My rabbit just died

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum.. I wanted to post in the introductions section but at the minute I felt it more appropriate to post here.
My beautiful, gentle, loving friend died yesterday. He died at midnight, at the turn of my birthday. I feel absolutely devastated, almost suffocated with emotion. We brought him home from the vets at around lunch time, sadly they didn't phone us till the morning. I held his little fragile body in my arms and cried into his fur, layed him down with his brother so he could say his goodbyes, then we buried him. I feel so wracked with guilt. Why didn't I notice something was wrong sooner? How could I have missed it?
When we suspected he was very sick we took him to the vets but by then they didn't hold out much hope. Apparently he was dehydrated and had g.i stasis. I hate myself for not noticing. His brother and him were kept indoors and given a varied diet, but not as much veg in recent months as perhaps they should have had. They shared a hutch at night time so I didn't notice that he wasn't drinking or eating properly, or pooping. He was still hopping around and seemingly behaving normally till only a couple of days before he passed away. When we took him to the vets, suddenly, out of his environment, he seemed so small and frail. I will never come to terms with his death, I would do anything to have him back.
His brother keeps looking for him, I'm not sure whether he understands or not. I have found a lovely girlfriend for him who will hopefully bring some joy back in his life but it's going to take time for everyone. The whole house is filled with sadness.
Please please please be very aware of the dangers of g.i stasis. I missed it, completely. Even though I knew rabbits are at risk of it, I still missed it, I feel so dumb. I'm trying to be strong for everyone but I don't feel strong, I just want to hide and cry.

oh no I'm so sorry for your loss. Bunnies are such fragile creatures and many hide illness very well. Thinking of you x x x

Hiya

Welcome to RU

Im sorry you have joined under sad circumstances, i also lost my beloved one in a million bunny, Star, on my 18th Birthday, it was sudden, and i think she passed in her sleep, yet that doesnt make it any better for me, and i will always regret not being there in her last hour.

If you want to talk, PM me xx

Hello there.

I am so sorry to hear your very sad news. Only people who love bunnies can understand the depth of feeling held for a rabbit who becomes such a good friend. Do take some strength from the knowledge that you gave your bunny love and friendship while he was with you. Now he's at the rainbow bridge and will be binkying free and out of pain. His spirit lives on forever and he'll still be with you.

Sorry we have to meet you on RU under such sad circumstances.

Helen

What a sad post. Thinking of you.

So sorry you've lost him I don't think you should blame yourself though....bunnies are not only fragile, but excellent at hiding their symptoms, so even an experienced rabbit keeper can easily miss things. He was lucky to be with you as you obviously loved him very much....I hope you can grieve for him and begin to feel better in good time.

Ruth x

So sorry, thinking of you.

I'm so sorry.Please don't blame yourself.Stasis comes on very quickly and at least you took your bun to the vet as soon as you knew he wasn't well.I'm sorry for your loss.

Thankyou!

Thankyou to everyone for your kind words, being able to talk about it with people who understand has really helped. Today has been a little easier, just hope that someday this awful sadness that I keep feeling will lift. It's been hard having other people tell me to 'move on' & hearing them sigh when I've started crying again.
I will keep you posted how the introduction goes when we bring the new bun home, she sounds adorable.
Love to you all.

So sorry you lost your rabbit. Very sad. As others have said GI statis can come on very quickly and bunnies are very good at hiding any illness. You did all you could for him, please don't blame yourself.

Binky free little bunny.

So sorry to hear about your bun, thinking of you

Hello welcome to RU. I think I'll be repeating what everyone else has said but gi can come on so quickly. I'm really sorry your bunny has gone but you mustn't blame yourself. Spend time with your other bunny and be of comfort to each other.

So sorry to hear about your bun, am thinking of you. Will be thinking of him tonight when I light my candle at 9pm for the candle ceremony.

My Jessica died in July....

Hi all. I am also new to this forum but 6 weeks after losing my little fluffy angel I feel slightly warmed to find such a similar story on here. It's an awful tragedy but to find someone who feels the same emptiness is strangely reassuring. Firstly, I am so sorry to hear about your loss and I hope the new bun is settling in. My Jessica puff also died of G.I. stasis and when we finally realised what was wrong we tried everything to get her eating again including some awful hours spent force feeding her when we should have been cherishing our last moments together. She wasn't very old and was always really healthy until the last week or so. On her last night I slept downstairs in her room with her and got up every two hours to check on her. She seemed fine when I last checked at 7am but when I got up at 8am I found she'd fallen asleep forever. I wanted to tell you this because even though I checked all night she still slipped away. You wouldn't have been able to stop your tragedy even if your bun was with you.
For the first few seconds after I found Jessica I felt I would never breathe again, for the first few minutes I felt I would never move again, for the first few hours I felt I would never eat again, for the first few days I felt I would never ever stop crying and for the first few weeks I felt I would never be happy again or get rid of the guilt I felt. Now six weeks on I have applied to adopt two more precious bundles. Some say it's too soon but it's Jessica's legacy and I owe it to her to give more bunnies a happy life. I miss having bunnies in my life and I have learnt my lesson with G.I.stasis and will hopefully spot it sooner should it ever happen again. I hope everyone is aware of this devastating silent killer. Love your buns and squeeze them extra tight tonight. Leah x

im soo sorry for your loss..its horrible to lose a furry baby..

im so sorry, its awful when we lose our furries. especially when someone says 'its just a rabbit' for example, but we understand.

Gi stasis is awful, some bunnies can last ages some just a few hours, it is also sometimes secondary to another problem, and GI stasis is merely a symptom of something else,so do not blame yourself, they hide their illnesses so well, its in their nature.

xxxxxxx

So very sorry

Hi ariadne, really sorry for your loss We are sat here tonight worrying whether one of ours will make it through the night. I know it's no consolation but I'm sure you did everything possible to give your bun a good life. Stasis is a horrible afflication and sometimes, no matter the level of care, there are no guarantees that the bun will pull through. Best wishes.

Ariadne and Leah-so sorry to hear of the loss of your buns. It is diffficult to see how much pooand wee is attributed to each bun when you have two in together and as others have said GI stasis comes on so quickly. I'm glad to hear you have both been strong enough to give some other buns a chance of a happy life despite your grief.Binky free buns-Suex

Hi everyone,
Hi Leah, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, it really helped me reading your post. I think an integral part of why we feel so much is because these furry bundles of love make up part of our family, in this way we grieve as we would if we lost a relative.
For me, handing my rabbit over to the vet was an enormous part of why I feel so much guilt. I obviously didn't want him to suffer & be in any pain & they were best placed to treat him & make him comfortable, but at the same time I knew his little body would not be able to cope with all the interventions they were going to do.
Since his death I've been reading a lot of articles about G.I stasis, not only to try and better understand what happened but to protect my other rabbit & it really is quite complex. Something that seems to keep cropping up is the importance of an xray to help identify what exactly is causing the problem. For example, abdominal massage & fluids might be a more favourable option & less aggressive a treatment & the use of motility drugs could be considered almost foolhardy when what is causing the problem has been unidentified.
Unfortunately we do not seem to have many rabbit savvy vets, & giving an xray is not even a consideration, as in our case.
I read an interesting article produced by Greenwich Rabbit Rescue, I thought it was very insightful and for me, has given me a better understanding.

http://www.greenwichrabbitrescue.com/gistasisthesilentkille.htm

Leah, with regards to you adopting two more rabbits, I don't think anyone can tell you it's 'too soon'. Only you know how you feel and what is right for you. My new bun comes home today, only 4-5 days after I lost my friend. How lucky your buns are to have such a thoughtful and loving carer! All the best.

Thankyou to everyone for their support, when I came here I was in pieces and your kinds words and thoughts have made me so much stronger. Leong, I do hope your bun gets better. ariadne xxx