looking for an answer/illness rabbit

[mel]

Dear Friends

yesterday I found my approx 2 year old female rabbit sitting lethargically in her compartment in a corner I rushed her to the vets as clearly something was wrong. My pet had shown no signs of illness up until that moment. The vet examined and found nothing internally on the outset and ok temperature and limbs and mouth/teeth etc . Within one hour the rabbit had died and the vet said she had two bleeds and it must have been a tumour of the reproductive organs as is common with female rabbits. Does anyone know anything about this as I am shocked and distressed by my rabbits demise so quickly and without any warning what would have been a most healthy looking bunny rabbit.

thankyou friends for any info regarding this. Sincerely Mel.

 

[hartleybun]

:bunnyhug::bigtears:i am so sorry. i lost my beloved hartley in january very suddenly -he was nearly 5 and had been fine all day. we found him dead the next morning. he had had some form of stroke - sudden and without warning. our brilliant bunny vet reassured us that we could have done nothing. our bunnies are very much part of the family and we would have noticed a change in behaviour.

i still find it difficult to accept that a very healthy bun died so suddenly and i can well understand what you are going thru. you did everything you could.

there is an excellent part of this forum - Rainbow Bridge - which deals with grief and the loss of a beloved bunny.

this is one place where people really do know what you are going thru

kind regards

donna

 

[Flashy]

I'm truly sorry for your loss.

Unfortunately, none of us here can really give you a definitive answer, we can only speculate. The only way to have gotten a definitive answer is to get a necropsy done.

It's really hard when you have a bun that goes downhill so quick. Unfortunately, that is one of the hardest things about having buns. They are prey animals and so hide their illness until it is too unbearable to hide anymore. That doesn't mean you did anything wrong, it just means that your bun acted as buns are genetically programmed to do.

I've never had a bun with uterine cancer so can't comment on the speed with which your bun became ill, however, there is a very high chance of uterine problems (be them cancers, or infections), and this is one of the reasons that many people spay their rabbits as a preventative measure. If that is the case (that it was a uterine problem) then that is very common in buns.

What country are you in?

I truly am sorry for your loss, and hope that maybe you can find comfort in talking with us here, and maybe also sharing more about Bun Bun in the Rainbow Bridge thread.

 

[mel]

Dear Donna thankyou so much for your reply, yes its those small unanswered questions that keep us wondering I read that rabbits appear to be ok even when they are ill so prey do not confront them ...it is their natural behaviour.

That makes some sense. Its still hard to lose a much loved friend. I am sorry about your lovely Hartley. God Bless all the best Donna.

 

[mel]

re the infirmary

thankyou Flashy, yes it helps alot to talk and get opinions from people who seem to understand the Rabbit world. Kindest Regards to you..I live in Australia,

I got my Bun Bun through 46 degree celciusthispastsummer , sadly now this happens makes you wonder how Bunnies work, they might put up all defences and then seem to get sick so suddenly for other reasons...hard to understand.

God Bless thanks alot for the chat.

MJ

 

[tonyshuman]

Cancer of the reproductive organs is very high in unfixed females. Some sources estimate it to be around 80% of unspayed, non-breeding does will get uterine cancer by age 5. It's truly sad that you lost her to this. Rabbits are very good at hiding illness, especially cancer, because as prey the sickest are picked off quickly by predators. It is not uncommon for a shelter bunny to go in for a spay and have the vet discover uterine cancer or infection when the bunny was showing no outward signs. There are other diseases that can take a rabbit quickly, but they usually have symptoms. Another possibility is slowdown of the gastrointestinal tract, if she had stopped eating and/or pooing.

I'm so sorry for your loss.