Rabbit with Severe Eye Infection

Question
My brother found an adult rabbit 2 days ago. We think was attacked by a cat. His eye was so swollen and crusted over you couldn't tell it was the actual eye ball.  I cleaned the eye.  I gave it a shot of cow/pig penicillin ( it's the only type I keep in the house)hopfully the right dose.
I have been putting pollysporin drops and ointment in both eyes (there is puss in both)He has been drinking and eating, and finally started to deficate this afternoon.  Is there anything else I can do or change.  Any type of pain control.  I feel so sorry for this poor little guy. I'm not taking him to the vet as that could be very costly and he is not my pet. But I do want to try and save him. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

Answer
Hi Monica,

thanks for caring about this little guy.

It is good that you have taken care of him, although I also hope the penicillin was in a safe dose - that can kill him if it's too much.  But since he started to poop and drink and eat, these are all great signs.

If you want to start bolstering his immune system, if you have any Echinacea, Ginseng or Milk Thistle in the house, you can sprinkly some of this into a little bowl or over freshly wetted romaine or green leaf lettuce.  Just don't give him a lot of lettuce, maybe a half a large leaf or one medium leaf a day, as his gi tract needs to get used to this slowly.

To help his gi tract get back to normal, give him some acidophilus (again open a capsule and sprinkle over wet greens).  It will help replenish his gut with good bacteria.

For pain control, I would advise getting some Arnica Montana tablets (30c) - these help with mild to moderate pain.  You can find these at a health store, or perhaps at an organic grocery store.  The normal human dose is 5 pills/per 4 hours.  Depending on how much pain he is in, 1-2 pills every 4 hours could work.  The pills are sugar pills laced with the Arnica Montana, so he should readily want to take them.

You could also pick up some Bach Flowers Rescue Remedy and spritz some on the towel or whatever he is resting on.  The flower essences tend to have a calming, soothing effect on both people and pets.

If he has any other scrapes and such (light, not deep wounds) you can use Bag Balm or even Preparation H on them.  Preparation H is a great anti-inflammatory product safe on minor irritations.

I would also suggest contacting any local rabbit rescue groups that you could transfer him to, as they might be able to take care of him and get some medical care for his eye.  To find some near you, go to:

www.rabbit.org

and search for local chapters of the House Rabbit Society near you.  Don't worry if they are a distance away, if they have space or want to take him, someone will come for him.  You may want to try bordering states if your state doesn't have a chapter.

Thanks again for caring for this little guy, he won't forget it.

Lee