Bunny Bereavement

Hi

I wonder if someone could possibly give me some advice.

Sadly one of our rabbits, Jazmine passed away just one week ago, in the early hours of last Sunday morning - it goes without saying that we we miss her loads! I don't want to dwell on this too much or I'll end up in tears!

The problem I have at the moment is she was bonded to our other rabbit, Izzy. For the first few days Izzy appeared fine and seemed to be enjoying the extra attention ... but over the last day or so I think he's now realized that Jazmine isn't coming back.

Last night I spotted the early signs of bowel trouble, so of course we took him to see the vet and his bowels are now moving again. But he does seem very withdrawn and he's lost his appetite, reading on the internet this sounds pretty common.

We're giving him extra attention and trying our best to get him to eat something, but at the same time trying not to cause him extra stress.

At the moment he is a few eating little bits here and there, but no where near the quantity he should be eating.

I also keep encouraging him to move around a little so he doesn't just sit in one place all the time, to try to prevent any more bowel problems.

Last night and earlier today we force fed him some water & fibreplex, but he hates being picked up, so I'm concerned I'm adding to his stress - but also aware that he needs food in him tummy!

Tonight he is much better bowel-wise than he was last night (still not quite back on form though) and he is a little brighter in himself, but I really don't know how far to push him with the 'stress of being picked up' vs 'getting food & water into his tummy' - I guess I just have to judge how much he is eating/drinking and decide from that?

The majority of food he has eaten is hay, which I'm quite happy about, so although I would like to get some fibreplex into him, I'm not over concerned. I haven't seen him drinking, but I have managed to get him to eat a number of carrot tops today - strangely enough he's not interested in any other veg he has. Also, I have seen him urinating tonight, and earlier today the vet said he wasn't dehydrated.

Aside from the food we're also trying to distract him by entertaining him with some of his old toys that he hasn't seen for a while and giving him access to places he can only play in occasionally and just generally giving him more attention.

I guess it's just a matter of time and I'm sure every bunny is different, just like us humans, but does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do to try to make this very sad time easier for him?

I understand he has to grieve and would imagine that the length of time it will take him to get used to Jazmine not being around will depend on Izzy, but I'd be interested to now how long it has taken other bunnies to get used to their partner not being there anymore.

And then there's the question of whether or not to get another bun to bond him with. I was reading some very interesting opinions on another post on this forum:
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=83042&highlight=bereavement
I'm not sure about Izzy, but I think I might need a little more time on this one, I'm not sure I'm ready to get another rabbit just yet...I'm still too upset about Jazmine.

Thanks in advance.

Nic

my heart goes out to you it really does..im so sorry for your loss.

poor izzy is heartbroken too.

when oscar died his bunwife bif had been with his body for hours..and she was still washing him and nidging him rying to get him up..i still cry recalling that sight. well unfortunaetly bif went downhill and downhill nibbling at food not wanting anything to do with us etc....wouldnt come out of her dog crate we left the door open all the time she refused to come out and lay pining..

oscar died early hrs monday morn..by friday tea time she lay down to die..i was hysterical......but after 5pm jo turned up with her frenchie neutered 18month old buck to see if he could give her new life..and he did..it was amazing..when put in the smal crate in the kitchen together..he washed her as if wahsing away her pai..hed lost his bunwife 5 months earlier of the same thing.she let him wash her and they snuggled up for a snooze!
but later she was atattcking him.she must ahve feltbetter!
it took a month or so to bond them and she adores or did adore bertie..he stayed on and weve had him a year and 4 months...and im sure shed have died without him.
theyre unbonded now and berties free roaming with our other two buns weve got in the last 12 months...bifs alone in a cage recovering herself..

bunnies grieve just as hard as humans do..we cant speak for them just wait and see how things go.

btw i didnt feel amything for bertie i was still crying for oscar but within a few short months i was in love..hes adorable.

give each other time..give izzy a cuddly toy as shell need something to snuggle with..maybe several toys..bifs using her toys at the monet to feel not so alone.

Awwww - I really do feel for you, its soooo sad to loose a much luved bunny but then you feel like your grieving twice, once for you and then for the bunster that is trying to cope left behind

We went through this with Buffy when we lost her partner Dillon 3 years ago but just as Purplebumble mentioned we had a similar experience in that we had recently had Cagney who at the time was on her lonesome, and even though it was the unlikely match up of two Does - having another bunny around really made a difference, she seemed to perk up very quickly, even though Cagney must have been a bit of a handful - and they are and have remained the best of pals and enjoy a very close bond.

How's Izzy's tum now, is he pooing, drinking, eating o.k now - might be worth a word with your vet to see if they will pop him on some Metroclopramide tablets for a few days to keep everything going.

Also re the stress re giving Fibreplex - Mine will take this if I squirt it onto some carrot which saves picking them up - also try all the tasty things he likes, herbs, basil, rocket, watercress always go down well with my lot - soak it in water too gives more water intake, also another tip is to add a few drops of apple juice onto the veg to encourage them to eat - but only short term as its very high in sugars.

The really soft toy idea helps as well for extra comfort for Izzy.

I know how you feel about another Bunny, we lost our lovely House Bunny Zac recently and everyone needs to cope in their own way, I wasn't sure I would ever be ready to open my heart to another bunster but recently we have and Bungo has really help - although of course Zac will never be far from our hearts

Good luck keep us posted on how you get on.

Sending Snuggles to Izzy X

It really is a tuff time. It is a very difficult decision to make whether to get another partner for your bun. Although you may not feel it is time for you, you need to assess how your bun is reacting. Only you know what will be right for you and your bunny.

When I lost my first bunny who was bonded I was absolutely distraught. The female who was left behind was just sat very lonely in the garden and she looked like she was "rocking". I went to the farm to get her some food and there was a baby bunny there that looked just like the one we had lost - i put my finger in the cage and he licked me. I contacted the vet to ask was it too soon for the bunny and she said no, but was concerned it was too soon for me. I went and got the little bunny and as soon as Baby saw him she ran over and perked up.

These two became very very close once bonded and spend 3.5 lovely years together until unfortunately we lost Baby 18 months ago. Homer went downhill with his health and we knew he had to have a partner (he loves cuddles) so we went and got Katy from the RSPCA. It was a difficult bonding process but it has paid off now as they are close.

Some rabbits do cope well on their own with the love and dedication from owners but some bunnies prefer 4 legged company. If you decided not to get another bunny, he will need lots of attention from you.

With regard to food/water. Try some different herbs to tempt him. Put the water in a bowl with a splash of boiling water to make it tepid - mine prefer this to a water bottle.

I hope Izzy recovers from this OK.

When Nougat died, leaving Bobby behind, I felt such a traitor to her by getting another bun so soon after, but Bobs was so depressed on his own. Hard as it was, I had to put Bobby first, and we brought Ruby home a week later.
Hope Izzy feels better soon.

Hi All

Thanks for all the replies & encouragement.

Today Izzy has brightened up a little more and I've seen a little bit more of his usual investigative self. He was also skitting around a little this morning too, which is nice to see! So I think we're making progress, let's hope it continues this way.

Yes, it is a little like grieving twice because I feel sad for Izzy being left behind and not really understanding where his friend has gone, that's why I really want to help him through this and make it as easy as possible for him.

Izzy was in the room with Jazmine when she died, but she had recently had an operation, so overnight I was keeping them right next door to each other, but in separate indoor cages so that Izzy didn't chew Jazmine's stitches, or accidentally hurt her wound.

Apparently it's supposed to help the bun left behind if they see, sniff and touch the body, I didn't realize this at the time, so although Izzy saw, he didn't sniff and touch. But I completely see what you're saying, Purplebumble, I can imagine that would be really sad to see.

I tried the cuddly toy to see if that would help, but it was rejected yesterday, I'll leave it around for if he feels he needs furry company.

As for hiding the fibreplex in his food - I have tried this. Izzy sometimes likes fibreplex, but in typical bunny style only when he doesn't need to have it! Maybe I'll try a little reverse psychology on him and try to make him think I don't want him to have it!

He is quite particular and very fussy about what he eats and even if it's his favorite food, if it smells ever so slightly different he won't touch it, or he'll eat round the bit that smells funny!

I also tried dipping the food in apple juice, but he didn't seem too interested in that.

I have some Maxalon syrup here, which I understand to be the same as Metroclopramide, that is what I was advised to give him on Friday night and the vet injected some Metroclopramide on Saturday too. I haven't been advised to keep on giving him this, I'm always a little reluctant to feed drugs without first speaking with the vet, although I do know they can have it for a few days in a row as Jazmine would have been on daily Maxalon.

At the moment he's enjoying dried Ginko & Coneflower. He doesn't seem bothered about Parsley or Basil, but I'll keep trying these as he certainly usually likes basil. I'll give the watercress & rocket a try.

I tried to track down some dandelions, but it's a shame they're a little rare at this time of year!

I'm not completely against having another bunny friend for Izzy, but I think I'd like to give him a little more time, I'll see how he goes over the next few days.

At the moment I'm trying to learn how Izzy is dealing with it and trying to give him space to grieve, as well as spend more time with him to distract him enough.

Thanks again for all the advice.

I'll keep you posted on how we all get on.

Nic

I am glad Izzy is perking up a little bit. You are doing all the right things and only you will know if Izzy needs a new friend when the time is right for him and/or you.

When my bun had GI statis I tried her with all sorts of herbs including ones she didn't normally have and the one she liked best was Thyme which was actually one of the strongest smelling ones! Kale, Spinach and grated carrot also encouraged her to eat. Her "usual" foods she was turning her nose up at! I suppose I am saying, try anything to encourage Izzy to eat.

Thanks Bunny Babe.

Thyme - hadn't thought of that one! I think I might have some of that in the garden....

I have picked up some watercress, rocket & spinach today so I'll try him on all 3 of those.

I was hoping the grated carrot would do the trick last night, but not this time.

He loves apple and I'm sure if I offered him some he would devour it, but one of the vets told me that apple was a bad idea around the time of tummy problems because of the acidity. My theory was that anything is better than nothing, even if only in small amounts!

I'll keep trying!

The other thing that I was told to give her was fresh pineapple juice. Luckily I had a pineapple in and just sqeezed some juice out. Some people think that it can help breakdown hairballs and increase appetite. I just give her some on a weekly basis now about 2ml. she loves it.

Ah, yes I'd heard pineapple can help. I'll give it a try, but it seems to be the wet stuff he's turning down. He did have a nibble at a carrot earlier and he still like carrot tops, but that's about all I can tempt him with on the veg front.

Does dried pineapple do the same job? I guess not, but he likes dried pineapple & papaya for a treat!

I had a wee scare with Gloria this weekend and the site on stasis said to wave things in their face in the hope they will bite them and then nibble on them. Tried it with her - and although she was OK and I was just panicking - it did work.

Yes, I found that tickling Izzy's nose with the carrot tops seemed to do the trick to get him to start eating.

Thankfully tonight he has eaten a little bit more veg than just carrot tops. He's started nibbling at carrots and at the moment he's just eating a nice big spring green leaf! It's good to see that he's started to be interested in food again and eating a little more.

He even hopped over to see me earlier too.

Aaaaaw poor Izzy, I am glad to hear he has started eating again though. Sounds like he is letting you know he knows you are hurting too (((Hugs)))

Update

Hi

Just thought I'd post an update on how Izzy's getting along.

I've been watching him very closely over the last few days, spending lots of extra time with him and trying to get him to eat as much food as I can with his limited appetite.

Each morning when I've come to see him and let him out of his overnight house, he's been relatively bright and showing a little bit of interest in his environment. He's been nibbling a pretty small amount of food occasionally throughout the day.

But by the evening, he would be really down and depressed and not want any food, or anything to do with me at all, until really late on and then he'd have a bit of a nibble at some food again and brighten up a little.

I did start to notice a bit of a pattern. He was avoiding going to some of the places he used to sit with Jazmine. Also, when he did something he used to do with her, like eating food and playing with some of the toys, he would soon become really depressed.

We have been seriously considering getting another bunny friend for him.

I don't want to speak too soon ... but ... today seems to have been a turning point for him. He has been investigating things, eating more and we've seen much more of his old cheeky character again today. Digging, chewing, coming to see us and nudging our legs, playing with his toys more and just all round general Izzy!

He's still had the occasional few down moments, but in general he seems much happier today.

I really hope he's beginning to come to terms with the situation now, I don't like to see him unhappy.

Thanks again for all the supportive emails, it's great to have other people with experience to discuss these things with.

Nic