just as a follow up, i went to rite aid (pharmacy) tonight and they gave me a 10 ml oral syringe. it’s a lot better than what i have. so im hoping it’ll work better. i’ve also now read that you can water critical care down more than the package recommends, so doing that too. thought i would add that.

Thanks for mentioning about the water content in lettuce, if anything that makes me feel better. I got her green leaf lettuce last night and she’s been more than happy to eat it. I also kind of put critical care on the lettuce and rolled it up and was able to get a good bit of critical care in her that way, which was a godsend. She’s eating more today and drinking too which is very promising.

You know what, luckily, i took her back to her regular vet 2 days ago and they re-checked her ears and the ear infection is now gone 🙂 So that’s good news.

i hate to say this but she has wised up to the critical care on the lettuce and will no longer take it. im trying so hard to feed her this critical care, but i just can not find a syringe that works. no matter how runny i make it, i can’t get it in and then put the plunger in and make it work, because there’s so much air in ti that it just blows everywhere. i am feeling desperate to find a syringe that works with this stuff. does anyone have advice on a specific one you can link to that works for you. she is sadly not wanting to drink or eat much today and i feel helpless because i can’t find the tool to use to feed her

Also, does anyone happen to know of any actual stores that carry critical care, where you can go in person and purchase it? i can only find the stuff on amazon and places like that, but it takes a week to ship to me. i keep getting recommended that papaya fine grind saying it will be easier, but for the life of me i can’t find a source for it. have tried walmart, petsmart, petco, and tractor supply, i can’t think of other places. any advice appreciated.

Thanks a lot for this post. Do you mind clarifying one part. You mentioned this:

“When you’ve put the plunger back in, knock the bottom of the plunger against the table decisively, once or a few times. This will make the CC collect at the bottom end of the syringe so you can push out the air pocket that’s now at the top. This obviously works best with bigger syringes (10, 15 or 20 ml).”

This is a really good idea about wacking it against a table to collect the cc at the bottom. But I don’t understand about how you can push the air pocket out. How do you do this? The problem I’m finding is that once the plunger is in the syringe, it’s a sealed system, and the only way to get that air pocket out is to push the plunger. Unfortunately, the air pocket gives such resistance that I have to push so hard and when it finally “gives” all that critical care just explodes everywhere. I keep loading it and then just trying to push it in to a cup (not in her mouth) to make sure I’m actually able to do it, but I can never seem to get it to work. When you are pushing the air bubble out, how are you doing it exactly?

Good idea about baby fruit or fruit purree. Might get some strawberries and whip that up. I know she won’t be able to resist.

One question I do have – if she is eating a normal amount of greens, and she’s nibbling hay, but completely refusing pellets, does she even need crticial care so? If so, how much do you need to reduce it by? I’m quite confused about this part. If you do not have an answer, that is alright. I’m going to call my vet tomorrow when they open and ask. She is very interested in greens and is devouring them. She’s eating hay (not tons, but a little bit.) It’s just she is completely refusing pellets, which is so bizarre because before one week ago she couldn’t get enough of them.

Thank you so much. I’m going to purchase a pet feeding syringe. Glad to know rabbit stomach capacity. I wasn’t giving her more than about 5 ml at a time to be honest, because I didn’t want to force too much on her at once. Sounds like I can give her just a tad more though.

we have found some pet feeding syringes at a local pet store, and are getting ready to pick them up. really wanted to thank you for taking the time to explain that to me. i really hope these work. oh god, yes i can imagine about the 20 ml. id be so uncomfortable giving my bun that much food at once!! she already hates the cc feedings. i feel like she hates me right now and it’s very sad.

thanks for the support, Bam. I appreciate it. We picked up a few syringes this afternoon. Will see this evening how well it works. Gonna keep my hopes up 🙂

wow, that’s a really interesting idea. never would have even thought about food injector syringes. just curious but where do you usually purchase yours? or is there any particular size you use?

Hey I wanted to give a small update. The pet feeding syringes we found at the pet store yesterday actually worked! Bam you were right, the plungers were not so tight, so we could actually push them down without the critical care exploding out. As a result, I was actually able to give her some critical care last night! The good news is that she was actually eating more yesterday so I only gave her a little bit of critical care. (To be honest, I was not certain how much to give if she was eating greens and a little bit of hay and only rejecting pellets.)  About an hour after the critical care, she actually went to eat some pellets, which was a little triumph. This morning, her pellets were all gone, and she was demanding more like usual. She devoured her greens and has been in and out of her hay box all morning munching on hay. She is looking energetic again. I think the meds the doctor sent home have been useful. She is pooping too, I’m not sure if she’s pooping more than in previous days, though.

I don’t want to be too positive too soon, but I just wanted to say thank you for recommending specifically the pet feeding syringes. The one we got yesterday honestly was only 3 ml I believe, but I do not mind having to refill it so quickly. I was just relieved to have SOMETHING that was actually working. I will post some pictures at a later time of syringes I have found that work, in case it helps anyone else in the future.

Thank you, Bam for the kind wishes. We bought a few syringes and i”m gonna experiment a bit, and gather the exact details on them before I post, so it’ll be comprehensive. The one we used last night was not ideal, but it was at least enough to get it in her, and surely better than the oral syringe they gave us at the pharmacy (which had a plunger which was way, way too tight.)