Another wild baby

[mikelcu]

Welp, I just saved a young one from the neighbor's cat. Our house is experienced with small-time rescues - we've raised squirrels, opossums, rescued and relocated everything from mice to hawks.

But oddly - never a rabbit. I've run across a few but they were either "old enough", or we could locate the nest and leave them for momma. In this case, the cat had traveled, there are several groups of rabbits nearby and there are also several prolific cats. Put simply, we don't know where she came from but she's a dead fluff if we just throw her out (probably).

So what's the best approach? We have no problem researching formula and putting in the work for a while to get her released but I'd rather get her back to her mom.

* She has fur and open eyes, but is on the young side. Very small.
* How close to the nest do we need to get for mom to realistically find her? 10 blocks? 10 meters? 10 feet?
* Is releasing her early definitely better than trying to feed her?
* any other tips or tricks to help her survive?

Thanks!

M & M & W & B

 

[ladysown]

you just need to get her INTO the nest. Any nest. or contact a wildlife rehabber.

 

[mikelcu]

Yep, we get that, but as I mentioned, we don't know where the nest is. Our presumption is that it's nearby but that's all we know. We're also going to contact rehabbers tomorrow, but that's not an option for another 12 hours or so, or about 15 total since we found her. For very young squirrels, 12+ hours can be critical, but perhaps not w/ rabbits, given what I've read so far.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Does she have any injuries?

 

[mikelcu]

No, or at least nothing obvious. It's so hard to tell for sure with tiny critters.

 

[mikelcu]

We weren't able to find a rehabber who could take her so we ended up taking a chance and putting her in bushes/brush near where we knew some rabbits lived, and where we hoped the cat had come from. The young one still seemed completely ok, no injuries, no increasing weakness, just scared.

It was visible from front room so I sat there and worked for a couple hours to keep an eye out and I'll be damned if an adult didn't come sniffing around, and the wee one popped out of the brush. They inspected each other for a minute and the little one dove under the adult (momma!?) and appeared to nurse for about 10 straight minutes before both went for cover. It was awfully cute.

Couldn't have asked for a better outcome.

 

[MaggieJ]

A very fortunate outcome!

Cottontail rabbits do not do well in captivity. They are too high-strung and nervous. So far better to release back into the wild if at all possible.