I just lost my beloved 5 year old bun, Arlo. He was a free range rabbit, good as gold. I also have 6 cats and a dog. They all adore each other. He was fine the night before last. I fed him his usual nuggets, greens and added more hay to his rack. The next morning he was behaving strange. He tried to mount one of the cats. He has never done this. He seemed really agitated and was jumping onto my bed, off of it. Looking for the cat. I put the cat out, but not before he tried to mount another cat, who batted him in the face and ran off. He was making the the low "mhmhmhmh" noise that they make when they are worked up. Shortly after he started to become subdued and his eyes and nose started weeping. I thought the cat had maybe swept his eyes when she batted him (although she was gentle), so I bathed his eyes to see if that would clear it. They seemed to get a bit better throughout the day, but he got more subdued in the evening and refused to eat or drink. He seemed to hang over his water bowl, not drinking. I was unable at that point to take him to the vet (I do not drive and I have 2 autistic children who were in their beds), so I called for advice and they said to push fluids and liquidised nuggets periodically to keep his stomach moving until morning when I could get there. This is something I an familiar with and I know what I am doing. I have hand reared many species of animal. He died in my arms this morning before my lift had a chance to arrive. His lips were blue/purple and swollen. It was so sudden and so strange regarding the circumstances with his behaviour preceding his death.
I have just started cleaning out his corner, this includes his hay rack. Upon emptying the rack, I saw a flash of bright colour and looked closer. It was a dried, bright pink/purple petal. I searched through the hay and found quite a few of them. They were small enough to not notice unless you were looking, but there are quite a few of them. I can only assume that the green part of the plant is also in there, dried, but harder to spot because it will be the same colour as the hay. My question is, could this be the cause of his behaviour and subsequent death? I have pictures of the petals, but I don't know how to upload them. It is a different hay from what I usually buy as my dad picked it up for me from a shop on his way home from work and I usually buy it from Tesco's.
Sorry for the lengthy post. I am just devastated and none of it makes sense. He was tip top healthy until yesterday. Could it have really been because of the cat or it there possibly something more at play with the mystery plant in the hay?
Thanks for reading,
Sarah.
I have just started cleaning out his corner, this includes his hay rack. Upon emptying the rack, I saw a flash of bright colour and looked closer. It was a dried, bright pink/purple petal. I searched through the hay and found quite a few of them. They were small enough to not notice unless you were looking, but there are quite a few of them. I can only assume that the green part of the plant is also in there, dried, but harder to spot because it will be the same colour as the hay. My question is, could this be the cause of his behaviour and subsequent death? I have pictures of the petals, but I don't know how to upload them. It is a different hay from what I usually buy as my dad picked it up for me from a shop on his way home from work and I usually buy it from Tesco's.
Sorry for the lengthy post. I am just devastated and none of it makes sense. He was tip top healthy until yesterday. Could it have really been because of the cat or it there possibly something more at play with the mystery plant in the hay?
Thanks for reading,
Sarah.
Was your Rabbit fully vaccinated against Myxomatosis, RHD1 and RHD2. This mean two separate vaccines given at least 2 weeks apart.
