Could I Have Killed My Rabbit??

[Bill Jesse]

My 8 year old Dutch died in my arms this week. I am totally distraught, feeling guilty and feeling like the world has come to an end. A few weeks ago she was not eating. I tried all her favourite foods and even tapping her on the nose with hay. Took her to the vet who found all her vitals were good, gave her some sub-q fluids and a dose of Metacam. Took her another day before she sprung back.
This week she had the same symptoms. She would eat basically nothing like hay, carrot or apple. She did eat some parsley but had trouble when she got to the 'flower' end which she chewed very slowly. She tried a few pieces of Romaine but would stop with the lettuce hanging from her mouth. I gave her 0.05 ml of Metacam and some Critical Care but she hardly ate any. I gave her sub-q fluids. She was still lethargic.
I thought she would not survive the night but she did and I decided she needed some Critical Care but this time I used a 1ml syringe and made the mix runny enough to drip out of the tip.
I gave her some and she chewed so I gave her more but she stopped. I kept trying but only what I thought was a drop at a time. She was spitting it out. Altogether she made have had about 2ml. She was very lethargic so I took her back to her hutch where she lay on one side. I tried to pick her up but she went into convulsions and died soon after.
I have used CC before and have given Metacam and Panacur orally to my other rabbits without a problem. I am well aware of going slow when dosing because of the material going into the lungs. Could this have happened? I keep asking myself this and can't sleep because my mind is going crazy with worry.
I did notice on both days when I picked her up into my lap she was very quiet and not struggling. She was usually a difficult rabbit to pick up and hold and the only one that I had to use a carrier to get her from her hutch to her outdoor pen. Obviously I feel sick to my stomach over this.

 

[RavenousDragon]

It sounds like it was nothing you did to her. I'm not sure what could have caused it (there are just too many diseases) but it sounds like you were doing everything right and it might have just been her time to go. I am so sorry for your loss and we are sending our love.

 

[Watermelons]

Sounds like something else was going on, not her aspirating on what you fed. Did the vet check the teeth? Do Xrays? Bloodwork?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

They are expert at hiding so many problems from us and she wasn't a youngster anymore. We just lost our avatar bunny at 10 years, but she was definitely looking older. We have one that turned 17 this month and still going strong but we have had several leave before 4 years.

 

[Bill Jesse]

Thank you all. I am still totally distraught. I feel entirely guilty and cannot live with myself. I am reliving every minute of what happened. I loved this rabbit dearly. I love black animals and with her white collar and nose was a beautiful creature.
This morning I took a 1ml and a 2ml syringe and filled them to see how much fluid she would have ingested. I had made the Critical Care runny so it would flow easier. In the past I had used a very large syringe with a large nozzle tip but found it difficult to plunge and when it did, it shot out like a cannon. I know that of the 3ml she spit out some and I think I put the nozzle in the pouch in her cheek but wonder if I accidentally went directly into her mouth. I did it very slowly.
Prior to this she was not eating anything except some cilantro and parsley. She had no trouble chewing the stems but when she got to the "flower or bulb" end she struggled. She often started to eat but stopped with the balance hanging from her mouth. She could still run but would occasionally hide in the corner. At times she would move to another location. As this lack of eating was going on for 3 days I was concerned. I could not tell if she pooped as she shares the hutch. I did see her urinate though.
This episode will haunt me for a very long time. I will be afraid to give any of my other creatures Critical Care.
As an after thought I could have given her pure apple juice or something similar. This is why I feel very guilty and upset.

 

[RavenousDragon]

In the unlikely case that she did aspirate (which I still do not believe she did), apple juice would have had the exact same effect as Critical Care. I think you did all the right things and really should not blame yourself (I blamed myself for months after my last rabbit went septic and died suddenly- so I know how hard it can be to not blame yourself).

 

[Bill Jesse]

Thank you for your words. I am still blaming myself although others in my rabbit community agree with you. I had a vet who loved animals more than her salary. Sadly she moved away. I miss her because she knew me and my four rabbits and two cats. I sent her an email and she said if cause of death would have been syringe feeding the animal would have shown distress trying to breathe. I stopped feeding Duchess a few minutes before she passed and during her convulsions she opened and closed her mouth a few times. Distress? Don't know. I am sure that if the CC had filled her lungs it would have distressed her right away. Don't know. Even after her convulsions she was breathing albeit slowly. Maybe I learned a lesson here although having owned rabbits for 20 years I thought I had already learned them.
This brings me back to a rabbit whom I had to put down at 13 years of age. The vet had trouble putting the needle into the vein in is rear leg as he was so skinny. He knew I was having the bunny cremated right away and as he had such difficulty with the injection I do not think he actually euthanized him but just knocked him out. Again my paranoia but when I took him to the crematorium he was still limp. Duchess had rigor set in almost right away. I had many nightmares of having my rabbit cremated while he was still alive. Strange I know. But rabbits are my children.
Back to Duchess. She was ill. There was no denying it. Would not eat and didn't even flinch when I waved hay and lettuce in front of her nose. My other animals, including her, had always snapped at the hay.
I am very sad and even more sad for her hutch mate. I always spent lots of time talking to my rabbits and I am doing more to her now. And she is eating, always has. I call her a piggy in a bunny rabbit suit.

 

[RavenousDragon]

I don't know if this will help or not, but: when an animal is euthanized, the solution will work in the vein, in the skin, or in the muscle (in the vein is just the fastest). Rigor mortis sets in differently for every animal- and generally, if the animal was convulsing, she used all the energy in her muscles (which counter-intuitively is what relaxes our muscles) and so rigor set in faster. In an animal that is peacefully euthanized, the muscles weren't contracting, and thus had more energy to relax. Your 13 year old bunny was probably actually passed before cremation.

 

[Bill Jesse]

That is a logical answer and I appreciate it. My 13 year old was not active at all in the end, just lying in bed and that is why I knew it was time. The vet, a highly experienced man had difficulty and had to summon help from the techs.
Despite all the words and thoughts about my Duchess I still feel guilty. I am taking my wife for brain cancer radiation shortly and when I come back will take Duchess to the pet crematorium for a private witness cremation.

 

[squidpop]

As soon as I read she was 8 years old, I decided No it was nothing you did. But I also read the rest. And I am still positive it was nothing you did. You gave her fluids and gave her meds, you did everything you could, at 8 years old it was just her time.

 

[Bill Jesse]

Thank you. Despite all the posts to the contrary I still feel very guilty, and will with it always. She had been refusing all kinds of food except stalks of parsley and cilantro. She ate them very slowly. I gave her Critical Care the day before but as you might know most of it goes anywhere but in her. I gave her sub-q and Metacam earlier. The morning of her passing she was at the edge of her hutch and seemingly alert. But she still would not eat. I brought her in to syringe feed her and even when I opened the carrier she did not want to come out. I made the CC mix runny so I could use a 1 ml syringe. I gave her some and then she would not eat anymore. I put my finger in her mouth and felt for the CC and there was a bit which I put onto her teeth. No movement so I put the syringe back into what I thought was the pouch and gave her more. I have dosed with CC and given oral meds over the years but what did I do wrong with her. What was I thinking?
Evening picking her up that morning she was not resisting. Usually he struggles. Now she is gone and I cannot help blaming myself in that I may have overfed her.
8 years to me is not that long for a bunny that is healthy and kept in near spotless condition, giving tons of hay and the best pellets. My Sedgewick did at 13 and when he did I removed his outdoor pen. But with Duchess gone I could not remove the pen because it is used by her hutch mate every day. So each time I look out and see a missing rabbit I start to cry. And her hutch mate is looking and acting quite sad.

 

[Kipcha]

Just a note, if there comes a time again when a bunny is truly refusing to eat (Critical care going in to the mouth but they make no effort to swallow), it needs to go to a vet ASAP as it is quite likely a blockage. We experienced something similar with one of our rabbits, and feeding them can do more harm then good.

That's not saying you should blame yourself, I know a lot of people have a rabbit that stops eating and they have the critical care out right away, it's just a gamble that it's gas and the bun isn't blocked up somewhere.

 

[Aki]

It's really hard to let go after the death of a pet. My previous bunny passed more than 3 years ago and I still have trouble thinking about it without feeling awful and guilty. I don't know if I ever will really make peace with it (he was quite young, it was very sudden and I don't know what the problem was either even though I spent about 500 $ at the vet to try to cure him). I spent weeks reading every article about rabbits' illnesses on the Internet afterwards trying to make sense of it and finding what I had missed.
I still don't know, but hey, at least now I'm not tearing up randomly anymore.
I already said I didn't think your bunny's death was your fault. Everything you describe sounds like a natural death to me. She was ill and getting pretty old (yes, some rabbits make it to 16, but for most rabbits 8 years is already quite a long life - for me 8 is kind of a milestone : I'm still horribly sad when the bunny passes away, but when he made it to 8 I consider they had a decently long-life), and her time had come. But I get why it's hard to accept for you right now.

 

[Bill Jesse]

One of the first things I did was check to see if her tummy was hard. It was soft and palpable. She was an energetic bunny and she and her hutch mate had a 60 square foot outdoor run to play in. She ate tons of fresh hay and preferred it to any of the pellets she had. I did see her urinate and found one or two poop pellets in the carrier I was transporting her in. It was difficult to tell in the hutch as there is a litter box for the two.
I still miss her and will always feel guilty. I feel very sad for her hutch mate Bandita. I am trying to acclimatize the other two with her but so far it is not working. I have since moved the outdoor pens within 6 inches of each other. Previously they were 10 feet apart.

 

[stevesmum]

Give bandita more time to mourn and don't force it. She may not be ready to bond with anyone yet. Spend extra time with her. Help each other through it.

 

[squidpop]

I read and post on many rabbit forums and facebook forums and its very, very, common for people to post that hey feel responsible for their rabbits death and really beat themselves up about it. In contrast, never do I hear people who have cats or dogs say they feel like it was their fault when they died. I put it down to— rabbits are such a very fragile animal, so its hard to keep the alive and its hard to treat without making mistakes. I think you accomplished a lot to keep your rabbit safe and happy for 8 years and should feel good about yourself for that. Its sad that you feel so bad about it. Maybe try thinking of all the ways you were good to your rabbit so you don't feel so bad.

 

[squidpop]

I read and post on many rabbit forums and facebook forums and its very, very, common for people to post that hey feel responsible for their rabbits death and really beat themselves up about it. In contrast, never do I hear people who have cats or dogs say they feel like it was their fault when they died. I put it down to— rabbits are such a very fragile animal, so its hard to keep the alive and its hard to treat without making mistakes. I think you accomplished a lot to keep your rabbit safe and happy for 8 years and should feel good about yourself for that. Its sad that you feel so bad when really you treat your bunnies so well. Maybe try thinking of all the ways you were good to your rabbit so you don't feel so bad.