Our cat, Clarence (named after the great Clarence Clemons. Someday I’ll get into my love for The Boss) is a great hunter. And he is allowed to go outside because he’s happier that way. My previous cat (Teddy) could not have cared less about going outside. He knew where his food bowl was and that was good enough for him. Clarence loves the taste of fresh meat and he’s good at getting it.
He’s really thinned out the mice/mole/vole situation around the few houses he ventures to, so he will get birds, bats, and rabbits as well. This season has been pretty slow for him so far which I’m perfectly fine with. I don’t always have time in the mornings to dispose of the carcasses. Then yesterday I left the back door open while I was letting Dexter out before picking up the girls. I came in and found Clarence with a live animal. At first I thought it was a rat because I thought I saw a long tail. For a split second I almost bolted out the door, but then it squeaked. Unfortunately, I recognized the squeak of a bunny in trouble.
So I was able to get the bunny away from Clarence and get it outside. I’ve done it before and the bunny has usually just hopped away. This bunny did not, so I knew I was in trouble. I picked it up and saw it had some nasty cuts on its belly. So nasty that I could see bits of the guts. At that point I knew I couldn’t leave it in the grass because Clarence would most definitely get it as soon as I let him outside, even if the bunny was able to drag itself to a more covered area. At this point I had to get moving to get the girls picked up from daycare and swim, so I was trying to think of something to put the little guy in and keep safe. I was slightly panicking and it took me longer than it should have to think of the cat carrier . So I got him (I have no idea if it was a boy, so I’m generalizing) settled in that while I got the girls.
They were both pretty excited to hear I had a baby bunny waiting for them at home. I’m pretty sure Morgan thought we were getting a new pet. We had to make a stop at CVS for some bandaging supplies and then went home to treat the patient. The girls did a great job at listening to my directions and helping to get him sprayed with antibiotic, bandaged and wrapped. I pretty much held the bunny while they did the rest. Then it was just a waiting game…
Both girls checked on him before going to bed and as soon as they woke up the next morning. I had already made sure he was still alive, and he was looking okay at that point. A graduate school classmate had messaged me the night before after seeing my post on Facebook that the bunny would need antibiotics immediately in order to survive because the saliva of cats is deadly to rabbits. I had no idea. I found some amoxicillin we had leftover from a few years ago, but I attempted to get some in him. By the time I was taking Morgan to school, the bunny had done from sitting upright to laying on his side, and I knew that was not a good sign. I took the bunny to work with me and put him in the sun to keep him warm. He moved around a bit so I was a teeny tiny bit hopeful he might be turning the corner.
I had him on the windowsill and kept checking to make sure he was still breathing, but one time Velvet (my supervisor) came in and looked and said “I don’t think he’s breathing anymore. Is he gone?” I had just checked on him a couple minutes before she came in, but it only takes a moment. Poor little bunny didn’t make it. I buried him when I went home for lunch. Next time I’ll be quicker with the antibiotics and hopefully have a better chance of success. But this little guy had some pretty big wounds, too. I’m not sure there was really anything I could have done for him, but I had to at least try and not just leave him for Clarence’s next meal. That seemed way too cruel.
Now I’ll have to tell the girls tonight. Morgan will be upset but I’m hoping she will be distracted by her dance recital pictures and getting her hair and makeup done. Fingers crossed on that one. Natalie is young enough she doesn’t get it yet, so she will roll with it. That’s the beauty of being 3.