Injury

[luvthempigs]

That's just it, the toy was securely attached to the side of the cage right next to the door where she would go in and out of. It has a clip on the end of it.

The buns only get free run of the spare bedroom (which doesn't have any furniture in it but cages and supplies) She was out by herself yesterday and unfortunately I didn't notice the wound until today which could have happened today if it happened in her cage. Ugh, I may never know how it happened but I certainly don't want it to happen again.

 

[naturestee]

Oh ouch. It's possible the toy did it. Rabbit skin is really thin and fragile. Poor little bunner. Hope all goes well with the vet tomorrow!

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Oh my goodness, owee. I just wanted to say that I hope it heals up nicely. Let us know how it goes at the vet.

Give the little sweetie a kiss from me.

Dawn, great thinking about a possible spring sticking out from under the couch. Hard to imagine the toy doing that, but I suppose it's possible. Is there anything sticking out from the clip part at all that could have done it?

 

[maherwoman]

Aww...poor sweetheart...I hope things go well at the vet's.

Hope to hear good news soon!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Sure it wasn't a bot or something was it?

 

[naturestee]

A bot fly would have been down into the muscle layer, not just under a skin pocket.

Any luck finding a cause yet?

 

[Leaf]

luvthempigs wrote:

Maybe one of my cats? I wouldn't think a cats claw would have done this though.....but who knows?

Honestly, I wouldn't be suprised at all if one of the cats did it.

No offence to the cats, but accidents do happen. Rabbit skin pulls away so very easily a small love tap could open a nick up pretty quickly.

A neighbor cat (years ago) caught a wild rabbit and brought it to their house (they then brought it to me). The whole side of the rabbit was degloved and the cat contact was right off the front porch - in seconds the rabbit had a pretty severe injury.

That cat meant business, but it's possible you cats didn't *mean* anything at all but it still happened.



I try to keep http://www.softpaws.com on one of my cats and the other two get their nails clipped regularly to keep the hook off the tip of the claw.

 

[luvthempigs]

Dora has an appointment at 4:00 today. The vet offered to see her this morning but I was already at work and we were seeing patients so I couldn't leave.

I'm still not sure what caused the injury but believe me whenIsay Idon't want it to happen again, I feel so bad for her....I'm not real good about keeping the cats claws cut because they give me such a hard time when I try to clip them but I'm going to either get it done myself or I am going to take them somewhere to be done just incase it was one of them.

I will let you know what happened at the vet once we are back home.

 

[luvthempigs]

No, It's not a bot fly. Too cold here for that plus she is kept indoors so there isn't much of a fly problem

Well, I took Dora to see Dr McClaren and she seems to think that it's very possible for the injury to be caused by one of the cats (especially if their nails are long which they are) I had to leave her there so they can do surgery(clean her up and close up the wound) Not sure if she will be able to come home tonight or if she has to stay overnight. I hope she can come home, I don't like to leave my animals in a strange environment

I managed to get the front claws on one of the cats trimmed now I have one more to go.....I had to wrap her in a blanket and boy was she pissed at me!!! Atleast I only got one scratch on my hand from the ordeal lol

I will keep you updated!

P.S. Dora weighed in at9lbs. I was told she is too fat and to feed more hay and less pellets. The thing is that Dora isn't areal good hay eater so I make sure she always has pellets in her dish.Is that wrong?

 

[aurora369]

She may be opting to eat pellets instead of hay. I woudl slowly decrease the amount of pellets she gets. Start by figuring out how much she is eating at the moment, then start taking her down by small increments, perhaps a tsp per every couple weeks decrease.

As her pellets are decreased, she should start eating more hay. Weight loss should be slow, no more than 1/2 pound a month. Due to how rabbits metabolise fat, rapid weight loss can cause major health problems like fatty liver disease. So a nice slow weight loss is ideal.

You'll want to aim to decrease her pellet intake until she is on the recommended pellet ration for her ideal weight range. Or just keep decreasing until she's at a good weight and keep her on that diet.

I'm glad she's doing well. Hopefully she can come home tonight. I took Zeke home right after his surgery. He had to have a second one right before he went home because he pulled some stitches. He was very groogy, but I just had to keep him warm until he was fully awake. I'm sure you won't have to do the same.

Zeke had to wear a collar for about three weeks. And boy did he hate it. Hopefully your girl won't have to wear one.

--Dawn

 

[luvthempigs]

The vet called me and said to come pick Dora up. She said she will be a bit groggy but thought it would be better for her to be in her own home :yahoo:



I will let you know more later.....

 

[aurora369]

If she's still groggy when you get home, I would give her some blankies and a heat source. I used to rice socks filled with dry rice and warmed in the microwave, one for each side. When they are still groggy, they have a hard time maintaining body heat. I also covered him with a fleecy blanket.

Let us know how she is when you get home.

--Dawn

 

[luvthempigs]

Okay, We are back home (my vet is literally five minutes from my house) Dora looks and is acting fine except for theHUGE suture line :shock:The vet found two other smaller areas that were cleaned and closed with surgical adhesive (I didn't even see those) She cleaned and debrided then sutured closed with a buried layer of sutures, surgical adhesive and a layer of skin sutures. Wow! She said due to the size of the wound she wanted an extra layer of sutures.

She was sent home with SMZ-TMP suspension which is to be given twice a day at 2.5ml

Dr McClaren also thought it would be a good idea to run a fecal check for parasites which was negative.

"If" Dora doesn't chew out the skin sutures then she needs to go back in 10-14 days to have them removed.

Pictures on the way....

 

[luvthempigs]

Okay, Here she is already grooming herself:

Jumping in her litterbox:

 

[luvthempigs]

Just chillin out:

I saved the really bad one for last......

I can't believe how big of an area is stitched up, poor little girl. The vettold me more than once that rabbits skin tears easily, just like you guys said. I did manage to get both cats claws trimmed and I am going to have to be better about keeping them cut. I had to wrap Abigail in a blanket to get her done but atleast it's done. Again, I'm not 100% convinced that it was one of the cats but it's definately a possibility.

Thanks to all of you for your concern and suggestions. Dora and I really appreciate it

 

[gentle giants]

Wow! That does look nasty. Another thing you might try with the cats nails, is these caps they have for the nails. The Dr. Foster and Smith catalog I know used to have them, they come in different colors and everything. Those also work well is your cat tends to claw the furniture, or, like my cat, sharpens his claws on your shoes. :X

 

[aurora369]

I'm not sure what SMZ-TMP suspension is... Is it an antibiotic? I would also ask the vet about a pain medication. I know Zeke was on a twice daily medicam dose for about two weeks with his injury. I couldn't imagine having my back ripped open like that with no pain meds

If she doesn't chew at her sutures, you shoud find she'll heal pretty quickly. Zeke had all his fur back and looked like nothing happened after about 5 weeks and the skin was all nicely closed after about 7 days.

My vet had me put a steriod-antibiotic cream on his wound for a week to reduce his swelling, but her's doesn't look swollen. You can continue to put a bit of betadine (iodine) on the wound to ensure it stays clean.

Lets pray she doesn't pull any of her stitches and be a brat like Zeke was...

--Dawn

 

[luvthempigs]

SMZ-TMP is an antibiotic also known as bactrim.

Just getting ready to leave for work. Dora doesn't appear to have eaten much overnight. I hope she gets her appetite back soon.

Not sure why the vet didn't send home any pain meds. Maybe she didn't think it necessary? I know she knows about the metacam because she prescribed it for my guinea pig who had to undergo several surgeries. He was very ill and in a critical condition.

 

[Pipp]

Did the vet give you a probiotic -- ie: bene-bac or acidophilus -- to counteract the antibiotic? She may not be eating because of an upset tummy from the meds. She really should have them. I'd think that's more important than the Meticam. I wouldn't think a skin tear doesn't have the samelevel of pain asinternal surgery,I think after the first 24 hours,also not ascrucial.

Re: diet, does she get veggies?What kindof pellets does she get? What's the protein and fiber content?

I only give my guys as manypellets as they'll eat when I first put the bowl down, twice a day. If they want to 'forage' or entertain or 'comfort' themselves with food after that, they're eating hay.

They also get pretty huge bunny salads, so they only end up with a few tablespoonsof pellets a day each.They're all pretty slim -- but they're also either free run or housed in areas with lots of jumping space, ie: shelves, stepsor whatever else providesvarious levels.

Although must admit my fosters are looking like little tanks lately. onder: Poor girls are being fed cheap alfalfa pellets, and rarely leave their pen. And lately, they're not using their third level much for some reason, so their gaining weight. I guess their pellets are about to get cut back, too, thanks for the reminder.



sas :bunnydance:

 

[12354somebunny]

i just saw this thread. wow that pic with her stitches! :shock: poor girl.. i'm glad she's doing well after her surgery :hug:

how's dora doing now? has she gotten her appetite back?