BunBun

After having to re-home Kassi's two roosters this summer we had an empty coop.  We couldn't just let it sit there so when we went to fair we let Kassi get a rabbit.  BunBun (Kassi calls her Daisy, but I have already had a Daisy...) is very friendly she doesn't like you to pick her up.  She loves to run around the yard and has spent most of the summer and fall running around or yard, that is until a couple of weeks ago when something got a hold of her and injured her spine.  We always locked her back in her hutch at night and she was usually in it eating and resting by the time we got out there.

Well on that one night I noticed she was acting very skittish and had wet spots and tufts of hair pulled out.  It was apparent that something had gotten a hold of her.  She didn't want to move so I put her up in her nest and figured I would check on her the next morning that maybe she was just in a little shock.  The next day she had managed to get down her ramp to her food and water and was laying in the corner.  Usually when I open the door she comes hopping up waiting for me to let her out.  That day she didn't move.  I noticed she was sitting funny and I put her water and food up in her nest as usually she would go hopping after it too.  She tried, but couldn't get up the ramp...it was apparent to me then that she had a spinal injury.  I know it is common for rabbits to get spinal injuries and they don't normally recover from this.  I was dreading telling Kassi, because I knew we were going to have get her put down.  This was especially hard to think about since we had recently had to find a new home for one of her roosters and she can't see him anymore...the thing with roosters is they can become aggressive and when they are as big as Kassi's they can really hurt someone so it was either a new home or the stock pot.  Fortunately he got a new home.  Kassi was really bummed though she is so hopeful that our house will sell and she can have her roosters back.  Anyway I thought I would give her one more day and then call the vet.  The next morning there was no progress so I called the vet and made an appointment.

The vet confirmed part of what I thought.  She did have a spinal injury and it is uncommon for them to recover from this.  Understanding that this was Kassi's bunny she did say that it was low on the spine and she could feel what would be equivalent to her hips, but couldn't feel from about mid thigh down.  She said she could give her some metacam, but we would likely have to decide what quality of life we wanted her to have.

So we brought BunBun home and prepared her little cage in the garage.  She was not in apparent pain, she just could not move much and would get frustrated and not move.  Our once crazy rabbit that was litter box trained was no longer either of those things.  We were going out several times a day to set her on her litter box and clean out the corner where she laid all day.

After a week I decided to start letting her run around the garage a little bit.  One day when I went out she had hopped back in her cage and was sitting on her litter box!  Progress...unexpected progress.  I spoke to the vet tech and she said given the vets notes she thought we would be back in, but not for progress...  She suggested another round of metacam, which we have just finished.  BunBun still has no feeling in part of her right hind leg, but that doesn't slow her down much.  We are still making her still cooped up in the little cage, but are thinking in the next week or so we may try putting her back in her hutch and see how she does.

Now I know some people who would say we are crazy for taking a rabbit to the vet, but she got better.  Most would have written her off and figured it was her end.  Kassi had faith in the vet fixing her bunny and by golly that faith paid off!