I am new here and have joined you all after a devastating day.
I became a Bunny Grannie in March 2020 after my daughter brought home a male Dutch rabbit. I wasn't happy that she didn't warn me beforehand but I loved that wee fella from the get go. He had spirit and was scared of no-one, which he showed by attacking the feet of relatives and chasing our cats. But with me he was a gent. He was a house rabbit, enjoying being able to roam through the bottom half of the house.
On 03/01/2023, I noticed that he was off his food but managed to eat fresh herbs. I became alarmed on 04/01/22 night when I realised he hadn't passed any poo. He was still lively and ran around the house as he usually did, so I thought his appetite etc. would be back to normal soon. But it wasn't. His stomach then started to gurgle ++. I syringe fed him water to stop him getting dehydrated and fed him baby food (mashed pumpkin). I rubbed his tummy and let him sleep in my bed.
I called the vet first thing on 05/01/22 and got an appointment for 9am. She said he had a blockage in the bottom part of his abdomen and that it was probably compressed poo. She gave him 3 injections - painkiller, anti-inflammatory and something to keep his bowels moving. She gave the bowel moving med away with me and recovery feed. She said to keep that going and that if things didn't change, to then get another appointment for the next day and perhaps get an x-ray at that stage.
He ate the feed okay-ish and to my delight ate parsley, some basil leaves and hay, that night. The next morning I couldn't see any poo pellets so called the surgery about getting an x-ray. They said their machine wasn't working and that they'd contact their sister practice. I called twice again as they hadn't got back to me by 2pm. But, he then passed pellets and even more bright in himself. I called the surgery to ask for a review appointment - 'to make sure the blockage has moved as I don't want to hurt him by syringe feeding him if the blockage is still there'. It was the first vet's colleague who saw him on the evening of 06/01/23. She said there was no blockage and everything was normal. She also said that she wasn't used to seeing rabbits and that there was no need for an xray as what I was doing was working.
Before we left, she said she'd give an anti-sickness injection. Why, he's not sick - I said. Vet said it worked as a painkiller. But he wasn't grinding his teeth so not in pain. She gave the injection anyway - my first awful mistake. But you trust the vet, don't you? She also said to keep up the feed - 'little amounts as often as possible'. I mentioned I hadn't been feeding overnight (next big mistake), to which she repeated to feed a little, as often as possible.
The wee fella was not the same after that anti-sickness injection. He looked drunk and stopped moving about. He then passed a large amount of puss and pellets. I thought he was getting better and against my better judgement, commenced feeds every 45 minutes from 12.30am onwards. He was chewing the feed so I thought it was going in correctly but during the next feed at 1.20am (on 07/01/23), he started to retch and grind his teeth. I called the out of hours hospital in a panic, who told me to take him in. They said that he was poorly AND HAD A HARD LUMP IN HIS STOMACH (NOT BOWELS) and to think about euthanasia but also that surgery may be an option. The local vets missed the stomach lump...
The hospital vet said they'd give fluids until I made my decision. I called at 4am, to ask how he was. They said he was stable and again asked about euthanasia. When I asked about surgery, she said - I could open him up here but for the same price (£1k), you could get it done by the expert in the next city. I was to decide euthanasia v surgery by 8am (today, 07/01/23).
I decided to check on our wee bunny with my own eyes at 7.45am. He was not himself at all and I told the vet this. I was thinking of euthanasia at this point but the vet again spoke of the 'expert in the next town'. I thought it was worth trying the surgery, after hearing the vet's words praising this 'expert'. They called the 'expert' at 9am but the expert didn't call back until 10.45am. The price changed but it was too late to get the 'my city' vet to do it; she also kept saying she wasn't confident at doing the surgery. It was an hour's drive in the cold.
I got to the next city. The 'expert' asked if she could do bloods and obs...oh btw, our surgery bill will be £2-£3k, not £1k. Yes of course, do the bloods etc, I replied. She came back 10 minutes later saying the surgery was a no-go as the wee man was too unwell. She wanted to euthanize him. I told her to call my daughter, as she he's her rabbit. The 'expert' left the room to call her and my daughter gave them permission.
Ten minutes later, the vet came into the room saying - he passed away peacefully. WHAT??!! You didn't give me a chance to say goodbye (you witch). She then gave me a bill of £700, with the consultation fee being £450. With the different vets bills added up, the total was £1260 over the 3 days.
I am gutted at the missed chances; if only the first vet had noted the lump in the stomach. I feel absolutely awful that I was feeding him while he had a lump in his stomach but I did ask them to check things again on the evening of 06/01/23 - when it was missed a 2nd time.
Our bunny lived the life of a prince for 3 years but was let down immensely by vets and me, his granny. The house feels empty without him.
I became a Bunny Grannie in March 2020 after my daughter brought home a male Dutch rabbit. I wasn't happy that she didn't warn me beforehand but I loved that wee fella from the get go. He had spirit and was scared of no-one, which he showed by attacking the feet of relatives and chasing our cats. But with me he was a gent. He was a house rabbit, enjoying being able to roam through the bottom half of the house.
On 03/01/2023, I noticed that he was off his food but managed to eat fresh herbs. I became alarmed on 04/01/22 night when I realised he hadn't passed any poo. He was still lively and ran around the house as he usually did, so I thought his appetite etc. would be back to normal soon. But it wasn't. His stomach then started to gurgle ++. I syringe fed him water to stop him getting dehydrated and fed him baby food (mashed pumpkin). I rubbed his tummy and let him sleep in my bed.
I called the vet first thing on 05/01/22 and got an appointment for 9am. She said he had a blockage in the bottom part of his abdomen and that it was probably compressed poo. She gave him 3 injections - painkiller, anti-inflammatory and something to keep his bowels moving. She gave the bowel moving med away with me and recovery feed. She said to keep that going and that if things didn't change, to then get another appointment for the next day and perhaps get an x-ray at that stage.
He ate the feed okay-ish and to my delight ate parsley, some basil leaves and hay, that night. The next morning I couldn't see any poo pellets so called the surgery about getting an x-ray. They said their machine wasn't working and that they'd contact their sister practice. I called twice again as they hadn't got back to me by 2pm. But, he then passed pellets and even more bright in himself. I called the surgery to ask for a review appointment - 'to make sure the blockage has moved as I don't want to hurt him by syringe feeding him if the blockage is still there'. It was the first vet's colleague who saw him on the evening of 06/01/23. She said there was no blockage and everything was normal. She also said that she wasn't used to seeing rabbits and that there was no need for an xray as what I was doing was working.
Before we left, she said she'd give an anti-sickness injection. Why, he's not sick - I said. Vet said it worked as a painkiller. But he wasn't grinding his teeth so not in pain. She gave the injection anyway - my first awful mistake. But you trust the vet, don't you? She also said to keep up the feed - 'little amounts as often as possible'. I mentioned I hadn't been feeding overnight (next big mistake), to which she repeated to feed a little, as often as possible.
The wee fella was not the same after that anti-sickness injection. He looked drunk and stopped moving about. He then passed a large amount of puss and pellets. I thought he was getting better and against my better judgement, commenced feeds every 45 minutes from 12.30am onwards. He was chewing the feed so I thought it was going in correctly but during the next feed at 1.20am (on 07/01/23), he started to retch and grind his teeth. I called the out of hours hospital in a panic, who told me to take him in. They said that he was poorly AND HAD A HARD LUMP IN HIS STOMACH (NOT BOWELS) and to think about euthanasia but also that surgery may be an option. The local vets missed the stomach lump...
The hospital vet said they'd give fluids until I made my decision. I called at 4am, to ask how he was. They said he was stable and again asked about euthanasia. When I asked about surgery, she said - I could open him up here but for the same price (£1k), you could get it done by the expert in the next city. I was to decide euthanasia v surgery by 8am (today, 07/01/23).
I decided to check on our wee bunny with my own eyes at 7.45am. He was not himself at all and I told the vet this. I was thinking of euthanasia at this point but the vet again spoke of the 'expert in the next town'. I thought it was worth trying the surgery, after hearing the vet's words praising this 'expert'. They called the 'expert' at 9am but the expert didn't call back until 10.45am. The price changed but it was too late to get the 'my city' vet to do it; she also kept saying she wasn't confident at doing the surgery. It was an hour's drive in the cold.
I got to the next city. The 'expert' asked if she could do bloods and obs...oh btw, our surgery bill will be £2-£3k, not £1k. Yes of course, do the bloods etc, I replied. She came back 10 minutes later saying the surgery was a no-go as the wee man was too unwell. She wanted to euthanize him. I told her to call my daughter, as she he's her rabbit. The 'expert' left the room to call her and my daughter gave them permission.
Ten minutes later, the vet came into the room saying - he passed away peacefully. WHAT??!! You didn't give me a chance to say goodbye (you witch). She then gave me a bill of £700, with the consultation fee being £450. With the different vets bills added up, the total was £1260 over the 3 days.
I am gutted at the missed chances; if only the first vet had noted the lump in the stomach. I feel absolutely awful that I was feeding him while he had a lump in his stomach but I did ask them to check things again on the evening of 06/01/23 - when it was missed a 2nd time.
Our bunny lived the life of a prince for 3 years but was let down immensely by vets and me, his granny. The house feels empty without him.
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