Feeling guilty

[tiggerkid]

Hi everyone,

My rabbit was almost 6 years old when he suddenly died on Sunday morning. There were no signs of illness that I had noticed before he died. He was a house rabbit. We normally let him out of his cage during the day to run around the house in winter and as it started getting warmer, we started letting him go outside to play around the garden. We did this every year and during spring and summer, he always came back home by himself in the evenings. There are no poisonous plants outside and the garden is entirely rabbit friendly.

On Saturday evening, he didn't come back as he normally would, so my husband and I went out looking for him in the garden. We looked for him all evening and couldn't find him absolutely anywhere. We thought he somehow escaped and eventually stopped looking. First thing Sunday morning, we went out to look for him again and that's when we found him dead in one of the flower borders! There were no marks on him to suggest he was attacked and killed by any other animals, and I still have absolutely no idea what happened or where he was when we looked for him the night before! We literally looked under every single shrub and leafy plant on Saturday but he wasn't anywhere to be seen!

I am so overcome with guilt and can't stop crying now... I worry that he was ill and we missed something serious and lost the opportunity to take him to the vet. I am filled with dread when I think that he may have been scared and cold at night but more importantly that he died alone! We buried him in the garden but I don't know how to get closure on this. I keep thinking that we shouldn't have stopped looking for him but we didn't know where to look!

I am not really sure what I am asking here... but, perhaps, any of your stories could help me understand what happened and close the chapter on having the wonderful pet that my rabbit was...Thank you in advance.

 

[Catlyn]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Your bunny sure lived a happy lucky life with you. Don't worry, losing a dear member of the family is always hard, and you have nothing to blame yourself for in this case.
I also have no idea what migjt've happened if he showed absolutely no signs of illness...
But
I have come across many threads here that say rabbits don't need to be attacked by a carnivore to pass away, that sometimes only seeing a dangerous animal might cause them to have a heart attack, especially if that rabbit is of timid and shy nature. That yard might've been safe for him but i have no idea what and if is lurking around near where you live. Stray pets, raccoons, foxes, wolves, falcons and hawks?

 

[Oceanie]

I'm so sorry about the passing of your bunny. Is it possible that he was exposed to RHDV2? Most of the time the only symptom of it is sudden death. Unless he was vaccinated, I think that could be it. Don't feel bad for not noticing any signs of illness, if it was that. Rabbits hide their sicknesses extremely well. Or as @Catlyn said, it could be the shock from seeing a predator.

 

[JBun]

It's very possible that he had already passed and that's why you couldn't find him the evening before, and that you just missed spotting him. Rabbits can be such fragile animals, and there can be so many things that can go wrong and cause them to suddenly die without warning. If you didn't find any marks or signs of a struggle then it's more likely to be an underlying health issue that didn't present with any noticeable symptoms, possibly related to aging. Which means there's really no way you could have known or prevented it. It sounds like he had a wonderful life with you. I hope you can take comfort in that, and I'm so sorry for your loss.