Critical care feeding

[Bunnylover]

Hi everyone!
My bunny Lola had her spay yesterday. She has barely eaten since so the vet has advised to give her critical care. I have to feed her alone and have been having some trouble as she is very resistant and I’m scared of hurting her incision. I was just wondering if you have any tips on how to do it alone without hurting her and stressing her out too much?
Thanks for any help!

[alexandra]

Are you feeding her out of a bowl or syringe. When I had to feed mine CC, I used a syringe and he ate it right up. Also, they make an Apple/Banana flavored one that she might like better. You could try that…

[Wick & Fable]

I use this method: http://youtu.be/N12eJ5vdo4w

… If Wick is not compliant with oral administrations.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Bianca]

I have given critical care to quite a few different stubborn rabbits including females post spay. I use a method similar to the one Wick shared a video of, but depending on the size and willingness of the rabbit, I sometimes kneel down and sit them (gently) between my legs/knees, if that makes sense? They are still positioned as in the video, but with the addition of my legs as support to help hold/support them.

If you have a second person to help you then you can have one person hold the bun and the other to give the critical care.

Some people also use a towel to do a bunny burrito, but personally I haven’t needed to use that method. It can be quite successful though. I haven’t had an issue with my method of on the floor/between my knees if needed though, and I have given a lot of bunnies critical care and other unwanted medicine.

[Luna]

Luna loves meds, so she will sit down in front of me and take it straight from the syringe. Maybe you could see if she will lap it up from a plate, or squirt some on a romaine leaf and see if she will eat it?

[Bunnylover]

Thank you so much for the replies! I was able to get a helper to hold her still while I fed her thankfully. She’s such a fiesty little lady I was having trouble on my own. Luckily she is eating normally again ? I think our other girl Thumper spoiled me because she was like Luna and took all her medication happily from the syringe! Lola even hates the metacam but luckily tomorrow is the last day for that too!
Thanks again for all the advice, I’ll keep these tips in mind if we need to give critical care in the future.

[Author]

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