Sudden Death

[LucindaLoveBunny]

My rabbit, Lucinda died yesterday (2/20/16) and I don't know what caused it. She was about a year and a half old, and black torte Holland Lop.

It was nine am and she woke me up. She was convulsing on her side and screaming. She was screaming so much....

I did what any terrified mother would do and I picked her up and held her close and after a minute or so she went quiet. She was my baby and I dont have the money for a neuropsy so we buried her.

What could have caused sudden death, with convulsions and screaming like that? I'm just so scared because she was my emotional support animal and its killing me not knowing.

Did I kill her by picking her up, or was she too far gone? I'm crying as I write this because I feel so damn bad.

 

[amandaaaa_xxo]

Oh my gosh RIP LITTLE LUCINDA *rose* I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Sudden tragic deaths are the worst to deal with. Nobody would want to ever hear their rabbit screeching and screaming in high pitch, and I'm sorry you had to experience that. It is a nightmare because rabbits unfortunately scream that way right before death. I'm not sure what has caused her passing. Maybe she heard a noise during the night and frightened her? The only thing I can think of when rabbits scream high pitch is if they're in EXCRUCIATING pain, and I mean excruciating pain (and perhaps the convulsions MAY explain that).

Again, I'm sorry for your loss but I hope somewhere along the way you find comfort knowing she's at peace and not experiencing pain (if that's what it was) anymore.

 

[amandaaaa_xxo]

You did the right thing, by holding her close to you because that's one main method to calm them down. Whether it's holding them close to you wrapped in a towel or not.

 

[Thumperina]

Maybe she heard a noise during the night and frightened her?

I seriously doubt it would cause convulsion. I personally think that rumors about rabbits being extremely scared about everything are very exaggerated. I am sorry I don't know about the reason but must be internal issue that went undetected earlier.
I am sorry for your loss LucindaLoveBunny. I think she would pass even if you didn't pick her up. Binky Free Lucinda. you were loved.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

It's hard to say goodbye especially when they died out of nowhere but when you held it ppb gave
Her peace to pass peacefully onto rainbow bridge.

 

[amandaaaa_xxo]

I seriously doubt it would cause convulsion. I personally think that rumors about rabbits being extremely scared about everything are very exaggerated.

Rabbits ARE scared of anything. They're prey animals. My rabbit gets scared of me seriously lol sometimes. I would go outside to check him and sometimes I see him in that position ready to bolt for his life with his eyes bugged wide open. Any sudden movement or sound, can seriously scare a rabbit and lead them to shock, thus a heart attack, thus death. It's not an exaggeration. That's why most rabbit breeders or pet store owners say to be careful when handling a rabbit because they are frightened little creatures, even in the presence of their owners. SOMETIMES.

 

[amandaaaa_xxo]

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4vCt0losI5s[/ame]

This video shows an owner stroking a rabbit and when the rabbit came to lunge at him (playfully) the owner screamed and it scared the little rabbit away. Anything can terrify them.

 

[LucindaLoveBunny]

I highly doubt a sound scared her. She's lived with a heavy metal band before, and I practiced my ukulele in the room with her, she was very well adjusted to loud, sudden noises.

 

[amandaaaa_xxo]

Okay well as I noted earlier, excruciating pain leads to bunnies screaming in a high pitch tone.

 

[Thumperina]

Rabbits ARE scared of anything. They're prey animals.

I didn't mean they are not scared, I just meant that it's not that easy to scare them to death IMO. If they are scared, they would run or do something to protect themselves, but I doubt there is a lot of situations that would kill bunnies by scaring them. Or we would have a lot of dead wild rabbits. I have known a situation when loose hunting dogs destroyed rabbit hutch, killed one bunny while another successfully ran away and hid.

 

[Preitler]

Sorry for your loss, what an awful experience...

My buck got scared to death by a fox last year, went into shock and died quietly 3 hours after.
You did what you could, holding the bunny was sure the best thing, I'm pretty sure there wasn't anything else you could have done. I still wonder if that would have saved my buck, stimulating him so he could not just slip away, today I would not trust the info on the net which said to leave him alone.

As for noise: I know no other animal that does care less about any kind of noise than rabbits. I need to close the door when working with chainsaw or angle grinder, otherwise there are rabbits between my feet. New years eve - great, someone is up at midnight to bring food. Shots? Not worth a thump.

It's the quiet things that can unsettle them, and when they see something dangerous. Like a fox rattling the bars (well, no fox no more, for the time being, that's why I know that my rabbits don't care much about gunshots)

 

[Nancy McClelland]

So sorry for your loss. We've had some younger ones go with no warning and no symptoms, it just happens. You did nothing wrong. Rest in peace little girl and binky free.

 

[LucindaLoveBunny]

I have history of working at a wildlife rescue center, and we've had rabbits come in, torn apart by weedwhackers and pull through. Nutcase an update, Lucinda had a severe seizure. There was nothing I or anyone else could have done, but she's passed and gone and I wish her the best.

 

[LucindaLoveBunny]

She'll always be my baby.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

She looks like our old boy Ted. He was found in a box in an abandoned and foreclosed on home by a realtor friend of ours and was with us for 11 years.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

My rabbit, Lucinda died yesterday (2/20/16) and I don't know what caused it. She was about a year and a half old, and black torte Holland Lop.

It was nine am and she woke me up. She was convulsing on her side and screaming. She was screaming so much....

I did what any terrified mother would do and I picked her up and held her close and after a minute or so she went quiet. She was my baby and I dont have the money for a neuropsy so we buried her.

What could have caused sudden death, with convulsions and screaming like that? I'm just so scared because she was my emotional support animal and its killing me not knowing.

Did I kill her by picking her up, or was she too far gone? I'm crying as I write this because I feel so damn bad.

--I have been studying rabbits since 2004-i have learned we are the first line of defense,but we cannot prevent most of these tramatic experiences,--you could have been-severly bitten ...one can only speculate on the cause,..,love and care is all they ask,,and that is our intent,--sincerely james waller:hug2:

 

[JBun]

I'm so sorry for your loss. The same thing just happened with one of my older rabbits. He had a mass in his chest. He had been ill the past week and I was holding him yesterday and he suddenly started screaming, spasming, and died within a minute. I believe his heart finally gave out. Holding your rabbit didn't harm your bun. It was likely something like a heart attack or stroke and not something you could have prevented.