Jolysium
Mama Doe
Hi everyone.
I’m really struggling and would appreciate your thoughts, though I know no one else can really know or make the decision.
It’s about my 12 year old bunny Heidi. She has had decreased mobility and may have injured her foot a while ago (swollen and crepitus but undetermined if broken, no obvious moment when it occurred, severe arthritis for years so may be that) and is on a lot of pain medication without much improvement. She sleeps the majority of the time. For context, she lost her friend a few weeks ago, though all these issues pre-date Freda’s illness and subsequent PTS.
She is still super-excited for food, chooses to get up and hop over whenever I go in to see if I have a treat, and eats her meals enthusiastically. She’s not eating as much hay as she did (I’ve given her a low entry litter tray to encourage her and it helped a little).
However I’m worried that apart from food she doesn’t have any joy in her life, and I’m very worried that she’s in a lot of pain. She used to enjoy snuggles and head rubs but doesn’t want them any more.
The vet has suggested it may be time to consider euthanasia (mainly due to her foot and being maxed out on painkillers - but I explained she still runs over for food and they seemed to change their mind).
I don’t know how to decide - she’s still happy at mealtimes and sleeps the rest of the time so it’s really hard to tell if she’s genuinely unhappy or just old and tired. We lost Freda a few weeks ago and have taken it really hard. The idea of losing another is horrible. But I wouldn’t want to be selfishly keeping her going if she’s suffering silently.
Any thoughts or advice welcome. Thanks for reading if you got this far through my waffle!
I’m really struggling and would appreciate your thoughts, though I know no one else can really know or make the decision.
It’s about my 12 year old bunny Heidi. She has had decreased mobility and may have injured her foot a while ago (swollen and crepitus but undetermined if broken, no obvious moment when it occurred, severe arthritis for years so may be that) and is on a lot of pain medication without much improvement. She sleeps the majority of the time. For context, she lost her friend a few weeks ago, though all these issues pre-date Freda’s illness and subsequent PTS.
She is still super-excited for food, chooses to get up and hop over whenever I go in to see if I have a treat, and eats her meals enthusiastically. She’s not eating as much hay as she did (I’ve given her a low entry litter tray to encourage her and it helped a little).
However I’m worried that apart from food she doesn’t have any joy in her life, and I’m very worried that she’s in a lot of pain. She used to enjoy snuggles and head rubs but doesn’t want them any more.
The vet has suggested it may be time to consider euthanasia (mainly due to her foot and being maxed out on painkillers - but I explained she still runs over for food and they seemed to change their mind).
I don’t know how to decide - she’s still happy at mealtimes and sleeps the rest of the time so it’s really hard to tell if she’s genuinely unhappy or just old and tired. We lost Freda a few weeks ago and have taken it really hard. The idea of losing another is horrible. But I wouldn’t want to be selfishly keeping her going if she’s suffering silently.
Any thoughts or advice welcome. Thanks for reading if you got this far through my waffle!