# Bunny died suddenly - worried about others, now



## carlysoup (Apr 21, 2013)

Hello,

I am a long-time browser, first-time poster. Sadly, it is under very grievous circumstances.

First, let me start with some background. I adopted my first male rabbit last Spring. I had him examined twice and then neutered. He and I moved to Philadelphia from upstate Pa in July, so I could attend school and take on a new job. In August, I adopted two female companions for him from a local rescue. My male is a Lionhead mix (Chewy Bear), his first female companion is a Silver (Annee), and his other female companion was a Dwarf Hotot (Marilyn). All three, until very recently, have been a healthy, happy, well-cared for, and well-loved family. I have several neurological disorders, which make it hard for me to socialize, and as such, I see my rabbits as my very best friends.

My rabbits are my life, and despite my limited income, I believe I take very good care of them, making sure to attend to their every need, as well as watching them closely for distress or illness. I firmly believe that I can always do better for them, and I always try my best. Sadly, this time it did not seem to be enough.

My Dwarf Hotot, Marilyn, was rescued from a hoarding situation, after experiencing much neglect. She always had irregularly-shaped feces, but was given a clean bill of health at her post-adoption exam. She was always eating timothy hay, fresh veggies, and drinking lots of water, in addition to being very social. She was always very excited to see me, and always gave me lots and lots of snuggles and kisses.

Very recently (within the last 4 weeks), she seemed to be gradually losing weight. I was very concerned. However, she was still eating, peeing, pooping and acting like her normal, happy self. Within the last week and a half, she began losing weight faster. I was very scared, and added additional foods to her diet to help her maintain her weight. I called many vets, trying to get her in as soon as possible. I was able to get her an appointment at my preferred exotic vet, but not until Tuesday. Knowing that she needed to be seen sooner, I found a vet (recommended by another local vet) who had Saturday hours, and specialized in exotics. I brought her in yesterday, and much to my horror, this vet manhandled my rabbit, gave her a cursory examination and told me she was severely dehydrated (which was strange because I had seen her drink/urinate previously), and likely dying of kidney failure or cancer.

She was whisked away into another room, blood was drawn, and she was given IV fluids and Baytril. When she was handed back to me, she was shaking and crying. I was aghast and speechless. They asked that I leave them with her overnight. Having no reassurance that she would receive round-the-clock care, I insisted on bringing her home, understanding my friend would bring me to an emergency vet about an hour away, if needed. I did not want my baby overnight in a facility that would not have anyone with her the entire time. In addition, I knew I could bring her home, and feed her Rescue Remedy and water via a syringe, if needed (at this juncture she was still eating and pooping). 

I stayed by her side overnight, keeping her in her cage (for safety), with the door open, lying next to her. I drifted in and out of sleep, I couldn't help it. She didn't move much, and slept, too. Her condition had degraded by 7 in the morning. She wouldn't use her hind legs. She kept them close to her, only moving them if necessary. The spot on her left hip, where they had given her the injection, was swollen and warm, with a large, dime-sized hematoma at the injection site. The rest of her body was cool, and she was not interested in food or water. At 8 am, I placed her in my lap and was petting her gently. As I stroked her left side, trying to soothe her, a huge chunk of fur, and some bloody flesh came off in my hand, and a bunch of pink fluid leaked out. She cried, and shifted in pain. I almost fainted.

I called the vet at 9 am, and the answering service told me they would contact him. I called the emergency vet, and their exotics specialist would not be in until this evening. I placed soft paper towels at the site, and held her on my lap. She squirmed in pain. An hour passed and I had not heard from the vet. I called again, and another hour passed. The veterinary technician called me back, chastising me for not leaving her there overnight. She had no answer for me whatsoever regarding the injuries my baby had experienced. She told me to go to the emergency service. I decided to wait until their exotics vet came in this evening, but I knew she wouldn't make it. She looked like she was in so much pain, and she looked so afraid. All I could do is hold her.

By 11 am, she was clearly struggling and dying. Her breath was becoming laborious, her eyes were glazed and she looked even more afraid, she was becoming floppy. By 1, her lips were turning blue and her breath was slowing. By 2, she was trying to make herself comfortable, and I had placed her in her bed. By 2:30, I was on the phone with the emergency vet again, and I watched her struggle and die in my arms. I heard her cry out. I felt her last heartbeat. Then she was gone. I held her and cried.

Her trip to the emergency vet was to be cremated. I will be getting her blood work from the other vet by Tuesday. By Thursday, I will be able to pick up her ashes. My baby is gone.

Now, my male rabbit is sneezing and acting fussy. Will the same thing happen to him? He, and my remaining female rabbit, will be seeing the vet by the end of this week for an examination.

I apologize for the length of this post, please, feel free to trim it as needed. I am just devastated and afraid. Please, any advice is welcome.


----------



## PaGal (Apr 21, 2013)

I am so very sorry for your loss! I know how painful it is to lose a loved one.

Binky Free Marilyn!! 

Others with more experience that may be able to offer ideas or advice I am sure will respond. I am sorry I am not much help. Is it possible to have a necropsy performed to pin point what exactly she died from so that your vet will have a better idea of how to treat your other buns if God forbid it is contagious and affects your other buns?

I would suggest that you find a rabbit savvy vet for your buns, a vet that has a lot of experience treating rabbits and that you feel comfortable with as well. Although a vet may be an exotic vet it still may not treat many rabbits.


----------



## ladysown (Apr 21, 2013)

sorry for your loss. is difficult to lose treasured pets.

Your buns may be experiencing loss.
Having a general check over will relieve your mind.

it sounds like the vet you went to did a poor overall job of handling your bun, and I regret that she needed to go through that.
Hotots often have digestive issues. Her past may have caught up with her.
The stress of not having their cage mate may bring up immune issues with your other buns. 
I suggest not stressing them and let them acclimate to not having her in their lives.


----------



## JBun (Apr 21, 2013)

I'm so sorry for the loss of your bunny. I also had a sweet dwarf hotot that I lost last year, to GI stasis. She had irregular shaped poop as well, that would also be really big and small. I didn't realize it at the time, but now know that what she had was called megacolon. It's a problem with the nerves in the digestive track. There are a variety of things that can cause it, but with dwarf hotots, and other white spotted rabbit breeds, it can be a genetic trait that they are born with. With you mentioning the irregular poops that your bunny always had, it's very likely that she had megacolon as well. I have two hotot bucks now, that have it as well. One got it after getting GI stasis from the stress of being in a new home. The other was one of my babies that was born with it. Megacolon can make their digestive systems extremely sensitive, especially to carbs and sugars. Both of my buns are on special diets. They get no treats. One gets only hay and a few select veggies, and no pellets. The other that was born with it, can tolerate a small amount of a special pellet that I get, that has no added sugars or grain. He also gets hay and a few veggies. It's possible with your rabbit, that the megacolon could have had something to do with her illness. The weight loss could have had something to do with the megacolon, but usually weight loss would also be accompanied with a decrease in appetite, so if she was eating her normal amounts of food and still losing weight, then it may not have been megacolon that caused it. Kidney disease can also cause weight loss, but it also would be because of a decrease in appetite, and there would also be increased thirst and urination. If she was eating normal amounts and still losing weight, the only thing that I can think of that would cause that would be an intestinal parasite. It can cause weight loss even when a rabbit is eating their normal amounts of food, and may even cause them to eat more than normal. If it was parasites causing the weight loss, you may want to have your other rabbits fecals tested for parasites.

What I don't understand is how your rabbit could go into the vet for a weight loss problem, and come out of there, after their treatments that were supposed to help, in a critical state resulting in her death. I would want to know exactly what they gave her, what they injected her with, and what they did to her. Because it almost sounds like their mistreatment caused a downturn in her health, and may have even been the cause of her death. I would have a few sharp words for them. And after seeing their in office treatment of her, I wouldn't have left my rabbit with them either.

I'm not sure what exactly caused what happened in the end with her. It could have had to do with that vets treatment. It could have also had to do with the way she was handled by them, causing her extreme stress, which could have progressed her illness. The skin part though, seems like it directly had to do with one of the injections they gave her, and the problem with the hind limbs may also be related. Maybe an allergic reaction to the baytril, if it was injected. Or maybe they injected her with something that wasn't safe for rabbits, which could have caused her death. You may want to get as much info about what they did to her, as you can. If you can't get them to be very helpful with you directly, then maybe your regular vet can get the info from them. Also, if you trust your regular vet, maybe you can discuss the symptoms of what happened to her in the end, to try and figure out what exactly happened and what went wrong.

I hope you are able to find out what caused all of this to happen. I really am so sorry. I know how absolutely heartbreaking it is to lose a rabbit that you love so much.


----------



## ams1786 (Apr 21, 2013)

I'm very sorry. I can't give any medical feedback, but if you're in Philly I highly recommend Radnor Veterinary Hospital for the future. It's a bit far out from the city but they have several vets who are excellent with rabbits, and owners themselves. I've heard that Penn is also wonderful for emergencies, and I believe they are open 24/7.


----------



## woahlookitsme (Apr 21, 2013)

I am honestly questioning the vet you are taking your rabbits to. I wouldn't take them there again thats for sure! By the sounds of it I probably wouldn't have even let them take her in the back. I kind of want to say it was the vets fault. Was the pink fluid milky? Could it have been puss with blood in it you think? 

For your boy I want to say the sneezing is a coincidence and not correlated with what was wrong with your other rabbit. Are you seeing any snot on your boy that is any other color but clear? He should probably be checked out by someone else that is not that vet if that would make you feel more comfortable.


----------



## Azerane (Apr 21, 2013)

So sorry for your loss. My initial thought on the weight loss was intestinal parasites like worms. I would suggest getting your other rabbits tested and treated for those. The rest of it though, the loss of movement in hind limbs, swelling and the injury does sound like a bad reaction to whatever was injected. I agree with JBun, do your best to get as much information as possible about what they did to your rabbit, what they gave her and anything else they may have done.

Best of luck.


----------



## Maureen Las (Apr 21, 2013)

My heart goes out to you. What a terrible situation to go through with your much loved girl! I am so very very sorry. 
When you get the blood test results ( make sure that you get your own copy) you ( or another vet) will hopefully be able to tell you what was going on with Marilyn before she was mistreated and man-handled at that vet clinic. 
It might actually be worth it to get a necropsy done at another clinic if you plan to take legal action against the clinic.
It is possible that Marilyn was in kidney failure but only that can be determined by the blood test. A rabbit often will drink and eat huge amounts while the kidneys are failing. What is happening is that the kidneys are no longer able to clear the toxins from the animal"s blood which is almost like "poisoning" 
I had a 2 yr old rabbit, who came from a terrible background, go into acute kidney failure. He was eating and drinking huge amounts, losing weight and also subsequently had bizarre misshapen poops similar to what is seen in mega-colon. Treatment does include giving sub q fluids to assist the the failing kidneys but it sounds as if the clinic did this incorrectly. 
it sounds like your girl may have been very ill but she should not have gone through an ordeal in her last days. I am so glad that she had you in her life and was truly loved. 
Your male rabbit may have a URI ..could be stress from losing Marilyn but most likely not related to Marilyn's condition. I would take your male bun to a vet if the sneezing continues more than another day or if you see discharge.


----------



## minmelethuireb (Apr 22, 2013)

I'm so sorry for your loss. This sounds like a terrible and very odd death. The flesh coming off and swollen injection site are particularly disturbing. I have to wonder if that vet gave her something he shouldn't have.

You should have the vet you took her to give the records of what they did to your regular vet. It would also have probably been a good idea to give your regular vet her body for a necropsy. Was the other vet going to do a necropsy before cremating her? I recently had a rabbit pass away and my vet offered a free necropsy (I suppose it benefits them as well, like education), but I opted against it because the vet didn't think he had anything contagious.

Was Marilyn spayed? If not, it could have very well been ovarian cancer. If she was spayed, I don't really know what it could have been. It doesn't really sound like an infection, and the sneezing in your other rabbit could be a coincidence and maybe just dust or pollen causes a reaction. Probably the only thing he could have gotten that MAYBE caused Marilyn's death is parasites, in which case you could have a fecal float done to check for that - those aren't expensive.


----------



## Dimitri (Apr 22, 2013)

So sad to hear about your bunny, saddens me just to read it.



I have a roughly 8 months male bunny, he is a mixed breed not sure of the kind. He eats poops and drinks normally and is very energetic always happy to see me. I noticed that his eyes are becoming unusually watery, it's not discolored or stringy but its watery and is making it all crusty around his eyes. What could be causing this?


----------



## Maureen Las (Apr 22, 2013)

Dimitri you need to start a new thread about your rabbit. 

your rabbit could have a bacterial infection of the eye called conjunctivitis . it would need to be treated with antibiotics and would be contagious to other rabbits. I suggest that you visit your vet


----------



## Elliot (Apr 22, 2013)

I am so sorry for your loss.:rip:


----------



## carlysoup (Apr 23, 2013)

First of all, thank you, sincerely, for everyone for your kind words and insight. 

I will not be returning to that vet, but my other doe and buck will be getting a check up this weekend with another local vet, who comes highly recommended. I will absolutely look into the vet in Radnor, as well, for non-emergencies. 

I got her blood work back, and while that doesn't absolve them of my perceived maltreatment of my beloved baby, it did provide some answers. She died of liver failure, most likely due to having been born and reared in a neglectful environment. Although I suspect megacolon played a large part in her death, too.

My other two are very aware of her absence and its hit my buck particularly hard. He is usually very fussy and dismissive, but now he can't seem to get enough of being near me.

Thank you all, again. I will definitely become a regular poster on this board once I get past my grief.


----------

