Goodbye Hugo

Dear friends,
Sadly, despite all the vibes and thoughts you kindly sent over, and were well received, my Hugo boy has crossed the bridge this morning, shortly after I left him at the vets to start the fluids therapy.
The diagnosis was the feared enterotoxaemia, an infection with little chance of survival for the bunnies. The vet supposed that the tooth infection had already migrated to the bloodstream, and the antibiotic wasn't enough to keep it at bay, despite the dosage. The other possibility is that the antibiotic, killing some batteria, also got some good bacteria from the guts, creating an imbalance resulting in the enteritis. I guess I will never know, because I am not going to have a postmortem done.
Miss Eve said goodbye to him - I put him in the living room with the carrier, so she could see where he was - and kept returning to see him every now and then. She seemed to have accepted that he was gone, but when I put down the green plastic tube to keep her occupied while I was cleaning the floor of the crate, she rushed in and out sniffing and making a tiny sound that she normally does when thumping, something she does when she's disapproving of me...poor girl, she was looking for him, smelling his scent but not seeing him anywhere as the smell suggested... it was so heartbreaking...
Off now downstairs to keep some company to Miss Eve... sleep tight, my Hugo bunny...

It never rains but it pours

Firstly, thank you so much for all the lovely messages and emails for Hugo and Miss Eve...they worked very well! However, just when I was thinking that everything was going back to normal, and a day after I finished giving the antibiotics injections to Hugo (I think I can give these with more confidence now!), Hugo gets something else. After the playing time yesterday evening, he went back to the cage but did not want any food. He sat hunched at a corner, then stretched flat in the same corner, but wouldn't move and eat.
I thought he was sulking because I put him back in the crate, but no...after half an hour he moved and noticed liquid at the very back of the cage...I thought he peed there to show me, but when I went to wipe it off I noticed that it was diarrhoea :( He then hopped off to leave smeared on the floor of the cage a large dark mass of mushy poo, some very liquid. He was in distress and I did not want to stress him more, so I opted not to wash his backside and feet but wipe them in the cage with a towel, as long as he cooperated. He accepted some water but refused food, so gave him a sprinkle of probiotics in the water. I did a search on Frances Harcourt-Brown's book for possible reasons for the diarrhoea, and while I cannot say if it is really the case, Hugo's symptoms look very similar to those of enterotoxaemia. Whilst it says that it occurs in rabbits kept in colonies, it also says that occasionally it will affect pet bunnies. Sadly, the prognosis given in the book is not very good. The emergency vet is not a specialist for exotics and under the circumstances and previous disastrous esperiences I decided to keep him here and watch him closely.
I picked him up and wrapped in a towel (and it was very easy, which shows that he's really feeling poorly as otherwise he would have put quite a fight), and with the help of Mr D I gave him some metacam to help with the pain, then probiotics and water siringed, as well as a mush of pellets also siringed, as he won't eat by himself. He is showing a bit more activity since the metacam, but he is still having no proper poos. I am hoping he will make it through the night so that he can see Dani first thing tomorrow morning. Please keep my lovely bunny boy in your thoughts and send some healing vibes over the pond! And hopefully I haven't put anyone off their dinner now with my graphic description...if so, I apologise.

The worst is over...let's hope!

Well, we've had a bit of drama and nail biting moments at YowlYY's palace, but now the worst should be over. Let me explain...

Both Hugo and Miss Eve had to have dentals. Dani noticed tiny spurs in Miss Eve's lower molars, and although she wasn't sure if they were causing the soft stool, she thought it would be better to trim these, and put her on probiotics. Hugo showed also a spur, but only when he was under the anaesthetic Dani saw that another molar was moving and there was a discharge around the gum - so another infection. Poor Hugo had had to have that molar removed, and Dani said that that infection was the obvious cause of the continuous sneezing, as well as the cause of the increased water intake. Hugo was drinking far too much in comparison with what he was drinking a week ago, and it just didn't look right to me. While he was under, he had also his tearducts flushed, and since he's back home he sneezes considerably less. Now Hugo is on penicillin injections (3x daily),metacam (1x daily), and metoclopromide (3x daily) together with probiotics, which Miss Eve is also taking for the mushy stool issue.
Again, I have to stick the needles into a bunny... and it is not easy, I have to tell you. You have to grab enough skin (and fur) so that a tent bilds up and you stick the needle at the base of that tent, then you have to pull in the trigger to see if you are drawing blood (and if you do, you need to take the needle out and have another try), if all is well then you push the plunge and... quick massage and it's done with. I think I am over the squeamishness to stick needles, but I find it hard to grab enough skin....somehow I have a subconscious fear to hurt Hugo. I know it is silly, because he couldn't care less...he actually sometimes toothpurrs while I am pulling and repulling his skin (and doing a bit of anti-moult-treatment too, since it is white fur time around here again!), but hey, this is me...!
Now, if only Miss Eve could get her appetite back....she hasn't been very interested in food today, just the odd nibble. I do hope she's back to normal soon, because the vets won't be open until Saturday and it is a looong time!

Off now to check on the two lovebuns, and fix some dinner for us two humans....then there'll be some well deserved knitting time while watching TV.
In the meantime, have a lovely Christmas Eve, and of course a fantastic, relaxing and sparkly Christmas day!

A visit to the vets

Thank you to everyone who commented on my blog last week - buns are making me tell you that I suck big time as bunny mum, as I haven't taken a picture of them in the whole week, but in my defence I have to say that the weather hasn't been brilliant and so the light. Best pics are taken when the sun is shining outside :)
Now about the title of this post...I have kept a close eye at Hugo's sneezing (no, he doesn't have pasturella, the vet assured me)and his eating habits, and he has slowed down a bit, also not eating much of the veggies, which is a warning light for me. Another dental? Has the abscess under the tooth removed come again? I booked him for tomorrow to see Dani, I really do not want to face an emergency over the holidays and with only alternative that horrid animal hospital where Sir Harvey passed away four years ago...
And miss Eve...well, she's been having some outputs that are a bit out of the norm, to put it in a less gross way, and so she is coming for a ride to the vets as well. Miss Eve had a dental a month before she was bonded with Hugo - maybe it is a dental problem again, or maybe she just needs to go on a diet...we will know more tomorrow afternoon!

Surface

The new Knitty Winter has been out for a few days, and I picked up my next project, Surface by...guess who... Norah Gaughan! (again!) There is something about her designs that attracts me and I feel compelled to knit everything she designs. Of course, life gets in the way, so sometimes I forget about her designs, until we meet again.
The jacket looks fantastic - it has a classic shape and the blisters that decorate the sleeves, the collar and the extra stole (fixed to the buttons, very clever!) make it look like a piece of knitwear you'd be happy to spend plenty of money on a first class boutique.
So, what did I do...I thought of using my Rowan 4ply Soft, but it was far too thin to match the gauge...and then I paid a visit to Cucumberpatch, who had plenty of Jaeger Extra Fine Merino in many colours, including a middle grey that just begged to be transformed into Surface. So I ordered it, whole 16 skeins (because you'd better have one left than being one too short, right?).

On Monday, I cast on and as of today I have knitted just past the first decreases on the back piece:

I used needles 3.5mm for the border in 2/2 rib, and 4mm for the main body. The gauge is almost as given. Almost. Did I say that I did not do a swatch with 4mm? The 3.75mm were just too thin for the yarn, so I ignored the swatching. And the swatch police.
I can't wait to knit the blister pattern, so maybe after the back I will have to cast on the sleeves...or the stole even!

Bunnies go boum!

I have discovered Nakisha through Flickr, and on her etsy shop I found a link to this video:



Cute, n'est pas?

Snugglebuns alert!

RG said there's need for more pictures of Hugo and Miss Eve...so I oblige:


What else can you do if you are a bunny, on a sunny Wednesday afternoon, while mummy is upstairs working in the office?

Georgene - finished!

Georgene - finished!
Originally uploaded by YowlYY

I promised to post some pictures of FOs, and here's the first. The original pattern on the Berroco website suggested Geode worked doubled, and there's some drapey effect on the snood showed on the model. My version, however, is a more chunky and substantial version, but I quite like it. Right now, with temperatures just around zero Celsius, is it the right piece of kit to walk around at nighttime.

Yarn: Patons Shadow Tweed, used 1 and 3/4 skeins
Needles: no.6

Monday Bunday

Miss Eve and Hugo Bun movie stars!

- this for the many bunny fans around :)

Knitting pictures of recently finished objects to follow soon...maybe tomorrow?

On knitting and bunnies...

Where have I been? Away, of course, once again... and I can tell you bunnies weren't the least pleased about it. Apparently, Mr D is very strict with his "basic bunny maintenance" regime, and they aren't so happy. Too little pets and ear rubs, no singing, no extra treats...Oh well, my travelling should be over for this year and they will be seeing a lot of me until January.

Yes, yes, mum... promises again...

At least, I have some knitting being finished...pictures tomorrow, promised!
Thank you again to all of you who commented in the last two weeks :) I have now some serious catching up to do with all the bunny blogs!