7 days of medication 3 times a day…how to handle it?

[Hannasue]

Hi, so my bunny just got spayed and afterwords they gave me two kinds of meds. Told me i need to give one medication to her 3 times anday. Im realizing by the end of this week she is never going to leave her cage ever again in fear of getting medicated. She is shy to begin with and i feel like i am destoying all of my hard work. She struggles a lot when it comes to being pick up which makes it a lot worse. I wish she would freeze not fight me as she could hurt her incision as well.
How do you cope with this? She doesnt even want treats she just wants to be left alone but i cant do that becase of meds.

Any help?

[Bam]

You’ll just have to give her the meds. I once had to syringe-feed my bun Yohio 3 times/day for 3 weeks. He hated it. He was so angry with me he bit me. One time he cried out, that blood-freezing cry a bun in mortal fear does. I still had to feed him. I thought he’d hate me forever, but he didn’t. Quite the opposite, actually. After the whole ordeal was over, he was much more closely bonded to me than he’d been before. He took to sleeping on my bed, at the foot end, rather than under it. He always wanted to lie under my foot when I was sitting at my writing desk.

I don’t know why this was, but I’ve heard similar stories from others. It seems quite common.

What meds are you giving her?

[Wick & Fable]

It can be stressful, especially with a fearful rabbit. I administered meds at 2-3 times per day for 3 months straight with Wick, bless his tiny heart. A similar conclusion to bam, Wick and I are very, very close.

Trying to get as much positive association with the procedure is ideal. Presentation of treat directly afterwards is best, not before. If treats are no longer a positive incentive, pet her and groom her a bit right afterwards (what I did with Wick). If there’s anything you can think of that she likes, present it to her afterwards.

At times, it is difficult to do it. At first, Wick would just curl up into himself and put his head down, eyes looking at me and moving his mouth away from the syringe like a hopeless child (not frantic, but just passive and sad…). You need to do it though. You must.

Rabbits will forgive you. If it ends up unraveling what you have, that may be, but you won’t have time to mend that relationship if she does not take her medication.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Hannasue]

Thank you guys for the encouragement and stories
she is taking one daily dose of metacam and 3 daily doses of metoclopramide. The metoclopramide is actually flavored sweet so she is a bit more willing but not a lot.
My problem is picking her up. She has staples in and everytime she goes nuts. I really dont want her to hurt herself and try to do it as fast as possible but its so scary.
If she doesn’t come out of her safe space should i still get her? That seemslike a no no.

Thank you

[Vienna Blue in France]

Have you actually tried giving it to her on a bit of banana or something else ?
she may well eat it (she may not…) I’ve forced fed my cat for the last two days and only now I’ve realised that she actually enjoys it and licks it off of a plate!!!!! D’oh

Try a towel over her back and scoop her up…. it may be easier and you can control her lethal paws and claws without her struggling toooo much….

[Bam]

You do have to take her out of the safe space, I’m afraid. I had to with Yohio. I felt terrible, but it just had to be done. But if she likes the metoclopramide, try Vienna’s method first. If she takes it on a piece of fruit, that’d be so great.

[Wick & Fable]

I didn’t pick up Wick for medication stuff. He’s pretty small, so I sat, knees on the ground, and would bring him in front of my knees so his bottom is against my knees. It prevented him from backing away, though he tried a lot. I used my non-syringe hand’s thumb and pointer finger to loop around his neck loosely, but firm so the fingers wouldn’t open. I just used two fingers and didn’t squeeze– just connected them so Wick wouldn’t shimmy his jaw past it or should’ve blades through it. It’s like a his bones are the grips you have at the end of dumbbells, and your fingers are the weight rounds on the bar.

With any method, it’s a balance of restricting movement so you don’t hurt the rabbit, but also so the rabbit doesn’t hurt itself.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Hannasue]

Thanks for the tips guys. Sadly i cant dothe fruit method as sushi prefers bitter food like kale. She doesnt like fruit much. I tried coaxing her with oats but no cigar. She has a very low appetite right now which really sucks. I might try the towel idea that sounds like a good idea. Right now she will come near me when shes active (rarely) and be fine. When i start putting my hands lower she knows im about to Pick her up and bolts. Usually im fast enough to get my fingers to her chest before she can pick up serious speed and can then take my other hand and lift her bum off the floor. Towel sounds nice.

[Author]

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