NEED VIBES!!! – TILLY

[Cottontail]

The unthinkable has happened this morning;  Duncan got hissed at by Zoey and Tilly decided to step in and defend him!  Zoey freaked out and Tilly got swatted by Zoey and now she’s got an injured eye!  I don’t know if it’s the eye or the inner eye lid, and it’s hard for me to tell due to her wanting to hold it shut and her eyes being marbled to begin with.    I’ve been calling around everywhere I can think of for emergency clinics on Sunday but can’t get hold of my normal vet and most emergency/open clinics will see rabbits but have little/no experience with them.  

 At the initial hit there was a tuft a fur gone flying and some visible tears.

I’m waiting to hear back from an emergency clinic on whether or not they have a doctor that can look at her eye and make a proper diagnosis/treatment.. and I am also waiting to hear back from the emergency line for my normal vet (which usually picks up but this time has not!) 

 I didn’t know what else to do so I put Zoey in the other room and gave Tilly .3ml of meloxicam.  She was holding her eye shut and tooth-grinding heavily, but now it’s not so much with the tooth grinding (still there) and she’ll open the eye a bit.  She does seem light sensitive so I dimmed the lights a bit and Duncan is staying close to her, but not on top of her. She also has started nibbling a bit on pellets, which she wouldn’t do at first… but I don’t blame her.  I’m just worried.  I would have given her a higher dose but I don’t want to give her too much if she’s able to see a vet today because I’m sure they’d have to put her under and I don’t want to upset medications and anesthesia if needed.

 I wanted to flush the eye but I cannot find any saline and don’t feel comfortable flushing it with unfiltered water.

I don’t know what else to do.  I don’t want her to see a vet that knows less than I do, but I don’t want to wait after what happened with Pete while I was gone.

 

PLEASE SEND VIBES AND ANY ADVICE YOU CAN GIVE.

[Bam]

I can only send vibes. You could cook up water, let it boil for 20 min, then let it cool with a lid on it and then use for rinsing the eye. The 20 minutes of boiling is a safety measure, to kill all pathogens, probably more of need in Africa than inte USA.
Poor darling Tilly!!!!

[Roberta]

Most human eye drops are simple saline. Have you a pharmacy or any place nearby that sells eye drops ?

[Roberta]

Ok, looked it up. Just look for sterile saline drops. Any of the eyewash solutions in large bottles should also be suitable (the kind they use in emergency eyewash stations in factories and labs )

[Cottontail]

i’m going to rush down into town and pick up some eyewash. I’ve had no luck with the emergency vets so far.
One said they would check with the vet but then left for the day instead, and the remaining people there showed little concern with whether or not the doctor was familiar with rabbits. I haven’t heard back from my emergency vet line (not normal), and I’m still worried.

She seems to be feeling a bit better with the little meloxicam I gave her, and Duncan is bathing her face and snuggling her… she’s still uncomfortable and it’s still hard to get a good look at her eye.

I’ve called almost a dozen vet lines to no use, so I might have to treat her at home today. I’ll flush the eye a couple times today and give her some more pain killers a bit later. I know it’s a low dose for her based on what he got for her spay and what Pete got for his size… but I know I’m not a trained vet so I’ll err on the side of low rather than too much.

I just hope Dr. B calls me back.

[Roberta]

For ongoing pain management meloxicam dosage is approx 0.5 ml daily for a 2 kilogram rabbit. Short term treatment for a maximum of 5 days is approx 1 ml, 1.5 for a 3.5 kilo rabbit. There are 2.025 pounds per kilo so if Tilly is in the 2 lb+ weight range the dosage would be approx 0.6 ml once a day for a 1.5ml solution.(or in this case once only till you get to the vet)

[Cottontail]

Thank you Roberta; that’s about what I thought it would be. I won’t go over the .6ml today, though.
Tilly weighs 6lbs… and with her spay they gave her .7 ml once a day when she was just over 5lbs; they gave Duncan .9ml once a day with his neuter at 6.3lbs. Although it’s not as deep an injury as the surgery, it’s in the head so it has to be bothering her… I gave her the bit this morning to take the edge off while I tried to find a vet.
I haven’t heard back from any vet so I’m going to have to take care of her myself today. I got some saline eye wash and she’s had .3ml of meloxicam this morning. I think I’ll probably give her the other .3ml if she’s still tooth grinding. I’m going to flush her eye now and I’ll do it again later.

[Gina.Jenny]

Healing vibes (((Tilly)))

[The Law Bun]

Hope Tilly gets better CT!

[Roberta]

Big vibes for Tilly. Hope the eye wash and pain meds do the job tonight. Off to bed as it’s nearly midnight here and I have work in the morning.

[Bam]

My Yohio was prescribed 1,5 ml Metacam once a day after his latest dental. He’s 6 lbs. rabbits metabolize meloxicam faster than cats. Google Medirabbit safe analgesics for more info on dosage. (Can’t link from phone)
Sending her more vibes!

[Cottontail]

I had to burrito her for the eye drops… but I got them in and flushed the eye. I could see some red irritation in the corner near the tear duct, and I think the inner eyelid is scratched. It’s hard to tell still if the eye itself has any abrasion or not. Now that it’s been flushed the eyelid is no longer pink, but we’ll see…

After releasing her she held both eyes open wide and sat a couple feet from me for a minute before washing her face. I gave her some more pellets and the other .3ml of meloxicam and she seems to have forgiven me for the eye drops for now. She bathed my hand a bit and got her head petted, then went off to get kisses from Duncan, who happily obliged.

Zoey is spending the day in Duncan’s room, while Tilly and Duncan get the big room. I left a message for Dr. B on the emergency line again, updating him on the situation. This is the first weekend where no one has picked up, even after 3 hours… I just don’t understand it.

I’m going to keep a close eye on her, and I have to figure out what I’m going to do about Zoey today…because I know she didn’t mean it, but she was caught off guard and scared by TIlly’s attack (that obviously backfired!) this morning. I may end up having to empty Duncan’s cage (the bigger of the two) and put both bunnies in it for tonight, so that they can be in the same room with me and so that I know Zoey doesn’t get into it with them while I’m sleeping. I am still a bit worried that if I put them back into Duncans room that Tilly will be upset; and likewise, if I oust Zoey she might blame the bunnies.

I’ll figure something out. It’s only just now noon and we still have until 8am (a good 20 hours!) until I know we can get in to see Dr. B.

[JackRabbit]

Oh no! Aside from eyewash and metacam, the only advice I can really offer is to keep her eating (hand feeding greens if nothing else).

I would keep trying calling your vet’s emergency line and even try finding your vet’s home phone number in a phonebook or online.

Sending a million vibes to you and Tilly.

{{{{{{{{{{Tilly}}}}}}}}}}}
{{{{{{{{{{Cottontail}}}}}}}}}}

[Bam]

It does sound like she’s doing rather well under the circumstances. Really great that you managed to clean it! I don’t know if cat scratches are very bad but I know cat bites are. But that wouldn’t be the same bacteria I’d think??
She’s a big strong healthy bunny though and she has a fiancé (not quite husbun yet), that’s always good for a bunny’s health.
I’m keeping up the vibe-sending from here.

[Little Lion Head]

I’m with JR–keep her eating…fill her belly with wet greens, etc. ((((((TILLY)))))) she’s got the best momma nurse around!

[Cottontail]

She’s had .6ml meloxicam today and it seems to be helping.
She’s gotten lots of love from Duncan, and is currently snuggling with him.

I flushed the eye with a first aid saline eye wash and the redness has gone down a great deal… she’s now able to open the eye more easily but understandably doesn’t want to.

I’ll be calling the vet all day, most likely.
She wouldn’t open her mouth or her eye for anything before she got the meloxicam.. now she’ll open it half to 2/3 of the way before wincing it shut.

*****************Just got a call back on the emergency line and they are trying to get hold of the doctor for me. If they can’t get hold of him, I won’t be able to see him until 9am tomorrow morning… but they are going to call me back shortly and let me know.

[Cottontail]

**** I just got a call back from Dr. B. He’s going to meet me down at the clinic to take a look at her eye. I’ll update later.

[tori rose]

I’m glad someone useful called you back finally, that’s so sad): you sound like you’re handling thing very well though with no vet direction. I hope her eye will be okay soon!

[BrunosMama]

Hope the vet can help!

[BinkyMom14]

((((Vibes))) you poor thing! I hope her eye is ok

[Little Lion Head]

So glad the vet got back to you! Keep us posted!!! (((((Tilly)))))

[LBJ10]

Oh no, my poor Tilly! Sounds like you have the situation under control. Let us know what the vet says.

[Cottontail]

 Got home from the vet with some good news and bad news. The bad news is that Tilly’s eye is scratched and there’s a tear in her inner eyelid. The good news is that The cut is not deep and she can still control/move the inner lid, so despite it being a bit tattered, it is better to let it heal rather than trying to stitch it and scratch the eye further… unless it becomes inflamed in the next 24 hours.

Tilly got a shot of baytril, and Dr. B numbed her eye and put some soothing/antibiotic ointment in it. She gets the ointment 3 times a day for the next 10 days. He made sure that I saw the injuries clearly and we talked about what to expect and what to worry about.  He said that if I noticed a little green around her nose tonight it’s probably the dye from the eye running down the tear-duct… but to let him know immediately if she got any crusties or goop anywhere.  He said that with the type of damage it is, it should be fine pain–wise tomorrow, but it is okay to give her another dose of meloxicam tomorrow if she needs it…  If she needs it after that we need to bring her back in for a recheck, early.

Duncan was desperate to get out of the carrier and get to Tilly during the whole examination and medication… There were a couple points where they pressed noses through the cage bars, but eventually Duncan tuckered himself out.  Once we were done, Tilly lept back into the carrier and snuggled down behind/against Duncan. They were snuggled together the whole ride home, and once we were parked Tilly flopped against him with her legs stretched out and her head buried under his.

We also found out that Tilly is down 2/10 of a pound since her nail trim (just over a month ago.)  I should have weighed Duncan while we were there, but honestly my mind was on other things.  She’s back down to 2.8kg (just barely 6.2lbs, down from 6.4lbs or 2.9+kg)

 Once they were released from their carrier-prison, they both made a b-line to the spot behind the AC unit (Tilly’s favorite nap spot, and lately a cuddle spot for the two of them,) and the whole way there they were doing foot flicks and tail flips… I figured they had a right to be angry so they each got a tiny bit of strawberry and settled down where I couldn’t easily reach them.

 

Currently Tilly is having no trouble holding her eye open because of the numbing agent and the pain killers, and aside from being angry at Mommy she’s in a pretty good mood.  Duncan is just tired and trying to figure out if he’s supposed to be angry, hungry, or follow Tilly.

 

I’ll keep you updated on how things progress.  It should be fun putting ointment in her eye 3 times a day. 

Thank you all for the continued vibes!

[Hazel]

Oh no, poor Tilly! At least it didn’t need stitches, I hope it heals up really quickly. Sending lots of vibes!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Poor little Tilly.

((((Eye Healing Vibes))))

[tori rose]

How bonded Duncan and tilly are just made me gush like they were the couple from Up lol, seriously I can’t get over how sweet that is. I hope she has a clean recovery! I don’t envy trying to give eye drops three times daily however):

[MissGabbster]

(((VIBES)))

It’s good that Duncan is there to comfort her. I hope she’ll let you put on the ointment without a fight!

[So Fluffy Bunny]

[[[healing vibes for Tilly]]]

I hope that she’ll behave during the times she needs her ointment, and that everything goes well.

[hiskatey93]

Hope Tilly gets better soon!

[Roberta]

Ongoing vibes for Tilly, glad the vet finally surfaced.

[LBJ10]

Glad it didn’t look to serious. Was her third eyelid just scratched or torn? Wooly has a permanently torn third eyelid from when he was a baby. It pokes out all the time, but the vet said it was fine as long as it looked pink and healthy.

[Bam]

Continued eye-vibes! I’m so glad you got hold of the vet and that she didn’t need stitches. I don’t envy you the 3 times a day eye-drops, but a bunny owner’s gotta do what a bunny-owner’s gotta do =/

It seems the bethrotal between the Grand Dutchess de Marbourg and Lord Duncan is soon to be announced?

[Sindri]

I am kind of late but I hope Tilly gets to feeling better soon!

[Cottontail]

Quick update:

Last night I made a large gate to block of a good portion of the room for the bunnies so that I could still allow Zoey to sleep on the bed (her routine for the last 9+ years).  The night went pretty smoothly/quietly.  Tilly’s eye looks much better this morning and she was holding it wide open with no issues.  She HATED the eye ointment and struggled quite a bit.  She wouldn’t open her eye for a minute or two after, and then wouldn’t hold it wide open for another several minutes after that; but then she was fine and relaxed.

Tilly is going to be getting ointment 3 times a day for 10 days… and then a recheck.  I’m just hoping that it doesn’t make her think that every time I go to hold her she’s going to get stuff smeared on her head.  Duncan watched while I put the ointment on, but did nothing to save her this time.  Instead he just sat and chewed his hay about a foot away from us, staring.  Once she was released he went back to eating more hay and Tilly ran over to him, where they got their morning pellets.  After pellets, Tilly flopped out next to the hay and Duncan continued munching for a couple minutes before moving next to her and washing his face.

Zoey has been watching them through the gate, but still flinches and hisses at Duncan when he stands up against the gate to sniff at her.  She backed away when TIlly stood up against the gate… Poor thing is a bit scared of the bunnies at the moment.  I’m hoping that being able to coexist in the same room where they can see each other but not physically interact, will help rebuild some of the trust.  Zoey had previously gotten to the point that Tilly could come up to her and sniff her as long as she didn’t actually touch her and she was fine… Now she gets nervous if Tilly approaches, even with the gate in between them. 

 

I’m sure that there are some that think it’s irresponsible to have the cat back in the same room with the bunny that she injured, but I want to point out that we are taking precautions; and that this was not an act of aggression on the part of the cat.  Zoey is older and was understandably scared by the fact that Tilly came flying at her in attack, especially when they’ve peacefully coexisted for 6 months now.  Just like any other combination of pets that co-exist, you have to build (and sometimes REbuild) trust or you’re just asking for disaster and depression.  We are working towards a once-again harmonious household… it will just take time and patience.

[BunsAndDolls]

I’m late to the party, but I’m glad to hear she’s getting better! {{{Tilly}}} She and Duncan are absolutely adorable together, I love that he’s staying by her side and helping you take care of her <3

[Hazel]

I’m glad Tilly is doing okay, I bet Duncan knew you were helping and didn’t feel he had to save her from you. I don’t think you’re being irresponsible with Zoey, I feel bad for her being so scared of the bunnies. Animals are unpredictable and accidents happen, and you know she didn’t do it out of aggression. Have you tried giving her treats, something special that she only gets when the bunnies are around? It might help her associate them with something positive.

[LBJ10]

Good to hear Tilly is doing better. I never had much luck getting ointment into Wooly’s eye (always had to use drops) so good for you for being able to make them work! On the bright side, it sounds like this whole ordeal has been sealing the bond between Tilly and Duncan.

[Cottontail]

I’ve sorely neglected updates, but am currently overwhelmed at home.

I just wanted to let everyone know that Tilly went in for her recheck this morning and did wonderfully! Her eye has healed, although she does now have a small scar on her eye (not raised, just discolored whitish), but it’s hard to tell due to her marbled eyes. It does not appear to obstruct her vision, and her inner eyelid has healed better than hoped. It’s still a bit tattered, but part of it seems to have set back in place so it’s not as severe. She has full use of it and is not favoring the eye at all. We still have more ointment, but it will go into our emergency kit along with the saline eye wash.

Duncan and Tilly both got weighed again, and they’ve both lost a couple ounces, which made their doctor happy with their weights now. Tilly is down to 2.79kg and Duncan is down to 2.8kg… They’ve been eating just as much as before, but have been much more active since they’ve been joining forces to prevent Tilly from having to take her medicine these past 10 days. We hope to keep the activity level up and continue cutting back on the size of the salads a bit as we go into fall and winter.

Duncan also got points with the vet for all of his efforts to protect Tilly, both from the medication and from the examination.

[Sindri]

I am glad Tilly is doing better. I was worried when I seen the post.

[Bam]

So glad to read this what a relief about the eye!
Lord Duncan really takes his duty as a husbun seriously He’s a knight in shining agouti fur. His efforts probably contributed to her healing so well.

[MissGabbster]

Haha, a knight in shining agouti fur. That’s a perfect description, he so protective of Tilly! They are such a cute bun couple. I’m glad her eye has healed nicely.

[JackRabbit]

Great news! Loving their bond and so proud that the Dun bun has turned out to be such a great husbun!

[Author]

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