Dream with Our Eyes Open

He can stay in a normal resting-bunny pose (chest down, front legs stretched out in front, head erect, hind legs turned to the side together and extended at approx. right angles to his body) for extended periods of time, he drinks from his water bottle when it's offered, and he struggles and kicks a bit when we clean him up. He doesn't seem to be having loose bowels anymore, so he's easier to keep tidy.

I've been able to cut back on the subcutaneous fluids - once per day instead of twice; the sign to cut back was that I could feel it pooling under his skin, and he didn't like it - it must have itched because he tried to scratch at it. He's amazingly tolerant of having this done; he mostly just lays there and munches hay. Brownie is a pain while it's going on - she gets annoyed because I'm clearly paying attention to him instead of her (I have my hand on his back, to hold the needle in).

He does still favor lying on one side rather than the other, and when he starts getting tired, he'll curl in on himself in a rather un-natural-looking way.

The vet said (when I reported the progress) that because Mallow is starting to improve, we could see lots more improvement over the nest couple of days, and if we don't, I should call again.

My hopes for him are modest at this point. I just want him to be able to get up and go drink out of his water bottle by himself.

Next time, I must remember to check the buns' gear at the boarding place before I bring them home. The clamp that fastens Mallow's bowl to the side of their night-time pen has disappeared (before we got him that one, he had a tendency to throw his dish around noisily to persuade it to produce more food). Perhaps in exchange, we have gained a large, shallow ceramic dish, which I am using - it's heavy enough that he should have trouble gripping it in his teeth. Also, our hayrack is missing. (In all fairness, Anne works very hard and had lots of bunnies staying over at the farm this week.)

Also, despite the fact that I washed the floor in "their" room 3 times (organic floor cleaner, vinegar solution, bleach solution) while they were away, they're still piddling at random. Senile buns ... they are 10 years old, after all. Incontinence isn't too amazing.