X-ray day

For several weeks, Mabel has been doing odd chewing motions almost constantly. More worryingly she has stopped eating hay or grass, which will be a problem eventually - a rabbit's diet needs to be at least 80% hay to keep the gut and teeth healthy. 

In mid-October, the vet performed a dental - there were slight spurs on one side of her molars, which he didn't think were a problem but it was worth a try. However, nothing changed. So we agreed to X-ray to see what was going on. Yesterday she was back at the surgery, and we went to discuss the findings later in the afternoon.

Sadly it is not good news. Mabel has infection in her tooth roots, mostly along the lower left jaw, but also signs of it on the right side. This is very difficult to treat in rabbits. Tooth extraction is very risky, and of course leaves the problem of not being able to eat hay. Once again, as in August with the bloat, we were advised that PTS might be the kindest option - it's just a matter of when.

She is home and on a twice daily dose of Meloxicam to control the pain. We do not intend to let her suffer. Rabbits, as prey animals, hide their pain extremely well, so we've been watching her very carefully. However, at the moment, she does not look like a rabbit who is in agony. She is perhaps more subdued at times, but this morning has enjoyed being out on the patio (she asked to come out - see first photo!), and later exploring the usually-out-of-bounds areas of the house. 

Mwahahaha...

Mabel and Dijon showed no fear of our pumpkin, and Mabel told it who was boss by chinning it all over, several times.

Hoppy Halloween!

Going grey

Since her ear crisis last month, Mabel still has two small pale patches on her slightly-ragged ear. One is a small bald line, hopefully just where the bandage was rubbing when she had the drip. The other, at the tip, was bald but has now started to grow white fur! 

She's not the only one going grey… we have a new worry at the moment, as she has started to do an almost constant chewing action with her mouth. Off to the vet at midday, and hoping it's just a piece of apple bark or hay stuck in her teeth…

Diamonds and Pearls..,

Dijon gave Mabel some beautiful pearls, to show his love.

Pruning time

Today Mabel and Dijon's servant risked life and limb to prune the apple tree, climbing high to reach the tallest shoots. 

Were they grateful? Well Mabel taught the thickest branch a lesson or two, but they showed little interest in the shoots. They seem to prefer the leaves when they're crispy, so perhaps tomorrow they'll show more gratitude.

Bunny meltdown

With record-breaking temperatures here over the past couple of days, the bunnies have been taking it easy and spending a lot of time stretched out. This afternoon, Dijon appeared to have melted. 

Poor Mabel's ear

Mabel's  ear has been rather scabby since the drip, but we assumed it was healing. However this morning it felt particularly dry and looked rather odd, so I picked her up to examine it. There was a line, like a scar, by the edge near the base of the ear. I'd hardly touched it when an inch long slither of her ear fell to the ground. It was completely hard.

There was no blood, and Mabel showed no sign of pain and didn't even wash the ear when I put her on the floor. Part of the ear must have died after she had the drip in it. We will be going to ask the vet for advice this afternoon. I really hope that she won't lose any more of her ear.

Seagrass Carpet

Following last night's episode (from which Mabel has thankfully recovered) we popped into the local carpet shop. The aim was to find a runner/rug to cover the bald patches in the carpet and hopefully to be less attractive to Mabel. However, all the runners were fairly long pile. After explaining the problem to the man in the shop and joking about seagrass carpet, he pointed to a long seagrass mat! It was untreated seagrass, sewn together with hemp.

It was the last one in stock, and, at £8, quite a bargain, not only compared to the pet versions available, but also to the vet and medicine bills from eating carpet. 

Mabel immediately set about chinning it, and Dijon seemed to like the taste. Only time will tell…

Here we go again...

Wouldn't you know it! After a day of Mabel Mischief, carpet ripping naughtiness, and all-round extreme bunniness, Mabel is rounding off the first day of (meteorological) autumn by having a bout of not eating.

Her recovery was going so well, too.

As soon as we spotted it, she was scooped up and given a dose of the medicine we'd stocked up on for such an event. This is not good for our nerves!

Service Update

Mabel is 100% back to her old self. Munching on the table leg,  jumping on the armchair, begging for treats... all good signs that she has made a full recovery.

A week of illness does mean, though, that there is a backlog of scenting to work through, so many objects to stake a claim to. My index fingers are well and truly owned.

Just as it should be.