My baby bunny passed

[Morchall]

This did not happen just recently, but I just made this account and it’s still fresh in my mind.
A few months ago, we lost our 3 month old rabbit Bumblez. We didn’t notice anything off about him until it was too late. He had gotten a bloated belly one day, and we were giving him gas drops and trying to massage his belly, but he started having diarrhea and died just a few hours later. We took him to get looked at and he didn’t make it back.
He was such a sweet baby boy who loved head pets and his sister Pokey. We only had him for a few weeks but we were devastated because of how young he was. Nobody expects their baby animal to die. I kept thinking, “why did this happen? Why did he have to die when he was just a baby?” We started blaming ourselves for his death even though everyone was telling us we couldn’t have known if he wasn’t showing any symptoms beforehand.
I started my pattern of being a helicopter pet parent to Pokey and her new brother because I was so afraid of losing another bunny. It’s been causing me so much stress that I have a constant upset stomach and have completely lost my appetite. I just feel panicked every single time I hear them make a noise from the living room, or whenever they eat something that’s not hay or pellets. We give them veggies as snacks, and even though I’ve checked online a million times to make sure it’s safe for them to eat, I still get super worried every time we feed them anything that isn’t hay or pellets, to the point where I don’t want to sleep so I can monitor them and make sure they don’t get sick from it. (I use present tense, because while it is not as bad as it used to be, this does still happen a lot.)
I have calmed down a bit since then because I have accepted Bumblez’ death a bit more than I originally did. He died so suddenly that I don’t think I was able to fully process the emotions. I wept every night and felt like it was so unfair that a sweet baby animal had to die, and felt like it was all my fault. I still cry sometimes, but now I’m trying to accept that his death wasn’t my fault and it’s giving me a bit more solace. I kept blaming myself for what happened and it made me so stressed out that I was not taking care of myself. But in trying to accept that there wasn’t any way I could have known, I feel like I can forgive myself a bit more and move on.
I will always love and remember my little Bumblez. Even though I didn’t have him that long, he was still my little baby and was a sweetie pie and I will miss him. His death was shocking and traumatic for both me and my fiancé, but I think if we can forgive ourselves we can let go and remember our little boy fondly instead of beating ourselves up whenever we think of him.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Sorry for your loss. I didn't post one for 5 years--just couldn't do it.

 

[Imbrium]

*Hug* We've lost two rabbits to GI stasis over the years... one was less than 2 years old; the second one (3.5 yrs old) passed last January 19th. I know exactly what you're going through and just how hard it can be to deal with. It took me a long time and a good bit of paranoia/worry to get over those losses.

Please, please don't take this in a critical manner, because that's absolutely not my intention... but have you considered seeing a psychiatrist for anxiety and/or depression symptoms? I ask because I see an awful lot of myself in your post and I can tell you from personal experience that sometimes a little bit of medication and/or therapy can be truly life-altering. Sometimes it seems easiest to just do what you need to do in order to keep going; you suffer quietly with serious anxiety because it's gotten to the point where it seems 'normal' to you and you can make yourself keep functioning, so you do, you know? You resign yourself to coping with anxiety on your own (or with the help of your significant other). I can't help feeling (based on your post) that you're carrying around a heavy weight that could be somewhat lifted from you. My husband and I both get mental health treatment and it can be SUCH a game-changer!

 

[D OB]

Sending you an infinite amount of love. I’m dealing with a loss too, and I’m really struggling. We just have to keep telling ourselves that we were lucky to have them, just as they were lucky to have us. It might sound silly to most, but my little man really opened up my heart and helped me heal a lot. Please please don’t blame yourself. You were a wonderful parent to Blumblez. He was a loving sweet boy because you gave him a home and life that made him feel happy and safe. He will always be with you, and I know you’ll carry him with you always. My baby was 16 weeks when he passed, and I still don’t know why. It makes no sense, but please know that you did everything you could for him. Much much love to you x

 

[D OB]

I’m sorry, Bumblez. I hope he and Fitzgerald are playing happy together in the stars

Sending you an infinite amount of love. I’m dealing with a loss too, and I’m really struggling. We just have to keep telling ourselves that we were lucky to have them, just as they were lucky to have us. It might sound silly to most, but my little man really opened up my heart and helped me heal a lot. Please please don’t blame yourself. You were a wonderful parent to Blumblez. He was a loving sweet boy because you gave him a home and life that made him feel happy and safe. He will always be with you, and I know you’ll carry him with you always. My baby was 16 weeks when he passed, and I still don’t know why. It makes no sense, but please know that you did everything you could for him. Much much love to you x

lreh

 

[Morchall]

Sending you an infinite amount of love. I’m dealing with a loss too, and I’m really struggling. We just have to keep telling ourselves that we were lucky to have them, just as they were lucky to have us. It might sound silly to most, but my little man really opened up my heart and helped me heal a lot. Please please don’t blame yourself. You were a wonderful parent to Blumblez. He was a loving sweet boy because you gave him a home and life that made him feel happy and safe. He will always be with you, and I know you’ll carry him with you always. My baby was 16 weeks when he passed, and I still don’t know why. It makes no sense, but please know that you did everything you could for him. Much much love to you x

It's been two years since I've checked this forum, but I saw this and it was very nice. I have no idea what's happened to you in this time, but I just wanted to say thank you for replying to this back then.Thank you for sharing your experience as well.

 

[Morchall]

*Hug* We've lost two rabbits to GI stasis over the years... one was less than 2 years old; the second one (3.5 yrs old) passed last January 19th. I know exactly what you're going through and just how hard it can be to deal with. It took me a long time and a good bit of paranoia/worry to get over those losses.

Please, please don't take this in a critical manner, because that's absolutely not my intention... but have you considered seeing a psychiatrist for anxiety and/or depression symptoms? I ask because I see an awful lot of myself in your post and I can tell you from personal experience that sometimes a little bit of medication and/or therapy can be truly life-altering. Sometimes it seems easiest to just do what you need to do in order to keep going; you suffer quietly with serious anxiety because it's gotten to the point where it seems 'normal' to you and you can make yourself keep functioning, so you do, you know? You resign yourself to coping with anxiety on your own (or with the help of your significant other). I can't help feeling (based on your post) that you're carrying around a heavy weight that could be somewhat lifted from you. My husband and I both get mental health treatment and it can be SUCH a game-changer!

I didn't use this forum for a long time, but I just came back after two years and it was comforting to see this even after such a long time. We are doing better now. We've had some scares with our other rabbits but they made it through. I have learned to have a healthy relationship with monitoring them; I think knowing more what to look for has helped. I have been going to therapy since then, my therapist helped me work through some of the trauma of losing him and I no longer blame myself for his passing. thank you for writing this message back then.