found a small bunny

Question
Our cat found a small bunny.  We have her in a box and she/he has been eating lettuce.  We have put some water in a bowl and she seems okay but is making sounds and looks like she is trying to nurse...keeps opening and closing her mouth.  I have not seen a nest to put her back into and am wondering if I need to bottle feed her.  She/he is the size of my hand.
Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi Jennifer,

thanks for taking her in to care for her.  I will probably need you to follow up on this for me.  I need to figure out about how old she is.  How much hair does she have?  Are her eyes open?  And is she able to move around yet?

I would stop feeding her lettuce.  Juvenile rabbits don't have their guts ready for lettuce when they are really young.  It will give her diarrhea.

First, is she a wild bunny or a domestic?  The way to determine this is if she looks like a wild rabbit (the brown, dark brown, and white agouti coloring) best guess is that she is wild.  If she has distinct colorings, generally anything other than looking like a wild rabbit, like all white, or color bands, or if she has floppy little ears, she's a domestic rabbit.

If she's wild, you need to contact your local humane society or an agency that rehabilitates and raises orphaned wild babies, as in most places it is against the law to raise wild animals as pets.  If she is a domestic bunny you have no such concern.

In either case you need to feed her Emergency milk replacement which you can find at your local pet supply store.

It is an Esbilac Emergency feeding kit.  It is a milk replacement pack that can work for a number of animal types, including baby rabbits.

I would also pick up Bene-bac pet gel as well, as this contains healthy live bacteria that the rabbits will need to have 'take up house' in their GI tracts to help them be able to eat properly and produce proper hard and soft pellets (and avoid diarrhea).  You could also get some acidophilus capsules and give that to her when she is several weeks old and start trying out solids.

For now, basically you need to make her a little nest box.  A nice 1 ft by 1 ft box will work, and make a nest of t-shirts or warmer/softer items you have around - you don't have to bury her, but she should be partially covered.  If she's really young, she won't move too much, but you will need to check on her regularly that she doesn't get too cold and dies.

Normally mom would only feed her once a day as her milk is very concentrated, but you'll need to feed her more often as the replacement isn't as good as the real thing.  Every 4 hours or so.  You'll be able to pick her up and hold her for feeding (this is a plus for you as they may get used to being handled and tolerate it much better).  Slowly, gently, not forcing/squirting too much so she doesn't accidentally inhale some into the lungs.  She will generally take it from the bottle well.  She should be hungry and have adecent appetite.

This can be done by people who have never done it before.  I have a friend who rescued two female strays from the street and they gave birth to nine bunnies between them, and her and her husband decided to try to raise them just to see how many they could save - all made it.

It requires dedication and regularity and making sure she's snug and warm.  Maybe a heat lamp well above them (or even a regular lamp bulb a foot to 18 inches above them).  

What you'll need to do is visit resources on the House Rabbit Society website (www.rabbit.org).  You can search for more comprehensive info (for the weeks after they are off milk replacement) and get a better idea of what you'll need to start introducing and when.  I can also help with more detailed advice then too, so don't hesitate to ask more as the next weeks go on.

Lee