Claudia the 8-year-old Lionhead is lucky to have such a close bond with owner Clare, who immediately noticed that something wasn’t right with her beloved rabbit when she lost the usual spring in her step.
13 July 2023
Normally a very healthy, happy and energetic rabbit who likes nothing better than leaping around the garden with her best friend Max, Claudia suddenly became lethargic, out of breath and her eyes were bulging, so Clare immediately called the vet.
Luckily, her rabbit savvy vet quickly recognized Claudia’s symptoms as Thymoma, a slow growing tumor which can go unnoticed until symptoms become severe. She was put on heart tablets, and they did an X-Ray to determine the size and exact location of the tumor. It was very close to her heart and about the size of a golf ball so would have been causing significant discomfort to the 2kg rabbit!
The procedure to remove it was not straightforward, and the vet was only able to give a 50/50 chance of success. Luckily for Claudia, she had a whole team of rabbit savvy veterinary professionals looking after her. Plus, she had Max by her side in order to help keep her calm and protect their bond. Neither enjoyed the experience!
It took a while to see an improvement in Claudia as she didn’t enjoy the 2-week recovery period spent inside wearing a surgery vest, but as soon as both rabbits were able to move back outside and live their normal active lifestyle, with lots of space to run, jump and stretch they were much happier.
Claudia’s owner says: “Claudia has been part of my life for a long time. It brings me great joy to see her doing binky jumps around the garden or happily munching on her favourite weeds.
“Experienced rabbit owners like me are big advocates of pet insurance. It takes something like this to show how important it is to have a plan in place for when something goes wrong and there are expensive vet bills to be paid. I would always want my bunnies to receive the best possible care, without having to worry about the cost.”
