I feel like a bad bunny mom….

[skibunny8503]

Gracie’s not having a good week.  I gave her a bath today; it should have been yesterday but I’ve been sick lately and my husband is on afternoons.  I don’t even know when or where she pees sometimes.  She absorbs so much of it when she sits in it.  (for those who don’t know she has/had E. Cuniculi and is on metacam every other day).  I gave her a bath today and she was so wet and getting so angry that I finally let her down; she was particially dry but could have been better.   I just let them out and I saw on the 1/2 level a little wet spot.  I lifted her up and she was wet but smelled like anemonia (sp?), it smells so bad it makes my nose curl   I just did this a few hours ago….I was planning on relaxing but now she needs another bath.  It’s hard because it’s like what’s the point, she’s just going to turn around and do it again.  Her right tigh looks so bad when it’s wet.  The urine is killing her fur and I can see skin now.    I feel like I’m not doing a good enough job; I know it’s tough with her though and I’m keeping up the best I can.  I did order 2 pet beds from palacepet.com.  I heard it’s pretty good so I’m hoping it’ll help her.  I should have bought a $53 one and covered the whole cage but those 2 will have to do for now.  I just want to make sure they work right now until I get anymore.  

I didn’t cut up and lower their litter box (I just haven’t had time) but we had an extra smaller one in the basement that has a low side to hop in that I put on the 2nd level.  But I think Archie’s the only one that uses it.  I don’t think it’s that she can’t get in the litter box (she can do that pretty well), it’s that she doesn’t know she’s going to the bathroom.  She now poops while she sleeps.  She leaves a nice little pile of it in where she sleeps in the living room.  

Sorry I’m venting a little, it’s just I want to do as much as I can for her to help her but there doesn’t seem like there’s anything I can do

[jerseygirl]

(((Hugs))) Ski. You are too hard on yourself. Gracie is lucky she lives in your home. Had she been left unadopted her life would be sad, even shortened.

Can you just give a dry bath now and then?

I’m wondering if you line the condo levels in old towels. Just thinking it might help absorb the pee when she does it and you can just throw them in the wash when needed. Would that cause Archie to lose his litter habits though, do you think?

[Kafrn]

What about puppy pads?!?!?!? They are like pads that absorb your pets wee. U could put them on the floors and when she sees it will be dry instantly! Kind of like a nappy
If u r worried about chewing u could spray edges with the bitter spray if you use double sided tape these will be good for the floor of your condo and bunny will be perfectly dry

[Kafrn]

Sorry that was meant to say when she WEES* they will absorb it instantly

[skibunny8503]

I know; I’ve just been sick all week and it’s been rough trying to take care of her.  I know that if she had stayed with her previous owners she either would have been really bad by now or they would have put her to sleep if had survived there that long.  I told her she’s so lucky to be here…as she angerly chews on her blanket

I patted her down with paper towels and blow dried her some more.  I ended up breaking my little comb and will have to get a new one.  I used a baby brush on her tighs and put udder cream on them and put vasoline on the sore hock beneath the matted fur on her foot.  

I ordered 2 16×23 palace beds and hopefully they’ll be here by next week.  I’ll look at those puppy pads but I have a feeling that they’ll chew or dig them   I think I will call Dr. Riggs tomorrow and give him an update, see what he wants me to do.  She was doing good on metacam every day but with it every other day, I’m not sure.  It’s hard to tell sometimes.  It’s just hard for her legs to heal and grow fur when she keeps getting pee on them. 

EDIT: Where do I even get bitter spray at?

[Kafrn]

Are you in America? Monkey bun got me into it, she told me about “sour apple spray” and I went to the pet shop here and it’s called bitterant. If u can’t find it in pet shops there ask monkey coz she’s had it before. It’s great to stop bunny chewing. I just thought if u used puppy pads the bitter stuff will make them not chew it. Double sided tape will stop any harm from digging.
Note: don’t let curiosity get the better of you… Don’t spray in your mouth to see what it tastes like… Ugh… Just don’t do it!!!

[Monkeybun]

I got my bitter spray at PetCo, its not bitter apple, but even better. It’s made from the bitter stuff int he skin of grapefruits, which is like the nastiest bitter stuff ever. It’s what got Smudge to stop yanking out her fur when I first brought her home.

http://www.petco.com/product/6433/Fooey-Ultr-Bitter-Training-Aid.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch is the stuff

[jerseygirl]

Kafrn! *head desk”
I thought you may have tasted a tiny bit off the finger. Actually spraying in the mouth…you didn’t did you?! lol

[Elrohwen]

Big hugs. You’re being a fantastic bunny mom because you’re doing so many things to make her comfortable! What other random bunny owner would do that? Not many. I’m sure it’s really tough and frustrating, but you’re doing the best you can and I’m sure Gracie appreciates it (at least when she’s not all wet :-P)

[skibunny8503]

I had my husband get some puppy pads and bitter spray…well Archie tried to eat the pads as well as lick the nossel of the spray eww! Such a goofy bun! They both were digging at it so I had to take it out. It was a good idea though! I called the vet and left a message but nothing back yet. Gracie’s been doing better right now; she’s sleeping right now hehe! I washed some towels and put them around the cage.

[skibunny8503]

Oops double post

[skibunny8503]

A quick update; Gracie came out of her tunnel with her head turned. It freaked me out because I thought she had head tilt! As I watched her hop she would stop and try to lift her back leg to itch her ear but couldn’t get it up. So I’m pretty sure she just had an itch that she couldn’t get. I felt helpless. I looked in her ears and they seem to be mire waxy from not being able to clean them. Hopefully the vet will call tomorrow and I can ask him. I have video that I’ll try to upload.

[skibunny8503]

Here it is. Her head wasn’t as tilted as before but u can see she had an itch. She went to eat hay so she’s not going anywhere for awhile.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v51/nash03/1295836978.mp4

[lashkay]

Regarding the head tilt, if it’s any help, I’ve had Dustor not be able to scratch his ear all of a sudden. After a few minutes, whatever caused the crick in his neck or whatever it was, went away and he was back to normal. If it doesn’t correct itself by itself, I think you’re right to ask your vet about it. I was always bathing Lash, my first bunny when she would have diarrehea for one reason or another. I would feed her a rock-hard hardened loaf of bread and she would be normal again. Although it doesn’t sound like Gracie has poopy-butt per se, but incontinence.

[jerseygirl]

Mmm…she’s definately holding it crookedly though her balance seems ok. Maybe something bothering her like loose wax? I know Jersey will shake her head and have an ear 1/2 down and closed sometimes when something bothers her ear. Also tilts slightly. But she seems to get over it.
Hopefully you can help Gracie out if she’s getting excess wax.
Keep us posted.
Oh by the way I watched vid three times to watch her hopping : ) and see if that bunny in the furniture was real!

[skibunny8503]

Yeah she was shaking her head and grooming her ear. I looked in her ear and it looks waxy in there. But I’m not even going to try to clean them. She looks better today but I haven’t let them out yet.
LOL yeah it’s a ceramic bunny my cousin found for us. Archie like to chin its’ ears hehe!

[cainan]

How does one clean a bunny’s ears? (I know, there’s probably an article out there already) Merry’s been scratching, but whenever I look in there it seems fine. She does have teeny ears, if that makes a difference.

[Deleted User]

Cleaning a rabbit’s ear needs to be done with caution, as you don’t want to push ear debris further into the ear canal. If the ears are very tiny, such as a dwarf’s ears, it is an even more difficult task. The most important thing is to have the rabbit be able to sit perfectly still so you can work with precision. Depending on the rabbit, you may need the vet for this.

[skibunny8503]

The vet just called and he wanted to see Gracie again. I told him about her pooing in her sleep and he said it could be arthritis or something with her spinkter….I’m not exactly sure. He said he may need to clean her ears out again. I told him about her peeing on herself again and that’s when he said she may need something different. I did just notice when she got up and peed on the blanket that her peeing didn’t go straight out, it kind of was more towards her legs maybe. So that might be why the pee is getting on her too. He had me make an appt. this Friday. I’ve added their vet bills and she’s already gone of $1,000! Eek! I wonder if investing in insurance is a good idea or not? How much is it a month, does anyone know?

[jerseygirl]

Posted By cainan on 01/24/2011 11:57 AM
How does one clean a bunny’s ears? (I know, there’s probably an article out there already) Merry’s been scratching, but whenever I look in there it seems fine. She does have teeny ears, if that makes a difference.

That scratching is partly them cleaning their ears themselves. I think they might be self cleaning to a point also. Depends on the bunny and their head shape a bit. Sometimes lops can get gunky ears. I’ve never cleaned my 2’s and the vet commented how clean they are last visit.

Ski, I don’t know if insurance would help now with Gracie as things related to this would be classed as due to pre-existing.  It may help with anything for Archie & Sandy.   Care Credit might be an option though.

I’m sorry, I can’t remember, did she ever have a scan or xray of her bladder done?
 
 

[skibunny8503]

Yeah I saw that it wouldn’t be to helpful afterwards. We have Care Credit, it helps a lot! Yeah she had an X-ray done at the other vet and I brought it to Dr Riggs but there wasn’t much on it. We’ll keep u posted.

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