My cat brought in a wild baby rabbit. last night

[Bryn]

It seems unhurt. I took it away in time. But I have no idea how to take care of a wild baby rabbit before releasing it back to the wild. I have put it in cat carrier on nice soft towel. It's so tiny, but has eyes open. It's clearly a cotton tail. I have two big dogs and 4 cats so I have to protect it from them until it's ready to be released. Help?

Funny, it's Easter soon! :)

[HopeHoops]

1. We took in a wild one that was defective in several ways. I can help.

He is physically deformed (smushed face, breathing issues), and is actually a hermaphrodite (but we call him "him"). If yours isn't injured and has no such weirdness, you can release it. Do it in the early morning and near hedges or something. For tonight, give it some REALLY SOFT greens - lettuce or something. That's not a good staple food for them because it is mostly devoid of nutrients they need but it will have moisture and he's unlikely to drink from a bowl (ours does, but he's different). At his age, DO NOT give him spinach.

They are a lot of work to keep as pets and he'll probably be happier outside. Ours had no fear of humans, dogs, or cats, so he would have lasted maybe an hour or two more if I hadn't brought him in and he's become a wonderful pet (coming up on 3 years old). Again, if he doesn't have any physical problems, give him an offering of something leafy and let him go in the early morning.

[Bryn]

6. Thanks

I can't release him yet because we are having thunderstorm right now. I am in Arkansas. I did give him baby carrot and lettuce. I did google. One advises to give warm milk of 2oz fat. I'd like to be sure he is fine and weather is clear then I will release him back to the wild because we have lots of wild rabbits around here. That darn cat of mine for picking him up, bringing him home!

[HopeHoops]

9. Carrot might be a little rough on the digestive tract.

[Sanity Claws]

2. What are you feeding it?

I'm concerned that it may not be old enough to take solids.
Is there a PAWS or a wildlife rehabilitation group near you? If you don't know, try googling for the information.

[HopeHoops]

3. They generally don't venture out of the nest until they can eat solids and they are REALLY tiny!!!

We have them all over the place. I've run the mower over them without hurting any. By the time they can do anything more than just crawl, they can eat solids. They have an amazing growth rate and the little ones are fast as hell.

[Bryn]

7. I meant to take it to that great animal hospital nearby where

we have 3 lovely vet women, but we've been having a bad weather today, thunders, raining hard. Hopefully tomorrow.

[HopeHoops]

4. WHOA! WARNING: I forgot to mention not to cuddle it. There are two MAJOR dangers.

Primary Danger: You'll fall in love with it and that will screw everything up.
Secondary Danger: It will bond to you and that could be more detrimental to survival in the wild.

[Bryn]

10. Yikes!

It's so cute and I want to name it Wendy. Not sure if it's a girl though :)

[CreekDog]

5. need photo

:loveya: :hi:

[Bryn]

8. Sure will do tonight with my digital camera

after I put my puppy dog in her crate for the night. She's a year old and still likes to chase things around. She tried to take it, but left it because of my command.