• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Does anyone have experience with cancer in a bunny?

I am so sorry for your loss. It takes a lot of love to think of your bunny's comfort when you know her loss will cause you so much pain.
You made the right choice to not take your other bunny to the vet to see her being PTS. I have shown the deceased bunny to the companion and have had mixed results, It upset me when one elderly bunny ignored his dead littermate after a dozen years of living together. Then I realized he said his goodbyes when his brother was very ill
 
Thank you to everyone for your kind replies. It was devastating to have to make that decision, but as soon as we saw her gasping for breath without the oxygen, we knew it was the right call. I wish we had more time with her (she was only with us for a year, as she was a rescue bunny), but we gave her the best life we could and she gave us so much joy while she was here.

We decided not to show her to her mum, as it just seemed better to let her think she'd left the nest or moved on somewhere else and it would have broken my heart if she'd tried to groom her or revive her. I just couldn't do it. Hopefully we made the right decision on that, I think we'd have been more likely to consider it if Kibeth was her mate, but with it being her baby it just seemed cruel and likely to cause her distress.

She's starting to get a little sad or lonely now I think; she's still eating and interacting with us, but she seems a bit more apprehensive and just a little depressed. She's an outdoor bunny, so we will definitely be trying to bond her with a friend at some point, but we're not sure how long to leave it before we try this (both for us and for her). How long have others generally left it before bonding a bereaved rabbit? She's quite dominant and can be a little aggressive, so she may be a difficult rabbit to bond (plus it'll be our first time trying a bond as well, our rabbits were a pair when we adopted them).

Does anyone have any advice about how long we should wait, or any tips on ensuring she's happy or occupied in the meantime? I've read that it can help to change her environment a little, but I'm not sure if that would just stress her out right now. She recently had to undergo surgery for an obstruction (about two weeks before Kibeth got sick) so she's still healing from that. I'm so glad she did recover from this though as it was pretty touch and go - it would have been absolutely devastating to lose them both in such a short period of time.
 
:( I am so very sorry to hear of your loss, but you did the best thing.

I too had a bunny with Thymoma which progressed rapidly so understand xxx

With regards to a new bond, I have brought a bunny home within a couple of weeks and I have also waited a couple of months. The last one where it was a couple of months I got a cuddly toy for her and she would groom it. She had never had the other rabbit as a partner but they lived side by side and we could see she was missing her (the one that passed kept attacking her and was kind of a love/hate relationship). It sort of broke my heart to see her lick the cuddly toy but also made me realise she needed a mate. That is when we got her a male bunny and they are all loved up.

Take your time to find the right partner for her, some rescues will also do bonding for you.
 
:( I am so very sorry to hear of your loss, but you did the best thing.

I too had a bunny with Thymoma which progressed rapidly so understand xxx

With regards to a new bond, I have brought a bunny home within a couple of weeks and I have also waited a couple of months. The last one where it was a couple of months I got a cuddly toy for her and she would groom it. She had never had the other rabbit as a partner but they lived side by side and we could see she was missing her (the one that passed kept attacking her and was kind of a love/hate relationship). It sort of broke my heart to see her lick the cuddly toy but also made me realise she needed a mate. That is when we got her a male bunny and they are all loved up.

Take your time to find the right partner for her, some rescues will also do bonding for you.

Thank you for the advice, we have also got her a cuddly toy - it is heartbreaking to watch her groom it. She has been a lot more 'licky' with us too, but also more scared of us grooming her back, so I think she is missing companionship. None of the rescues here do bonding for you as far as I know, but she can get very stressed when away from home, so I think it's best if we do it in any case. I volunteer at a rescue so should be able to get plenty of advice from them - sadly they don't have many single boys in at the moment or I'd adopt from them. Anyway, thank you to everyone for your support and advice, it's very much appreciated :)
 
My recent experience has demonstrated that it is not just companionship that a rabbit misses. My buck was almost 4 months by himself after losing the last of his bonded partners. He appeared to be OK. He was eating and doing all the normal rabbity things that I would have expected. However, he has now been bonded to a new rabbit for a month and the change in behaviour is evident in unexpected ways. He seems to feel much more secure with another rabbit around. He flops and sleeps much more deeply. He also uses the whole of his accommodation now, whereas alone he was sitting in the same places day after day.

Just thought you might be interested that sometimes it's not just companionship.
 
My recent experience has demonstrated that it is not just companionship that a rabbit misses. My buck was almost 4 months by himself after losing the last of his bonded partners. He appeared to be OK. He was eating and doing all the normal rabbity things that I would have expected. However, he has now been bonded to a new rabbit for a month and the change in behaviour is evident in unexpected ways. He seems to feel much more secure with another rabbit around. He flops and sleeps much more deeply. He also uses the whole of his accommodation now, whereas alone he was sitting in the same places day after day.

Just thought you might be interested that sometimes it's not just companionship.

Thank you - and yes I agree, she has definitely seemed more scared/timid without her daughter. She used to gain courage by watching her approach one of us/something new and then seeing it was safe before approaching herself, but without her, she's definitely more apprehensive. If anything that's the thing we've noticed the most, aside from her being a bit more 'licky' with us (she would normally expect to receive more affection than she'll give in return, lol, though she was always willing to at least give us a few licks).

We've been looking at neutered boys we can adopt from the rspca to bond with her and have narrowed it down to a few potential friends for her. We just need to decide which one now and then fingers crossed they will both get along well :) So she won't be alone for long, which is good. If for some reason she refuses to bond with another bunny (though we doubt this will be the case, so long as we find her a submissive boy who's happy to be bossed around a bit :roll:), we will bring her inside with us and she can get at least get some more interaction and company this way.
 
Thank you - and yes I agree, she has definitely seemed more scared/timid without her daughter. She used to gain courage by watching her approach one of us/something new and then seeing it was safe before approaching herself, but without her, she's definitely more apprehensive. If anything that's the thing we've noticed the most, aside from her being a bit more 'licky' with us (she would normally expect to receive more affection than she'll give in return, lol, though she was always willing to at least give us a few licks).

We've been looking at neutered boys we can adopt from the rspca to bond with her and have narrowed it down to a few potential friends for her. We just need to decide which one now and then fingers crossed they will both get along well :) So she won't be alone for long, which is good. If for some reason she refuses to bond with another bunny (though we doubt this will be the case, so long as we find her a submissive boy who's happy to be bossed around a bit :roll:), we will bring her inside with us and she can get at least get some more interaction and company this way.

Some Rescues will agree to assist with bonding and they will allow the Rabbit to choose their new friend by introducing him/her to a few of the Rabbits up for adoption. Not sure if your RSPCA Rescue offers this. It is usually more successful to let the Bunny choose their friend themselves :) Good luck x
 
Thank you - and yes I agree, she has definitely seemed more scared/timid without her daughter. She used to gain courage by watching her approach one of us/something new and then seeing it was safe before approaching herself, but without her, she's definitely more apprehensive. If anything that's the thing we've noticed the most, aside from her being a bit more 'licky' with us (she would normally expect to receive more affection than she'll give in return, lol, though she was always willing to at least give us a few licks).

We've been looking at neutered boys we can adopt from the rspca to bond with her and have narrowed it down to a few potential friends for her. We just need to decide which one now and then fingers crossed they will both get along well :) So she won't be alone for long, which is good. If for some reason she refuses to bond with another bunny (though we doubt this will be the case, so long as we find her a submissive boy who's happy to be bossed around a bit :roll:), we will bring her inside with us and she can get at least get some more interaction and company this way.


I've never had a failed bonding, so I am sure it will work out for you :)

Ask the rescue to pin-point the personality of the rabbit you are looking for, and it should be fine for you all.

I hope you are OK xx
 
Back
Top