Abcess in rabbits eye

Question
My Netherland brown dwarf pet rabbit "Holly" (3 yr/spayed)
lives with my white rabbit (5 yr/neutered).

HOLLY's eye was scratched by a cat (who got into her pen while visiting our out of state ranch property) and the eye became abscessed.  It bulged out and filled with puss in spite of administering Optical Terramycin.  When we returned home I took her to our local vet who said that antibiotics would not work and wanted $550 to remove her eye..I insisted on round of antibiotics and they gave her BAYTRIL SUSPENSION (1/2 ML 2xday for 10 days)...HER EYE IS
50% IMPROVED...but want to give her another round of BAYRIL which I have located on line to order. I am not happy with the Vet who had no further suggestions re pain meds, etc..he was only interested in getting $550 out of me to remove eye not heal it.  While Holly will be blind in that eye either way...treating with antibiotics is less traumatic and costly and seems to be working....DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR HER CONDITION AND OR COMFORT...
I separated her from Harry as I discovered Harry was licking off the eye meds...I am also adding SILVER COLLOIDAL
TO BOTH THEIR WATER...10 drops per dish. ANY SUGGESTIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.

Answer
Dear Pam,

Ow, Poor Holly!  I'm glad she suffered no worse an injury than losing her eye, since cat bites and scratches can cause fatal systemic infections.  She's very lucky.

I think it's very important for you to see a qualified veterinary ophthalmologist who can advise you about the next step to take.  If the infection does not resolve with topica antibiotics, then it might still be necessary to remove the eye (I hope not!) to prevent further pain and possible spread of the infection, since the eyeball itself has been breached.

It's also important for her to have pain medication.  Please check the listings here for a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

who can refer you to an ophthalmologist, and possibly prescribe more antibiotics so you can keep treating her in the meantime.

I'm glad Holly didn't have to go through a surgery.  But in this case, what the first vet suggested was really not out of line (though it was a bit expensive!).  Healing the eye that will be lost, anyway, is painful and takes much longer than simple enucleation would have.  But now that she's on the road to recovery (I hope!), it's still a good idea to find another vet who can monitor her progress and let you know if anything else needs to be done.

I hope she'll be fine soon!

Dana