Needing advice.

[BridgetsFlame]

I am a foster care coordinator with the RSPCA branch in my town.

Recently I organised for several rabbits in kill shelters to come into foster care with us. They arrived in varying degrees of health. Most mainly have behaviour issues but I'm really worried about one boy.

He is a deaf cashmere, looks to be from some sort of pedigree breeding. Found as a stray a month ago.

According to his shelter records he was severely matted. Rather than doing the sensible thing and waiting for someone experienced in rabbits, the day before he spent 8 hours in a van to come to my town, they neutered him and shaved him to the skin. Thankfully the neuter site looks like its healing decently, a bit swollen but no infection.

Whoever did it clearly had no idea about rabbits. They took everything off down to about 1mm. He's literally bald and covered in cuts and razor burns. They also took ALL the hair off his back feet. And he's already developing sores on the exposed pads. I can't exactly politely ask a bunny to stop putting weight on his back feet till the fur grows back.

I have him on vetbed but the shelter litter trained him before all of this and he gets really anxious when left without a litter tray.

Astonishingly he's also got the best personality of the bunnies who came in. He's the only one who's not freaked out and anxious and scared. He constantly begs for pats.

Most of the issues I can deal with but I have no clue on the feet. Any advice?

This is the poor bubs now.

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/...0151878424872428_1522209576_n_zpsbf3a346a.jpg

I need to think of a new name for him. The one he came with is the equivalent of calling him a devil bunny and the poor boy doesn't deserve that.

 

[sarahbunny]

omg beautiful boy that is so sad,:tears2: i am afraid i cant give much advice as i am a newbie with my rabbits but i just had to say i hope he is better soon and gets his lovely coat back and a happy loving home.. am sure someone will give advice soon.. god bless his little soul xxxx

 

[ladysown]

you can vet wrap those back feet to help keep them clean and oh... for the life of me I can't remember the spray you can put on them to aid in the healing.....I'd be giving him a litter with hay in it.

 

[PaGal]

I am no expert but maybe you can try putting baby socks on him and then wrap in vet wrap to help keep them dry and cushioned until the fur grows back. I believe I have read about placing socks on their feet when they have issues.

 

[Homer]

Keeping socks and wraps on a rabbit is a challenge to say the least,"been there done that". I have a old doe, Flemish Giant, that has developed soars on her feet and tried covering them, no dice. Talked with a breeder friend and they said, "good luck". The bigger they are the harder it is to get stopped and heal, "put her down". I said "that ain't going to happen"! Then they told me I could try, (are you ready for this?) Preparation-H on the soars and get some kind of padding for her to be on. Hmmmm, what's to loose. So what am I to pad a hutch with that I can clean.

Went to the shop to look around. Carpet, no way. She'll pee on it be stuck on a wet floor. Then I looked down at the floor at my work bench. That's it! Interlocking floor pads. There made of rubber, easy to hose of and dry and they're soft.

Easy to put together and cut to size. She doesn't seem to chew it (whew) and is almost healed up.

With a litter trained bun you may not even have to wash them off like I do.

Best of luck with your bun.

 

[BridgetsFlame]

Thanks guys

With the rubber mats they are a good idea but I can't see their advantage over vetbed for a litter trained rabbit? He still has to sit on newspaper kitty litter every time he goes to the toilet.

Anyone know what Preparation H is in Australia?

I do have vetwrap here and one of my bunny friends is stopping by this afternoon, we'll see if we can bandage his poor feet. Poor boy is desperate for pats and cuddles and wants to be picked up and he has so sore and scabby finding non sore parts to handle him with is quiet difficult.

Right now the sores aren't too bad. One maybe 10mm long on the heel of one foot and a long one (which was probably caused by the clippers) about 2mm wide and 3-4cm long. A couple of other small ones are there as well. But with everything else going on I'd like to get on top of them.

He's staying with me for now, along with the other 'problem' boy that came in. This boy will stay until he heals and then go out to a foster carer. He's going to a girl who works at the puppy salon who grooms my own cashie and the owner grooms our RSPCA animals for free, so he at least will be able to turn into a lovely knot free boy ready for adoption when his coat grows back.

 

[JBun]

Rubber mats may still not be soft enough since there is pretty much no fur left on those back feet. There are softer foam mats that may be a bit better. That is, if your bun will also not chew at them and will leave them alone.

Vet wrapping may work. You will want to line the bottom of the feet with soft padding or some loose fur from another rabbit(?). Baby socks can also sometimes work too. Again, try and line with a soft padding material and vet wrap the top(not too tight, but tight enough to stay on).

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Mechanical/Pod/Podo.htm
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f27/bunny-trouble-69718/index2.html

 

[FreezeNkody]

I use those types of mats. They work great because they are water proof.. But I will warn you my rabbits chew on them. And make a emss

 

[BridgetsFlame]

I would think the vetbed I'm already using us going to be the softest possible surface... After all it's purpose is to keep animals, clean, dry and warm post surgery. Unless it's not something you guys have? It's like a cross between polar fleece and a really thick fake fur. It's soft as anything. If he wasn't so antsy over his litter tray I'd keep him on just vetbed as it wicks urine straight through. But this boy won't pee without a litter tray.

I think I still have my own cashies last shed stashed (a spinner buys it off me as she loves using bunny wool) so I could put that under the bandages with some soft fabric and then vet wrap over it?

I've got him in a small cage as well since he desperately wants to run and even if his only issue was a recent neuter if be trying to keep him still and quiet.

 

[BridgetsFlame]

Well we had some fun with the poor bubs feet, but I 'think' I've got them wrapped solidly enough now...

He's got antiseptic cream on the sores, then some cashie fur against his feet and then a sterile wound pad, and the whole lot covered in vetwrap.

I checked his running and he's moving properly. He flicks his feet back occasionally and keeps licking the wraps but he hasn't totally freaked out.

His pretty pink wrappers:
http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad206/BridgetsFlame/DSCN6708_zpsf3d748c0.jpg
http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad206/BridgetsFlame/DSCN6706_zps3744e4ee.jpg
http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad206/BridgetsFlame/DSCN6715_zpsf6400030.jpg

We've named him St Wilfrid. He's such a lovely boy, I'm rather tempted to keep him. I already have one deaf rescue cashie... anotehr won't make much difference.

 

[pani]

Poor little guy! I'm glad you've got his feet wrapped up, looks like he can move around more easily now. Wishing him a speedy recovery! ray:

 

[Aubrisita]

Awww, he looks like a sweetie and he looks mighty cozy in that picture....just sayin! Lol I love his name. sending good vibes for continued healing.

 

[Homer]

...With the rubber mats they are a good idea but I can't see their advantage over vetbed for a litter trained rabbit? He still has to sit on newspaper kitty litter every time he goes to the toilet.

Anyone know what Preparation H is in Australia?...

The idea is the entire cage is lined with them so the only time the rabbits isn't on a padded surface would be when it uses the litter box. As I said mine don't use a box but their "chosen corner" I put in the mat and then a couple hands full of chopped straw to soak up the pee, usually before it ever gets to the mat.

Preparation-H is a hemorrhoid cream that promotes healing in the "worse possible conditions." :blushan:

Rubber mats may still not be soft enough since there is pretty much no fur left on those back feet. ...

The mats I have are a 1/2" thick, dense type of foam rubber and very soft. When I first put it around my work bench I was catching my toe all the time because my feet would sink into it.

Like FreezeNkody said though, some rabbits will chew it up. I just got luck and my girl doesn't.

 

[BridgetsFlame]

The idea is the entire cage is lined with them so the only time the rabbits isn't on a padded surface would be when it uses the litter box. As I said mine don't use a box but their "chosen corner" I put in the mat and then a couple hands full of chopped straw to soak up the pee, usually before it ever gets to the mat.

So basically identical to vetbed... except vet bed is designed to keep a sick animal clean and dry as well. This is vetbed:
http://s161.photobucket.com/user/chezzy-cherry/media/IMG_8283.jpg.html

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

For the shaving, if he was really matted, there is no choice. Rabbit wool is different than a dog and their skin is quite thin, so you have to use a short blade to get the matting off, it is also safer than the longer blades or comb attachments. If the matting was really bad, it might have been unavoidable that he has some razor burn and cuts. The skin can get pulled into the mats so much that you really can't do much about it. It's not fun for the rabbit, but they do heal and the fur will grow back. Making sure he gets proper grooming as it grows out should help prevent the need to be shaved down like that again. Even if they are in good condition, if they are shaved down it is quite close. He should be more plush and fluffy in a few weeks.

I would make sure he has a nice soft surface to walk on. A few layers of fleece can work well. Foam mats or even extra towels underneath can help as well. In the litter box, you could use carefresh or other soft paper litter, but only until his fur grows back as it will be tangled in longer fur. Clean often, at least scooping out the wet litter, so he is not sitting in wet litter as that can be bad for his feet.

 

[BridgetsFlame]

I've had rabbits have a close shave before... I've never seen one so coated in scabs and cuts though. There are massive cuts all over him and some are quite deep. If they didn't have experience shaving him, they had plenty of options for other people who would do it, or he could have come straight to me and gone to my groomer. No need to near butcher him.

He's not my first cashie, so I'm fine with grooming him when it grows back, just need to avoid the foot sores from turning into true bumblefoot. If you read above I ended up bandaging his feet to give him some support and I have him on vetbed.

 

[JBun]

I love his pink booties! Nice job on the vet wrap! I'm glad he seems to be leaving it alone. That's the hardest part, is getting them to not try and chew it off. One thing to watch out for is any rubbing of the skin caused by the vet wrap up on his leg. If there isn't any cotton padding under that part, the vet wrap can bunch up and be slightly irritating if it's right against the skin.

You probably already know, but just mentioning in case you don't. You'll want to keep an eye on those cuts to make sure no abscesses form.

Please keep us updated on his progress. I would love to see a future photo of him fluffy and all healed up. I think this little guy is lucky to have found his way to you

 

[pani]

Please keep us updated on his progress. I would love to see a future photo of him fluffy and all healed up. I think this little guy is lucky to have found his way to you

+1! I'd love to see him all healed and happy. :hearts:

 

[BridgetsFlame]

Yep His cuts are being treated with a bunny safe antiseptic cream and I also have povidine-iodine ointment on standby. So far now he's clean and stress free he's looking good, the swelling on his scrotum is going down as well.

He kept his pink booties on with minimal fuss all day, I'll redo them tonight. At the moment my plan is to redo the bandages each day and take them off entirely on Monday night as he's spending four days with a pet sitter over Christmas and I don't want her having to try and bandage him. I think a week should be enough for the fur to grow back enough for him to be okay for a few days, and I'll re-bandage if needed when I get home on the Friday. Though of course if it gets worse he'll go into boarding at the vets instead, but if I can avoid that one, I will. He doesn't need more stress right now.

There will definitely be photos of him as he improves... I'm already getting attached. Its funny how it works, he's by no means the most time-intensive bunny that came in with the group, but I'm in love. I suppose it helps he doesn't bite. A lot of the buns have come in as strays living with wild colonies and had no work put into them and their only contact with people was their first assessment and the subsequent desex/vaccinate/health check which is never a good experience for them.

 

[BridgetsFlame]

Wilfrid has warn his booties for 48 hours now and the change in phenomenal. All the dry scabby bits are gone and the couple of bald sections have clean healthy pink skin with the beginning stubble of fur. I'm going to take them off tomorrow night and leave them off I think as they are definitely beginning to get on his nerves and with no pain or open sores I think it would be better now to leave them to breathe and for his coat to regrow. Though I'll put them straight back on if I see any sign of irritation or soreness. He stays in a small hospital cage for another week and then he'll move into one of my big foster cages with an attached run.