I know That sounds dramatic, but it really does feel like I’m, one by one, torturing my animals…
Link, our bun with eye problems… He’s on a few different meds at the moment… Regular Metacam, 2ml of Baytril in the morning and eye drops… And we all know how buns feel about Baytril…
I’ve been the one giving him the meds, while my wife is either out of the flat, or just out of the room so he doesn’t associate her with them in any way. And he’s still fine with her. He’ll sit with her, get strokes and chatter quite content… But as soon as I come into the room, he’s off, into his cage or under a chair where he thinks I either can’t see him, or won’t get him… It’s utterly heartbreaking.
He’s actually taken to actively trying to bite me when I go near him now…
And this course of medication has another two or three weeks, then back to the vets, but it’s likely, there’s just going to be more medication after that…
Navi, was Link’s companion, but after a trip to the vets last year, he’ll no longer abide her company, he just bites…
We started to trust him a little more with her. She knew not to put her nose by him and is generally quicker than link, so, if he went to nip her nose, she was able to get out of the way…
The nipping subsided somewhat and he seemed almost happy to be in her room, in her company…
But, one day, we noticed Navi had a tuft of fur sticking out on her neck… upon closer inspection, it’s actually a bit of skin that’s been pulled right back… only the top layers, the skin underneath wasn’t bloody or anything, just tender, exposed ‘new’ skin, so, we’ve been treating that with a gentle antibacterial healing cream that we’ve already been told by a specialist is safe for buns.
It’s now all tried and the bit of loose skin looks like it’s ready to drop off, and Navi doesn’t seem to be behaving like she’s uncomfortable. She’s mostly in high spirits… UNTIL I come into the room… As I’ve been the one holding her while we put the cream on…
So now, we have two rabbits who actively avoid me constantly. Both are scared, one also very angry and I utterly hate it…
Daisy, our newest addition, she’s a beautiful soft natured, friendly bun who loves being petter and is very fond of her fresh greens, but, seems to hate Navi, so, that’s three buns, segregated into three different rooms for their own good…
Every evening is like a military manoeuvre making sure we spend time with everyone and that they get their meds, greens and treats.
And then, at the end of the day, I can’t even go and sit in the bedroom with Link or in the bun room with Navi to spend any time with them because they genuinely hate me right now.
Gah, buns are just such complicated little animals. In all my years of having animals, we’ve had more problems, been to see more vets and specialists and generally been on our toes more since getting rabbits than I ever have growing up with a mother obsessed with animals, and then having any and every pet conceivable through my teens.
I love our buns, just as I love the cats and ferrets, but my lord, they’re a pain in the ass…