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(Simba) Need help with a friend of a friends very poorly bunny

yaretzi

Wise Old Thumper
A friend of mine from uni asked my advice on a bunny situation today. Her friends sister has a bunny who's 2/3 years old. My friend is very concerned because he's underweight. He is eating, however he's not drinking. His fur is matted around his face and other fur is thinning/matted too. He does have hay in the cage, but it's a small indoor rabbit cage and I'm not sure if he's allowed out - so I'm also concerned about muscle wastage.

I said that because he's eating but not drinking, it could be something like organ damage/failure. I also said it could be dental. The owners sister reports that he is eating, and he isn't with a friend so it's quite easy to monitor, but I know dental problems can cause this kind of thing. I said he needs to go to a vets asap and told my friend of Marie Kubiak at manor vets in Edgbaston (bunny is located somewhere in Birmingham).

My friend is going to speak to her friend/her friends sister as she's understandably quite upset about it. Her friends sister said she won't take him to the vet as she has no money. I linked my friend this offer (http://www.manorvets.co.uk/offers/26-try-us-for-free!/), so hopefully the sister may be willing to at least take him to the initial appointment, but I've got no idea whether she'd take him back as she says she has no money.

I'm aware rescues are very full and it would be unfair to ring around asking if they can take him on. However, bunny is probably dying a slow death with no treatment. I unfortunately can't take him on as I'm £1500 into my overdraft and living at home. If a rescue/sanctuary did happen to have space for him, I can fetch him and help transport him. I'm not sure if the owner would be willing to give him up. My friend is going to speak to her.

Sorry if this is in the wrong section - I was going to post in health but I felt it was a bit wrong as the owner is unwilling to take him to the vets.

I've uploaded a few pics here, so that I can take them down if necessary (as obviously he's not my bunny and I didn't take the pics): http://s986.photobucket.com/user/eiidare/library/Bunny
 
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The poor chap is emaciated :cry: I would be very surprised if he was actually eating much. Can you believe what the owner is saying ?

The Rabbit may have Dental problems but probably also has liver problems now too due to the fact he is starving to death :cry:

How old is the owner ? If a child then the Parents are responsible for the welfare of the Rabbit and they should obtain the Veterinary attention needed.

If the owner is herself an adult then she needs to be told that failure to obtain Veterinary Care for a sick animal is a criminal offence. She needs to contact the RSPCA and sign the Rabbit over to them if she has no way of obtaining the medical care he needs. Yes, he may end up being PTS. But better humane euthanasia than a slow and painful death from starvation :cry:

If an independent Rescue were to take him then they are likely to have to pay out a lot in Veterinary fees, so a donation of some sort from the owner, even at a later date, is the least they could do.
 
This rabbit is literally starving. I have taken on buns like this and typically they need a huge amount of work just to get them to a point where they can be operated on to solve whatever the original problem is.

As Jacks Jane says anything would be better for him than slowly starving to death.

he needs help VERY VERY URGENTLY can you at least get him away from where he is?
 
The poor chap is emaciated :cry: I would be very surprised if he was actually eating much. Can you believe what the owner is saying ?

The Rabbit may have Dental problems but probably also has liver problems now too due to the fact he is starving to death :cry:

How old is the owner ? If a child then the Parents are responsible for the welfare of the Rabbit and they should obtain the Veterinary attention needed.

If the owner is herself an adult then she needs to be told that failure to obtain Veterinary Care for a sick animal is a criminal offence. She needs to contact the RSPCA and sign the Rabbit over to them if she has no way of obtaining the medical care he needs. Yes, he may end up being PTS. But better humane euthanasia than a slow and painful death from starvation :cry:

If an independent Rescue were to take him then they are likely to have to pay out a lot in Veterinary fees, so a donation of some sort from the owner, even at a later date, is the least they could do.

Indeed, my friend and I are very worried about the poor little man. I believe the sister is an adult.

I've found out a bit more - the sister is moving out, and my friend had offered to rehome him to the farm she volunteers at. She went over to get him and she found him in this state, so she said no because she believed she was picking up a healthy bunny. The place my friend volunteers at is a rescue/sanctuary farm place near where I live. My friend will be employed by the farm come November time, but my she has already expressed her concerns about the farm not quite meeting welfare needs (preferring to take more animals on rather than shoe the horses and have animals seen to), so she's not comfortable giving an already poorly bunny to her farm place. Plus the fact that he might be contagious, etc.

This is when my friend approached me to ask my advice. I gave my advice and we continued chatting about it, at which point I asked what my friend thought about handing him over to a rescue if I could somehow find one willing to take him on - and that's when she told me about the farm, etc. My friend didn't approach me to ask for a rescue space and I haven't offered one, I just thought I'd see how she felt about that situation. The only good news is the owner seems very willing to hand him over.

I think it's terrible she'd let him get into this state without treatment. She claims she has no money, so I'm no sure she'd be willing to hand over anything to a rescue. She might be willing to at a later date but I don't know this girl at all - I couldn't say whether she will. I'd like to think she would... but who knows :(

I really hope some rescue somewhere has a space for him. My friend is willing to help me get bunny out of where he is now.
 
oh goodness, he looks terrible :cry::cry::cry: he's obviously not eating very much at all. :cry: i hope something can be done to help. :cry:
 
This rabbit is literally starving. I have taken on buns like this and typically they need a huge amount of work just to get them to a point where they can be operated on to solve whatever the original problem is.

As Jacks Jane says anything would be better for him than slowly starving to death.

he needs help VERY VERY URGENTLY can you at least get him away from where he is?

My friend and I can definitely get him away from where he lives asap, depending on when the owner is available. Bunny doesn't live far from me - about 40 mins drive away - so I can go over at fairly short notice depending on when the owner agrees. I'm not sure whether my friend could house him temporarily. My mom is very funny about her house but in this circumstance I could hopefully persuade her to let me house him temporarily (a night or two) if a rescue space was guaranteed. He'd be in my garage which is unused by any cars, but at least he'd be safe. I would of course give him proper care - hay, pellets, veg, syringed critical care/water if necessary, and a basic health check.

To be honest I feel terrible coming on here to ask, but my friend and I don't know what to do. Her farm won't pay for any treatment he needs and I'm unable to because of my money situation.
 
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My friend and I can definitely get him away from where he lives asap, depending on when the owner is available. Bunny doesn't live far from me - about 40 mins drive away - so I can go over at fairly short notice depending on when the owner agrees. I'm not sure whether my friend could house him temporarily. My mom is very funny about her house but in this circumstance I could hopefully persuade her to let me house him temporarily (a night or two) if a rescue space was guaranteed. He'd be in my garage which is unused by any cars, but at least he'd be safe. I would of course give him proper care - hay, pellets, veg, syringed critical care/water if necessary, and a basic health check.

To be honest I feel terrible coming on here to ask, but my friend and I don't know what to do. Her farm won't pay for any treatment he needs and I'm unable to because of my money situation.

I am currently caring for a rabbit who came to me in this sort of state and with a LOT of other issues - so all I could help with would be transport etc. To be honest I would say he could not be kept outside at present as he is so thin - he needs warmth as well as feeding by syringe if necessary. Where are you?
 
Right, ARC will take him

Can you PM me an email address that ARC can send a Signing Over Form to. This will need to be completed by the owner

Then are you able to collect the Rabbit ASAP and meantime I'll try to get transport sorted.
 
Right, ARC will take him

Can you PM me an email address that ARC can send a Signing Over Form to. This will need to be completed by the owner

Then are you able to collect the Rabbit ASAP and meantime I'll try to get transport sorted.

Whereabouts is ARC? I'm trying to work out how long I might have to keep bunny for , as I've just asked my mom and she really doesn't want him . If I can say 'if he's not gone by 2 days ill drive him myself' that might help , but I obviously can't drive him to Scotland or somewhere ? Ill send you my email address in a few mins

Thank you to everyone for your help/vibes, sorry I'm just on my phone ATM
 
Whereabouts is ARC? I'm trying to work out how long I might have to keep bunny for , as I've just asked my mom and she really doesn't want him . If I can say 'if he's not gone by 2 days ill drive him myself' that might help , but I obviously can't drive him to Scotland or somewhere ? Ill send you my email address in a few mins

Thank you to everyone for your help/vibes, sorry I'm just on my phone ATM

ARC are in Twickenham, TW postcode.
 
I am so sorry to see how this poor bunny is. :cry: Hope you get him as soon as you can.

We are near Twickenham. I could ask James and we could try and meet you half way. I know it takes him about 2 or 3 hours to get to Hereford and you are a bit further on. I don't drive so would have to rely on him saying yes.
 
ARC are in Twickenham, TW postcode.

Okay, that's great. That's 2 hours from me (Droitwich Spa, if anyone wants to google maps it). I'm happy to drive half of that if anyone can meet me and take him the rest of the way? Sorry I can't do much further, it's already a good journey to actually get him and money is extremely tight. It doesn't necessarily have to be in a totally straight line, I'm happy to deviate a bit. Even if he stays at that home for a few more days at least he's nearer, and my mom won't strangle me...

My friend is waiting for the woman to text her back, she thinks she's at work at the moment. I can potentially pick the bunny up tonight if she does text back, or tomorrow very early morning or afternoon/evening. My mom is less than keen to have him here and so it's very important that I can get him to ARC within a few days - ASAP really, as my care doesn't compare to veterinary treatment.
 
I am so sorry to see how this poor bunny is. :cry: Hope you get him as soon as you can.

We are near Twickenham. I could ask James and we could try and meet you half way. I know it takes him about 2 or 3 hours to get to Hereford and you are a bit further on. I don't drive so would have to rely on him saying yes.

I could meet you half way somewhere, anywhere about half way would be fine with me!
 
I could meet you half way somewhere, anywhere about half way would be fine with me!

Somewhere called Cherwell Valley service area is half way. James should be home in the next 15 minutes. Cherwell must be near Oxford. Considering the poor bunnies state of health it would probably be best to do it tonight.
 
Somewhere called Cherwell Valley service area is half way. James should be home in the next 15 minutes. Cherwell must be near Oxford. Considering the poor bunnies state of health it would probably be best to do it tonight.

That's pretty much dead on half way, so that suits me great. My friend has text her friend (not the owner) to see when I can pick him up. It may not be tonight - depends when they can accommodate me. I'll be up there as soon as I physically can after I get the text. I'll update this as soon as my friend gets a reply from her friend - I hope it's soon. I'm not sure we could get him to ARC today - she hasn't text back yet and it's a 40 min drive each way to get him, and then an hour to the half way point. She might not text back until much later. I assume James is working tomorrow? We could meet tomorrow evening, providing I have the bunny? I don't think the owner appreciates how quickly we need to get him some help, so I'm not sure they'll be happy to hand him over tonight.

In terms of helping the bunny when I get him - is it okay to syringe feed him recovery food without a vets explicit instruction? I'll obviously get his cage cleaned up, fresh water/hay and try to sort out a bit of the matting bit by bit when I can (without stressing him). I'll make sure to introduce new food in small amounts.
 
The owners dad has said I can come over tonight to get him, so I'm going to pick him up at 7.30.

Amanda, does tonight suit you or shall we make it tomorrow evening? I'd prefer tomorrow evening to be honest but if he'll be able to get emergency veterinary care tonight/tomorrow morning then I don't mind driving down tonight.
 
That's pretty much dead on half way, so that suits me great. My friend has text her friend (not the owner) to see when I can pick him up. It may not be tonight - depends when they can accommodate me. I'll be up there as soon as I physically can after I get the text. I'll update this as soon as my friend gets a reply from her friend - I hope it's soon. I'm not sure we could get him to ARC today - she hasn't text back yet and it's a 40 min drive each way to get him, and then an hour to the half way point. She might not text back until much later. I assume James is working tomorrow? We could meet tomorrow evening, providing I have the bunny? I don't think the owner appreciates how quickly we need to get him some help, so I'm not sure they'll be happy to hand him over tonight.

In terms of helping the bunny when I get him - is it okay to syringe feed him recovery food without a vets explicit instruction? I'll obviously get his cage cleaned up, fresh water/hay and try to sort out a bit of the matting bit by bit when I can (without stressing him). I'll make sure to introduce new food in small amounts.


Oh gosh he is a far way from you. I hope you hear back soon. James is home and has said yes, tonight or tomorrow night is fine. He gets home about 6.15 pm and unfortunately can't get off any earlier at this time of year.

No idea about syringe feeding etc, I would be petrified to know what to do with an ill bunny I don't know, in case I made a mistake.
 
Oh please do keep us updated. I really hope you can help this dear little rabbit asap.
 
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