Hurt Baby Bunny

kquisenberry89 · Jun 19, 2021

Hi, I'm a newbie to all this. We just recently saved a baby bunny from my dog a few weeks ago and have been taking care of him since. He's about 5 weeks old. Today my husband took him out of the cage to play and he saw one of the cats and ended up squirming and by the time he was sustained again it was to late and some of his skin was torn back. I've tried calling every vet near by they are neither closed or don't take wild animals. Can anyone help me out on what I might be able to do to keep him alive and keep the wound from getting infected. There is no blood or anything, just torn skin.

Preitler · Jun 19, 2021

In this thread there is a very similiar issue:
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/urgent-rabbit-skin-torn-off.102088/
If no vet available, what about wildlife rehabs or asking the authorities in charge with wildlife?

kquisenberry89 · Jun 19, 2021

Preitler said:
In this thread there is a very similiar issue:
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/urgent-rabbit-skin-torn-off.102088/
If no vet available, what about wildlife rehabs or asking the authorities in charge with wildlife?

They are closed. But it gave us a cell number to txt so I did but still haven't got an answer back.

JBun · Jun 19, 2021

Keep trying to find a wildlife rehabber. If the cat did that, this baby needs to be on a rabbit safe antibiotic immediately. Cat scratches/bites, are filled with bacteria and can very easily prove fatal to rabbits. Pain meds will also be needed, like meloxicam. And if the baby stops eating then regular syringe feeds will be necessary.

If you can't get with a rehabber today and get antibiotics started immediately, if the cat caused the wound, I wouldn't want to leave the wound without getting some sore of antibiotic cover going, because there is such a high risk of infection. So I think I would chance it and maybe put a light layer of plain neosporin(triple antibiotic, no added pain relief) on the exposed skin, reapplied several times each day, until a rehabber contacts with further instructions.

This will at least fight any infection that may be starting and will help keep the exposed tissue moist and from drying out, until it can be taken care of by a wildlife vet, in case the skin needs stitching. If you can safely wrap gauze over the wound too, without the baby trying to chew and mess with it, or it constricting anything, I would do that as well to help protect the wound.

kquisenberry89 · Jun 20, 2021

Thank you all for reaching out.
Sadly to say my lil hunter did not make it he passed 2 hrs after i made the post.

We tried what we could but he kept freaking out and just kept tearing his fur off all over his body and the patches just kept falling off in chunks and it was just to much stress for him i do believe. The wildlife facility had finally reached out to us after 10pm last night by then it was to late.
Thank you for your help. We will def use this for future references tho.