Help - injured cottontail..

[Spring]

Went out again this morning, didn't see him anywhere in the yard. I'm guessing he got freaked out and thought there was danger here so decided to stay out.. so I'm thinking he's stayed in my neighbours yard or wandered off. They haven't seen him, so I'm not sure how he is or where he is.

I'll keep my eyes open for him, but other than that - not sure what more to do .

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

this is very sad thread,.i have a cottontail,the weather,injuries and predators are a main concern,..once out of sight they will try to resume their usual activity,s,but we sometimes only have one chance to capture,being injured most likely won,t go far,.to capture this species of rabbit requires determination/with a predetermined plan called encirculment,being very scared of any predetory animal-(man). makes this quit challenging,.it does sound as though he suffering from a spinal injury,..capturing is imperative in a timely manner,..god bless -sincerely james waller

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

This is a sad thread. I agree that it looks like a spinal injury. For this reason, I hate to see a cottontail get away from a cat or dog. A half-catch and release usually just injures the bunnies. I've found a few like that in my yard...it's so sad to see.

 

[ra7751]

It's usually bad news when dogs/cats interact with cottontails. Dogs most of the time result in crush syndrome which results in edema in the abdomen or aspinal traumaand bothusually result indeath. Cats can introduce some potent bacteria into rabbits....as well as squirrels and birds. If we even suspect a cat to be involved, we start antibiotics. It only takes the nick of a tooth from a cat...and cat tooth punctures are difficult to find. We are now finding that most cat bites will abscess from the inside out...and we have developed a new treatment protocol that is showing promise as we tweak the protocolas we learn. Time is very limited inhaving the antibiotics actually work....it takes up to three days for most antibiotics to reach working levels and theinfection will kill a rabbit in about three days. Cats are also notorious for deglovings. It's a rare neonate that can survive a cat attack. But we are learning more all the time about dealing with issues like this. I have a dog attack...with a double degloving....that should be released this weekend after spending several weeks in rehab. Very lucky cottontail.

Randy

 

[Spring]

With a spinal injury, would that cause the cottontail to be unsteady sitting? From where I was just watching him before I got the go ahead from Critter Care, he would almost rock back and forth like I've seen some head tilt bunnies do. I remember watching Ali's (JadeIcing) bunnies with head tilt, and he looked a lot like that when he was in a sitting position.

I'll probably keep an eye out for him for another few days, though I'm not sure.. our yard is usually bubbling with cottontails since we are on an acre that has lots of plants and bushes that the cottontails love.. never encountered something like this though.

 

[maherwoman]

Oh Sweetie...what an awful experience...

I hope you find him again soon...

I would be so heartbroken...so I know you are, too...

Hugs to you...I'm here if you need someone to talk to. :hug:

 

[Pipp]

Spring wrote:

With a spinal injury, would that cause the cottontail to be unsteady sitting?

The only time I've seen that and the weird hopping is with a spinal injury, but the bunny recovered. It was apparently a shock reaction and/or a bruised cord, and once the swelling went down, the rabbit was fine. (I think he got a steroid shot, but no other treatment).

Really best to let him stay very quiet for a day or two. If he's bunkered down somewhere in recovery mode and not out foraging for food, he should be safe from predators.


sas ray: