Me and Maple sharing dinner
I know I might have complained a few times about having to share with Maple Bunny (okay, maybe more than just a few times), but I take it all back now. Poor little Maple is very sick.
Chatting with Maple
The photo above was taken earlier this month when I was having a little chat with Maple about not eating quite so much of my lettuce. Now I wish I had never said that.
But let me explain what happened.
Last Friday, August 24rd, Melly went out to the front porch to pet me and Maple and maybe even Oakley although she is a bit standoffish. She immediately noticed that Maple’s right eye was all messed up. It was almost sealed closed with goop and under the goop, the eye was white. Melly called Maple’s vet right away! She got an appointment that day and took little Maple in.
Maple at the vet's on Friday
The diagnosis wasn’t good. The vet said the problem wasn’t her eye at all, it was her teeth. She told Melly that Maple had an abscess, a kind of infection, in her upper right teeth. The abscess caused swelling and the swelling caused Maple’s eye to bulge out. When Maple’s eye bulged out, she couldn’t close her eyelid all the way anymore. That caused her eye to dry out and made sores on it called ulcers. The ulcers was what Melly saw.
That is really a long, terrible sequence of bad things that happened to Maple, but there is more to come.
The vet said that Maple would have to have surgery to remove her teeth but that couldn’t be done until Monday. The surgery was going to cost anywhere from $600 – $1,000. Melly says she thought about that for a long time but I don’t think she did. I think she knew all along that she would have to get the surgery for Maple. That’s good to know, just in case. Only now she calls Maple, Maple WoMER and says it stands for World’s Most Expensive Rabbit. I wonder if that is true.
So Monday morning, Maple went into the vet for a long, terrible surgery. She had 6.5 teeth removed. The vet couldn’t get out the last .5 of a tooth because she said there was too much bleeding. She also told Melly that she wasn’t able to get all the infection out and that it was very extensive and probably involves the bone. On the positive side, she said Maple might be able to beat the infection off on her own with the help of antibiotics that she is getting.
Maple today
Maple is pretty miserable now. Her eye looks worse, although the vet said to expect that. She doesn’t hop around much and Melly has to feed her special food using a syringe four times every day.
Poor little Maple WoMER
Maple did manage to sneak out of the house today and onto the front porch. She even met briefly with Oakley, whom I think she really misses. Hopefully she will get better and be able to come outside with me, Oakley and the chickens soon so we can have food fights again.
Coral hugging Maple (she hates that)
I’m going to close with a couple of photos of Maple WoMER from happier days, although in the photo above she is not particularly happy.
Maple and Oakley, BFFs
Poor baby….well wishes your way…get well quickly. Will be thinking of you.You take good care of your friend Gari.
Oh, poor Maple. I’m sorry and I hope you get better fast!
Maple, little sweety. Get better.
Poor Mapleface!! I hope she gets better soon, those deep infections are so awful.
Oh, Maple WoMER! I hope you get better soon! You are so lovely. I wish I could help you get better, but all I can do is send good thought to you. Much love.
Maple I sure hope you are feeling better real soon. Get better so you can be outside with your BFF Oakley and Gari. Share the lettuce!!!!
Poor baby! Poor Melly having to fork out the money. Been there, done that, though for a different reason on a different species. Doesn’t matter the species, this is your family, you do what you have to. Which brings me to a request: Do you have a Paypal account so I can donate some money to help pay for Maple WoMER’s care? I’ll send good healing thought as well, but I’d like to help make things easier for Melly as she’s already doing the physical work of feeding and medicating Maple.
I hope that Maple is able to recover. I know how hard it had to be to decide to have the surgery and to not know if Maple will be able to fight off the infection has to be even harder. Praying for Maple to feel better soon!
Quite a bit of teeth removed! I know my vet said when the rabbits go through tooth removal and abscess that you have to have a few repeat visits to re-pack the wounds with gauze and promote getting the gunk out where the teeth were. We had our discussion because I had a lethal guinea pig that got a tooth root abscess. She was so tiny at 2 1/2 years old that general anesthesia wasn’t an option since she had already been losing weight.
If you’re doing the Critical Care for Maple, adding watermelon juice to it was my guinea pig’s favorite. They didn’t really care for baby food or apple juice and no one liked it plain 🙂
Good luck!
Get well soon, Maple. You have a lot of people thinking about you!
My heart is breaking for little Maple. I’m sure she’s in a lot of pain and I’m sending my warmest, biggest hugs to her and her owners, and Gari, and the chickens and the whole family! My prayers are with you all 🙂
Oh, liddl wabbit, yu be ok. It juss takes a long time tu get ovr ol dis infecshun. Take yr medsin, take good kayradem teefs, an look in on yr frens frm time tu time. Befor yu noze it, yule be back inna game.
Luv frm d Missouri Rivvr Rats, yr cuzzinz
me, too…echoing Kendra, above.
Does Melly have a paypal account or a chip in so we can donante something to Maple Wormer’s surgery?
I know that Gari doesn’t get paid for his blog, but those of us who read it regularly will want to chip in a little money…
I mean Maple “WoMER”,
not Wormer…lol
Yes, please. Can we donate to help with Maple WoMER’s vet bill?
I understand that there has been some success in treating severe abscesses with antibiotic seeding. Jaw abscesses are notoriously hard to clear up. Abscesses in rabbits are difficult in part because of the consistency of rabbit pus and the way their bodies will encapsulate infection. I know how exhausting it can be to care for an ill bunny that requires sub q fluids and syringe feeding. If you are using critical care I suggest adding a little baby food such as sweet potato or banana. It makes it more palatable. I have four bunnies of my own and foster for a rabbit rescue.
Poor poor Maple!
I do feel bad for her.
How old is she & what is lifespan of rabbits?
Poor dear Maple Bunny. I hope she feels better soon, and is able to go outside with her friends. :o( xxxx
Oh no, poor Maple..sending her lots of healing energy and lit a healing candle for her. I hope she gets better soon.
Poor Maple. She may be WoMER, but you would miss her so much if she were gone. Keeping all digits crossed for her to make a quick and complete recovery! HUGS to all of you!
Get well sooner than soon Maple WoMER. I’ll be thinking about you. Gari, thank you for the great explanation of Maple’s problem. Rabbit teeth are not easy to extract.( I used to help with it as a vet tech.)
Get well soon, little Maple bun.
oooooh 🙁 poor Maple bunbun 🙁 Poor Melly!
i hope Maple heals up really soon. our dog had an abscessed tooth recently too. we didnt know until his face blew up with a huge lump. it was like 2 weeks before our vacation and he needed emergency surgery 🙁 THAT was expensive.
i hope Maple takes her syringe food like a good bun and gets better soon. keep us updated on your friend Gari!
It’s nice that you are sharing your lettuce w/ her. Keep up the generosity even after she gets better! You are a good friend to her!
I am so sorry that Maple is feeling sick. I have an infection in my tooth, sinus & ear & I am on antibiotics for the 2nd time. I had a root canal done yesterday. I know how u feel Maple. I am so glad that Gari wrote about u b/c I don’t feel so alone now. I will be focusing love & healing around us.
I’m very sorry that you all are having to deal with this. One of my rabbits has dealt with jaw abcess – she was very lucky that one course of antibiotics cleared it up (I had read all the info about rabbit pus, etc.) To answer Lynn Marcotte’s question about rabbit longevity, average lifespan is 6-8 years, but I had one bunny friend for 10 years. I also would be willing to help defray the cost of Maple WoMER’s bills.
I am not accepting any donations although I appreciate the offer. If you’d like to donate to something, there is always the ROUS Foundation. And, of course, purchases from my website are both small donations to the ROUS Foundation and small contributions to my own funds. I would also suggest donating to a rabbit rescue of your choice, they are constantly in need of funds. (Melanie)
Oh no, I’m in tears reading about Maple. She is in my prayers now & I wish her a speedy healing.get well, Maple!
Feel better soon, Maple bunny! Gari needs friends to share his lettuce with, because nobody should be a greedybara.
I hope you feel better real soon Maple. This surgery stuff is no fun at all—-and I should know cuz I just had some. Here’s hoping you recover quickly and are back sharing Gari’s lettuce soon.
Poor Maple! Jaw bone infections are very scary! I hope you make it through okay!
My bunny Jon Bleu has had exactly the same thing, however, we couldn’t save his eye, as the infection had forced it out of the socket too much. He is much happier now, and I am sending you all positive love vibes, and hope Maple gets better quick. Oh and I would challenge the WoMER title, Jon cost £200 as soon as we got him, when he dislocated his hip on a Sunday! xxxx
Poor Maple… We are all animals, after all, and we get sick. I don’t know what to do about it, it breaks my heart.
you are being so thought about and the love WoMER has around her does’nt get any any more compassionate or responsible. Its just so rough watching them go through it for us. The best is she KNOWS shes loved and whatever happens the trust she had in you and her friends, and the fact that you go to any lengths for her happiness is what REAL life and its lessons are about. I know she might be uncomfortable physically,but she is happy and I really know this, and you may think that I am just saying this as a good intension,but really I’m not.ALL of you’re animals know this and are blessed in this life because of you.
Poor little dear. I hope your feeling better and better each day. I know Melly is taking good care of you. And all your friends and co-pets are giving you all the TLC you need to get you through this. Each day that goes by brings you closer to total recovery. We all love you. Thanks Gari for the up-date. XOXOX
Hi Mel, How did everything go with Maple at the vet today? I thought of you all day today. In fact today was my day off and I usually sleep in. Well today I was wide awake early and all I could do was hope for the best for you and sweet little Maple. Knowing how much you love her and help her, things have to work out good! Sending my love, and healing vibes. Lot’s of kisses to you Gari. I thought about your cute little noise that you made on the phone. I’ll remember that forever!!! Ann Bednarek
[…] Maple WoMER […]
Sorry to hear about Maple. Did they remove her eye? It looks stitched closed. My basset hound had both her eyes out last year and does quite remarkably. SHe can still get on furniture, use the doggy door, stairs, etc. I hope Maple is at least not in any pain.