How to give aspirin to a rabbit?

Question

I have an 11 year old rabbit that seems to be in discomfort from arthritis and age related issues. He lives with a younger rabbit, and to keep the old rabbit in the area that is appropriate for a geriatric bladder a we use an 8 inch (20 cm) board as a fence.

Our vet agreed that he may be in some pain, and suggested a dosage of 25mg per 2 kilograms up to twice a day. This is similar to the recommendations found else where 5-10 mg per pound of dog’s weight for 12 hours. I am NOT suggesting this correct dosage for your pet, talk your vet first.

He also offered a method which included dissolving an aspirin in water, and providing that as his only water source. Because we are medicating a single bunny in a two bunny group, that was not an option for us.

So we immediately set out to figure out how to get less than a baby aspirin into one bunny in a two bunny family group. FYI - Google does not show any viable results for purchasing aspirin in solution.

Answer 1

This is the solution we used, we had previously trained the older rabbit to go into a carrier at meal time, while the younger rabbit eats in another location (separate diets required for everything other than hay and lettuce).

After identifying a pill that could be split safely we purchased some fresh pineapple. Cut the pineapple into bit size bits, put an extra slice in one, and poke the piece of baby aspirin (1/3 of an 81mg baby aspirin in our case) inside the pineapple.

We have been doing this once daily in the morning, and he has been eating it fine. Within hours of his first dose looked like he felt much better. He had an increased appetite, his ears are up and perky almost constantly, lucky he still not able to get over the 8 inch fence :)

We choose pineapple because it has been identified as possibly beneficial for digestive issues (which he also has), is easy to work with and is readily available.

Pineapple should be feed in moderation as the sugar can harmful to the good bacteria in the rabbits gut.

Two weeks later The daily aspirin continues to seem like a good idea. We have re-evaluated using pineapple as the delivery vehicle. No objections to using it for initial or occasional aspirin dosing, but for daily dosing we have changed to blue berries. We purchase fresh and freeze them in a ziplock bag, defrost a few days worth at a time. Poke a hole with a fork and insert aspirin piece. Holds up well, rabbit likes it, smaller bit size so less additional sugar is added to the diet.

Answer 2

I would suggest finding a compounding pharmacy and talking to someone there. I've used compounding pharmacies for getting medications made into transdermal gels (applied to the inside of the ears of my cats) and liquid forms of medications that are normally only available in human dosages as pills.

If you don't have a compounding pharmacy locally, you can find a bunch online.

When looking for a compounding pharmacy, the American Veterinary Medical Association states:

Q: Are pharmacists trained to compound for animals?

A: Many pharmacy schools do not include any veterinary pharmacotherapy in their curricula so most veterinary-specific pharmacy training (including compounding) is obtained through independent continuing education on the part of the pharmacist. Since drugs and compounds may behave differently in animals than in humans, veterinarians should ask compounding pharmacists if they have specialized training or credentials in veterinary compounding, and veterinarians should specifically seek the compounding services of pharmacists who have specialized knowledge of veterinary compounding.

As a warning, using a compounding pharmacy will generally make the cost of your medication increase. Amitriptyline usually costs about $15 for 30 pills (and Juliet takes a half pill each day), but the dermal gel is about $60 for a 90 day supply.

Answer 3

Another alternative for feeding pills is to just put the pill in the rabbits mouth. One of our rabbits is receiving baytril pills. They are fairly large (almost as big as her eye). I put one in her mouth while she was sitting on the floor, she just chewed it up and swallowed. By the second day she was taking them from me like candy.

I have also been giving her the pill just before feeding her, her favorite food. Maybe she thinks that eating the pill is something that leads to getting her favorite food, or maybe she just likes them, or maybe rabbits are obligated to chew anything in their mouth.

Answer 4

I have a netherland dwarf bunny & he had nerve damage before. I took him to a vet & they showed me how to do bunny PT & what medicine to get him. They also said to cut an 81 mg of aspirin into 4th’s, put it inside a blueberry & feed him it. It worked & within a month he was fully using his arm again. As of right now he lost a nail. He jumped down & landed wrong causing it to break off. Seems as though he’s in a lot if pain & that it’s helping. He’s eating & pooping regularly(: