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My baby girl died suddenly, only 6, please help im distraught

J

Jem_John

Young Bun
Hello everyone, Iv been lurking around here for years and apologies as I have not posted much,

my girl Charlie passed away very suddenly in the early hours this morning, I have sat up all night sobbing over her :(

We've had her for around 5 years, I was told she was 6 months when we got her, she was a dwarf cross at a guess. She's lived in the house with her husbun Oscar all her life, he joined her around 2-3 years ago.

Her diet consisted of unlimited hay several times a day, 1/2 carrot a day, and a very small bowl of excel nuggets daily (approx heaped tablespoon each) and occasional treats a few times a week such as a small amount of cauliflower leaves, kale, apple, sunflower seeds..

A look back at her last few days, she was jumping and leaping around on Sunday and Monday, I joked that she had spring fever, she was up to her usual tricks jumping up on the sofa and trying to get behind the tv, she was bright eyed, shiny coat, eating, grooming, everything normal...

then on Tuesday night we noticed she stayed in bed while Oscar played, she was quiet and seemed uncomfortable. We fussed her and held her water bottle to her mouth a few times to make sure she was getting fluids. On Wednesday morning she was the same, again we encouraged fluids but she nosed the bottle away and just wanted pets. When we returned home from work late on Wednesday we got her straight on the sofa, she was quiet, sleepy and obviously not happy, we kissed and cuddled her loads, offered food and water, she refused the food and only licked a small amount of water. John went to bed at around 11:30pm and I stayed up with her on the sofa snuggled up together, I was rubbing her belly constantly thinking she might have gas or a blockage and planned to take her to the vets today. At around 2am she was obviously in a lot of pain and slowly began to lose her strength altogether lying on her side, her legs were stretching and twitching, at around 3am her body went limp and her eyes went vacant, she was like that for around half an hour until she stopped breathing, I comforted, kissed and cuddled her throughout and when she passed away I broke down in tears, I had absolutely not expected this...

I am absolutely heart broken and distraught, I cannot get my head around this, I could never forgive myself if this was my fault, she meant the world to me, what could have happened? Every time I look over and see her lying there I go into shock all over again, this cannot be happening,....


SDC12202.jpg
 
I am very sorry :cry: Sadly when a Rabbit stops eating and/ or is obviously 'not right' they can go down hill extremely quickly without Veterinary treatment :cry: I am not saying that Charlie's death is your fault, we all do what we think is best at any given time. If we make a mistake or a poor judgement we hopefully learn from them. I too have made mistakes with regards to my Rabbits, a couple did result in the loss of a much loved friend. The only 'positive' I have been able to take from my mistakes is that I wont repeat them. Please dont be too hard on yourself, as I said you acted as you thought was right at the time. But should a similar scenario happen again I am sure you would be more likely to seek Veterinary attention much sooner. Having to learn a lesson the hard way is awful, I know that from first hand experience. I am not judging you in any way.

I hope that Oscar is coping with the loss as well as possible.

(((((((((Hugs))))))))) xx
 
I know, iv known all night, had we tried harder and sooner, or taken her to the vet sooner we would still have our precious girl here, devastated does not even come close....
 
Jem_John said:
I know, iv known all night, had we tried harder and sooner, or taken her to the vet sooner we would still have our precious girl here, devastated does not even come close....
Click to expand...

I'm really sorry for your loss. Try not to blame yourself, pet ownership is all about making judgement calls and I'm sure we've all made the wrong judgement at times (I know I have). Hindsight is a wonderful thing but I'm sure you did what you thought was right at the time.
 
Please don't blame yourself. Things like gut stasis can hit hard and fast. I lost my baby boy, Frasier, last year to gut stasis - Despite getting veterinary treatment early. It was heartbreaking to see him go downhill despite the care. I have hated myself for it since, he was in so much pain & I prolonged it :( I am so sorry for your loss. I was devastated when I lost Frasier. It's like losing a piece of yourself. x
 
Jack's-Jane said:
I am very sorry :cry: Sadly when a Rabbit stops eating and/ or is obviously 'not right' they can go down hill extremely quickly without Veterinary treatment :cry: I am not saying that Charlie's death is your fault, we all do what we think is best at any given time. If we make a mistake or a poor judgement we hopefully learn from them. I too have made mistakes with regards to my Rabbits, a couple did result in the loss of a much loved friend. The only 'positive' I have been able to take from my mistakes is that I wont repeat them. Please dont be too hard on yourself, as I said you acted as you thought was right at the time. But should a similar scenario happen again I am sure you would be more likely to seek Veterinary attention much sooner. Having to learn a lesson the hard way is awful, I know that from first hand experience. I am not judging you in any way.

I hope that Oscar is coping with the loss as well as possible.

(((((((((Hugs))))))))) xx
Click to expand...

100% agree with this. I lost my first bunny to uterine cancer, despite taking her to the vets and asking if the 'blood loss' could be cancer and being told "no, it was probably just an infection". I'll never forgive myself for her death. But on a positive note, I've never made the same mistake again and have always had all my bunnies neutered, so she didn't die for nothing - she saved all my other bunnies from a similar fate.

It is not your fault - you did what you thought was right at the time. I'm so sorry for your loss and understand the grief that you're feeling. Big hugs xx.
 
So sorry for your loss. Try not to blame yourself too much, sadly rabbits deteriorate very quickly. I agree time is of the essence as you have learnt but it doesn't mean he could have been saved. We've all done things wrong with our rabbits but like everyone says hindsight is a great thing. Sounds like he had a great life with you and was very happy so please try and concentrate on the positives. Lots of hugs.
 
I know how devastated you must feel, I lost my beautiful boy last year in what sounds a very similar situation, we took him to the vets because he had stopped eating and they sent him home with just some gut stimulant (no pain relief)!! and said he would be ok as we caught it early. He deteriorated so much over night, took him back to vets who operated and found a cyst on his kidney, nothing they could do as his intestines had ruptured. Was utterly awful. Thing with our animals is we never know whats going on inside them and especially with rabbits as they are so quiet and deteriorate so fast. Don't blame yourself and take time to grieve, we bought a plant and sprinkled our boys ashes round it so we have a constant reminder of him in the garden, still miss him loads though.

Hope your boy is coping ok too xx
 
I'm really sorry! :cry:
I really feel for you, your bond with Charlie sounds like my bond with my boy.
Honestly just the thought of loosing him is unbearable so I can only imagine how you are feeling.
Please remember that she had a wonderful life and she was a happy baby.
 
Jem_John said:
I know, iv known all night, had we tried harder and sooner, or taken her to the vet sooner we would still have our precious girl here, devastated does not even come close....
Click to expand...

Whilst next time you would probably take your rabbit to the vet as soon as you noticed she was possibly unwell, like others have said it does not mean she would necessarily be here with you now, so please do not torture yourself with that thought as apart from anything else, you cannot turn back time and you did what you thought was right at that time.

Many of us on here have lost rabbits - I have lost several myself and I know how devastating it is :(

Cara
 
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