Check out my book on pet rabbit care and socialization,
and I'm always updating it. The book is copyright-protected
but available for free, though I request a $1 donation for
the bunnies and for my efforts. C'mon, what's a buck?
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Emergency Kit
When an emergency happens, it's too late to prepare for it
The house isn't on fire. Therefore we don't need a fire extinguisher. Right?
And let's not mince words - part of this emergency kit will be for
treating any wounds you may suffer as a result of treating an
injured animal. If you're going to do it, you may as well get it
right. You may or may not be afforded any protection (to your hands,
arms, etc.) when helping an animal that is hurt, and one of the ways
they tell you they're hurt is by biting you.
An emergency kit that is already packed, or one that can be packed in
a matter of seconds, is very important to have, but you must
also know how to use each of the elements of the kit so that you don't
make matters worse. Please consult your veterinarian for advice on
what things you may wish to do or avoid with respect to treating your
rabbit for common maladies. The list provided here is more like a
shopping list of the basics you should have on-hand so it's there when
you need it, but you must know how to use these items. Also provided
are some photographs of one of our members' kits, to give you an
example of what it might look like and how compactly it can be stored
and ready for fast evacuation.
Click to see one of our members' emergency kit for his bunnies
PLEASE NOTE: we are not offering any kind of medical advice - in
any situation in which you must administer any type of treatment to
your rabbit(s), PLEASE call your vet first!!
We recommend you keep a document comspicuously near where your pets
are housed, and provide the following information:
-
Contact information for all of your veterinarians (primary, secondary, emergency room, etc)
-
Contact information for all people who can temporarily care for
your animals if you are unable for any reason (such as being
abducted by space aliens again)
-
Descriptions of each pet, including:
-
Name, breed, sex, age, physical description
-
Feeding instructions, special foods, treats, diet restrictions
-
Handling instructions (general rabbit handling and anything
specific to each individual)
-
Medical conditions/care instructions (including notes on
identifying common conditions in case a vet visit is dictated)
-
Behavioral notes (likes/dislikes/keywords/etc)
-
For free-range pets, notes on where they may be hiding
-
If you can, provide photographs (ie, for identification, or to
demonstrate what a proper salad or dinner looks like)
An easy way to maintain a fully prepared emergency kit is to simply
use it as your main resource for caring for your buns. (This would be
similar to "living out of your suitcase" while travelling).
If you keep
most of the things you need in there anyway (ie, medications, nail
clippers, etc) then not only can you find things easily, but
you won't have to do anything during an emergency
but pick up the kit along with everything else. With a little thought
to how you'd best like to use it, you can very easily maintain such a
kit that is completely stocked and ready to go.
Many supplies that you would keep in the event of an evacuation can be
kept in one carrier (like a satchell) - things like cardboard
litterboxes, newspaper, blankets, anything that doesn't go stale and
can be left for a long time. Another emergency kit would have the
supplies you use on a daily basis except for the food and water.
As for storing food and water, you should get in the habit of having a
bag of food and a gallon or more of water in your evacuation kit, and
as you run out of food, buy more food, put a new supply into the
evacuation kit and change the water, and begin using the bag that was
stored in there. This will ensure that the food and water you put
aside for evacuation is as fresh as possible - always use that and
replace it before anything else.
If you buy food for many rabbits in heavy bags, you should have
already repackaged the original bag in3to many small one-gallon bags so
as to keep the food as fresh as possible (unless your rabbits comsume
the entire bag in a week or two, you don't want to keep opening the
large bag with all the pellets because
The following are suggested in your emergency kit:
-
All current medications for all of your pets - this means that you
have to "live out of a suitcase" in order to keep their current
medications ready for an emergency
-
Syringes (for feeding and medicating)
-
Baby aspirin
-
Nail clippers (we recommend the guilltine type)
-
Tweezers
-
Small scissors
-
Small flashlight
-
Hand sanitizer
-
Contact information for all of your veterinarians (including emergency rooms)
-
Treats (ie, a very small amount of raisins, dried cranberries)
-
Rescue Remedy
-
Critical Care
(order from Leith Petwerks
5 oz. packet,
1 lb. canister)
-
Hot water bottle
-
Plastic Thermometer (preferably a digital infant thermometer)
-
KY Jelly or Vaseline (to lubricate the thermometer)
-
Towels/blankets
-
For treating wounds (to buy time to get to the vet only - do not assume you are qualified to properly treat a wounded rabbit):
-
Gauze pads
-
Butterfly bandages
-
Narrow Ace bandage wrapping
-
Cotton balls
-
Pure alcohol (for sterilizing, not for you!!)
-
Q-Tips
-
Neosporin (Regular, not "Plus" - not the one with pain reliever!!) or Bacitracin (Topical antibiotics for cuts/scrapes)
-
Chlorhexiderm, or 1% Betadine solution (dillute 1:100 with distilled water) (a disinfectant)
-
Vetericyn (made specially for animals, a topical disinfectant)
-
Styptic powder (flour or cornstarch can also be used to stop bleeding)
-
Saline wound or eye wash solution
-
Note: if your rabbit is hurt, you may very well get bitten while trying to help (this is simply an animal telling you it's in pain, it isn't personal and it isn't any indication of a biting bunny) so you may also want to consider having bandaids for yourself - it also may be very helpful to have potholders to wear to protect your hands from the teeth (you'll still feel the bite pressure, but at least you won't lose a piece of your hand)
-
For stomach problems: (Note - many stomach problems can
become life-threatening quickly, so make sure to observe your rabbit
for warning signs of distress, and if see any, or you just aren't sure
- contact your vet as soon as possible)
-
Infant anti-gas drops (active ingredient - simethicone)
-
Baby food (only fruit flavor, no preservatives)
-
Petromalt or Laxatone (for partial blockages)
-
Pedialyte (unflavored) for restoration of electrolytes
-
For grooming:
-
Brush
-
Hair dryer (Rabbits' fur should not be wet!!! - they can easily
get very sick and die from being wet - if your rabbit's fur is wet,
use the dryer on a low setting waving back and forth over the fur
until it is dry!!)
In the event of an evacuation, you should also be prepared with:
-
Pet carrier, with your contact information on it
-
Food and bottled water - enough for 7 days, and at least two bowls
-
Hay (as compacted as you can possibly make it)
-
Small litter box (you can even use a shallow cardboard box, like for a case of soda cans, and line with newspaper and top with hay)
-
Toys
-
Blankets, towels, pee-pads, etc.
Some other things that would be very useful, but are not necessary:
-
Stethoscope
-
Otoscope
-
Heavy-duty wire cutters or small bolt-cutters (in case you need to cut through a section
of cage to free a bunny's paw, and this only applies if you have a
cage and either confine the bunny at times, or your bunny just likes
to hang out in his/her own "room" sometimes - if a paw should get
stuck, any struggling could lead to a broken bone, so these cutters
may be the only way to safely free your bunny)
-
Phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range
Recommended Reading:
The Rabbit Emergency Kit
Zooh Corner's recommendations for an emergency kit
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Last update: Sun Jun 28 21:49:23 EDT 2020
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