ifBaby cottontails have a 90% mortality rate in human hands. It's nature's way of saying, "This is food. Don't try." And yet...Warren Cadbury Cottontail has survived over 24 hours in my care. I didn't expect him to last the night. I don't expect he will be alive tomorrow. Rationally, I probably should've let George eat him, instead of chasing the dog around, screaming, and literally prising the bunny from George's smelly, drooling Jaws of Death. What can I say? I'm a woman. A bleeding heart. A fool. An animal lover. And, despite jading life experiences, I still believe in goodness, compassion, the will to survive, and that love goes a long way to fixing everything. Even baby bunnies.
So Warren Cadbury Cottontail, his back legs weak, his puncture wound scabbed over, sleeps in an artificial warren: a cat carrier with a towel, some scrap wool, some greens (which he's too little to eat), and two microwaved gloves (one with elbow macaroni, the other with rice). I feed him from a syringe several times a day, a mixture of kitten milk replacer and electrolyte solution which may not fulfill his nutritional demands. This morning I collected cecotrophes from the bunnies next door, because bunnies eat some of their poop to encourage proper gut flora. He wouldn't take it, and no other probiotic will do. I weigh him twice a day, because a day of weight plateau or loss can mean death to a bunny. Honestly, I don't know how they survive.
Warren's a fighter. I hope he makes it. And if he doesn't, he won't die alone or in pieces.
So Warren Cadbury Cottontail, his back legs weak, his puncture wound scabbed over, sleeps in an artificial warren: a cat carrier with a towel, some scrap wool, some greens (which he's too little to eat), and two microwaved gloves (one with elbow macaroni, the other with rice). I feed him from a syringe several times a day, a mixture of kitten milk replacer and electrolyte solution which may not fulfill his nutritional demands. This morning I collected cecotrophes from the bunnies next door, because bunnies eat some of their poop to encourage proper gut flora. He wouldn't take it, and no other probiotic will do. I weigh him twice a day, because a day of weight plateau or loss can mean death to a bunny. Honestly, I don't know how they survive.
Warren's a fighter. I hope he makes it. And if he doesn't, he won't die alone or in pieces.
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