Hanging in There

Nibbles is still hanging in there. After a less than stellar vet trip yesterday, the bunny has rebounded some today.


Yesterday was tough. The vet was very kind, but honest when she informed me that Nibbles prognosis is "guarded." He has a deep inner ear infection which is tough to completely cure. To make things worse, he has bruised his eyes from flailing about so much. My main job now is to pump Nibbles full of bunny gruel (yogurt with his food pellets mixed into it) every four hours, lots of water, and plenty of hay. I managed to hold it together at the vet since Car Guy and Curly Girl were with me, but as soon as I was by myself at home I pretty much lost it. I am such a sap for animals. I am rather low on mercy when people are sick, but fall apart if an animal is lost or hurt. I can't even watch "The Lion King" or "Bambi" because of my affinity for injured animals, and don't even ask me how much I cried at "Benji" movies when I was little.

I can kind of empathize with Nibbles. I had an inner ear infection when I was seventeen, and it was definitely no fun. My ear infection appeared without any warning and, unfortunately, reared its head when I was driving. Thankfully, a friend was with me who could take over when I blacked out at the wheel. I completely understand that Nibbles' world is spinning because mine did for quite some time, along with repeatedly passing out, until my antibiotics kicked in.

This entire rabbit rehabilitation episode seems to have brought out two of my less desirable (or they could be positive, depending on how you look at it) personality traits: stubbornness and a refusal to give up on people.

I am just absolutely, downright stubborn. If someone tells me I can't or shouldn't do something, then I'll just try even harder to prove them wrong, even if it flies in the face of common sense or public opinion. So, gosh darn, I'm going to rehabilitate this rabbit if it's the last thing I do. When I was feeding Nibbles a few minutes ago, Curly Girl commented that we are probably the only family whose schedule is dictated by a rabbit (and to think that I laughed at a friend when she syringe-fed a squirrel for two months; Okay, Kelsey, now I get it). I have even arranged for a substitute bunny feeder to care for Nibbles when I am not home (Thank you, Mom, for taking on this duty.). My refusal to listen to other people does sometimes pay off, though. I wouldn't have the fantastic time I have with my kids if I had actually listened to my husband when he told me that no way, no how would we ever home school. Ssshhh, don't tell him, but I have already spent more than the amount I was "told" to spend on bunny care. You see, I just don't listen to people other than myself.

My new career as a rabbit rehabilitator has also reminded me that I refuse to give up on people or animals, for that matter. I tend to give people multiple chances to get it right, regardless of how many times they may screw up their lives or relationships. I hate to say goodbye to people or to animals. I just don't want to do it. I can't stand losing touch with people. Over the last two years, I have lost touch with one of my closest friends from the high school and college years (the same person who was with me when I passed out while driving), and it absolutely drives me crazy. Our lives have just moved in opposite directions, but I, of course, blame myself for this turn of events. Just like the Nibbles situation: I refuse to give up on the rabbit, and I blame myself for his issues, even if it is not completely reasonable.

There it is in a nutshell: how caring for a bunny has brought my own foibles into the open. I'm sure that we all have emotional hang-ups, for some reason I am just feeling rather transparent about mine today. Think of me if you happen to be awake at 5am. I'll be feeding the bunny then.

Bunny Nurse

Have you ever tried something new only to realize that you aren't half bad at it? That's how it has been with me for the past two days, only it's a skill that I certainly did not want to develop. Car Guy's pet bunny, Nibbles, has fallen ill, and since Car Guy is a seven-year-old boy, I seem to be the rabbit's main nursemaid. Apparently, I'm not too bad at caring for a rabbit. People, however, are a completely different story. My husband, Patrick, repeatedly points out that I was not the sweetest human caretaker when he had shoulder surgery in November. He seems to forget that animals are kind, not grumpy, when they do not feel well.

Nibbles' health issues began on Thursday night when Patrick woke me up about 12:30am saying something was wrong with Nibbles. The bunny kept rolling around like he couldn't control his head or body. After doing some hasty research in our bunny book and online, we determined that he had head tilt, and it was serious. Luckily, I was able to speak with someone at the 24-hour emergency vet to make an appointment for 9am Friday morning.

By the time the kids and I got Nibbles to the vet, he was extremely lethargic, in addition to the frightening head tilt. An expensive vet trip later, Nibbles was diagnosed with a pasteurella infection which has infected his eyes (looks like he has pinkeye), an ear (bunny ear infection), and caused the head tilt (from vertigo-like symptoms due to the inner ear infection). To fight the infection and symptoms, Nibbles now receives eyedrops, prednisone, and an antibiotic two times a day. The kicker, however, is feeding and giving him water with a syringe every four hours. I even had to make a schedule to keep track of when to give Nibbles all his medicine and food on schedule.


So why go to this much trouble for a $29 pet store bunny? Car Guy adores his pet bunny and, to tell you the truth, I am rather in love with the small mammal, too. When well, Nibbles loves to snuggle, play, and perform his bunny dance. He usually has so much personality, so it is very hard to see him so sick and pitiful. Honestly, can you imagine anything worse than having a pet rabbit bite the dust at Easter? If you read my February Valentines Schmalentines post, you learned that I detest Valentine's Day due to a series of bad experiences on the holiday. So I certainly don't want my children to always remember that their pet rabbit died at Easter. To head that off, I have spent much of the last two days hand-feeding and holding a two-pound Netherland Dwarf rabbit.


Water seems to be Nibbles' favorite thing at the moment, and he easily takes it from the syringe. He will also happily eat timothy hay from our hands. The bunny gruel has been a bit of a challenge, however. We can't quite get the correct consistency of mushed food pellets, water, and yogurt which is compounded when we try to squeeze it through a syringe. After Nibbles' last so-so feeding, Patrick and I tried giving Nibbles plain old vanilla yogurt. He loved it, so I think we'll stick with that just to keep him eating so he can get his strength back.

Because of the vertigo, Nibbles is very unstable. He can't sit up straight and his head tilts precariously to the side. To help him feel more stable, we have taken to swaddling him in a towel like a baby. He is so lethargic that he has spent most of the past two days being held and carried by assorted family members. Nibs even got a visitor today when my mom came to check on the patient in his sick bed.


We're all hoping that Nibbles feels better for his big Easter holiday. So we can keep an eye on him, he is even going with us to Easter lunch at my parents' house. The entire family, even our 14-year-old dogs, are concerned about year and a half old Nibbles. Please send lots of positive thoughts Nibbles' way. It will certainly be very difficult over here if Nibbles doesn't spunk up soon.