Pet rabbit attacked

Question
Friday afternoon, we were watching our friends two daughters.  They love our rabbit and like to visit her pen whenever they come over.  This time, they didn't get the door shut properly.  This morning when I woke up I noticed the door open to the pen.  When I went out to the back yard, Snowball was sitting in the grass and was missing most of the fur on her back.  In the corner of the yard, was most of her fur.  She has no visible injury to her front/face area.  We're wondering if she was attacked by a wild rabbit who tried to mount her.  In any case, we've brought her into her carrying pen in the house, given her some nice blankets and tried to feed and water her by hand.  It seems she is capable of moving, but had no interest in doing so.  We simply cannot afford to take her to a vet at this time.  Is there anything else we should be doing to care for her?  Are there any specific warning signs we need to be watching for?  She is resting and seems comfortable right now - we assume she did not sleep at all overnight.  Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

thanks!

Answer
Hi Wendy,

sorry to hear about your bunny.

I believe you really have no choice but to take her to the vet.  You have no idea of what animal attacked her, and even if there are scratches they can get infected or worse, the animal that attacked her was rabid.  Rabbits can get rabies and if they then bite you, well, you know the rest.  I think you could not afford NOT to have her checked out thoroughly by a good rabbit vet.  If you go to a good rabbit vet you will be assured your money will be well spent.  Vets generally work with people who have money issues, they don't want to refuse treatment and will work out an installment plan with you.  I would say you would be a negligent owner if you do not get her checked out by a vet, given that vets generally will work with you as far as payment is concerned.

Now, I can suggest things to do for her until you get her to the vet.  One, make sure she is eating and drinking.  Watch her water levels and her appetite.  She needs to keep her energy up and keep her gi tract working.  I would make usre she eats a lot of hay and her hay pellets, reduce her greens and everything but hay and pellets.  If she isn't moving around this will cause gas to buildup in her gi tract and will lead to gi stasis (and painful death).  I would put REGULAR neosporin - NOT neosporin plus - REGULAR neosporin on the bare area of her back and anywhere it looks like she may have been scraped up.  Keep a record of what you are doing and tell the vet everything you have done for her as far as supportive care is so he/she knows what she's been given.

But you do have to get her to a vet.  When animals are attacked, they need to be checked out.  Rabbits especially, because their skin is paper thin, and any scrapes or cuts are extremely prone to infection.  Rabbits mask and hide the true extent of their injuries, so she could really have some things she is hiding from you that a vet needs to diagnose and treat correctly.

If you do not have a good rabbit vet (not all are good with rabbits) go to:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society-recommended vet in your area.  If you can't find any here, call up your local animal shelters and rabbit rescue groups and ask them who they would go to with an injured/sick rabbit.

Please at least contact vets in your area and explain your situation to them, I am sure they will work something out with you given the circumstances.  They may not only work out an installment plan, they may give you a discount on some things (like meds at cost) and may decide not to charge for certain things.  Bottom line, you owe it to your rabbit to try to get her necessary medical care.

Also, you need to make sure everyone knows how to close the pen if she is left in it.  If the latch is tricky, you may need to alter it to work better/easier.

Lee