Need help with medication

[paleosteveo]

So we took Basil to get fixed Wednesday and we got her back Thursday. The doc said everything went very well and gave us pain medication for her, Metacam 1.2 ml orally for 3_5 days. Yesterday we tried giving it to her and it was a battle and a half. A solid hour and a half of trying to hold her and give her the medicine. By the end of it we were exhausted and she was very wary of us. Today she was reluctant to even come out and we tried putting it on all her favorite foods because everyone told us that animals like the taste. We’ve arrived at the conclusion that she either has stopped trusting us or hates the taste as she avoids all food born administrations. After the several food attempts we tried to wrap her up in a blanket. She squirmed out and bit me in the side, hard. It wasn’t a nip which I’ve had before, but a good hard bite. So we stopped for now, but we are at our wits end. I have no idea how to proceed, it seems the longer we struggle with her the greater chance of her opening her stiches. Her stitches btw look to be healing fine, thank God for that. Can anyone help us?
Thanks from a very concerned rooky rabbit owner.

[Bam]

I have only managed to give mine Metacam by syringe-feeding. I to have heard rabbits like the taste but mine do not.
If you get a little bit in her she may feel so much better you can give the rest in mashed banana or pumpkin like 30 min later. She may be angry
because she’s in pain, pain often causes aggression in pets. Or rather, aggression in pets is often due to pain.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Have you tried mixing it with a bit of unsweetened apple sauce?

My buns also like the taste of metaca but when I’m giving meds they don’t like I sit them on the table, put my arm around them and give it in the side of the mouth. A long thin syringe works much better than the short ones.

[LBJ10]

Is she eating okay?

[Bunnymummy91]

We’ve been having the same trouble. I can definitely say it’s a two person job! If one person sits with the bun on their lap, restricting movement with a towel, and the other sits in front they can lift the upper lips and syringe it in. It’s still a battle but so far this is the most effective way we can find! Our bun gets a bit snippy and angry about it but ten minutes later all is forgotten. I’m sure it wont be held against you forever!

[redbunbun]

Sukka will eat anything and everything straight out of the syringe with no fuss, but with Tossu we have to get creative. After his neuter, I didn’t want to forcefully hold him still to shove his metacam down his throat – he’s not too fond of being held on to, even though he’s fine with just about everything people do otherwise, and he does sometimes thrash quite a bit in protest. I didn’t want him ripping his stitches, so instead of holding on to him we tricked him. We got a dandelion (or some other long, leafy treat – romaine lettuce would probably work just as well!), put it in his mouth, and as he was chomping down on the dandelion we squirted metacam into his mouth whenever he opened it.

He learned to distrust dandelions eventually, but apparently the good taste of the dandelion won over his dislike of medicine.

[Jadeo09]

Hi
I know what your going through I was never bkt but got scratched pretty bad
I tried everything from putting it on dandelion which she refused to the bunny burrito.
I found it had to be pretty tight on the feet area and form another person to hold the towel.
But it does loose trust and can you imagine being in the same position, I’d probably bite too it someone put me through that.
Eventually boo eats medicine out a syringe now sat down, or if she’s really poorly whilst cuddling on her back.
I’d try on a table backed up into one person.
Or like the other say mixed with something tasty.
Best for the future to get her used to the during without bad stuff in .
Like ribena or apple or banana puree ect then next time she needs it shell be begging for the during.
Boo like the string so much she tries to snatch it off e and tries running off with it. She even stuffs it more and more into her mouth.
Don’t give up you’ll get there in the end.
I certainly wouldn’t force her again it will be causing more pain to her stitches and is better without all the stress. Plus its very dangerous in case the stitches come out. Try to fuss her and gain trust again and you’ll get there.
Leaving it in her food then walking away works great when they are untrusting and suspicious

[Jadeo09]

Uurrrgghh predictive text!!
Meant to say syringe not string lol ☺

[BarbaraC]

I had a similar experience with my bun when I had to give him meds. The only thing that worked for us was to inject it into a banana and get him to eat that. However, he was also in GI stasis so getting him to eat anything was a challenge and after our first attempt of forcing it on him he didn’t trust us and huddled in a part of his condo that is almost impossible for me to get to. I just had to be patient and coax him into eating a bit of the banana. Once he started doing that I injected a little bit of the med into bite size pieces. I was eventually able to get to the point where I could just inject the whole dose into a larger piece, about a tablespoon, and he would eat the whole thing on his own. It is super stressful when they won’t take their meds but just be patient with her and persistent. Good luck and Good Vibes for Basil.

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