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When Your Rabbit

Needs Special Care

Traditional and

Alternative Healing Methods

Copyright © 2008 by Lucile C. Moore and Kathy Smith

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part or in

any form or format without written permission of the publisher.

Published by:

Santa Monica Press LLC

P.O. Box 1076

Santa Monica, CA 90406-1076

1-800-784-9553

www.santamonicapress.com

[email protected]

Printed in the United States

The information contained in this book is intended to help you provide care for

your rabbit; however, this information is not intended for diagnostic or prescrip￾tive purposes. The examples provided were helpful in each particular case, but

a veterinarian and/or alternative practitioner qualified to treat rabbits should be

consulted for your specific concerns. Although the author researched the topics in

this work, the advent of new procedures—as well as future changes to those treat￾ments considered standard at the time of publication—will render some informa￾tion obsolete and further emphasizes the need for consultation with a rabbit￾knowledgeable vet. The author, contributors, editors, distributor, and publisher

are not responsible for any use or misuse of the information in this book, and are

not liable or responsible to any person or group with respect to any loss, illness,

or injury caused or alleged to be caused by the information found in this book.

Santa Monica Press books are available at special quantity discounts when

purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, or groups. Please call our

Special Sales department at 1-800-784-9553.

ISBN-13 978-1-59580-031-2

ISBN-10 1-59580-031-X

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Moore, Lucile C., 1952–

When your rabbit needs special care : traditional and alternative healing

methods / Lucile C. Moore and Kathy Smith.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-59580-031-2

1. Rabbits—Diseases—Treatment. 2. Rabbits—Health. 3. Rabbits. I. Smith, Kathy,

1954- II. Title.

SF997.5.R2.M66 2008

636.932--dc22

2007041438

Cover and interior design and production by Future Studio

Cover photo by Velly Oliver

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Introduction

Mr. Tim: An Introduction

to Special Needs and Special Care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

PART I: Traditional Healing Methods

Chapter 1

Basic Care I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Lucile C. Moore

Chapter 2

Basic Care II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Lucile C. Moore

Chapter 3

Digestive Ailments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Lucile C. Moore

Chapter 4

Infections and Infestations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Lucile C. Moore

Chapter 5

Sprains, Dislocations, Fractures,

and Pododermatitis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Lucile C. Moore

Chapter 6

Coping with Paresis and Paralysis

in Your Rabbit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Lucile C. Moore

Chapter 7

Dental Disorders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Lucile C. Moore

Chapter 8

Other Illnesses and Conditions

Requiring Special Care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Lucile C. Moore

Chapter 9

Elderbuns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Lucile C. Moore

Chapter 10

Triage for Large-Scale Rescues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Lucile C. Moore, with Debby Widolf, Shelley Thayer, and

Sandi Ackerman

PART II: Alternative Healing Methods

Chapter 11

An Introduction to Alternative Treatments. . . . . 280

Kathy Smith

Chapter 12

Interspecies Communication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Kathy Smith

Chapter 13

Energy Medicine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Kathy Smith

Chapter 14

Acupuncture and Chiropractic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Lucile C. Moore

Chapter 15

Healing Through Touch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Lucile C. Moore

Chapter 16

Alternative Systemic Treatments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

Kathy Smith

Epilogue

Death and Recovery from Grief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Lucile C. Moore

Appendix I

Tables of Selected Medications Used

to Treat Rabbits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

Lucile C. Moore and Kathy Smith

Appendix II

Rabbit Vital Signs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

Kathy Smith, reviewed by Noella Allan, DVM

Appendix III

Traditional Resources for Rabbit Caregivers. . . . 416

Lucile C. Moore and Kathy Smith

Appendix IV

Alternative Treatment Resources

for Rabbit Caregivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422

Lucile C. Moore and Kathy Smith

Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

Abbreviations and Acronyms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

Contributors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428

Selected Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Kathy Smith, who generously contributed several piec￾es and chapters to this book, wished to thank those

who shared their time and knowledge with her:

I would first like to thank Lucile Moore for the opportunity

to collaborate on this wonderful project. We both want to

thank all the bunny angels—especially King Murray, Dante,

Stormy, Houdini, and Buster—who made sure everything

fell into place as it was meant to.

A special thanks to Dr. Noella Allan, my wonderful

veterinarian, who always makes time for me whether I have

a sick rabbit who needs her care or a writing project that

would benefit from her collaboration and review. I would

also like to thank Dr. James K. Morrisey and Dr. Christine

Eckermann-Ross, both of whom also found time in their

busy schedules to answer my e-mail questions.

Finally, I would like to thank the communicators, res￾cuers, and caregivers who shared their experiences and gave

permission for their stories and/or photos to be included in

the sections I wrote: Vineeta Anand, Meg Brown and Greg

Wait, Dawn Baumann Brunke, Joanna Campbell, Brenda and

Jim Holden, April Jones, Janie Landes, Jeanette Lyerly, Kim

Meyer, Deborah Miles-Hoyt, Molly Sheehan, Kerry Stewart,

Suzanne Trayhan, and Evonne Vey.

PREFACE

Most books on house rabbits are written as a result of

the author’s personal experience with a rabbit com￾panion. This book is no exception. I first conceived

the idea of writing about disabled buns after my experiences

with a rabbit who required constant specialized care. He in￾spired me to write an article about caring for special-needs

rabbits, which appeared online, and I then planned to ex￾pand the topic into a book. I also discovered that even my

healthiest rabbits require occasional special care, if only for

a short time after a spay surgery or when recovering from a

digestive upset brought on by stress. I hope that this book,

with tips from many people who have cared for rabbits af￾fected by everything from obesity to permanent paralysis

from a fractured spine, will help others who face giving daily

specialized care to their rabbits.

My focus in this text is on how to actually provide

home care to rabbits with medical problems. But it is my in￾tent to include enough medical information on each disease

or condition that you will be able to understand what is hap￾pening and discuss it with your veterinarian. Only then can

you make the best choices and provide the best possible care

to your rabbit companion. It is beyond the scope of this book

to include all the diseases and conditions that could possibly

affect your companion rabbit, so I have for the most part cho￾sen to include those that you are most likely to encounter.

Rabbit care and medicine, after years in its dark ages,

is progressing rapidly. Periods of swift increase of knowledge

in any field are exciting, but there are also instances where

not everyone is going to agree, and when it may be diffi￾cult to provide one “right” answer. Many differing points

of view may have validity; opinions are often based on per￾sonal experience, and what is successful in one case may not

be in another.

10 When Your Rabbit Needs Special Care

In addition to opinions from veterinarians and alter￾native health care professionals, views of the rabbit caretak￾ers in whose hands rest the actual daily tasks involved in

giving special care to rabbits are included. Again, what hints

they have to give others striving with the same care issues

are based on their own personal experiences as they struggle

to give the best possible care to the companion rabbits they

love. Their perspective may be entirely different from that

of the professionals.

Rabbits are intentionally referred to as “he,” “she,”

and “who” in this book, because those of us who share our

lives with animal companions think of them in this way. For

the same reason, I chose to use the word “symptom” instead

of the more technically correct “sign” when referring to the

visible manifestations of disease in rabbits.

I am aware not all veterinarians will agree with my

decision to include the tables of medications. My reasons for

including them were: 1) The information is widely available

on the World Wide Web and in publications, usually without

the warnings I give; 2) Not all readers are fortunate enough

to live where they have access to a veterinarian experienced

with rabbits, and even the best vets may occasionally make

errors in writing prescriptions. I recommend that a person

always compare a prescription to the range of doses given in

a formulary. If there is a question, a quick phone call to the

vet’s office can resolve any discrepancies and possibly save

the rabbit’s life.

I owe thanks to many people for their help in creat￾ing my share of this book. First and foremost, I owe thanks

to Amy Spintman, board member and educator, San Diego

chapter of the House Rabbit Society, owner of Cats & Rab￾bits & More, founder and moderator of the Disabled Rabbits

Weblist. Without her encouragement and the inspiration

provided by the lives of her special-needs rabbits, especially

Bijou, along with the stories and pleas for help from mem￾bers of the Disabled Rabbits Weblist, this book would never

have come to be.

Preface 11

Secondly, I owe a great debt of thanks to Debby

Widolf, manager of rabbits at the Sanctuary of Best Friends

Animal Society. It was at her suggestion the chapter on tri￾age for large-scale rescues was included. Despite her busy

schedule, Debby also took on the task of reading through my

completed manuscript and offering comments and sugges￾tions. Thanks also to Shelley Thayer, Rapid Response Project

Specialist at Best Friends Animal Society, and to Sandi Acker￾man of Washington, who graciously added her knowledge

and perspective on large-scale rescue.

Lezlie Sage, certified interfaith chaplain and adoption

program administrator at Best Friends Animal Society, will￾ingly tackled the difficult issues of euthanasia and recovery

from grief at my request.

I was thrilled when Kathy Smith, author of Rabbit

Health in the 21st Century and King Murray’s Royal Tail, in￾formed me she was interested in contributing to this proj￾ect. Many thanks to Kathy for her multiple contributions,

especially for writing several of the chapters for Part II, and

for reading over my material and offering her comments

and suggestions. Warm thanks also to writer Jodi McLaugh￾lin for her many informative contributions and to author

Nancy Furstinger for sending a piece on her 15-year-old rab￾bit, Cupcake.

Several supporters of various chapters of the House

Rabbit Society (HRS) encouraged me in this effort. I owe spe￾cial thanks to the following for the stories and photographs

of their rabbits they allowed me to use: Kim and Terry Clev￾enger of the Kansas City, Missouri, Chapter; Margo DeMello,

development director of the national organization; Donna

Jensen, HRS member and former chapter manager who fos￾ters rabbits in the Bay Area of California; and Maria L. Perez,

manager of the Las Vegas chapter.

Members of other rabbit organizations were also gen￾erous with their time and expertise: Stephen F. Guida, volun￾teer with Brambley Hedge Rabbit Rescue; Patti Henningsen,

volunteer with Friends of Rabbits and her own Bright Eyes

12 When Your Rabbit Needs Special Care

Sanctuary; Rebecca Kintner, volunteer with Bunny Magic

Rescue; and Barbara Yule, founder of the North Texas Rabbit

Sanctuary.

Thanks to the following veterinarians for their gen￾erosity in giving their time to answer my questions on vari￾ous aspects of rabbit medicine by telephone, e-mail, and/or

letter: Drs. Mark Burgess, Bill Guerrera, Susan Keeney, Wil￾liam Kurmes, James K. Morrisey, Jamie Sulliban, and Jason

Sulliban. (The fact that they answered questions for me in no

way implies they agree with all the information presented

in this book.) Special thanks to Dr. Kurmes for meticulously

going through my entire part of the manuscript searching

for any medical errors.

I am grateful to the expert practitioners who contrib￾uted to my alternative methods of healing chapters: Chan￾dra Moira Beal, George Belev, Marnie Black, Anita DeLelles,

and Greg Wait.

I also owe thanks to the many rabbit caregivers (some

members of organizations such as the HRS, some not) who

gave me permission to share their care tips or photos so that

others might benefit: Betsy Bremer, Meg and Buster Brown,

Shannon Cail, Marion Davis, Melissa Epperson, Alexandria

Fenner, Laura and Peter Franco, Becky Hawley, Jennifer

Heaton, Morgan Heller, Jen Hendricks, Stacey Huitikka, Ar￾lette Hunnakko, Ronie Lawrence, Karen Cole Leinenkugel,

Delores Lowis, Jeanette Lyerly, Joe Marcom, Rachel Marek,

J. Medawar, Joseph Nobile, Missy Ott, Suzanne Pani, Angela

Percival, Susan Robbins, Theresa Romaldini, Lynn Sagra￾moso, Sharon, Julie Sherwin, Renee Stratton, Dawn Stuart,

and Joanne Wilcox. Your love for and devotion to your rab￾bits is always evident!

Special thanks to Dave Stewart for his constant en￾couragement and support during this project. How many

people would leave work and drive over 500 miles to pick up

a rabbit to get him to a vet in time?

Finally, I owe thanks to the many wonderful rabbits

who have shared and do share my home: FBR (Fierce Bad

Preface 13

Rabbit) Bunnyman, Muffy, Sweetie Pie, Timothy (Mr. Tim),

Anthony, Funny Face, Binky, Snugglebiter, Angel-bunny

(aka Beulah), Magic, Pixie, Fuzzy Wuzzy Fuzzbug, Rapunzel,

Dolly Doodle, Phantom Elvis, Ruby, Siegfried, and Roy.

Lucile C. Moore, PhD