Rabbit bitten by a raccoon

Question
Our 10 year-old rabbit was bitten by a raccoon last week.  His face is a bit swollen and some puss is coming out of the would.  We just had a huge vet expense for our dog and would like to treat this ourselves.  He doesn't seem to be in pain, but has not been eating much the last couple of days. Your help would be appreciated.

Answer
Hi John,

I am sorry but you need to take your guy into the vet.  Rabbit pus is very thick and you can't clear the infection up without antibiotics - they just can't get through it.  And being thick you'll never get all of it out, so it will just fill up again.  He needs both prescription antibiotics, and pain medication to ensure he eats normally.

Second reason si that he isn't eating as much.  This is a very big problem with rabbits, whose gi tracts require them to be grazing regularly.  The fact he isn't eating much is proof he is in some pain from this.  Rabbits do not exhibit signs of pain like a predator animal will (ie dog or cat) because they are prey animals and when in pain or injured, they mask it to prevent attention that could get them discovered and killed.  This is why he "seems" not ot be in pain, but he actually is.

Plus, you need to make sure he doesn't get rabies.  Rabbits can catch rabies, just like other animals and people.  

Please, if you love your bunny boy, take him to a good rabbit vet.  This will make sure you get the most for your dollar and get the best treatment the first time with a good diagnosis and treatment.  If you don't have a good rabbit vet, start here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society recommended vet near you.

And if money is tight, ask the vet if they can spread the payments out.  Vets are animal lovers (else they wouldn't be vets) and want to give animals in need, treatment.  Most will work with you if you're money is tight.

Your guy has to get to a vet right away.  Not eating normally is weakening his normal strength levels and so is the infection.  Please get him to a vet as soon as you possibly can.

I would also ask you to strongly consider keeping him indoors as an indoor house rabbit, especially as he is an older rabbit and the fact recovery will be able to be monitored better indoors.  At the very least it would be good to keep him inside while he is recovering.

Lee