The Bunny Box

Whisper

Once again I made the fatal mistake of going down to get a puppy exercise pen. As I approached the shop a little white bunny ran up, put his paws on the window and looked at me. "How cute!", I thought. I went in and he ran to the interior glass and repeated the action. I tried to ignore him and asked about the run I had ordered. Of course it was out the back and would I mind waiting. I turned around and saw this adorable face gazing me. He had the longest ears and eyelashes I had seen on a bunny (until Mouse that is). When the assistant came back I asked about him. Apparently he was meant to be a litter mate of all the lops that were in with him. Sensing a possible sale, I was told his ears could be 'trained' to flop if I rubbed them on a daily basis. I didn't bother to refute that or correct them about what type of bun I wanted. The fact was, I really didn't want another bun and I knew this was not the best way to get one even if I did. I looked at him, he looked at me and I decided he would be a good match for Holly.

The next day I went to see how he managed overnight and was shocked to see his eyes red and swollen. I examined him all over and noticed that his ears were swollen around the base and felt warm to touch. Straight away I thought of myxomatosis and burst into tears. I managed to get a vet appointment that morning and spent the hour or so in between refreshing my memory on the net. Since Flop died I have ran across a number of articles that stated myxo could be treated on occasions. I also remembered someone recommending a vet in North Sydney that had some success. Armed with this knowledge I drove to my appointment.

The vet was not encouraging as she also suspecting myxomatosis. However, when I expressed my desire to try to nurse him she was willing to help. He was given shot of Baytril and I was told to come back the next day to be shown how to give them myself as he would need them on a daily basis. She very kindly sent me home with a supply of prefilled syringes to help with the process.

I had read that myxomatosis does not do well in a warm enviroment so Whisper was immediately moved into the laundry and a heater kept the room at a constant temperature. He was fed a range of herbs to help keep his body in good health and kept as stress free as possible. Well, apart from my fumbling attempts at injecting the Baytril. I have a phobia of needles in general and the thought of sticking this little creature made me feel ill. I enlisted my husband to hold him still just in case and set about tenting the skin and inserting the needle. Some times were better than others, and although I managed to never go through the other side, there was one time I didn't go in far enough and wasted one whole dose over his back. Thankfully Whisper was very forgiving after an offering of sultanas.

At this stage Whisper was living in a warm room, getting regular baytril shots and having his eyes bathed twice a day and treated with an antibiotic cream. I wondered if there was anything else we could do to improve his chances so contacted the vet I had been referred to. Unfortunately it seems the referer had misinterpreted the information and this vet didn't hold out much hope either, especially as Whisper was so young and was showing advanced signs such as the swollen eyes.

Whisper however didn't seem to realise how serious the situation was. This little guy was still eating by himself and showed no signs of giving up, so I remained positive for his sake. We continued with the shots and lots of TLC. I had a follow up visit a week later and the vet was frankly very surprised to see us. I got another week's supply of Baytril and went home to continue. Over the next week I was sure the swellings seemed to be reducing, but was trying very hard not to get my hopes up. By the end of the week I was sure. At his next appointment we stopped the antibiotics and he was declared in good health.

Now finally I could start introducing him to Holly. It was during this time that my approach to bonding changed. Sitting with both of them in the bathroom, I couldn't work out why Holly was being so aggressive. She wouldn't let Whisper move an inch without challenging him. Slowly, I came to realise that as far as Holly was concerned a good defence starts with a good offense and she was NOT going to let anyone get the first bite. Basically she was interpreting any movement as a sign of attack. Once I worked this out the rest of the sessions were a breeze. I would spend time stroking and calming Holly while Whisper ran around. Then I would swap and let Holly move about while Whisper was petted. Sometimes I would get them side by side and stroke them at the same time. I also had a trick up my sleeve that worked wonderfully well. Holly had an itchy spot on her back end. As soon as I scratched her there she would lick anything nearby. I would start scratching Holly while gently manoeuvering Whisper under her nose. In no time at all she would be licking his head. This might be classed as cheating.. but all's fair in love, war and rabbit bonding! Suffice to say it was only a matter of days before they were sharing space and living happily together.

Introducing Whisper and Miss B was equally as easy and this threesome just loved to hang out together. They would all pile into the smallest corner and squash on top of each other. Whisper always looked so happy with his girls and he was devastated when they both went so quickly after each other.

I actually thought he was doing ok, but after a week, noticed he was spending a lot of time in the condo and rattling the gate, waiting for Holly to come back out. It broke my heart. Much as I was feeling too raw to contemplate getting another bun at this stage, I realised that his needs were paramount and so Mouse came to live with him. Whisper was a bit of a grump at first and set down the house rules very definitely. Thankfully Mouse thought he was the best thing since carrot tops and persisted in showering him with affection. Of course she eventually won him over.

On the 1 May 2003 I found a hard bony lump on Whispers jaw. I knew what it was as we had been through recurring abscesses with Holly. Apart from the swelling he showed none of the obvious signs such as difficulty eating or drooling. I took him to the vet and he was operated on that day. The abscess was removed and the area debrided. An opening was left so that I could flush the area and insert Baytril twice a day for the next 10 days or so. Once again, Whisper handled my ministration with patience and lots of sultanas. At the end of the treatment, the abscess had cleaned up nicely and all that was left was the bony growth that had encapsulated it initially. He remained on oral antibiotics for another couple of weeks to be sure.

Nursing a sick animal adds a very special dimension to the relationship. You seem to be able to connect on a different level and become aware of the smallest change in their behaviour. I experienced this with Holly and now I was doing the same with Whisper. In September of 2003 I just felt that something wasn't right. When I examined Whisper I found an very large lump on his jaw. It was obviously another abscess, but what really frightened me was that it seemed to extend under his jaw line and across his throat to the other jaw bone. The whole area was rock solid. A visit to the vet confirmed this. At this stage I felt I would like to avoid surgery if at all possible. Before Holly died, we were trying a new protocol, Bicillin, for her recurring abscess with good results. We decided to try this and use surgery only if we weren't happy with the progress. A few weeks into the treatment and I can say that Whisper is improving. He seems happier and is acting more like his normal self... bounding out at vegie time and waiting in the litter box for his good night head rub.

As I said on the health page, new treatments and procedures are being found all the time. Please don't accept the first verdict that you get. I can safely say Whisper would have been euthanised on the 8 August 2002 if I hadn't been prepared to seek information. It also isn't that long ago that abscesses in rabbits were though to be incurable. Despite all odds, he has survived. He is living with Mouse and Mischief, once again part of a bonded group. Seeing the three of them lounging around on top of each other is guaranteed to brighten my day.