A rabbit I am looking after is sick but the owner is saying he’s fine…what do I do?

[meh]

Hi this is probably going to be long so bare with me.

A few weeks ago I agreed to look after a friends rabbit for a few months due to a fire at her house. I have a rabbit of my own so I have some experience with them which is why she asked me and I agreed.

Now I am pretty sure this rabbit is ill, my rabbit *touch wood* has never really been ill apart from some gas which I treated right away so I’m not really sure. When he arrived he arrived in a very dirty cage, I literally spent half of the day scraping dry pee off the bottom off his cage with vinegar and a wallpaper scraper, I don’t know if he could be ill due to his dirty cage so I thought I’d add that in.

This poor little chap is sneezing and has a weird lop sided face where one of his cheeks is bigger than the other, when I told his owner about this, she simply replied saying that he has big cheeks and that he sneezes due to his bedding, which I know for a fact isn’t the case here since I don’t use shavings as bedding, I use soy based newspaper due to shavings not suiting my rabbit. I informed her about this and she simply ignored me. So I kept pestering her about her rabbit sneezing and then she asked me if I had any antibiotics in the house, because her mum had previously crushed some into his salad before and the his sneezing stop. I told her that I didn’t think giving a rabbit human antibiotics was safe and nor do I have anything like that in the house, I then asked her which antibiotics her mother had given him, she said that she didn’t know that she thought it might have been Ibuprofen or co codamol, which are painkillers not antibiotics so im not sure if She was actually telling the truth.

Long story short when I had agreed, I agreed to looking after a rabbit which I have no problem with I can afford food, bedding and litter etc..but I didn’t know that he was in this shape and if I had I wouldn’t have agreed to it because, I simply cannot afford vet bills for another rabbit because my rabbit is due for his injections soon and I am also planning to get him neutered. I basically cannot afford to take this rabbit to vet at the moment and I don’t know what to do since she just won’t acknowledge that he needs to see a vet.

The rabbit is eating and drinking fine and is quite happy, doesn’t seem to be in pain but I know rabbits are quite good at hiding illnesses. He is not vaccinated (I asked her she said no). I can’t even let him socialise with my rabbit due the fact of not knowing what’s wrong with him and if it’s contagious to other rabbits. I honestly feel really bad for him, he’s such a sweet Little bunny but unfortunately I can’t help him and I don’t know what to do, does anyone have any advice?

Thanks.

[Hazelbunny]

I think he has pasteurella/snuffles. Some of the symptoms are head tilting, sneezing, runny nose and runny eyes. Snuffles is very contagious so keep him far away from your rabbit, snuffles cannot be cured so if you touch him wash your hands and if he touched your clothes change your clothes.
I would hate to hear that your bun got it too.

[Wick & Fable]

I’d sit your friend down and have a serious conversation. This needs to be addressed. The rabbit needs to be taken seriously or rehomed.

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.

[Deleted User]

It sounds like your friend is very neglectful to such a fragile creature. Bunnies need so much love and care and attention. I agree with Wick. You should definitely have a talk with you friend. Because your friends treatment is borderline abusive.

[Dface]

Honestly if that is snuffles or pasturella I’d get the rabbit away from yours. Highly contagious diseases are a heartache waiting to happen.
Contact your friend and ask her whether she wants the rabbit to be given to a shelter (who can help and rehome) or ask is there someone else who you can give it to.
You agreed to mind a rabbit, not risk your own bunnies health in the meantime!

Alternatively contact a vet clinic and see if they can help (its a long shot but you might get lucky) Tell them its not your rabbit and you dont know what to do.

[Muchelle]

A friend of mine who runs a home pension for dogs found herself in a similar situation where one dog she had to look after turned out to be very sick, with the owner refusing to take him to the vet and also refusing to pay for the vet if my friend would take the dog for a check up. It was endangering her own dogs’ health and that animal was definitely suffering so she took him to the emergency room of the nearest vet hospital and explained the situation. I don’t know how it works there, but the ER automatically called animal services to investigate the case & make the dude pay for his dog’s emergency treatment.

Definitely keep your rabbit well away from your guest and wash your hands frequently. The bun arrived in bad hygienic conditions so if your friend doesn’t want to comply and keep him healthy and clean there’s definitely grounds for a forced action by authorities. Might be harsh and might endanger your friendship, but neglect towards animals is never good.

(btw, nice choice of nickname there )

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