Chapter 100 – Trouble In Paradise
Life at the House of Buns seemed like paradise. Mocha had adjusted to single life aboard the Starship Bunnyprise, Bentley lived happily with Dad in the “bachelor pad” on the bedroom level, and Enzo and Merlot were a happily bonded pair living on the main floor.
Dad noticed that Merlot seemed to like snuggling up against the heat register. He didn’t think much of it, since winter had arrived, bringing with it a slight chill in the air.
It was late Friday night. Dad sat down in front of the TV to watch the late night news. It was also the late night treat time. Enzo came bounding over. He pawed Dad’s leg, which was a bit unusual. “You want a treat?” asked Dad. Enzo stood up on his back feet. Dad handed him a berry loop. Enzo politely took it in his mouth and set it down on the floor.
“What? You don’t want a cookie?” asked Dad. Enzo pawed furiously at his leg. “What is it, Enzo?” asked Dad. He noticed Merlot wasn’t there for treats. He asked, “Where’s your little girlfriend?” Enzo thought, “Dad, someting wrong wit Merlot. Fix her!”
Dad went searching for Merlot. She wasn’t in any of the usual loafing spots, so he went in the guest bedroom and looked under the bed. There was the gray fur ball. “Merlot! You don’t want treats?” Merlot didn’t budge. Dad reached under the bed and pulled her out. The fact that she didn’t fight him said something.
As he lifted her up, he said, “Gosh Merlot. You hardly weigh anything! Have you lost weight?” He took her into the kitchen and placed her on the baby scale. Dad gasped, “Oh my gosh! You HAVE lost weight! Since he last weighed her five days ago, she had dropped from 4.1 lbs to 3 lbs. She felt boney, too.
“I’ve seen you eating,” said Dad. “What’s going on?” Of course, it had to happen late Friday night, when the vet was closed for the weekend. Dad couldn’t wait until Monday to do something. He mixed up some Critical Care in a syringe and fed it to Merlot. At first, she resisted, but once she tasted it, she decided it wasn’t so bad. She lapped up about 3 syringes worth before she thought, “OK, that’s enough for now.” Dad kept an eye on her over the weekend and continued to assist-feed her.
First thing Monday morning, he made an appointment with their Supervet that afternoon. Dr. Stern looked her over. “Yes, she has some points on her teeth that are digging into her cheek. It probably hurts to chew, so she’s not eating enough. I’ll squeeze her into tomorrow’s surgery schedule and we can do a tooth trim.” Dad was relieved.
Dad apologized to Merlot, “Sorry, Merlot. I’m going to have to leave you here overnight. But don’t worry, I’ll be back tomorrow to pick you up.”
Dr. Stern asked, “Do you want to do a bloodtest and chem panel just to check? It’ll take about ½ hour.” Dad replied, “Yeah, sure. Why not? Might as well.”
Dad sat in the examination room and waited. Awhile later, she returned and reported, “Her bilirubin and glucose levels are high. That suggests she might have a problem with her liver. She might have Hepatic Lipidosis, commonly known as fatty liver disease. That can happen when a rabbit drops weight rapidly. It can be very serious. It’s really important that she keeps eating. We’ll assist feed her.”
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