"Not my good side at the moment, but it's getting better..."
First off, thanks so much to everyone for all the good wishes for Mick--so sorry we couldn't answer each and every one, but we did read them all and we love you all for them.
Mr. Mick went back to the vet's for his first follow-up visit this morning. His bloodwork results were finally in, and everything is good. His protein was a wee bit high and his potassium a wee bit low, but neither are cause for alarm. His vet was surprised at the discovery of the abscess; she said that she had checked his jawline before and during his tooth-filing (she was holding his head in that area as she worked on him) and she hadn't felt it at all, so it had to have formed rather quickly. That more or less supported my thoughts on it; he would have shown signs of something like that far sooner if it had been there before, and I would have felt it myself if it had.
Dr. Shanahan checked his wound and said that it was healing nicely. I asked her if she would clip some of the fur around the area back a bit; some of it was matting because of ick and whatnot, and I didn't want the mats pulling and bothering him. She took care of that and also cleaned the wound for me, since there were two of us to keep him still and that way she could see where the problem areas were (there's two spots where pus is still showing). She said to keep an eye on those spots, but that it looked good overall.
I asked her what the best way was to get some weight back on him, as she had weighed him and he's dropped another ounce (to be expected with everything going on, but still not good). She recommended that I give him Critical Care as a diet supplement and gave me a pack to use. She wants to see him again next week to see how things are progressing.
Once we got home, I flushed out his wound again and gave him a couple of syringes of Critical Care and his Baytril before putting him back in his cage. My sister stopped by, so His Majesty got some extra love and attention and I got an assistant to help me keep him still so I could get all that done. He's a lot fiestier now that he's feeling better, so it's been a struggle to keep him still while I clean his wound. Even putting him in a bunny burrito doesn't help all that much--I would ask the boy to hold him still, but Mick gets twice as fidgety when the boy's around as is, so that wouldn't help matters.
That's pretty much how things stand at the moment--thanks again for all the love and support, and I'll be posting more updates as things go on.
13 comments:
HIs Majesty is not making being the nurse easy, that is for sure. Buns are so Zen and be here now that the concept of this is better in the long run or consider the alternative without treatment, just doesn't enter into the equation. Out best to both of you <3
Glad to hear things seem to be improving. I'm sure Mr. Mick has his own ideas about the best way to get some weight back on. Squirm baby, squirm!
Having nursed 5 adopted rescue rabbits through a multitude of health issues over the years(tho never an abcess), my heart goes out to you and Mr. Mick. Hopefully they gave you the apple banana flavor of the critical care, which a couple of my buns actually liked. Keeping you both in my thoughts and prayers for a full and speedy recovery!
a beautiful photo of him :)
and that's good news!!
Glad to hear Mick is back on the road to being his fully fiesty self! It is so hard to monitor all the little places on buns to make sure they aren't getting any lumps! They're furry, they have tucks of skin everywhere, and they hate to be handled! I'm so afraid I'll miss something! Take care!
Hi there, I've just been reading your blog and wanted to send you good wishes for a speedy recovery. I've found that porridge oats are excellent for weight bunny gain, the proper rolled oats not powdered ready mix ;) Just mix them with a bit of water until you get lumpy porridge and buns seem to love it plus it's easy to eat. Just a little at a time to start with of course. You can mix other things in with it too like critical care, puréed vegetables or even normal pellets (just soak them first to soften.
Good job caring for the stinker! He'll pay you back big-time soon! I suspect the Critical Care will add a few ounces soon - it worked for us.
Thanks much to all for the good thoughts!
d.moll: It's like dealing with an infant all over again, although Mick is actually slightly more cooperative than the boy was. :)
FF: If it were up to Mick, he'd be gorging on treats 24/7 to gain weight.
Valerie: Haven't seen you on here before, so welcome to the blog! Yes, we got the apple-banana CC, and Mick loves it (although he does not approve of the syringe--I might see if he will eat it off a spoon instead).
Annette: Thanks! We took a bunch of pics for the Bunspace calendar contest--and it's a good thing we did, because he's not so photogenic right now.
6Buns: As I said to the vet techs the other day, a bunny-parent is the most paranoid person on earth, and they have darn good reason to be. :)
Tamsin: Thanks lots for the suggestion! I will definitely give it a try. Mick loves oats, so that will be a great alternate to the Critical Care. I've tried soaking pellets before, but they tend to turn into cement and don't want to go through the syringe (and Mick refused to eat them by spoon or even from a plate).
RG: Thanks! Glad to hear CC works for weight gain--I've only heard of it used for when a bun isn't eating, so I wasn't sure what it would do for one who eats plenty at the moment, but is underweight.
Glad Mickey's improving!
Hi Jade and Mickey! Definitely try to see if His Majesty will eat CC off a spoon or plate. My two furbabies will practically flip the plate over trying to get every last lick. Burying a treat in it can help too. You also get the bonus face wash at the end since they get so excited and stick their whole little mugs in there!
So glad to hear Mr. Mick seems to be doing better. No hopefully this stupid abscess will leave you both alone and go back where it came from. So scary that it can just pop up out of nowhere like that. It takes a really special kind of sister to help you clean a disgruntled bunny's abscess. No way either of my sisters would.
Hi Jade,
Malcolm here. I've tried to post using my google ID but it keeps kicking me out for some reason.
I'm glad Mick's doing better now, and thanks for being so good about posting comments on my own blog! I appreciate it. Incidentally our boys are not re-bonding at all well, which is a shame. Not sure what to try next.
Glad to hear that things are improving. Here's hoping everything is soon back to normal.
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