Here's what happened.
I go to clean out Noah's cage, and he's not really running from me. When I pick him up, his belly is wet and smells like urine. OH GREAT I think to myself before taking him to the bathroom for a rinse. I use tepid water and run him under the faucet- taking care to avoid his little face. HE WAS SO CUTE WHEN HE WAS WET! (I took pictures.)
I wrap him in a towel to dry him off and hold him like a swaddled baby. When I look into his face to talk to him in a high-pitched voice, I notice that one side of his nose isn't wriggling. It's sealed off and a little crusty. At this point, I grow concerned. He's wheezing and squeaking while he breathes. Mom says he's just stressed from the bath, so when he's all dry I put him back in his cage. Since he was so good, I offer him a piece of a banana, which he ignores. So I pull out the treat bag. He usually gets really excited at the crinkle of the bag and starts to beg, but he barely moved. When I stuck the treat in his face, he just looked away. HE DIDN'T EVEN LICK IT.
Soooo I call the vet. They say to bring him in around 8 when the bunny vet gets to the clinic, I say fine. I continue to hold Noah, and he just sits on my tummy or hops a few feet away to lay on the bed. His breathing becomes more and more labored, and at this point I'm getting anxious. Suddenly, I hear a raspy sound and look over as he starts to cough. COUGH! He hopped off the bed (first time all day) and continued to cough.
Well, I scoop him up, wrap him in a towel, run downstairs and sort of shout, "MOM, WE'RE GOING TO THE VET NOW!!!!"
We get there before the bunny vet (obvs) but thankfully one of the techs is really good with rabbits and she gets his nose cleaned out. Mom and I leave for about an hour then go back to check on him. An older couple comes in looking very distressed and holding a cat who is "blocked". Ew. They look at mom and me and ask, "Do you have a cat or dog here, too?"
I say, "No, I brought my bunny."
They look at me for a moment and then say, "Well... that's alright."
DAMN STRAIGHT IT'S ALRIGHT OLD PEOPLE!
The vet comes out, tells me he has an upper respiratory infection and instructs me on how to give him medicine and what to watch for. He has to be under close surveillance for the next 48 hours (apparently antibiotics can be bad for bunnies??). Oh yeah, and I can't feed him alfalfa hay. She said it's like giving him cheesecake everyday. SHOOT. I usually feed him timothy hay, this is the first alfalfa bag I switched to.
Anyway, we wait for them to bring my baby back out, and another couple walks in with.. A RABBIT! He's much bigger, and apparently in worse shape. Poor thing. When the couple finds out we have a bunny too, we instantly bond. Although, I think they're a little more fanatical about bunnies. I'm just fanatical about Noah.
They bring Noah out wrapped in a towel so that I couldn't see any part of him. He peed on the towel I brought, so we told the nice people they could keep it. ;D I uncover his little head to see his little nose wriggling and he snuggles up underneath my chin.
I'm glad Noah knows I saved his life. If I waited another 24 hours, he might not be with us today! I just gave him his medicine, and he took it like a CHAMP! He's also been eating and drinking and chasing Sookie. I think he's going to be juuuust fine!
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