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So sad :( What did my rabbit die of?!!

I'm so sad my poor Flo bun had to be put to sleep today.

Flo was a 20 month old mini rex and so lovely. She was fine- no signs of illness- only slight thing her eyes in the last couple of weeks seemed a tiny bit cloudy but I thought maybe she was developing cataracts- she was totally herself.

Then last night I went to feed her in the evening and she was in her tube in the big enclosure- which is unusual as she usually rushes to see me but I thought nothing of it and left her (yes I feel awful now :cry:)

I went down this morning and she was still in the tube and her food was untouched so I knew straight away something was wrong :( I had to actually tip her out the tube as she couldn't move and she just sat there all wobbly sort of swaying. She was also very cold and I could clearly feel lumps in her tummy. I took her straight to the vet (my rabbit vet wasn't in so had to see another :( ) While I was in the waiting room she flopped on her side and was hardly breathing so I knew she was dying. The vet looked at her and said she was extremely critical- she took her temp and said she had hypothermia! and said her heart was so slow it wasn't going to go on much more and already she would have brain damage from lack of blood and oxygen pumping round to her brain etc. She said she had really bad stomach blockage and lots of masses that shouldn't be there (she was neutered) and this although appearing to be so sudden was probably built up :( She said she would definitely die and it would be kindest to pts to prevent any more suffering :cry: so this is what we did- she really was dying anyway and wouldn't of lasted even an hour more.

I'm just so sad and she didn't really give any sort of diagnosis as to what caused this- she mentioned e cunilini or what ever its called but can't of definitely thought that as she didn't really think worming my other 2 rabbit was worth it (they didn't live with Flo) but i've done some googling tonight and that seems a good idea??

I just want to know what caused this and if my other rabbits are at risk? They are vaccinated.

Any thoughts?

Thanks
 
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I am so very sorry you lost Flo. Very sad and tragic.

Unfortuinately the one thing we do know about rabbits is that they hide pain, so you would not have known something was wrong unless it was obvious. Rabbits also suffer from problems with their guts and they stop eating, which could be a likely cause. There could be many reasons Flo stopped eating.

I hope you will be alright. Its very hard losing a beloved pet.
 
I am so very sorry for the loss of Flo. What a terrible shock and awful day you have had, I so wish you hadn't had to go through this and Flo of course. You mentioned about her being very cold, and I can't help wondering if something had scared her badly and she had gone into shock, which would account for the low body temperature, and maybe the fact that she didn't want to come out of her enclosure, no interest in food etc.

Don't give yourself a hard time because you didn't get her out of the tube last night, as I am sure the outcome would still have been the same, and to be honest with the weather being so warm at the moment, my bunnies are being much lazier than usual, and Paddington didn't rush up to me as per usual when I fed him as he was laid on my bed!!

I think it is always so much harder when totally unexpected like this with no obvious signs of illness, and especially with her being so young, but she was very lucky to have the life she had with you, and you obviously loved her so very much.

I hope you can get some sleep tonight and that your other bunnies are ok.

Sleep tight Flo xx
 
I'm so sad my poor Flo bun had to be put to sleep today.

Flo was a 20 month old mini rex and so lovely. She was fine- no signs of illness- only slight thing her eyes in the last couple of weeks seemed a tiny bit cloudy but I thought maybe she was developing cataracts- she was totally herself.

Then last night I went to feed her in the evening and she was in her tube in the big enclosure- which is unusual as she usually rushes to see me but I thought nothing of it and left her (yes I feel awful now :cry:)

I went down this morning and she was still in the tube and her food was untouched so I knew straight away something was wrong :( I had to actually tip her out the tube as she couldn't move and she just sat there all wobbly sort of swaying. She was also very cold and I could clearly feel lumps in her tummy. I took her straight to the vet (my rabbit vet wasn't in so had to see another :( ) While I was in the waiting room she flopped on her side and was hardly breathing so I knew she was dying. The vet looked at her and said she was extremely critical- she took her temp and said she had hypothermia! and said her heart was so slow it wasn't going to go on much more and already she would have brain damage from lack of blood and oxygen pumping round to her brain etc. She said she had really bad stomach blockage and lots of masses that shouldn't be there (she was neutered) and this although appearing to be so sudden was probably built up :( She said she would definitely die and it would be kindest to pts to prevent any more suffering :cry: so this is what we did- she really was dying anyway and wouldn't of lasted even an hour more.

I'm just so sad and she didn't really give any sort of diagnosis as to what caused this- she mentioned e cunilini or what ever its called but can't of definitely thought that as she didn't really think worming my other 2 rabbit was worth it (they didn't live with Flo) but i've done some googling tonight and that seems a good idea??

I just want to know what caused this and if my other rabbits are at risk? They are vaccinated.

Any thoughts?

Thanks


I am so sorry for your loss :cry:

I would give all your other Rabbits a 28 day course of Fenbendazole (Panacur/Lapizole) and also bleach clean all their accommodation- use a 10% bleach solution, rinse very well and allow to dry thoroughly before the Rabbits have access to it. Repeat this on days 21 and 28 of treatment with Fenbendazole. Also, if Flo had access to any grassed area or terrain that cannot be bleach cleaned do not allow any other Rabbits onto it for at least 30 days. This is because *if* EC was a factor, which from what you mention about the cataracts is a likely case (but cannot say for certain)- Flo may have excreted EC spores in her urine. EC spores can remain viable outside of the host for up to 30 days. Bleach will kill them, but some surfaces cant be bleach cleaned.

Again I am so very sorry for your tragic loss :cry:
 
I am so sorry this has happened. Please don't torture yourself over this, we've all got the 'what if' T-shirt. Rabbits can all too often get very ill very quickly and sadly die even with early veterinary treatment. Such horrible experiences teach us to go with our gut instinct with buns. If something's unusual check and vet if you feel uneasy. Buns are the most wonderful souls but they can be pretty tough on the heart. :(

I echo what Jane said re: query EC. Clean and treat as described.

Run free Flo. xxxxx
 
I am so very sorry for your loss.

Some excellent advice from Jane regarding cleaning and prevenetative treatment for your other buns.
 
Thank you all for your kind words. I am going to treat the other rabbits with Panacure as suggested just in case. Someone mentioned shock-- do they not die of this instantly? Only the day before this we saw a fox sniffing round her enclosure for the second time in that week--- never seen it before. I sent my dog out and she scared it away. Could the fox of made her go in to shock (even tho I have a dog who she's not scared of) and if so would that have caused her digestive system to stop working- as she definitely had a big blockage in stomach area the vet said.
 
Thank you all for your kind words. I am going to treat the other rabbits with Panacure as suggested just in case. Someone mentioned shock-- do they not die of this instantly? Only the day before this we saw a fox sniffing round her enclosure for the second time in that week--- never seen it before. I sent my dog out and she scared it away. Could the fox of made her go in to shock (even tho I have a dog who she's not scared of) and if so would that have caused her digestive system to stop working- as she definitely had a big blockage in stomach area the vet said.

Shock has many different effects on rabbits. It can kill them instantly, but generally it lowers their temperature and they stop eating. When they stop eating, their guts stop working and this eventually leads to death. :( I am sorry this has happened. If a fox is sniffing around then I would most definitely completely secure your run and hutches and make sure you cover them so that the rabbits can't see the fox.
 
Thank you all for your kind words. I am going to treat the other rabbits with Panacure as suggested just in case. Someone mentioned shock-- do they not die of this instantly? Only the day before this we saw a fox sniffing round her enclosure for the second time in that week--- never seen it before. I sent my dog out and she scared it away. Could the fox of made her go in to shock (even tho I have a dog who she's not scared of) and if so would that have caused her digestive system to stop working- as she definitely had a big blockage in stomach area the vet said.

I'm so sorry that your rabbit has died :( If you want to know why then you could have a post mortem done. Just in case it was something that could affect the other rabbits.

I think it is unlikely that it was shock, to be honest. It sounds like a major cause was blockages in the gut, but usually this is caused by a bigger problem, such as the gut slowing down or stopping, which in turn can be caused by a number of things, among the most likely gut problems and/or severe pain.

The cloudy eyes does make me think that these were perhaps secondary illnesses to the main one, perhaps caused or worsened by it. But without a post mortem, I'm afraid it is anyone's guess as to what it was.

I hope you are okay and that your remaining rabbits are okay x
 
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