps Phineas is starting to get a little bit bored. So we’re introducing a few new things hoping that they’ll distract.
Quincy Returns for More Acupuncture
I learned that the doctor tends to go for 15 minute treatments for pain, though some animals may vary in terms of how they respond to the duration. Quincy seemed to fare a little worse the last few times, so she reduced the treatment time from 15 minutes to around 7-8 minutes.
Acupuncture Therapy for Quincy the Rabbit
The place we took Quincy to was called Integrative Pet Care. On arriving Liz noticed that the setup was very similar to what one might expect at a regular physical therapy office. But this one had stations designed for people who had a few more legs.
Quincy Status Update
We took Quincy in to the vet today, and got a little more insight into his balance problems. He apparently has some inflammation in the area between his eyes and brain, which could be there for a variety of reasons.
Quincy: Out and About Again
There’s still something off, as he’s wobbling around a lot more. But this evening he was more his old self again. Seeing him eat was just such a relief, and watching him move around gave me a great sense of relief.
Supporting Quincy
On the car ride home, Liz held Quincy in her lap in an attempt to keep him a little more stable.
Paging Dr. Holder
After he had a rather rough episode, we’ve been helping Quincy with his ears. In addition to all his medication, he now gets ear drops twice a day… and an ear cleaning once every three days.
Quincy, the Old Man
At Chicago Exotics, they gave him a quick exam and did a few things: blood work, and they also took him in back to see if he could hop. I learned that at the vet, animals will sometimes try to “mask” their ailments due to stress. They interpret the doctors and strangers as predators, and may not reveal things that might come out when they’re at home in a relaxed environment.
Quincy Gets Super Sleepy, Fights the Nap, and Eventually Flops Over
After this happens a few times, rabbits will do a kind of “flop” where they fall over onto their sides. It’s a little terrifying the first time you see this, because it looks as though the rabbit has died. But in reality what’s happened is that they’ve just succumbed to their nap in the most dramatic way possible.