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Can someone help - my wee bunny died so sudden

weeleahie

weeleahie

New Kit
Dear all,
I took over the care and homed my neighbours rabbit when it took sick when they were on holiday over 4 months ago. At the time the vet said an ear infection and prescribed Baytrill for 3 weeks with metacam as she had developed a head tilt and balance issues, after 3 weeks she changed it to Sulfatrim and as i had a gut feeling it was EC asked them to start a course of panacur but the sulfatrim upset her tummy so we stopped both. The vet was adamant it wasn't EC, oh no it is an ear infection they said. Soon after she went into stasis and we nearly lost her, that was in July but we got her through it. I still was concerned for the cause of head tilt and took her to a more rabbit savvy vet that i had heard of and he said he was sure it was EC and not an ear infection. Her balance by now was fine but still had a head tilt. I asked him could we put her on panacur now and he said he was more worried about her tummy and actually the EC was not active at that time as she had no symptoms of it. She was greta the rest of the summer, happy and healthy.

A couple of weeks ago she started shaking her ears a lot and acting like she was trying to blow something out of her nose so we took her back to the vet who said he thought it could have been spurs on her teeth but just in case of a respiratory infection prescribed her baytrill, that was a week ago. As she had eating issues we also gave her a syringe of critical care everyday. I noticed her breathing was a little quick last Saturday but on googling it didn't think it was a medical emergency everything else with her was fine.

On Tuesday night I gave her her critical care but she only took a small amount so i got her liquid baytrill as I had been doing and gave her that. Immediately after she started mouth breathing and struggled to get down, my mum sat her on the floor and she wiggled and went to run off, which she always did and fell over, had a very short seizure, only seconds and just died. It looked like a brain trauma, I even thought I had killed her by choking her.

I am so heartbroken, I loved her so much, i need to know did i do this giving her the medication, from getting the medication and death was only 1 minute and her wee eye bulged just before she died. My mum is a nurse and said it looked like a brain thing. She was fine all summer no symptoms of EC until 3 days before her death she fell a couple of times but no rolling then, her rapid breathing the night before her death. I wish so much that I had pushed for the vet to give her panacur, a month on antibioticsin May for an ear infection the rabbit savvy vet said was EC. I wish I had given her the panacur myself against the first vets misdiagnosis. I am aching so much, she died in seconds from fighting with the towel and getting on the floor then just gone, her wee eye bulged and she went :(((( She lost her wee life and I need to know was it lack of panacur, the EC, a stroke cause we gave her the medication (though we gave her medication lots before) how did she go soo quick, she wasn't herself for a couple of days before she died but nothing which caused immediate alarm. We were going to take her to the vets the next day about her breathing being quick on and off. I am so sad I couldn't save her, can someone help with some answers? Thank you;'((
 
weeleahie said:
Dear all,
I took over the care and homed my neighbours rabbit when it took sick when they were on holiday over 4 months ago. At the time the vet said an ear infection and prescribed Baytrill for 3 weeks with metacam as she had developed a head tilt and balance issues, after 3 weeks she changed it to Sulfatrim and as i had a gut feeling it was EC asked them to start a course of panacur but the sulfatrim upset her tummy so we stopped both. The vet was adamant it wasn't EC, oh no it is an ear infection they said. Soon after she went into stasis and we nearly lost her, that was in July but we got her through it. I still was concerned for the cause of head tilt and took her to a more rabbit savvy vet that i had heard of and he said he was sure it was EC and not an ear infection. Her balance by now was fine but still had a head tilt. I asked him could we put her on panacur now and he said he was more worried about her tummy and actually the EC was not active at that time as she had no symptoms of it. She was greta the rest of the summer, happy and healthy.

A couple of weeks ago she started shaking her ears a lot and acting like she was trying to blow something out of her nose so we took her back to the vet who said he thought it could have been spurs on her teeth but just in case of a respiratory infection prescribed her baytrill, that was a week ago. As she had eating issues we also gave her a syringe of critical care everyday. I noticed her breathing was a little quick last Saturday but on googling it didn't think it was a medical emergency everything else with her was fine.

On Tuesday night I gave her her critical care but she only took a small amount so i got her liquid baytrill as I had been doing and gave her that. Immediately after she started mouth breathing and struggled to get down, my mum sat her on the floor and she wiggled and went to run off, which she always did and fell over, had a very short seizure, only seconds and just died. It looked like a brain trauma, I even thought I had killed her by choking her.

I am so heartbroken, I loved her so much, i need to know did i do this giving her the medication, from getting the medication and death was only 1 minute and her wee eye bulged just before she died. My mum is a nurse and said it looked like a brain thing. She was fine all summer no symptoms of EC until 3 days before her death she fell a couple of times but no rolling then, her rapid breathing the night before her death. I wish so much that I had pushed for the vet to give her panacur, a month on antibioticsin May for an ear infection the rabbit savvy vet said was EC. I wish I had given her the panacur myself against the first vets misdiagnosis. I am aching so much, she died in seconds from fighting with the towel and getting on the floor then just gone, her wee eye bulged and she went :(((( She lost her wee life and I need to know was it lack of panacur, the EC, a stroke cause we gave her the medication (though we gave her medication lots before) how did she go soo quick, she wasn't herself for a couple of days before she died but nothing which caused immediate alarm. We were going to take her to the vets the next day about her breathing being quick on and off. I am so sad I couldn't save her, can someone help with some answers? Thank you;'((
Click to expand...

I am so sorry for your tragic loss. You obviously loved the Bunny very much and you did everything possible to try to help her. Obviously it is impossible to say for certain why she passed away, but from the history you have given it seems possible that the infection she had developed a lower respiratory tract infection/pneumonia. Pneumonia can prove to be rapidly fatal, even with aggressive treatment.

I doubt that there was anything more you could have done to help her and whilst it is possible she aspirated some of the Baytril I think it unlikely that it was that which caused her passing. So please dont blame yourself.

RIP little Bunny
 
weeleahie said:
Dear all,
I took over the care and homed my neighbours rabbit when it took sick when they were on holiday over 4 months ago. At the time the vet said an ear infection and prescribed Baytrill for 3 weeks with metacam as she had developed a head tilt and balance issues, after 3 weeks she changed it to Sulfatrim and as i had a gut feeling it was EC asked them to start a course of panacur but the sulfatrim upset her tummy so we stopped both. The vet was adamant it wasn't EC, oh no it is an ear infection they said. Soon after she went into stasis and we nearly lost her, that was in July but we got her through it. I still was concerned for the cause of head tilt and took her to a more rabbit savvy vet that i had heard of and he said he was sure it was EC and not an ear infection. Her balance by now was fine but still had a head tilt. I asked him could we put her on panacur now and he said he was more worried about her tummy and actually the EC was not active at that time as she had no symptoms of it. She was greta the rest of the summer, happy and healthy.

A couple of weeks ago she started shaking her ears a lot and acting like she was trying to blow something out of her nose so we took her back to the vet who said he thought it could have been spurs on her teeth but just in case of a respiratory infection prescribed her baytrill, that was a week ago. As she had eating issues we also gave her a syringe of critical care everyday. I noticed her breathing was a little quick last Saturday but on googling it didn't think it was a medical emergency everything else with her was fine.

On Tuesday night I gave her her critical care but she only took a small amount so i got her liquid baytrill as I had been doing and gave her that. Immediately after she started mouth breathing and struggled to get down, my mum sat her on the floor and she wiggled and went to run off, which she always did and fell over, had a very short seizure, only seconds and just died. It looked like a brain trauma, I even thought I had killed her by choking her.

I am so heartbroken, I loved her so much, i need to know did i do this giving her the medication, from getting the medication and death was only 1 minute and her wee eye bulged just before she died. My mum is a nurse and said it looked like a brain thing. She was fine all summer no symptoms of EC until 3 days before her death she fell a couple of times but no rolling then, her rapid breathing the night before her death. I wish so much that I had pushed for the vet to give her panacur, a month on antibioticsin May for an ear infection the rabbit savvy vet said was EC. I wish I had given her the panacur myself against the first vets misdiagnosis. I am aching so much, she died in seconds from fighting with the towel and getting on the floor then just gone, her wee eye bulged and she went :(((( She lost her wee life and I need to know was it lack of panacur, the EC, a stroke cause we gave her the medication (though we gave her medication lots before) how did she go soo quick, she wasn't herself for a couple of days before she died but nothing which caused immediate alarm. We were going to take her to the vets the next day about her breathing being quick on and off. I am so sad I couldn't save her, can someone help with some answers? Thank you;'((
Click to expand...

I am so very very sorry you lost your little one, and so traumatically :(

I want to reassure you 100% that it is totally unconnected with the medication you gave her. With rabbits, they can have a lot going on 'under the surface' that we often don't find out about until it's too late. I think this was the case with your wee one.

Have a look here:

http://www.rabbit.org/health/thymoma.html

It seems to describe some of the symptoms you refer to, and that's something you couldn't possibly have foreseen. Yes there may have been EC as well, but as you say, she remained pretty well in herself.

Without a series of (possibly invasive) diagnostics it may well have been missed altogether. it's not your fault, or the vets, as it's just so difficult to pinpoint these things.

It sounds to me that she had a brilliant lease of life with you, and passed over pretty quickly and without suffering too much.

Now you have to forgive yourself - don't blame. It doesn't help, although it is part of the grieving process.

Welcome to the Forum and thank you for posting. I hope you will stay with us :)
 
I am so sorry your little bunny died so suddently, it's a big shock but this happens sometimes with rabxbits. I personally don't think Panacur would have saved her. RIP Wee Bunny x
 
I am so sorry you have lost your bunny - it is a huge shock to lose them so suddenly. I have had two bunnies die suddenly - 24 hours before they were running around the garden. Both had abscesses in their intestines but there was absolutely no signs of anything being wrong. Sometimes, as Mighty Max has said we don't realise until it is too late. Bunnies make it extremely difficult at times for us to recognise a problem let alone get a diagnosis.

You obviously gave your bunny love and care so please don't blame yourself x
 
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I'm very sorry you lost your bunny, she was obviously very much loved :(

I agree with MightyMax and Vanessa. The problem with rabbits is that they can often suffer from "hidden" illnesses and by the time it is obvious that there is something wrong they can be very poorly indeed and sadly go downhill frighteningly quickly. Earlier this year I lost one of my bunnies who was fighting ear abscesses. On the Monday evening he was doing well, running after me into the kitchen and clawing at my legs to get treats. He passed away on the Wednesday morning. :(

There really want anymore you could have done. You took her to different vets and tried your upmost best to get her the right diagnosis and treatment.
 
I am so sorry that your rabbit died so suddenly :cry: Please try not to blame yourself.
 
Thank you so much for your replies and so sorry to those of you who suffered similar. My heart is broken I am devastated, I loved her so much and to see her die in front of me within a minute has shocked me to the core. So many unanswered questions, the first vet said it was an ear infection then an emergency vet a few months ago and my new vet both said no it is definitely EC but not active at that time. Now I am thinking the EC came back and traveled to her heart and it was a heart attack, then I think if I hadn't have lifted her and gave her her critical care and baytrill she wouldn't have been struggling and wouldn't have died, bringing on a heart attack or a stroke. It was strange she always took her critical care easily like a baby on a bottle, she started it then after a couple of mouthfuls started to struggle and bite the towel. She calmed down a bit and I gave her the baytril, she then started mouth breathing went to run away and keeled over deed in front of me.There were no symptoms of the EC coming back until 3 days before just a couple of little tumbles not rolling like when she first got sick, her breathing was heavy but sporadically the night before and then gone :(( My wee Georgie girl :((
 
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MightyMax thank you.. i read that link but she had no signs of fluid retention and her eyes were fine, only bulged as she passed away. She did have slight head tilt from her first illness in May which I now believe was EC :(
 
weeleahie said:
MightyMax thank you.. i read that link but she had no signs of fluid retention and her eyes were fine, only bulged as she passed away. She did have slight head tilt from her first illness in May which I now believe was EC :(
Click to expand...

You are so welcome.

My heart goes out to you. It's perfectly normal to blame ourselves when this sort of thing happens, but it's very rarely justified. In your case, not at all. There's nothing you did wrong, and nothing you could have done.

It sounds like Nature decided it was wee Georgie girl's time to leave and you didn't hasten that in any way.

Lots of hugs and promise me you will be kind to yourself? xxx
 
Hugs from me too.

I am sure you did nothing wrong, as I said in my other post, rabbits are not easy to spot when they have underlying problems. As prey animals they are designed to hide illness. I have no figures to back this up but am sure that the numbers of cats and dogs that die suddenly are very few compared to rabbits.

Thinking of you x
 
I am so sorry that you lost your bunny. It sounds like she was really loved and that you did everything that you could.
 
So very sorry that you lost wee Georgie. It's devasting to lose a loved pet so suddenly, and it's human nature to blame ourselves. Your little bun was obviously well loved, and I'm sure that she knew that. Binky free Georgie xxxx
 
What a terrible way to lose your beloved rabbit. She was clearly well loved. RIP Georgie girl.
 
Thank you so much all of you, it really is heart breaking. I am sleeping at my parents since she died cos I just cant bear to be in my own house and her not there it is not the same, it was just her and me and now it is so empty. I think about her constantly and miss her terribly,I only had her for 4 and a half months but she will be forever in my heart. My neighbors asked my Dad over a year ago if I wanted a rabbit and I said no cos i didn't think it would be fair being at work all day and have a pet, i had never had a pet in my house before, it was her. I wish I had gone over and seen her cos I would have fallen in love with her and took her home then but I hadn't seen her I only took her off my neighbors after she got sick to care for her, we could have had longer together... what ifs, what ifs. I got her ashes back and I hope that I see her again one day. I was over at my house yesterday morning and the house was so cold cos I hadn't been sleeping there for a few days, I was crying, of course and I walked towards where she used to sleep when I first got her and all of a sudden felt completely warm, the room was freezing... I am very skeptical of such things but it made me wonder. Thanks for your support, you are all such good caring people xx
 
weeleahie said:
Thank you so much all of you, it really is heart breaking. I am sleeping at my parents since she died cos I just cant bear to be in my own house and her not there it is not the same, it was just her and me and now it is so empty. I think about her constantly and miss her terribly,I only had her for 4 and a half months but she will be forever in my heart. My neighbors asked my Dad over a year ago if I wanted a rabbit and I said no cos i didn't think it would be fair being at work all day and have a pet, i had never had a pet in my house before, it was her. I wish I had gone over and seen her cos I would have fallen in love with her and took her home then but I hadn't seen her I only took her off my neighbors after she got sick to care for her, we could have had longer together... what ifs, what ifs. I got her ashes back and I hope that I see her again one day. I was over at my house yesterday morning and the house was so cold cos I hadn't been sleeping there for a few days, I was crying, of course and I walked towards where she used to sleep when I first got her and all of a sudden felt completely warm, the room was freezing... I am very skeptical of such things but it made me wonder. Thanks for your support, you are all such good caring people xx
Click to expand...

I am the world's greatest sceptic on such things BUT I am now 100% certain that there is more to a life than the physical form that exists during life. I lost my Soul Rabbit 'Inspector Morse' on 2nd February 2014 and I know for a fact that he is with me still, just not in his physical form. I am sure that something of Georgie will remain with you forever

((((((((((Hugs)))))))))))))) xx
 
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