Cone While Recovering – Won’t Eat

[KoiBunny]

My bunny poked his eye with something (we are guessing hay, <g class="gr_ gr_63 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="63" data-gr-id="63">vet</g> is too) so he is on medicated eye drops for a week before going in for a recheck on his ulcer. It is a small ulcer and the vet thinks it will heal quickly and easily - so long as Mr. Koi doesn't scratch at it. So in comes the cone. He just had it placed on him an hour ago at the vet and doesn't want to eat or do anything but stand in the corner of his cage <img src='/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/BB_Theme/emoticons/sad.gif' align="absmiddle" border="0" /> I took it off him in hopes he'd eat and drink. He did drink, but didn't want any food, not even treats, and went right to trying to clean his face so I put it back on.</p>

Am I just being impatient about him eating/will he start to eat after he gets some rest and gets used to the cone? I feel so bad for him but know it’s his best shot at recovery. 

He has hay where he can reach it and a water bottle he can reach (but he has always preferred a crock for water, he’s a picky bunny!)

Any tips?

[jerseygirl]

I personally wouldn’t put the cone on them. Its not worth the risk if stresses them too much or inhibits eating. I don’t want to advise you against your vets instructions though. Could you ring them and ask if okay not to use it?

I don’t see how he will injure the eye further by grooming his face, unless the dewclaws are overly long. Or the nails on his hocks as they do use their back leg to scratch the cheeks sometimes.

Do you know if the drops offer some pain relief? Perhaps it is some discomfort, or stress from vet visit that’s the reason he is acting a bit off.

[Vienna Blue in France]

I’m not medical, but surely just rubbing an ulcer in itself would not help any healing process…

But a bun not eating could become much worse than “just” an eye problem….
I’m not sure you can ‘wait’ to see if he gets used to the cone – or else you could start giving him mashed up gooodies…. apple juice? banana mashed up….? etc

[KoiBunny]

I took the cone off for his free run time and he ate, drank, and didn’t mess with his eye and was his usual mischievous self, so I think I’m going to just make sure I let him out without the cone on frequently to hopefully help with that. His nails are always trimmed, he’s great for nail trimmings! The vet said just rubbing it will irritate it. I’m kind of thinking I’ll just leave it off aside from when I can’t keep an eye on him? He seems really uncomfortable with it on and I just don’t want to stress him out

[Vienna Blue in France]

Yay !!!! Sounds a great plan there KoiBunny !!!! (Phewie – nothing more panicky than a bun who won’t eat….!) Well done.

And a cone can’t be fun for a bun, they can only see out the sides, not directly in front like a cat or dog, so a cone must really really really limit what he can see… if anything !!

[KoiBunny]

Yeah, the poor baby! I’m just glad to see his spirits are up when it is off, and hope by the weekend he won’t need it at all anymore.
He is getting spoiled with lots of fresh fruits and veggies and tons and tons of free roam time (not that he doesn’t get that anyway!)
And yes, very scary when they won’t eat – especially him, he’s the piggiest bunny I’ve ever owned! My previous rabbits were picky eaters, he eats just about anything you set in front of him LOL

[blubudgie]

I feel like since it had only been an hour, I would have waited longer to see if he would eat. I know after taking my rabbit to the vet, she acts very sad and grumpy after coming home, and usually doesnt eat her full normal amount the next day. It takes time for her to de-stress.
I think you should keep the cone on and wait for a few hours to see if he eats/drinks. He may just need time to get adjusted to it.

If you do take the cone on be very careful and watch, make sure he doesn’t rub at it.

It’s a completely different case, but today a bird came into the hospital. He was supposed to wear a cone when he went home from his previous appointment, but for whatever reason the owner decided to take the cone off without letting the vet know. He ended being able to reach the closed wound he had and chewed it open and then chewed into himself. The purpose of the cone was to prevent this from happening, we’re not sure why the owner removed the cone.

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