I apologize to all of my rabbits and especially to you, my fierce little angel

[Babygroot]

Okay so, I've had rabbits since I was born pretty much, however, I have never properly cared for them til now. By that I mean, clean their cages often enough, feed them the right food, groom and keep them clean as well as cut their nails. I've been doing such a poor job with all this up til now, far too late.

So when I was young, I was so stubborn when it came to just clean the rabbits cages, my parents always had to argue with me for ages to clean the rabbits cages. This went on til I was around 16-17, I know, ridiculous right? Why would I argue to clean my rabbits cages?! Our rabbits diets weren't necessarily bad, but we gave them a bunch of pellets, which they don't need at all, which have lead to one of my rabbits not wanting to eat hay at all because of too much pellets. And I rarely cut their nails, I used cut them during summer and then... no more... WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?? It really pisses me off now just how poorly I cared for my rabbits... It really does...

My two rabbits that I had outside, they had it the worst... They used to get poop stuck on their butt and during summer I used to give them some kind of bath (at least I knew that bathing isn't good for them and that I didn't do it too much, only what was necessary) to get it off. Even if they got clean after the bath, their cage was constantly dirty and I would eventually just come back. When I started to mature and take more responsibility, I cleaned it every week, but since it was a rather small cage for two rabbits, it was dirty after only a couple of days.

Now, at the beginning of 2020 I was surfing on the internet, stumbled on a couple of rabbit sites, and that's when it really hit me... HOW POORLY AM I TREATING MY RABBITS?! This needs to change... NOW!
And so... I started to clean all rabbit cages, more often than ever (NO complaining), I changed all rabbit diets into only eating hay, no more pellets (just as a snack) and then some vegtables and other snacks for bunnies every once in a while. A short while after that, one of the outside bunnies got a urineinfection, which led to her having pee all over her butt, and so, we took her to the vet. I was very worried, thinking of her overall living conditions and that she had very skinny body (but a nice big round stomach), yet still being very energetic, I really felt like she was going to die. Which made me very sad, thinking of how I was just about to come around and make things so much better...
Luckily she was fine! I just had to give her some medicine, give her a bath to get rid of the pee, keep her clean, by keeping the cage clean, wiping the pee of from her and so on. After 10 days of medication, I thought things were fine. However, she wasn't. After a couple days she was back to peeing herself, and so I thought that i ought to take her back to the vet. But I didn't take action fast enough. She suddenly stopped eating, drinking and moving. She was curled up in a ball and that had me really worried. I couldn't take her to the vet at that moment either, cause my dad was in town at the moment with the car. So me and my mom brought her in, and... she died, right in front of my eyes... It was truly the most painful thing I've ever seen...

What hurts the most is that I was finally coming around, I was gonna make a form of pasture so they could be out running no matter the weather and do it on their own accords, I was gonna show them more appriciation, I was gonna give them a better life... but there she goes...
I guess the only thing I can do now is to take better care of the rabbits I have now, but I will never forgive myself for how poorly I cared for my rabbits and how she became the result of it...

I'm making the post cause of the guilt I feel, and I wanted to, well, confess and apologize to my rabbit... I can only hope that she rests well and has it better.

I'm sorry my firce little angel... I truly am

 

[Hermelin]

Sorry for your loss, you tried your best and you have learned from your mistakes and trying to improve yourself for your bunnies.

So you are doing a good job, myself also did many mistakes with my first bunny. I also never cleaned his cage. My dad did that and I think I trimmerd his nails only 2 times his whole life. I was lucky he kept his nail short and a proper length. I remember as a kid I didn’t want to go out and change water during winter, even though I knew the water had frozen in his bowl.

But parents also have the greatest responsibility when the family owns a pet.

I’m lucky my dad stepped up and took care of the cleaning and walking out during the winter, he also set up a pen which my first bunny could play in everyday to get outside his hutch. But I know he didn’t live as long as he could had been.

So everyone do mistakes and we learn from them. At least we try to improve ourself to make it better for our bunnies.

 

[Babygroot]

Thank you for the reply, it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one making these mistakes.

And what a great dad! My parents have cleaned my rabbit cages, given the rabbits food and water etc. as well when I didn't, which I am very grateful for. But since they had a lot of other things at hand as well, a lot of responsibilty landed on me to take care of my own rabbits and yeah. I'm definitely up for improvement.

Right now I'm letting my rabbit's sister see her body so the sister can, well, say goodbye. I might move the sister inside once it gets a little warmer outside, so she doesn't get all too lonely, since getting a new rabbit to keep her comapny is not really an option.

 

[Blue eyes]

Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone learns from their mistakes.

I doubt there is anyone on this forum who doesn't have regrets about mistakes they've made with their rabbits. We're all here to learn and share what we've learned.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Babygroot]

Yeah, that's true. Thank you!

 

[Mariam+Theo]

I'm so sorry! I'm glad you have learned from your mistakes and are now giving your rabbits the best life they can live. I have made so many mistakes with my rabbit that I wish I could change now. Don't beat yourself up about it. Btw- Welcome!

 

[Babygroot]

Yeah, it's hard to not beat yourself up about it, but since I can't change the past, I can a least make a better future for my other rabbits. And thank you!

 

[Julie&Bunnies]

I'm so sorry about the loss of your bunny.
We have all made mistakes, and all have something we wish we had done differently. I was having some thoughts just like your's today. As I was watching one of my bunnies running around. He seemed to enjoy it so much. I was thinking of another bunny I used to have and how infrequently he got to run around free, and how much I regret that. He spent too much time in his cage. We all made mistakes and wish we could do it over for our bunnies, who are deserving of the best. As you said....all we can do is pay it forward to our current bunnies, for the memory of those we have lost.

I think we need some sort of bunny owner confession booth.

 

[Binky4eva]

Sorry for your loss. Don't beat yourself up too much. I know it is easier to say than do, as I find.

We all make mistakes and all mostly start off not knowing much about rabbits or how to care for them. I know that was certainly true in my case. I had no idea.

But you learn from your experience AND your mistakes. And I have learned from many of mine, both minor and devastingly. (see my recent post about cisapride or Prepulsid end of Jan).

It sounds like your eyes hahave really opened and your attitude has changed and that is the most important thing. This site and other sites are such good resource centres for advice and for help.

Grieve and remember the furbaby you lost in the past, but also luv and learn and continue to improve on your care for your current ones. They will thrive and luv you even more for it.

We are all here for support.

 

[CookieJingleToes]

I had a bunny in high school. (This is the mid 80's, BTW) He was in a fairly small hutch my dad made. In the summer it was outside under a shade tree and in the winter we moved it in to the machine shed. I was a horrible bunny owner. He was fed hay and way too many veggies (sometimes cooked) After 4 years my mom gave him away because I did not clean his cage and sometimes went weeks with only filling his water bottle and not even giving him a pet.

About 7 years ago my daughter's boyfriend found a small black and white bunny in his grandma's yard. We built it a cage, rather large with a way to get to an outside yard. He was named Kudos. I feel better about that bunny as he had outside time, cuddle time, better care all around. But it was myself, my daughter and her boyfriend all caring for him. We had him 2 winters and then the kids gave him to a cousin and now he is a spoiled house bunny.

Then last June I got Chowder and thank heaven for Google. He may not agree (see the bunny wants to complain thread).

The point of my long story is, we all learn from our experiences. In high school I never should have gotten the bunny. A few years ago I should have researched more. Now I have a spare room ruler that will hop his way to the living room to bonk one of the cats on the head, do a stylish jump then ask for a treat.

Dont beat yourself up. Learn from your past and go forward. It's what life is about.

 

[Babygroot]

I really appreciate the responds.
Maybe having a bunny owner confession booth wouldn't be such a bad idea. I think it would be nice for some people to get things off their chest. Then, maybe like me, find some comfort in the fact that they're not alone in making mistakes and that they can all together learn and do better for the future♡