Spray some liquid fence on it to deter further rabbit (or deer) damage. And keep watering it, other than that, there's nothing else you can do for now. Just hope for the best, but most likely it will come back in the spring.

It will look like the same plant again in spring. I bought a David phlox from Lowes last year in fall, it was just a pot of roots literally. It was on clearance for 50 cents. It came back strong this year and looks great, and bloomed well. Those darn rabbits are so cute, but so destructive!

Jen

To keep the little rats out of the cage, you have to bury the bottom of it several inches down. Otherwise they'll dig under it to get to the goods. A combo of rabbit repellant & caging for the plant's 1st year should do the trick.