I don't really know where else to put this :( *warning-thread regarding PTS*

Jack's-Jane said:

Oh M

My Vet anaesthetises the Rabbit first. The drug is given IM, so it can sting for a nano second. Bunny then gradually falls asleep and my Vet gives the PTS drug IV via a marginal ear vein.

If your Vet is unable to get an IV line in then if a GA is given first an intracardiac injection would be fast acting (seconds) and the Bunny would not know a thing about it as they'd already be unconscious.

I am really sorry that you are having to face this heartbreaking decision

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loobers25 said:

I am so sorry for everything you are going through. If anyone could help me, I have a question. My Charlie was pts with a bit of gas first so he was asleep and then the Injection. My first rabbit Bam was pts whilst awake with a canula in his ear of which she put the injection. I saw his heart stop and he collapsed to the floor. It's something that I have never been able to shake and in comparison to Charlies it was horrible. Is this normal? Bam and Charlie where seen at different practices. Haunts me every day. Just reading through this , and it wasn't slow it was a couple seconds. Just want to know if this is normal so I can make peace with it. X

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loobers25 said:

I am so sorry for everything you are going through. If anyone could help me, I have a question. My Charlie was pts with a bit of gas first so he was asleep and then the Injection. My first rabbit Bam was pts whilst awake with a canula in his ear of which she put the injection. I saw his heart stop and he collapsed to the floor. It's something that I have never been able to shake and in comparison to Charlies it was horrible. Is this normal? Bam and Charlie where seen at different practices. Haunts me every day. Just reading through this , and it wasn't slow it was a couple seconds. Just want to know if this is normal so I can make peace with it. X

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MightyMax said:

Hugs Loobers xx

This is always such a difficult time, and earlier this year I had to make this decision

Every rabbit is different. My vet gives a whiff of gas first also, but in order to do that they have to take the rabbit out of the room and away from me. So I always choose to hold them throughout the whole process.

They can go very quickly, and often when their life force is very weak, they will 'leave' before the whole of the anaesthetic has gone in. My vet speaks to me all through about the process, and what happens if this or that hasn't worked according to plan.

It may have looked fast, but a rabbit can 'go' very quickly, and that's probably what happened to Bam? He wouldn't have felt anything, although it looked distressing to you.

I think a couple of seconds is normal for a rabbit who is ready to leave. It seems to happen in the blink of an eye - they are with us and then they have gone. xxx

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Omi said:

Sending you lots of hugs. I have been thinking about you and Charlie lots and hoping that you are OK. It is incredibly hard and it appears that, like me, you are going over recent events in your mind.

Regarding pts, I am (sort of) OK with what a vet needs to do with each individual situation. I think also that it helps to have a good relationship with your vet, as then you feel able to speak freely about what you want, which is sometimes difficult in stressful situations.

Yan was in a very collapsed state when it was his time. The vet was unable to get a vein in his ear and so put one in his leg. He was placed on a blanket on an examination table and so it was easy for me to bend down, cradle him in my arms and have my head very close to his, speaking softly to him. It seemed as though he went long before the total dose was injected. The only thing that (slightly) upset me was when I said I would take him home in his carrier, they suggested I wrapped him up in the blanket first. I was upset (silly I know) because my rabbits are/were outside rabbits and Yan had never been near a blanket in his life until then. I put him in the thick layer of hay in the carrier, which obviously made no difference to him, but it did to me.

I do think the attitude of the vet is very important. Yan and I were both treated with respect and compassion by my vet and the VNs, with lots of hugs for us both. Simple things, but they are very important.

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