Oh yes, this is perfectly safe! I have no idea why they ever did anise flavored (yech) but the apple banana is a new flavor. I don’t know if they find it more palatable or not, but it sounds better.

Best to use small syringes to feed this – they will send you a big mumbo jumbo one and that is awkward to use. Mix it up and put it in that syringe. Get the small syringes and take out the plungers and fill the syringes with the huge syringe. You will want to make alot of the smaller syringes too. It’s better this way in my opinion because it’s easier to use and you can give Boston time to swallow the syringe before you start another one. You can use the 1.0 cc’s and I think there is another one that is a little larger that is good as well. 

Great job!! Critical care is great stuff…I unfortunately ordered mine off ebay (btw…can I ask what you paid, just wondering if I unknowinly paid alot! ) and I didn’t know there were two flavours so I have anise…(black licorice flavored)….bunnies like black liquorice huh? nope LOL

Also you might try offering it to Boston in a bowl to see if she will eat it that way as well – some rabbits do.

Ok, looks like I went a bit pricey but not tooo bad…I got the five oz size (0.3 lbs) and I paid 22 total with shipping….hmmm…Darn!!

O.K. I was under the impression that you had to get it from your vet. You can order by phone? Where?

Scarlet Rose, you have to call Oxbow directly to order it. I’ve done it before. I guess since they consider it a “medication” you have to call them directly and cannot order it on-line.

Hey, good to know. I was also under the same impression that Scarlet was.

You can get it on ebay too, probably marked up some!! But available.

I am so new to the bunny so I might be asking some really dunb questions as I read the forum (looking for answers and some  as for advice I just learning. 

What is critter care?

I also thought you had to get it from a vet, so that’s good to know.  I also thought there is a plain flavor?  Leo really hated the apple/banana!!  Actually he seems to hate all the critical care.  I tried everything to get him to eat it, including mixing w/ fruit juice, fruity baby food, and pureed fresh fruit.  That stinker got so wise to my tricky Jedi ways.  However, Jessi will eat anything that isn’t nailed down.  Also, my vet recommends for very sick bunnies to blend it w/ ensure.  Ensure does not contain dairy.

It is supposed to be vet only according to Oxbow.  But I have seen it in a high end pet store and at specialty (rabbit supply) websites- but never chain sites like Petco or big suppliers like Foster and Smith.  (I am glad to see it at some specialty web sites- to make it more available to those that need it).

I had thought about buying a container “just in case”- but it was $25 at the pet store and it does have an expiration date- it was about 18 months from when I looked at it.  So I just figured that if I ever need it- I will drive the 30-45 minutes to the vets that are exotic vets for the clinic that carries Oxbow.  But if I did not have the option- I would probably have bought it.

Just reading that they had anise/black licorice flavor- YUCK!!!  I would feel bad making my sick bunny eat that!  I am one of those people that hate black licorice and black jelly beans.  I think you either love black licorice or you hate it- no in betweens!!!

Thanks, I didn’t really know exactly what it was either!

I think they changed the rules about distribution. It used to be you could only get it from vets – but now I know you can order it from oxbow and some rescue groups also sell it.

I’ve heard a lot of bunnies snub the apple-banana flavor, so I’ve stuck with the original anise. I usually mix it 50 /50 with unsweetened pumpkin and some water. I also recommend storing it in the freezer, since that adds about 6 months onto the expiration date.

FYI – I do not want people going around with the wrong information or name, it’s called Oxbow CRTICAL CARE, not Critter Care.  I’ll be making my purchase over the phone to have on hand.  Here is the link from the Oxbow site about it:

http://www.oxbowhay.com/link.sp?page=CriticalCare

Anise – YICK!

Just the powdered.

I would mix small batches – some rabbits don’t like it after it’s been mixed. You may refrigerate the mixed critical care but bring it to room temperature to serve to the buns. But I would really only try to mix what you are going to feed at a time. I waste alot of premixed critical care.

Allen:  We’ve totally used the syringes to force feed and he actually spits it right back out @ us!  We discovered that we could get him to eat baby food if we leave it on a plate or spoon feed.  But he just doesn’t like the critical care.

Just another thought….what parts do you mix when using pumpkin and/or H2O/juice?  Anytime I mix according to the directions on the package it’s too thick.  Any suggestions w/b helpful.  I’ll make use of that freezer comment, I didn’t think of that.

When I use it, I tend to blend a day’s worth and heat in the microwave when time to use.  Don’t worry I temp test it.

Allenj not to worry, I just wanted to make sure that everyone was clear when they try to find it.