My cat hurt a young baby rabbit.

Question
Okay, so my cat is a killing machine and today I found out that he'd dragged up a wild, tiny, still blind baby rabbit (a cottontail) up to my house and had bit it just above the rear so that you can see the red muscles underneath. I put him/her in a cardboard box (away from the cat) and now I don't know what to do with it. It's still breathing hard; probably from panic. It's so tiny it still hasn't opened its eyes yet; I can't find its nest anywhere. I put some dry washcloths in the box for warmth (the box is in my house if that makes any difference). If anyone touches it it freaks out so I've refrained from doing that; it looks like a pretty bad gash, but it could possibly still live; however it's so young it might just die anyway without its mother. I don't know if I should feed it, or even what to feed it. Should I put some kind of medicine in the wound? If I give it medicine what kind of medicine should it be? Should I give it something to eat; and if so what should I give it to eat?

Answer
Dear Megan,

Thank you for trying to rescue the baby.

For the moment, wash the open wound with a solution of dilute povidone iodine (Betadine, or generic, which you can get at any supermarket or drug store), and try to keep it covered with a piece of betadine-soaked gauze, so it won't dry up or cause serious dehydration.

Next, use the list here:

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm

to find a licensed wildlife rehabilitator who knows how to raise baby cottontails.  Be cautious:  some rehabbers will simply take a baby like this and feed it to a snake or bird of prey, and not want to bother with it.  But if you call and ask serious questions, you may be able to get a referral to someone who specializes in cotties.  If you write back and tell me your general location, I might be able to help you find one, but it would be faster if you used the list linked above.

Because the baby was injured by a cat, he needs to be put on fluoroquinolone antibiotics immediately to prevent systemic infection with Pasteurella bacteria, which most cats carry (asymptomatically) in their mouths and on their claws.  This can be deadly it not treated promptly.

For feeding instructions:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/orphan.html

and

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/wildbabies.pdf

But the baby's best chance is with a trusted rehabber:  cotties are *very* hard to successfully raise, especially if their eyes are not open.  They are very susceptible to human bacteria, and often die without warning. So I hope you can find a rehabber and get him there ASAP.

I hope this helps.

Good luck, and thank you for being the bunny's saving angel.  Even if he doesn't make it, you saved him from a terrible death, and he is warm and as peaceful as can be under the circumstances.

Take care,
Dana