Little rabbit, cant move neck, eat drink everything but it cant stand by itself, feels everything?

Question

My wild rabbit ,that i resqued from my cat trying to kill it, it all of a sudden cant walk, or stand. It seems semi paralized, but he can move every part of his body, tail, legs/arms, mouth, nose, ears, but his head seems to just bob there. and he cant stand by himself.

Answer 1

Cat saliva contains bacteria that acts like a poison on animals that have been caught by them. This means that although the rabbit survived the attack, it is probably dying from a bacterial infection caused by the contact of his skin with the saliva of the cat.

Unfortunately, without aggressive antibiotic treatment, your rabbit will eventually die. Sometimes animals that have been caught and rescued from cats will be given anitbiotics and they'll still die because the poisonous bacteria in the cat's mouth starts acting right away, from the time its prey is caught.

It's also possible that its spine was fractured. If that's the case, then the rabbit will also eventually die, because rabbits usually cannot recover from fractured spines, since their bones are very light and their muscles are so much heavier. They are flight animals and are always on the move--for this type of injury to repair, you need for the animal to be wihout movement for quite a long time.

Even so, I can't think of any cases where vets have been able to repair spinal injuries in rabbits.

I'm sorry to say but the outlook seems grim for the bunny, and you should probably have it put out if its misery by having it euthanized at a local shelter or at a veterinary clinic. Of course, it's not a bad idea to see your vet first to identify exactly what the problem can be before making a decision.

best of luck...

Answer 2

It sounds like the rabbit got scared and broke it's spinal chord. If it can't walk that is most likely what happened. A rabbit can sometimes move its legs just by muscle reactions. The way you know it is truly paralyzed is to see if you can get a response when you pinch a portion of the body below the neck. If the rabbit doesn't respond like they feel it, then it is most likely paralyzed and will never walk again. There is really little to nothing that a vet can do when a rabbit becomes paralyzed. It's not a good idea to try raising a wild rabbit as a pet. They are too wild and will often almost end up killing theirself instead of being caged up. If you ever rescue a baby bunny, I recommend turning it loose once it is fairly able to eat on its own.

I'd say you probably need to have the rabbit put to sleep.

You want to watch sudden noises and movements around domestic or especially wild rabbits. They will tend to run around the cage and finally run into the cage wall and break their spinal chord which paralyzes them. Once they break their spinal chord, there is really nothing much that a vet can do besides giving them some cortizone and hoping with little chance of regaining health that the rabbit will be able to walk again.

Answer 3

I have a drink every night, and I always feel a lot better! If I don't have a drink, I wake up the next day feeling over tired with a headache! lol

Answer 4

I believe your rabbit is in shock and will not survive very long. they are so delicate that they easily die from it. my cat brought 3 home a few yrs ago and I tried to rescue them but after a couple of days they passed on. with out their mothers milk and care it is hard to help them sorry .

Answer 5

I would bring him to the vet. But be carefull while taking him there. He might have hurt his spine. If u irritate the injury worse, he may end up dying before u get him to the vet. Make sure he is drinking and eating.

Answer 6

Rabbits have very fragile spines. He could have panicked and hurt himself. If he fractured his spine, there is nothing to be done. Your best bet is to take him to the vet asap to see if there is anything that can be done.