Psychotic Stewie :(

This is the most bizarre thing I've experienced with buns so far.
Came back from Yoga last night, about 9, Stewie was fine, I was getting on with dinner, Paul watching telly. I went down the corridor, and Stewie was in full alert mode - staring at a corner of the hall - you know, ears froward, wide eyes, ready to run. Seen it before. I walked past him as said 'what's up litle man, there's nothing there', and he flipped. Raced into the lounge, and went and hid in the tunnel behind the sofa.

Didn't think much of it, I just thought he'd got spooked, so left him. About an hour later, he crept out, and he was definately proper spooked, heart was going mental, his eyes were really wide, and it just seemed like he could see someting that wasn't there. He was really scared. I distracted him with food, which he ate, but he wouldn't let us touch him. Went on for another hour, then he went back behind the sofa and started thumping, for about 1/2 an hour.

I put him in his room, and sat with him for a while, he was behind his chair, thumping. When he did venture out, it was as if I wasn't there, he was staring through me, at something that didn't exist. When i stroked his face, he let me, but it was like he didn't realise it was happening, therewas no reaction or response.

Paul had to go to bed, so I switched the light off in Stewie's room, and shutthe door. I figured that if there was no light, he couldn't see whatever it was that was troubling him - wrong. I sat up in the lounge, waiting to see what would happen.

The thumping continued, it was 1 am, and Paul got up cos he was really stressed and couldn't sleep - Stewie was thumping and keeping him awake. I took the bear with me into the spare room. Nothing changed, he was really scared of everything. I even checked him for maggots, at which point me, the duvet and bed got very very urinated on. There was so much of it, I was drenched. I gave him some rescue remedy, and just layed there, while he hopped/walked around, and bolted and thumped etc. The last news I heard on the radio was the 4 a.m. news. I must have got some sleep after that. When I woke up, the bear was asleep next to me, sat, not laying. He roused, and thumped immediately - I just thought, ' oh not today' - I've got so much happeneing today you wouldn't believe, and travelling to Andover to see John was not something I could do easily, but would have.

I think he was thumping cos he'd woken up in a different room. He's ok this morning, seems a bit shocked, and confused, and he hasn't had much sleep, but he's eating fine, he's not on alert, but he's completely relaxed either.

I cannot think what has caused it - there was no megga stressor to trigger it, we don't have any weed that could bring on psychosis, (if that would or not I don't know) he couldn't have got to any medicines or anything similar, nor to any poisonous plants.

I know that extreme stress can take a few hours to calm down, but this was different. Wierdly, and I'm not suggesting this, but simply that it happened, we heard 2 noises last night, things dropping or something like that, but nothing had happened. I clearly heard a bang on the kitchen floor, like a pan had been dropped, but nothing.

So were we under celestial visitation? Did he eat something, or just one tiny little thing sent him into stress overdrive, whatever that would be?

If anyone else has experienced this, I'd be grateful to know that this can happen.

Poor little man, I was worried we were gonna loose him to a heart attack

He's currently slobbed out at my feet. His heart is a littel faster than usual, and his poos were really small.

I have a lot of bedding to wash...

That is so strange. I hope he's ok.

I wonder if you have ghosties Is he normally a thumpy bunny?

Goodness Me bless him. We are going to see john tomorrow if you are worried and want us to collect you both on the way?

I hope he is okay.

Poor Stewie

I know a lot people are skeptical about these things and may think I'm speaking **** but we had a spook in our old flat. I know we did. Too many unexplainable things happened and on a few occasions, we saw things fly across the room. Things went missing only to return weeks later. Whenever they were returned, OH and I would both be wakened in the night and not know why, only to find the missing items returned in the morning, usually found in the middle of the room. We had a marble roll across our living room floor one evening, we've no idea where it came from.

Thumper would stare at nothing and thump, thump, thump. When you tried to stop her, she would ignore you like she was away with the faires, but come to you when she snapped out of it.

One morning in particular, Thumper was very jumpy. She was always a snuggle bun so she did the complete opposite of Stewie and ran to me, she jumped up on the sofa and hid behind me. She never ever jumped up on the sofa. She wouldn't leave me alone, followed me around while I was getting ready, grunting.

It was only when I went to go out the front door I figured out what was wrong with her. I opened the vestibule door and was astounded by what I saw The huge mirror that hung on the wall out there was on the floor, leaning against the wall, shattered but still in tact. The socket had been ripped out of the wall and was hanging about a foot into the room. And the mirror didn't fall as such, if it hadn't been for the broken glass, we could have just hung it back up.

My poor girl must have heard all this and she was so jumpy and scared It broke my heart leaving her there that morning

Over time, she got used to the goings on, she was always a very laid back bunny. The last thing that happened before we moved was actually with one of her toys. It was about a foot and a half behind where she was lying and before our eyes, it flipped up in the air and landed at the other side of the room. OH and I looked at each other and Thumper looked over her shoulder to where it had landed and then lay back down.

I don't think this has been any help to you I'm afraid but what I can say is that Thumper lived in that flat with it for 4 years and it never did her any harm. It mostly all happened in the night when we were there to come to her aid but a few times we came home from work and the fish tank had been tampered with and she was slightly on edge but on the whole, she got used to it.

If it is the same thing, the way Stewie reacted, I really hope it's an isolated incident.

Sorry of this is a bit garbled I'm at work and long posts are a mare on an iPhone!

I hope Stewie gets over his trauma quickly!

I'm with you Thumper2001, we had a ghost at my old work so they do exist, it used to hang out at the water cooler. Things were always going missing too.

That's so freaky about the flat. I'm sort of fasicinated by ghostie stories.

Katieb wrote:Goodness Me bless him. We are going to see john tomorrow if you are worried and want us to collect you both on the way?

I hope he is okay.

Thanks Katie, I'll see how today goes, right now he catching up on some Z's, and seems very calm again.

Thumper, that's an extraordinary story

I'm in neither camp as far as ghosts go, everything in my logical head says no, but there is evidence to both support and dismiss the possibility, so I remain open minded

Having seen people going through psychotic episodes, I'm well aware of how the mind can trick people. A friend of mine recently had a psychotic breakdown, it was horrific - she was seeing dead people, and the day she was admitted to hospital, she was driving along and seeing vampires circling the car and landing on the bonnet and roof etc. I honestly don't know how she didn't kill someone, as she was swerving around trying to dodge these things, whilst screaming her head off.

I have no idea whether psychosis can occur in animals - something to ask Anne.

Before this became a bit more seious last night, we were taking the mick a bit, and saying 'Is the big brown bunny (Bertie) scaring you?'

I just checked Bertie's records, it was 5 years ago yesterday that we brought him home.

This is getting a bit wierd....

He does seem ok now, just sleeping.

We have gone through this was a few buns and I do believe they see or sence things we don't. We have noticed with Lucy Rose that sometime's she will thump and thump and seems to be staring at something and she has done this a few times since we brought her into the house from the boarding shed. We think she see's Pud as Pud use to have the same rooms as she has to play in and both Mike and I have felt something brush past our legs and we have often remarked 'that will be the Pudster'.

I have a newspaper clipping somewhere I tried to find it before Christmas to put on the forum but I can't find it but it was a lady who had a little rabbit and the lady suffered with epileptic fits but the amazing thing was 10 minutes before she would have a fit her rabbit would tell her by going up to her and sitting next to her. This would enable her to go and find somewhere safe to lay down before her fit's started. It's an old story and I remember at the time thinking it was a wonderful story and I cut it out the newspaper kept it. I think I could have put it in a scrap book and it's in the loft.

That's really intereting Maysie. I do know that prior to a seizure, the body emits an odour that we can't detect, but it's well know that dogs do, and buns have 7,000,000 more nasal recpetors than us, so i guess they can too.

My friends dog sniffed out a cancerous tumour at the top of his nose. It was tiny, and they got it out before it grew too big. The dog just wouldn't leave his nose alone, kept trying to lick inside it.

Bruce sometimes has these sort of experiences. He will thump and thump and thump and look generally worried. I never know why and there is no calming him. I tend to wonder whether he gets a whiff of a strange smell that I have not noticed or a sound beyond my hearing.

Interestingly G.pigs have what I think is an equivalent behaviour. It is called chirping and one pig in a group will start a strange rarely heard song. No one seems to know why they do it and when they finish it is like they don't know it has happened. It is described as a trance like state.

Wow, that vid was amazing! It sounds liek bird song, and the others look like they are being called to arms

Stewie has done this before, but it usually lasts about 1/2 an hour or so. This went on for 7 hours

That is kinda spooky with it happening on Berties gotcha day. It does make you wonder doesn't it.

I hope he feels better after a sleep

to you too for having to see it

I have never experienced anything like that, Its so bizzare as well, its not like you can say "oh it was fireworks" etc, and he is such a confident little bun it is very bizarre! I hope he feels better today bless him.

I can't say I've experienced anything like that myself with a rabbit, but it would have totally freaked me out I think! I'm glad he seems more himself today.

The only thing it brings to mind for me is a precursor to a seizure but obviously that didn't occur. We have two epileptic cats, and one of my Dad's dogs is also epileptic and they can seem a bit 'twitchy' and schizo immediately prior to the onset of a fit, but it means it is very imminent, to within a few minutes.

The chirping guinea pig how very strange I have never ever seen anything like that before

I have had one instance where I have heard a chirping pig - it was very strange. As I said no-one seems to know why they do it.

Jay, that is a terrifying story of what happened to your friend She must have been so scared!

That piggy noise is amazing, it totally does sound like birds!

I hope Stewie is ok tonight.

Humum says:

The only similar experience I had was with Molly, when she was very poorly with Pasteurella. She was too unwell to stress about anything really, but a couple of times she did something really bizarre - she would just jump several feet straight up in the air, adjacent to a wall as if she was trying to scale it, but with no thought of what was going to happen at the top of the jump or where she was going to land when she came back down.

Fortunately both times I saw it happen I was close enough and quick enough to simply pluck her out of the air. Whether she did it at any other times, I don't know but if she did she couldn't have hurt herself.

When she died and we had the PM done it showed lesions on her lungs. I did wonder whether she had any on the brain too and whether that would explain her strange behaviour. It was actually quite frightening and worrying simply because it was so odd.

I don't mean to worry you, and I hope it was just Bertie winding Stewie up, but if it happened again I'd certainly be exploring the possibilities of physical problems in the brain....

HI Jay,

Binky does this....he is so sensitive anything can set him off... it can be something simple like a spider /other insect running across the carpet !

Once it was a tiny snail got in the house, the stomping went on for 2 hours ! He has been like this for 8 yrs.

As you had just come in from yoga u may have smelt different , this can set them off to. Not that I am suggesting you are smelly ... but whereever you were would have smelt different... maybe it was that ? Hope u r still speaking to me lol !!!!!!!!!

Glad Stewie is ok now.

Dawn

Animals can see things we cannot. My mates house has recently been cleansed, there was a very evil spirit it is very hard to explain the things it did.

How bizarre! Harley did this on Thursday night (I'm in Aus remember) and my friends dog had a smiliar experience on the same night.

I was up all night trying to calm him as he behaved exactly how you described with Stewie. He was having a thumpathon until god knows when - I fell asleep. He was a bit of a stare bear too, like a trance, and I couldn't snap him out of it, not even with treats.

Friday morning he was back to normal.

Oh my goodness! Poor Stewie! Poor Jay and Paul! I have had a similar experience with Thumper but we finally figured it out. It was a cat.

I'm with you Jay. Logic says one thing, but---there is just so much unexplained. I imagine the reason Stewie was wanting to stay away from much contact with you is that he was protecting you the only way he knew how, by drawing the attention of what ever it was away from you. Quite loyal

Snuffles does this sometimes Jay and it can go on for quite a while. He also sits and stares as if frozen. I really do think they can see things that we can't perhaps from another dimension.

I am glad he is OK now.

Hugs

Jo xx

This is very strange, poor Bear.

As others have said, they can sense things we cannot. Maybe he saw a shadow? Or could smell something or hear something you couldn't. On the other hand there could have been some sort of ghosty in there.

Dogs can predict fits, some even without training so who knows what he saw.

Thank-you all for your responses and suggestions, it's been an interesting read It's mildly comforting to know that this has happened to other buns, beyond the normal 'hour or so' when buns get spooked.

Well, here's what has been discussed from my end, since.

-Animals can and do have episodes of psychosis, although Anne has not heard of this in rabbits before.

-As you've all suggested, they perceive the world in a different way, because their sensory information is different to ours - as is most animals, different to each others, depending on what they need that information for. In the case of rabbits, smell and sound are for more prominent than their eyesight and taste, as these two senses protect them from attack.

-It is very likely that Stewie was aware of something that we couldn't perceive - a noise, sight or similar.

Some suggestions put forward are:
-The flat downstairs from us was vacated last week, and it could be that something is going off on a timer, or similar.

-The ineterior communal spaces were painted last week, and the gloss done on Thursday. This new smell could have put him on high alert, as he hasn't experienced it before. And although we couldn't smell the gloss inside the flat, Stewie probably could, with those 7,000,000 more nasal receptors that he has.

-There is something happenieng in another flat that we can't hear.

-He got very spooked by a particular thing, that he may have seen and not understood - but was so scared that it lasted as long as it did.

- He had something in his eye - dust, some floaters, I dunnno, but something that he could 'see' but wasn't in his field of actual vision. This would make sense if you could see how he was - it all seemed to be about something he was looking at.
- RE:

Jodie wrote:How bizarre! Harley did this on Thursday night (I'm in Aus remember) and my friends dog had a smiliar experience on the same night.

I was up all night trying to calm him as he behaved exactly how you described with Stewie. He was having a thumpathon until god knows when - I fell asleep. He was a bit of a stare bear too, like a trance, and I couldn't snap him out of it, not even with treats.

Friday morning he was back to normal.

It is possible that this was caused through extreme solar activity - but we'd need to find out if there were lots of other spooked animals that night. You're right, that is bizarre.

As to whether animals 'see' ghosts - the only thing that immediately leaps out to me about this suggestion is this: If animals can see ghosts - why can't we? We are, after all, animals. What is it about us as homo sapiens that means we are excluded from this particular vision?

It could be argued that 'some' people can communicate/see etc ghosts, so we can see them, Again, if this is true, then would it not be true of 'some' animals and not all?

I'm not against the idea of animals seeing ghosts, but I'm a pragmatic person, and quite logical, and the argument doesn't stack up for me. Hope someone can enlighten me

Glad to say that we haven't seen any more of it, and he's back tyo his usual norty self.

And I asked Anne about him peeing all over me - she said it was likely that he'd been so spooked that he simply didn't/couldn't go to the toilet - and when I held him and stroked him on the bed, he had a moment where he felt safe, and relaxed enough to let his bladder go, so I got 7 hours of stored up urine depositied in one go

I have seen a ghost. I used to work in an old converted stable, which was always freezing cold. I worked in an office which had two offices and a stock room off of it. One day I was in my office alone and there was one other person in one of the others. I was working on my computer, and someone was stoof by the watercooler. The other guy in the office was on the phone so it wasn't him. It was spooky. Things went missing very often in that office too.

My other spooky experience I'm not 100% about. I had a good friend, Martin, who died about four or five years ago. I haven't had the heart to delete his page from my Facebook account, and everysooften I leave him messages on his wall. I blame myself a lot for his death (long story) so one birthday I wrote him a message, missing you on your birthday, I'm so sorry, visit me whenever you like. That night I saw him at the end of my bed. Now I don't know if I dreamt that I saw him or not, but I'm kind of sure I was awake.

There's also been some spookiness at my current works, doors opening and shutting and photocopiers doing weird stuff when noone else is about.

The way I see it is, everyone can see ghosts, but not everyone chooses to believe what they see. Some people might just think it was their eyes playing tricks on them, or not notice at all. I think some people are just more receptive to things than others, and seeing as I barely notice anything I'm amazed I have seen ghosts!

Hope Stewie is feeling better now.