I've lost one of my rabbits :-(

As the title suggests really,

I'm sitting here in tears, have been for the last hour.

Went in to feed everyone this morning and Boo wasn't right. He'd wee'd and poo'd on top of the hutch within the shed and fell off the hutch, looking really dazed and confused.

I rushed him to my vets (still in my PJs) and was told he was emaciated and his body was shutting down. How could I not have noticed? I feel like sh!t and am not suitable to own rabbits. I'd noticed he was losing weight but he seemed to be eating fine and had hay and SS everyday with bits of veg a few times a week.

I thought i was giving everything to him that a bunny could want. Big shed with run to live in, bonded to a female, lots of love. but i've let him down. any myself. I feel so god damn guilty that i've caused this and I can't ever expect anyone to say "it's not your fault" becuase it is. It's all my fault.

I think bad of people who don't look after their rabbits but i'm no better.

I'm going to contact Sooz as I don't think Dude and Poppy should live me any longer. They deserve to be looked after better than i obv do.

Please don't shoot me down, I'm already feeling like dying myself and don't need to feel worse.

I just wish I could turn abck the clock.

Oh my gosh sweetie, ITS NOT YOUR FAULT at all!!! Please, please don't think like that. It sounds like Boo had everything he could've wanted, and more. I really don't know what to say to help the situation, Im just so shocked that you are blaming yourself. Please, Dont. Rabbits go downhill SO fast, and even if you would've taken him to the vets last week, when a rabbit starts showing signs such as unexplained weightloss, its an indication that something is very wrong...You'd probably have still been in the same situation. Sending you a million hugs, None of this was your fault. Sleep tight Boo little one, You'll be missed so much XX

i am so sorry to hear about Boo. It is not your fault at all and you are a great bunny mummy and should defo not give up Poppy and Dude. Rabbits can go downhill quickly and is hard to notice things are wrong if they are eating and zooming around etc normally. Binky free Boo.

Is he actually dead?

I'm so sorry

Please don't blame yourself. It sounds like Boo had everything a bunny could ever wish for. Like others have said bunnys can go down very quickly.

I was told once that my horse was emaciated when he had colic there was no way he was, so perhaps your vet was going a bit over the top too.

Sending you huge hugs xxxx

Yes Sooz. He hs been pts at 8am

Rest in peace Boo...

If it looked like he was eating I suppose short of sitting there and watching him at dinner time it is often hard to monitor what rabbits eat to the letter.

You mustn't blame yourself, animals cannot verbally tell us when they are poorly. Any illness is so much harder to spot in bunnies as they instinctively hide it. I lost a cat to kidney failure, I only realised too late how much weight he had lost I am sure there are so many pet owners who look back and think 'what if'. It is only natural to think this, but you are truly not to blame. I am sure Boo had a wonderful, loving life with you, and your other bunnies do too.
Sleep tight Boo xxx

So sorry about Boo. Please try not to blame yourself. Guilt is a very natural reflex during bereavement. There was probably nothing you had not done and it may not have been as simple as him not eating enough. He probably had something seriously wrong with him that you couldn't never have known about as rabbits hide their illness.

Please take comfort from all the lovely things to you do right. It sounds like your buns have a lovely comfortable life. Unfortunately, it was time for Boo to leave and there was nothing you could have done to prevent it.

Hugs to you. xx

I'm so sorry Hugs to you xx

Am still sitting here in tears. My head is pounding from crying all day, tho i did doze off for an hour or two on the sofa from exhaustion from crying.
Woke up to find OH had taken the other 3 to the vets and they are all fine. Don't know how I would have coped today without him. He came straight home from work when he heard, cleaned the other 3 out really thoroughly and then took them to the vets at 4pm for me as I was asleep and he didn't want to wake me.
I just keep saying "I can't believe it" - it jsut doesn't seem real. Think I will ask OH to feed them in morning so I don't get upset before work and then when i get home I will sit in with Angel and makre sure she is ok. We've been checking on her this evening and she seems ok, but figure it may take a day or 2 for it to hit her - as it probably will me too.
OH has still been teary tonight when we've spoken about Boo.

I had such big plans for their new accomodation when we move in 2 weeks and he'll never get to see it :-(

Called mum to tell her too and she burst into tears. Boo was such a cuties, everyone who met him fell in love.

Seems only yesterday when I was arranging to adopt him frm Sooz after falling in love with his picture.

I miss him buzzing around the shed and humping Angel!

:-(

Your OH sounds amazing. I'm glad that you've got someone who understands and will help you. xx

NickieM wrote:Your OH sounds amazing. I'm glad that you've got someone who understands and will help you. xx

Thanks, he is pretty special. He's really helped me with my grief today and he's my rock. He's almost as mad as me for animals and he's still upset too. He was sitting here earlier not being himself, and when i asked what was up he just said "Boo". Didn't realise quite how much of a softie he is :luv:

Sorry for your loss.

I'm glad when you've had time to reflect today everyone has made you realise that you are not to blame.

I've lost two bunnies this year, for the first time, the first was begging at me and two hours later I found her dead. She was quite slow for her age but I never believed she was 'ill' in any real sense. It was a massive shock. I couldn't talk to those around me about it for 10 days because of the massive guilt I felt. Ten weeks later I lost Scratty and she was my whole world. I just cannot understand how as a house rabbit living in the room where I worked that I could have not known she was ill. She went from missing her first meal to dying in 24 hours. It's still totally beyond me how both could have gone downhill so quickly without me knowing.

So, yes I've spent a lot of time blaming myself and I suspect the only answer is 'experience' and even then you might not get any signs to pick up on. All you can do is make life as good as possible for them. I know you've done that, as have I.

Sending hugs.

thanks for the new posts. I was still in tears driving to work this morning and didn't sleep till 2am. God knows what i'll be like when I lose Angel because (though i hate to "say it out loud") she is my favourite bunster.

Never expected the day would come so soon that I lost Boo.
Vet thinks it was definately something sinister like a tumour or something.

Couldn't face feeding them all this morning and not seeing Boo running around, so OH did them and said he thought Angel seemed ok.

Will go and sit in with her tonight after work and give her lots of cuddles and will be stocking up on toys and treats today too.

Miss my wee man so much. 25 hours since he left me and I feel like my heart has been ripped out.
One of the managers came in to see me when she heard me come up the stairs and asked if I was ok so i just said i was. It's so hard to explain to a non-bunny lover just how torn I'm feeling right now but I know you guys all understand.

Will be posting in the remembrance section when i can face it.
OH says he wants us to get one of Boo's photos blown up and put in pride of place in the new house. Just can't believe Boo will never see the new bunny palace in the new house which i've got such big plans for.

Anyway, best go so I don't get upset again. Just feel numb right now.

I'm glad you managed to get some sleep. Your OH sounds a wonderful, caring guy.

Sending loads of hugs to you all,
Vanessa xxx

Big Ears wrote: She went from missing her first meal to dying in 24 hours. It's still totally beyond me how both could have gone downhill so quickly without me knowing.
.

I've lost rabbits in the space of just a few hours from them seeming slightly lethargic or disinterested to collapsing and fighting for breath, Cassius collapsed and died in the space of 30 minutes. It throws you completely and you just go into shock. There are illnesses that from their onset will kill within hours but that have often been lurking in the background, symptomless, for weeks/months/years without us realising.

That dosn't make us bad owners, just human ones.

I'm so sorry, you sound heartbroken

This is SO sad.....poor Boo, and poor you. I am SO sorry.

Jay wrote:I'm so sorry, you sound heartbroken

Hey Jay, yes I feel really destroyed. Am sure i will be ok in a few days but at the moment it's all just so raw.
When i got back from having Boo pts I did a very stupid thing and cut myself

I know it wasn't the answer but I just wanted to get rid of the pain and guilt i was feeling. I feel bad even saying what i did, as i know it's stupid and doesn't solve anything but I'm just truly truly gutted.


I now know after all the lovely posts i've had on various places that i'm not to blame and am feeling a bit better about that aspect.

copied from the healing poetry page:

The Last Battle

If it should be that I grow frail and weak
And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then will you do what must be done,
For this -- the last battle -- can't be won.
You will be sad I understand,
But don't let grief then stay your hand,
For on this day, more than the rest,
Your love and friendship must stand the test.
We have had so many happy years,
You wouldn't want me to suffer so.
When the time comes, please, let me go.
Take me to where to my needs they'll tend,
Only, stay with me till the end
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.
I know in time you will agree
It is a kindness you do to me.
Although my whiskers their last have waved,
From pain and suffering I have been saved.
Don't grieve that it must be you
Who has to decide this thing to do;
We've been so close -- we two -- these years,
Don't let your heart hold any tears.

so true

It's a lovely poem isn't it. There is a lot of good stuff on that section, you may find this helpful too Coming to Terms with Loss.

it's an amzing poem. It's so true as well.
thanks for posting it on here, am sure it's helped a lot of people with their loss.

I am so sorry you have lost Boo. It is such a shock when you find that they have been ill and you have'nt realised. This happened to me in the past with my late bunny Benjamin before I realised that he had dental problems. He had stuffed loads of hay and straw into his mouth, so I took him to the vet and could not believe it when I was told that Benj was seriously underweight due to spurs etc. I was lucky that he had treatment just in time and survived for a few more years, but it could so easily have gone the other way. He was such a clever little boy though, padding his mouth like that.
I really feel for you and as others have said, you should not feel guilty, many of us have been caught out this way.
Lots of hugs.

Jo x

i've only realised since Boo has passed, just how much water he must have been drinking. Between him and Angel, they used to get through a litre in less than a day. Angel is not getting through about a litre every 3 days.

Is she not drinking enough, or was Boo drinking 'too much'?

Thanks