cottoncritter
Member
Yesterday (2/22/15), I went downstairs in the morning to give my boyfriend's rabbit Auburn his daily medicine. I gasped when I found him motionless on his side, realizing he must have passed overnight.
For the past 2 years, he had been having dental issues and his health had been going up and down. At first, between two vets, we were told it was because of dental spurs. He was grinding his teeth in pain, losing weight, drooling, eating less hay and eventually his slobbers got so bad that he started losing fur all down his neck and arms. We had them do a dental trim and I think we had to give Auburn a set of medicines on like 2 or 3 different occasions. Bene-bac, Metacam and Baytril.
It was always the same - he would get better for a while, but then his health would decline again. These past few months were the worst for him. He got so skinny, it was horrifying. He fell over once while I was cleaning his cage, as he tried to hop back in, and was too weak to pick himself back up. We were signed up with a 3rd vet at the same clinic, who said he had dental spurs growing again but said the main problem was his diet. Auburn never ate much hay, even though we always put it in his cage. The vet told us to reduce his pellet intake and this would supposedly encourage Auburn to eat more hay when he got hungry. The medicine was to ease the pain and stuff. This time they did not give us Bene-bac for some reason, only the other two things.
So we feel like we just watched poor Aubey starve himself to death. I wish I had just gone against the vet's suggestion and given him the pellets anyway, because maybe that was the only thing keeping him going. Don't they get more calories from pellets anyways? I felt helpless watching him deteriorate while I wiped his drooled-over fur with a warm wet cloth, carefully removed some of his matted fur, and pet him even though it upset me to feel how skinny he was. We just wanted him to get better. We've been through a lot ourselves, my grandfather died last September and my childhood home is being sold, we've been so busy. We've been meaning to set up a better hang out space for our rabbits, spend a lot more time with them, etc. And I feel so sad and guilty that we didn't get to do those things with Auburn. My poor boyfriend, it was his first rabbit. He asked to be alone while he carefully placed Aubey's body in a box with a soft pillow case. He tried to pour boiling water outside on the frozen ground so we could bury him, but it wasn't working so we've had to put the box with Aubey in the second freezer they have. We might have him cremated, I've read it costs between $50 and $100, which we can afford thankfully.
He was a good rabbit. I believe my boyfriend adopted him in 2011. He was feisty at first, he'd jump and nip at us if we put our hands in his cage. But after a while he warmed up to us and became friendly and loved petting, got excited to run around and play. We both loved him and wanted the best for him. I feel guilty about his death and can't help but wonder if I had just given him more pellets, maybe he would've improved. We do feel relieved that he doesn't have to suffer anymore, but of course we're still very sad about it too.
I hope poor Aubey is in a better place and knows that we love him. Rest in peace Auburn...
This is an old picture from when he was healthier. Unfortunately the only picture of him I can find since I had to switch my phones last year and might have lost pictures.
For the past 2 years, he had been having dental issues and his health had been going up and down. At first, between two vets, we were told it was because of dental spurs. He was grinding his teeth in pain, losing weight, drooling, eating less hay and eventually his slobbers got so bad that he started losing fur all down his neck and arms. We had them do a dental trim and I think we had to give Auburn a set of medicines on like 2 or 3 different occasions. Bene-bac, Metacam and Baytril.
It was always the same - he would get better for a while, but then his health would decline again. These past few months were the worst for him. He got so skinny, it was horrifying. He fell over once while I was cleaning his cage, as he tried to hop back in, and was too weak to pick himself back up. We were signed up with a 3rd vet at the same clinic, who said he had dental spurs growing again but said the main problem was his diet. Auburn never ate much hay, even though we always put it in his cage. The vet told us to reduce his pellet intake and this would supposedly encourage Auburn to eat more hay when he got hungry. The medicine was to ease the pain and stuff. This time they did not give us Bene-bac for some reason, only the other two things.
So we feel like we just watched poor Aubey starve himself to death. I wish I had just gone against the vet's suggestion and given him the pellets anyway, because maybe that was the only thing keeping him going. Don't they get more calories from pellets anyways? I felt helpless watching him deteriorate while I wiped his drooled-over fur with a warm wet cloth, carefully removed some of his matted fur, and pet him even though it upset me to feel how skinny he was. We just wanted him to get better. We've been through a lot ourselves, my grandfather died last September and my childhood home is being sold, we've been so busy. We've been meaning to set up a better hang out space for our rabbits, spend a lot more time with them, etc. And I feel so sad and guilty that we didn't get to do those things with Auburn. My poor boyfriend, it was his first rabbit. He asked to be alone while he carefully placed Aubey's body in a box with a soft pillow case. He tried to pour boiling water outside on the frozen ground so we could bury him, but it wasn't working so we've had to put the box with Aubey in the second freezer they have. We might have him cremated, I've read it costs between $50 and $100, which we can afford thankfully.
He was a good rabbit. I believe my boyfriend adopted him in 2011. He was feisty at first, he'd jump and nip at us if we put our hands in his cage. But after a while he warmed up to us and became friendly and loved petting, got excited to run around and play. We both loved him and wanted the best for him. I feel guilty about his death and can't help but wonder if I had just given him more pellets, maybe he would've improved. We do feel relieved that he doesn't have to suffer anymore, but of course we're still very sad about it too.
I hope poor Aubey is in a better place and knows that we love him. Rest in peace Auburn...
This is an old picture from when he was healthier. Unfortunately the only picture of him I can find since I had to switch my phones last year and might have lost pictures.
