Looking for support for dying bunny

Hello all,

My name is Caitlyn and I am new to this site. I found Rabbits Online while searching for a place that people would be able to understand what I am going through. A few weeks ago we noticed that our bunny, Coal, was acting strange. The next day I noticed that she had a strange lump above her eye. We took her into the vet asap. The vet told us that it was an infection caused by an unknown lump behind our bunny's eye. The vet said she could have been living with this lump for a very long time before it got infected and inflamed enough for us to see.

We okayed the surgery to remove the lump and all surrounding infection. The vet seemed very hopeful. After three weeks of flushing, cleaning, and force feeding our little bun, we took her back in to have the stiches removed.

The vet found more infection. We did x-rays and they found that the infection had spread to her bones. There is nothing they can do for her, but make her comfortable. The vet said she had months to live.

I am struggling to come to terms with what is happening to my rabbit who is otherwise very very healthy. I feel like a failure. I am not looking for sympathy I am just hoping that I can meet some people who understand and can help me celebrate my babies last months with me.

I bet Coal is really grateful that you care so much. To celebrate her life, give her lots of treats, toys, and love. Can you send pictures?

I'm so sorry you are having to go through this. Your bun is SO lucky to have had you in his life. Just take one day at a time and try and savor each day with him.

You are not a failure. You are a loving, caring, bleeding heart bunny mom and my heart hurts for you. My son just recently lost the bun love of his life, and there is nothing anyone can say to take away that pain. We did everything we could and you, by sacrificing your time and money, not to mention your heart, makes you bunderful. Prayers for a miracle, but if not, in good time, I hope you'll consider a rescue to honor your bun loves memory

Attached are two pictures of Coal when she was healthy. I don't want to post a picture of her currently because she has just had surgery and her head is a bit disturbing to look at Thank you for your kind words.

Thank you so much Channahs and Texaschewy. Your kind words me a lot to me. It is nice to know that there are nice people out here. I am so sorry for your son's bun! I think that it will be difficult to welcome a new rabbit into the home too soon, but I would like to take in a rescue rabbit someday!

Sorry to hear this. I wouldn't give up hope...I know rabbits are prone to bone infections in the jaw and many get through it with proper treatment. Being in a different location shouldn't make much difference.
Is your vet still treating the infection with antibiotics?

Coal is so sweet - she reminds me of my bun Felix.

She's lucky that you've had such a long lovely life together. I'm sure she understands that you're doing everything you can to keep her happy and healthy for as long as possible. :rose:

It's always hard losing a beloved pet and even harder deciding to let her go,To say goodbye especially when she seems otherwise healthy but whatever you decide your coal will trust you no matter what.
I know what your going through 2 months ago I had to make the extremely tough decision to put down my beloved dog Apryl she was 12 years old so she lived a long healthy life but she was my best friend and for months I kept holding on cause she was still Apryl she still ate and played and slept and walked but you have to think about what's best for your pet and not for you even tho it's so hard saying goodbye, I think your bun knows when it's time and she will tell you so good luck and I hope your spending as much time with her as you can and I'll be praying for you and your family in this hard time.youll get through it

I am so sorry you have to go through this. I can only imagine how difficult that would be. I had 5 bunnies up until a month ago. I had to find homes for them, my cats, my goat and all my chickens.... I was however fortunate enough to be able to keep one bunny. I was attached to all of them and I can only hope that everyone is in a good home. I will still be able to see one bunny and hope I can have a play date with Camilla and Josie. Giving them up was extremely difficult and I felt like a piece of my heart broke every time one left. I know it isn't anything like what you are going through. I have my alone time with Camilla every morning because I don't want her to feel all alone without everyone else. Cherish every moment you have with her. Good luck to you.

@19psi The vets have stopped treatment with antibiotics because she has already had two and half weeks on them. They are worried that keeping her on them longer will cause more problems with her digestive system. The infection in in the bones behind her eye. They did not seem to think that any farther treatment would do any good. We are keeping her happy and healthy and hoping for the best.

@pani Thank you, she is a very sweet bunny. I know that I will never have another rabbit like her! She has truly been the best rabbit a girl could hope for

@Ivythelionhead Thank you so much for your kind words. It has been very difficult. I am so sorry about your dog. We lost our family dog about a year ago. It was really hard also, but luckily for me we didn't have to choose to put her down, she went peacefully. Coal is still happy and enjoying life. We have decided not to put her down until the pain medications can not help her pain. Thank you for keeping us on your mind and in your prayers, that mean so much to me!

@kjtwugig I am so sorry to hear that you have had to give up some of your pets. I know how pets can become your family. I am glad that you got to keep one. Thank you so much for your kind words. I promise that I will cherish every moment I have with her.

I have an update on my precious Coal. Two nights ago she ripped open her incision. Luckily she did not bleed at all, so she was in no danger of bleeding to death. We have used superglue, as instructed by the vet, to close the wound. She seems to be pretty happy, she has been playing with her toys, chewing on her boxes, and wants lots of cuddles. She has been a very good bunny lately, if a little bit annoying. She must be feeling better than before the surgery because she has gone back to trying to chew on our carpet! Naughty little girl. I have been trying to spend as much time with her as possible, and she seems to be enjoying it. I only wish she had a companion bunny to keep her company when I was gone, but she is very territorial over her space and I don't see that happening. I am hoping that the vet is wrong and she will have more than just a few months. I have had vets be wrong before, and I am hoping this is the case. But I am prepared if it is not. I am making sure that her last few months are the best she has ever had. I have made her a bunch of new and fresh hiding boxes, complete with soft and warm blankets. She has been getting treats more than once every few days, and she has been getting so much attention! Thank you to all who have read and commented on this feed. It means the world to me!

I'm so sorry about your girl. It sounds like a very difficult situation, but based on the information you have shared, I feel like there may still be treatment options for your bun.

How rabbit savvy is your vet? 2 and a half weeks on antibiotics for an abscess is not long enough. Antibiotic treatment should be 4-6 weeks at a minimum, but can last months to even years, especially when it is in the bone. This is something that a rabbit savvy vet would be aware of.

Abscesses in rabbits are known to be extremely difficult to clear up, due to how a rabbits system walls off the infection making it difficult for the antibiotics to get to the it, as well as the very thick pus making it difficult to drain the pus away. Because of this difficulty it can often take months to clear up abscesses, and even then they may never clear up completely and some rabbits have to remain on antibiotics for life. I have known of rabbits that have been on long term antibiotics for stubborn jaw abscesses for more than a year and have done just fine without developing gut issues. I would think that if a rabbits life is at risk due to the abscess, that keeping the rabbit on long term antibiotics far outweighs the risk of upsetting their digestion. And if one antibiotic is causing gut upset, a different one can be used.

The antibiotic given can also make a big difference. Use of injectable penicillin procaine/benzathine has proven to be an effective treatment for abscesses in rabbits(will depend on the bacteria involved). Other antibiotics with good tissue penetration are zithromax(risk of digestive upset) and chloramphenicol. Another thing used in abscesses that has worked well, is impregnating abx beads in the wound site. If you would like to read up more on abscess treatment, here are some links with more info.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Abscess/skin_abscess.htm (GRAPHIC MEDICAL PHOTOS)
http://people.umass.edu/~jwmoore/bicillin/bicillin.htm
http://www.vspn.org/VSPNSearch/VINLibrary/rabbit_abscess.htm
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Bacterial/Abscessation_rabbits.htm
'Long term antimicrobial therapy is often necessary, especially if there is bone involvement."
"Duration of therapy depends on severity of infection:
Four to six weeks minimum to several months / years."

Sorry to say all of this, especially if it might be upsetting, but I felt like I should mention this info if there is a possibility it could help your bun and give you more time with her. Not knowing more about the situation or treatment given, and just based on what you have said, if it were my rabbit I would see treatment possibilities as far from over and would either be looking for a rabbit specialist, or would be bringing in research with other treatment options, to my current vet and pushing for more treatment. As long as your bun still has a good quality of life, and further treatment doesn't compromise this, there should be no reason that abx treatment can't continue to help keep the infection under control.

@JBun Thank you for all of your advice. I wish that this was the case and that farther antibiotics were all that she needed. Our vet is a rabbit specialist and she has consulted with other rabbit specialist about this case. Unfortunately the infection is not just an abscess. The abscess was removed by the vet during surgery, but the infection had spread to her bones. It is not in her jaw it is in the bones behind her eye. The vet and her colleagues have all informed us that farther antibiotics will not be able to help with her bone infection.

I am thinking about getting a second opinion from another vet, but I just don't want to get my hopes up.

ray:

get another opinion .... its good to see it from another perspective ...

the best thing you can do, is give her attention along w/ a loving care ....

it ll mean a lot to her =0)

I understand. It's very hard and difficult to come to terms with. She will go somewhere great. Just give her loads of love and tlc.keep her warm and snug and give her all her fav treats . Good luck little Coal.... 😘😘😘😘