Rabbit’s life saved by pineapple juice

Finbar the rabbit is mkaing a full recovery. Picture: Nick McGowan-Lowe

A BUNNY on the brink of death has been saved after vets at an animal charity used pineapple juice as a last resort to remove a giant fur ball in his stomach.

Finbar the rabbit was rushed to the PDSA’s PetAid hospital in Glasgow by his owners James and Christina McNeil after he stopped eating and drinking and appeared lethargic.

Vets examined Finbar and suspected something might be wrong with his intestines so prescribed drugs and liquid feeding at home to try and help him. When Finbar did not make a marked improvement, the vet X-rayed the rabbit’s intestines, showing he had the biggest hairball staff at the hospital had ever seen, filling his entire stomach.

Realising the two-year-old rabbit was close to death, PDSA vet Susie Hermit drew upon her knowledge about the possible benefits of pineapple juice in helping to break down hairballs.

The life-threatening hairball. Picture: Nick McGowan-Lowe

Susie said: “An enzyme contained in pineapple juice is claimed to break down the material which holds fur balls together. “However, the juice could just work because it provides rehydration and energy.

“We could see from Finbar’s x-ray that it was a huge fur ball - the biggest I’ve ever seen in a rabbit, and unfortunately Finbar was so ill that an operation to remove the hairball was too risky.

“I had heard before about using pineapple juice to treat this condition and there was nothing else we could do - it was an all or nothing situation. Thankfully Finbar started to improve after a combination of pineapple juice and drugs to get his bowels moving. Whether this was solely due to the pineapple juice, I’m not sure, but it seemed to make a difference.”