Urgent – baby buns

[Bunbuns]

Hi so I have acquired a young cottontail thanks to a neighbours cat.
It’s eyes are open ears erect and walking but still very young. It has been drinking milk replacement formula every 12 hrs
And is munching on solids (grass, hay, dandelion leaves).
Is a bunny this age able to poop and pee on its own? I haven’t seen any poops in his cage,
But could he be eating them?

I have photo , but I can’t attach. I can email it to someone.

[Bam]

Thank you for taking this little helpless one in!

It’s quite right to feed him every 12 hours, that’s what the mama bun does. Milk replacement for cats (kittens) is the recommended type of milk replacement for baby buns.

He needs stimulation to poop. You can gently, gently “draw” a clockwise spiral on his tummy, again and again. You should also stimulate his anal area with a wet piece of cotton wool or a very soft cloth by wiping around it in circles. Hopefully this will signal to his nervous system so he starts pooping. If he can move around, that’s good too.

Depending on where you are in the USA keeping a wild cottontail rabbit can be illegal. I’m mentioning it just so you don’t get into trouble.

[tobyluv]

This cottontail really needs to go to a wildlife rehabber. If the cat bit it or scratched it, it will need antibiotics. And as bam said, unless you are a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, it is not legal for you to keep any wildlife. They have a lot of practice with animals and they will be likely to have more success in saving it. Here is a link where you can find wildlife rehabbers by state: http://wildliferehabber.org/. You could also call your local humane society or a local vet to see if there are rehabbers in your area. Some vets will take wildlife, then turn them over to a rescue group.

[Bam]

I think Tobyluv’s advice is just excellent. Caring long term for a wild animal is, apart from being illegal in many places, not at all an easy task.

[flemishwhite]

Rabbits are born with no bacteria in their stomach.  They need to have the bacteria in their stomach that transforms cellulose to  glucose to live.  I think that in the wild, they obtain this bacteria by nibbling on one of mom’s poop pellets…the pellets are rich with this bacteria.  I used to live in Australia.  People occasionally would bring a baby kangaroo (a joey) home.  If you wanted a baby kangaroo, just stop and look at a road kill adult kangaroos…maybe it was a mother with a baby in it’s pouch.  Anyhow folklore was that to “charge” the baby’s stomach with cellulose to glucose bacteria, you were to go out in the desert and look for fresh kangaroo droppings.  Take the droppings home, mush them up with the formula milk, and let the  joey drink it.  Maybe something similar has to be done to a wild baby rabbit to introduce this necessary bacteria into it’s cecum stomach.  Comments by someone more in the know?

[Author]

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