Clare continues to do well at her foster home.  She’s gained a little weight and body mass, and is physically stronger.  She’s had a recheck from Dr. Harvey, who is pleased with her overall progress.

The abscess below Clare’s left ear isn’t filling as much as before, and it’s mostly draining on its own into the ear canal.  The pus is being scooped out twice daily with long-handled cotton-tip applicators.  The majority is in her left ear, although there’s usually a smaller amount in her right ear.  Next, the ear canals are cleaned with Nolvasan, then after they dry Healx Soother Plus salve is applied.  Every other day the abscess is manually drained, then cleaned.  Clare doesn’t like the process, which causes discomfort, even with .2 cc’s of Metacam being given 30 minutes before starting.  And she’s still receiving two oral meds twice daily:  TMS and Doxycycline.

Dr. Harvey feels the root cause of the problem is likely related to an inner-ear infection.  Resolving it will probably take quite some time.  There’s also some concern about the condition of her left molars.

Clare has adapted well to life in her foster home.  Her cage is on the kitchen counter, and she can see everything that’s going on.  She quickly figured out the sequence of events leading up to Salad Time.  When she sees the containers being taken out of the refrigerator, she comes over to the front of her cage and starts begging.  She loves everything, but chews somewhat slowly.

She’s also made friends with another foster bunny, named Violet.  Violet is one of the so-called “Candlestick bunnies” and is being fostered for Save A Bunny.  Violet’s right hind leg doesn’t work very well (Dr. Harvey thinks it may be the result of head trauma), so she needs something to lean against.  Violet’s daily outside playtime requires that the top to a Marchioro cage be placed over her to give her support so she can hop around and graze in the grass.  She and Clare have their outside playtime at the same time, and Clare spends most of her time grazing near Violet’s enclosure.  They’ve become buddies and greet each other by bumping noses through the cage.  The above photo shows them together.  (Clare’s on the right.)

If you haven’t read Clare’s previous blog entry, please scroll down to June 18th.

Clare’s veterinary care is being made possible by donations to the Harvest Home medical fund.  If you’d like to help Clare and other bunnies like her, please contact Karen at [ Karen@harvesthomeanimal.org ].

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