bunny death, vet negligence? please help!

Hello,

I lost my (approx 5yr old)lop bunny Rocky yesterday and I'm in bits. We took him for what I thought would be a routine vets visit for some anti-biotics, as he had a dirty bottom and it wasnt getting any better. Other than down below he was fine, eating and drinking as normal.

The vets spayed some blue antiseptic stuff on his bottom, gave him baytril antibiotics and clipped his nails. He also pulled out some matted fur from the back, which you could see what hurting Rocky and he was obviously very stressed. We were charged £36 for this treatment.

We took him home and an hour and a half later he had collapsed. Shallow breathing and very floppy. We rushed back to the vets where the vet (a different one from earlier) was very clueless as to what was wrong with him. I suggested shock and their reaction was "maybe".

They put him on a drip and asked us to go back in an hour when the surgery closes when we can either take him home (if hes improved) or we'd have to drive him to another vets for an overnight observation stay.

When we went back, he hadn't improved. The vet asked if the other rabbit had attacked Rocky as he had some recent wounds near his back. Immediately we knew it wasnt the other rabbit whatsoever and that it was from the other vet pulling out his matted fur earlier. We looked at the wounds, broken bleeding skin patches either side of his tail. I was shocked and aired my disgust, to which the vet replied that it will heal and that rabbits have very delicate skin! I complained that this kind of injury would have surely stressed him out even more and contributed to the oncome on the shock. They still didn't offer any idea of what might be wrong with him, or suggest that it might be life threatening. We were charged £70 for this treatment.

We had to drive for 20 mins to find the other vets where the lady vet there finally offered some answers. She said the most possible cause would be E cuniculi, brought on by stress. She gave him a 50% chance prognosis and said he would be monitored throughout the night. Treatment here cost £150.

The following morning we had a call to say his condition had deteriorated and we were advised to have him put to sleep. This treatment cost another £170.

Apart from the obvious heartache and upset we feel angry and confused about the treatment of the vets. Has anyone else had a rabbit in a similar condition?

The first vets seemed completely clueless and I feel may have help contribute to his death, with the added pain of inflicting the injury to his back.

Can I complain, who do I complain to? Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks so much, Amey

I'm sorry for the loss of your bunny Yes, you can complain. To begin with you would complain to the practice manager and if they don't give you a satisfactory response you then go to the RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons).

Have you considered having a post mortem done? That might give you some answers (they don't always provide the cause) and if so provide evidence for your complaint.

Tamsin said:

I'm sorry for the loss of your bunny Yes, you can complain. To begin with you would complain to the practice manager and if they don't give you a satisfactory response you then go to the RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons).

Have you considered having a post mortem done? That might give you some answers (they don't always provide the cause) and if so provide evidence for your complaint.

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hi, thanks for your reply - a post mortem would have been good in hindsight, now that ive thought about it, but unfortunately, he's now been cremated.

i will be complaining to the practice first and see what their response is, thanks again, amey

im so sorry for your loss yes sadly i do think that shock caused a huge part in your bunys death, how any self respecting vet would "pull out" matted fur hurting a bun and causing injurys like you described rather than gently cutting or prising it out is beyond me. i hope your bun is at peace at rainbow bridge there may well be another cause for the death as your bun was getting older i have doubts due to the dubious "blue spray" that was put on (sounds like the stuff they clean the body with before surgery) which would in this case have little purpose, if the bun had poo stuck around its bun gently prising it off using warm water would usually be the best soloution giving a probiotic to combat helathy gut and finding the cause of teh sticky bottem (prehaps overfeeding greens, change to diet, somthignt aht didnt sit well with bunny when eaten, increasing hay etc, stress often makes dirty bums worse too, i would seriously doubt the competance of this vet and would report them.

gosh how awful! i would certainly complain, thats ridiculous.

I am so so sorry for your loss, this must make it a million times harder.

xxxxx

Thanks everyone.

I will deffinately be making my feelings known to the vets and will persue it accordingly.

Im sure rocky is happy and safe now hes in bunny heaven with all my other late buns!

amey

avons82 said:

Thanks everyone.

I will deffinately be making my feelings known to the vets and will persue it accordingly.

Im sure rocky is happy and safe now hes in bunny heaven with all my other late buns!

amey

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i am certain of it he is in rainbow bridge now bounding across the feilds.... please feel free to post in rainbow bridge section a tribute to your special boy x

I am so very sorry for your loss.

What a terrible thing, to have what should have been a "routine" appointment / treatment and for it to turn into this.

I would definitely complain to the practice and try to claim the second appt and emergency costs back. It won't bring your bunny back but may make them consider treating bunnies with a bit more care and respect in the future.

Again, I am so sorry.

It sounds suspiciously like an allergic reaction to that spray. You should find out exactly what it was and check whether reactions have been reported in other rabbits.

In removing the fur the vet was actually on the right track as most sore and mucky bottoms clear up once the dirty fur is no longer there, although changes in diet may also be needed. However he clearly should have taken more care.

Run free poor rabbit.

I'm sorry you lost Rocky.
When you say the vet sprayed blue antiseptic on his bum, do you mean he sprayed it to try and loosen the poo, or he sprayed it after he'd pulled the poo off?
If he sprayed the blue stuff afterwards, did it dye Rocky's fur, and was it in an aerosol can?

you must be so upset. so sorry you have had to go through this.

have fun at the bridge rocky. xxx

Mudgy said:

I'm sorry you lost Rocky.
When you say the vet sprayed blue antiseptic on his bum, do you mean he sprayed it to try and loosen the poo, or he sprayed it after he'd pulled the poo off?
If he sprayed the blue stuff afterwards, did it dye Rocky's fur, and was it in an aerosol can?

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No there was no poo on his bottom, just a bit of red skin. yeah it dyed my hand too! and yes it was in a (yellow I think) aerosol can.

Any idea what it was?

It might have been a chloromide spray - did he have any broken skin before the vet pulled his fur out?

Doghouse135 said:

It might have been a chloromide spray - did he have any broken skin before the vet pulled his fur out?

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it may have been blue kote aerosol.... looks like a wound antiseptic mostly used for horses.....

no, the area round his bottom was a little inflamed and just red, sore skin.

the broken wounds were at the bottom of his back either side of his tail, which was after the vet pulled his fur out.

I think it was Engemycin aerosol, which contains Oxytetracycline Hydrochloride. Oxytet is a safe antibiotic for rabbits, but I've only ever heard of this spray being used on large animals. My guess, is the vet saw he'd torn Rocky's skin, and used it as a dressing. I have no idea if it made Rocky more unwell ( I doubt it), but I know you aren't supposed to breathe the vapours during spraying.
I think it's made by Intervet, so you could maybe ask their advice on it's suitability as a treatment for rabbits.

Mudgy said:

I think it was Engemycin aerosol, which contains Oxytetracycline Hydrochloride. Oxytet is a safe antibiotic for rabbits, but I've only ever heard of this spray being used on large animals. My guess, is the vet saw he'd torn Rocky's skin, and used it as a dressing. I have no idea if it made Rocky more unwell ( I doubt it), but I know you aren't supposed to breathe the vapours during spraying.
I think it's made by Intervet, so you could maybe ask their advice on it's suitability as a treatment for rabbits.

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The vet who tore his skin isnt even aware he ripped his skin - the first vet sprayed the blue stuff all over his bottom, underneath. Then he pulled his fur out... and it was only once Rocky had collapsed 2 hours later that the other vet saw the sores and asked if hed been attacked by my other rabbit!

So why did the first vet use the spray, when the skin was just a little red?

I don't think it can have been Blu Kote, because that contains gentian violet, and dyes fur or skin purple. The Engemycin aerosol is very drying, so perhaps the vet felt the redness was moist, and might become infected? Seems a bit harsh to apply to a rabbits sensitive skin though, as I know it stings like crazy if you get it in a cut.

Mudgy said:

So why did the first vet use the spray, when the skin was just a little red?

I don't think it can have been Blu Kote, because that contains gentian violet, and dyes fur or skin purple. The Engemycin aerosol is very drying, so perhaps the vet felt the redness was moist, and might become infected? Seems a bit harsh to apply to a rabbits sensitive skin though, as I know it stings like crazy if you get it in a cut.

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The vet just said it would act as an antiseptic barrier to avoid any infection getting to the skin.

Oh right, it was deffinately blue colour, not purple. So it could have been Engemycin. I was shocked to see him spraying it all over his sore genitles andyou could see Rocky was finding it extremely uncomfortable when it was sprayed on. I will call the vets tomorrow and find out exactly what it was. Need to put my mind at rest over all this... thanks for your advice and help...

I expect it felt very cold, so if the skin wasn't broken, it was probably that, that made Rocky feel uncomfortable rather than discomfort from stinging.
I'm sure the vet will be happy to answer your questions, and help settle any doubts you have about the way your boy was treated.
Best of luck to you, and once again, I'm sorry you lost him.

Mudgy said:

I expect it felt very cold, so if the skin wasn't broken, it was probably that, that made Rocky feel uncomfortable rather than discomfort from stinging.
I'm sure the vet will be happy to answer your questions, and help settle any doubts you have about the way your boy was treated.
Best of luck to you, and once again, I'm sorry you lost him.

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thank you i will be contacting the vets asap and airing my quaetions and concerns about the whole thing. :? i know its soon, but ive just found and old lionhead male in need of rehoming, so my other rabbit Pepe, wont miss Rockster too much. :lol: