Question
Matty and Reese
About six months ago, we found an approximately 8 week old kitten in our hedge. I already have 6 cats (all up-to-date on shots and spayed or neutered), but figured I could keep the kitten long enough for it to get a little older and gain some weight. In the meantime, the kitten became attached to Matty, our house rabbit...and he, to her. They were inseparable. Then Matty, the rabbit, had a swollen ear. Within 48 hours of noticing it, we took him to a vet (after first checking the list on HARE to make sure they were knowledgeable with rabbits). The recommended Dr. felt it was a minor ear infection, had his ears cleaned and told us to flush his ear twice a day. He also recommended temporarily separating the rabbit and the kitten. We put Matty in his cage when we got home, he ate some timothy hay and a handful of collard greens and all seemed well. In the morning, he was dead. I called the vet and he said it was the last thing he expected.
The kitten shows no interest in interacting with the other cats. Zero. I truly believe she does not know she's a cat. We missed Matty and the enjoyment of having a rabbit around. A few weeks later, we got a 4 month old Australian Red who had not been treated well. It took a couple of weeks, but the rabbit began to adapt to his new home and his new friend, the kitten. One month later, his ear was swollen. We immediately took him to the same vet. The rabbit had been bitten by the cat. We could now see it. Again, they cleaned his ears. He did have ear mites. This time gave him a shot of antibiotics (I don't know what kind), sent us home with instructions to flush his ear daily and give him 1 ml of Tribrissen 2x a day. I expressed my fear based on our previous experience and he said it was treat-able. I again came home and put the rabbit (Bun-Bun) in his cage. Less than 24 hours later, he died. :( I did call the vet and left a message, but never heard back from him.
I will not get another rabbit because it simply is not fair to them if I am putting them in danger. That breaks my heart, but I need to understand. The obviously commonality is the kitten. Here's my confession: I did not get the kitten her shots. (We already have an appt. with our regular vet to do so as a result of this)...Could that be the cause? In trying to find answers online, I see that rabbit ear infections can be bad news, but never did I see that it could be fatal within 24-48 hours---twice. I would truly appreciate and respect your feedback.
AnswerDear Nora,
I am so sorry about these terrible tragedies.
I always caution people who keep rabbits and cats together that it is very risky for the very reason you describe. Cats have bacteria in their mouths (largely Pasteurella, Bartonella) that are harmless to the cat, but potentially deadly to rabbits (and other small herbivores). One tiny scratch can inoculate the bunny with Pasteurella that will very often cause a fatal systemic infection (toxemia) when the bacteria begin to reproduce and multiply in the bloodstream.
Wildlife rehabilitators are all too familiar with this problem, too. If a baby bunny is brought in by a cat, it's standard operating procedure to put the bunny on fluoroquinolone antibiotics *immediately*, since even a few hours delay can mean death. It's usually recommended that an intra-muscular injection of fluoroquinolone antibiotic (e.g., Baytril) be given within six hours of a cat injury.
Tribrissen will be ineffective in a case like this. It is vital to get a good dose of fluoroquinolones into the system quickly, via injection. I am a little surprised that your vets were not aware of this, though the injectible antibiotic might have been Baytril (you don't specify).
Injectible Penicillin-G Procaine is also effective against some strains of these deadly pathogens, and a vet being very cautious might use both that and Baytril.
Vaccinations that the kitty would get will not kill the oral or claw bacteria. So please don't blame yourself. This is something that many cat owners don't know, and we are doing our best to make sure word gets around.
I am so very sorry about your tragic losses.
Dana
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