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Losing bunnies

donnamt

Wise Old Thumper
in your experience what is the easiest to bear when you lose a bunny?

is it long term terminal illness where you get to prepare or a sudden loss out of the blue having no indication of illness?

sorry its a bit morbid, two weeks ago today since Pearl was pts and its sort of filling my brain today :oops::oops:
 
I don't think there's a right answer to this.

If you lose a pet suddenly you wish that you could have known they were ill and had time to prepare.

If they have an illness you wish that they hadn't had to spend time suffering.

It's bl**dy hard either way!
 
I have to say I honestly don't know hun :cry:

I think they are both very, very difficult in very different ways :cry:

I just try to tell myself that we've given the best we possibly can whilst there with us & that they've have lots of good memories to take with them :cry: It doesn't always help, but I try to think about the good times with them.

(((Hugs))) xxx
 
neither then. they both kill a piece of heart equally :cry::cry:

i guess with Alvin being away if he suddenly went id not have said goodbye to him and im not sure if that would be harder than knowing Pearls death was coming.

one thing for sure, when i get a terminal bunny again i certainly wont waste time torturing myself on when to let go :(
 
neither then. they both kill a piece of heart equally :cry::cry:

I think you hit the nail on the head. :cry::cry:

I don't think either is easier to cope with - they just bring different emotions; with a sudden loss you also have the shock to deal with on top of grief but with a long term illness I think you're grieving for a much longer time, probably even before they've gone too. :(
 
They're both auwful because either way you've lost a friend :(
I lost my Tilly very suddenly, literally she was fine one day and died the next. It was a HUGE and unbearable shock, it seemed unreal like a horrific nightmare. I think in those situations the denial phase of grieving lasts abit longer whereas if you know the death is coming it's probably easier to accept when the time comes, as you've had time to get your head around it.
However, now Im coming to terms with losing her I'm glad for her that she died so suddenly as the days before her death were filled with happiness.

Stay strong for Alvin :love:
 
From a pure shock point of view, when I found Sooty dead in her shed I was shaking and really felt awful. She hadn't even been ill.

Tinkerbell had been ill for a couple of days and it still shocked me to find her but I wasn't that surprised in all honestly.

Simba was PTS during illness which although very sad didn't leave me with the "shocked" feeling.
 
I cope better when I know that they're ill.
Like my rats, three were a bit poorly so when they were put to sleep I was upset, but not shocked so I coped so well. One of them I found dead in the cage and it made me cry so much because she'd just got over a chest infection and I thought she was ok :(

With the cats, Frankie only went in for a minor thing and he ended up being put to sleep there and then when they found out he had cancer in his throat and wouldn't have long left, and I was devestated. Our other cat ZsiZsi was ill for a little while so I saw it coming and I coped fine.


When Mable died it was so sudden that I was hysterical for days and I'm still not anywhere near over it and can hardly talk about her without wanting to cry
 
I know what you mean Steph, I think the shock of a sudden death leads to hysteria, whereas you're better able to keep calm if you're expecting it. Either way its just horrible to deal with :cry:
 
I dont think there is a difference having experienced both on many an occassion :(

You end up beating yourself up about it in both situations, if they go suddenly you think you have let them down and missed something, and feel guilty for not being there. If you choose to pts after a long illness then again you question whether the timing is right, whether you should have tried this or that. Well thats how I feel anyway :(

The other possibility we deal with a lot is sending them in for ops and then getting a call when they are opened up to say things are bad and we need to let them go :( At least this way we know there is nothing else we can do, but again I feel bad that we never got to say goodbye, as I will never say goodbye to a bunny when I send it in for an op as to me it feels like I am giving up on them. I always tell them that we are sending them to get the pain fixed, which ever way that may be :cry::cry:
 
I dont think there is a difference having experienced both on many an occassion :(

You end up beating yourself up about it in both situations, if they go suddenly you think you have let them down and missed something, and feel guilty for not being there. If you choose to pts after a long illness then again you question whether the timing is right, whether you should have tried this or that. Well thats how I feel anyway :(

The other possibility we deal with a lot is sending them in for ops and then getting a call when they are opened up to say things are bad and we need to let them go :( At least this way we know there is nothing else we can do, but again I feel bad that we never got to say goodbye, as I will never say goodbye to a bunny when I send it in for an op as to me it feels like I am giving up on them. I always tell them that we are sending them to get the pain fixed, which ever way that may be :cry::cry:

:cry::cry::cry::cry: *huuugggssss*
 
After experiencing nursing buns through illness & spending days in guilt when I'm at work & want to be at home, & then nights staying up with them, frustration at not knowing whats wrong, vets visits....I wish my buns would now have the passing that a couple of my others had - fast & unexpected.
 
Personally I find it easier to deal with a sudden death....I hate having a long term bunny that I know the outcome will be loosing them :cry:
 
As far as grieving for the loss of a furry goes it hurts either way! I think sometimes what makes it more, or less, bearable is the way they go which for me is directly related to the amount of pain I think they might have felt! I had an old puss wuss who at 18 just sort of faded away and so I just had to deal with the loss of her after all that time whereas I had another cat who I adored equally and he was killed suddenly in a car accident that one I can't even bare to think about 10yrs on I still haven't got over it! Another time I had a 10yr old cat with a terminal illness and I had to make the pts decision it is something I also will never get over altho I know it was the right decision and she had no hope and the time was absolutely right.... ****** Im blubbing I knew I shouldn't have opened this thread :( Basically it always hurts the only time it is less painfull is if they they lived a very long happy life and drift away on their own! Vodka... where is my vodka now!!
 
After experiencing nursing buns through illness & spending days in guilt when I'm at work & want to be at home, & then nights staying up with them, frustration at not knowing whats wrong, vets visits....I wish my buns would now have the passing that a couple of my others had - fast & unexpected.

Absolutely agree. Hate them being poorly, I always vow to have the Pts as soon as I know theres no getting better.....putting that into practice is a different scenario!
 
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