Quick help needed, rabbit suddenly just sitting there, looking down with eyes halfopen RIP

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Random531

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I need advice fast. This morning she wasn't like this. Now she just sits there looking down, normally she runs towards me asking for treats, she ate a piece of carrot and a piece of salad, but isn't eating hay or anything. When I pick her up and move her she does 2 to 3 steps and then just keeps sitting there, not moving again, looking down with eyes half closed and barely visable from above. What is wrong? What do I do??

Note, she lost her bonded sister about 1,5 months ago, but she has been acting normally, nothing weird at all, even getting much closer to us and trying to get closer to our cats but now she isn't acting normal at all. I need a justified reason to go to the vet since my parents think I'm overreacting. Thanks already in advance.
 
Note:I noticed that she hasn't been drinking much or peeing, I held my hand out with water and she kicked my fingers clean, but when I give her a little plate of water she isn't drinking.
 
From what I red it said that it could be gi statis, but her stomach isn't on the ground really, there's still a gap between the floor and her stomach. Sorry for the spam but I'm kinda panicking here. She ate very little an hour ago but now she's refusing lettuce...
 
My bun just went through something similar about a month ago. He wasn't eating, pooping, and peed himself (he couldn't control his bladder). He also kept pressing his stomach to the ground really hard. He wasn't eating and wouldn't even look at the treat he always devours. Turns out he had an internal blockage and bladder sludge. You should get your bunny to the vet as soon as you can.
 
Update, we just got back from the vet, she died right on that table when the vet was checking her, making very haunting noises (I'm thinking a seizure)

I don't understand, she was fine this morning, just like my other rabbit à month ago... I'm so upset right now... Thanks for the answers anyway... Does anyone know what those screams are exactly? It is haunting me, ive never seen an animal - a specially a loved pet, die, certainly not like that... She was barely 3 years old
 
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Update, 1 hour ago we went to the vet. When we arrived and put her on the table, the vet was feeling its stomach or something, then she started screaming for atleast 10-20 seconds straight (and a seisure, not to sure) and she was dead. I'm devistated, she was fine this morning. I did not expect this at all..

Now my question is did she die because of her illness or because she didn't know the vet, and died of fear? The scream is really eating me up and I keep thinking that I could've prevented it, it is haunting...

(sorry for double post, can't find where to remove the other comment)
 
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Random531 said:
Update, 1 hour ago we went to the vet. When we arrived and put her on the table, the vet was feeling its stomach or something, then she started screaming for atleast 10-20 seconds straight (and a seisure, not to sure) and she was dead. I'm devistated, she was fine this morning. I did not expect this at all..

Now my question is did she die because of her illness or because she didn't know the vet, and died of fear? The scream is really eating me up and I keep thinking that I could've prevented it, it is haunting...

(sorry for double post, can't find where to remove the other comment)
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I'm so sorry for your loss, its hard to let these sweet buns go.
I don't know all too much about different rabbit sicknesses (my specialty is breeding) but it sounds as if she was in extreme pain, and screamed when the vet touched her stomach, probably hurting something in there. Your rabbit probably was stressed from the ride to the vet, but it doesn't sound like she died from the stress. Normally a rabbit will have a heart attack and die from extreme fright mixed with stress, e.g.: cat jumping on top of rabbit cage and spooking it to death.

What did your vet tell you?
 
Velveteen Lop said:
I'm so sorry for your loss, its hard to let these sweet buns go.
I don't know all too much about different rabbit sicknesses (my specialty is breeding) but it sounds as if she was in extreme pain, and screamed when the vet touched her stomach, probably hurting something in there. Your rabbit probably was stressed from the ride to the vet, but it doesn't sound like she died from the stress. Normally a rabbit will have a heart attack and die from extreme fright mixed with stress, e.g.: cat jumping on top of rabbit cage and spooking it to death.

What did your vet tell you?
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I know that she isn't afraid of beeing in cars, she never was so i don't think she was stressed from it. It was also a 5 minute ride, she wasn't in the car for long. She wasn't resisting or doing anything either when the vet was touching the stomach, only about 2 minutes later. I honestly thought that she could be fixed with medicine or something, since she still ate, moved a little and drunk abit. Right before the screams, the vet said that it might already had been to late. And she was right.... The unexpected screams and death make me feel horrible...
 
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Oh Hon, I am soooo sorry to hear about your bunny :(

Please know it couldn’t have been anything you did, especially since it sounds like all her routines were the same.

Most likely, it’s because she was stressed from losing her bonded sister, coupled with trying to cope without her. Not really sure how much time passed between losing her sister, and the time she started acting strange, but it does sound like GI stasis, which can happen unexpectedly sometimes. When bunnies go without eating for too long for whatever reason (stress, recovery from surgery, eating the wrong food, etc), then it can cause a number of issues such as tooth abscess or intestinal blockage, which can get complicated if stuff isn’t moving along in their system because of undigested hairs (from grooming) coupled with gas that is hard for bunnies to pass. So when a blockage happens, it causes a hard, painful lump that needs treatment right away. But it’s hard to tell exactly why a bunny died unless a necropsy is performed, and that needs to be done within 12-24 hours after death. However, that process is heartbreaking for most owners, so it often goes without being done, and that’s okay. As for the screams, unfortunately, bunnies make those screams only in intense pain/distress and/or when they think they’re going to die. But it’s good that at least she has you there and was not alone in those heart-shattering moments.

I know the pain lingers for a long time after a bunny is gone, and it’s natural for you to think of those last few days/weeks prior to the end. But as time passes, eventually, you’ll start to reminisce the good times as healing takes place in the heart. I hope some day you do open up your heart to having another bunny. We never know how long they’ll be with us, but all we can do is just enjoy one day at a time, for tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to any of us. Sending sunshine, hugs, and bunny binkies your way!!
 
Bailey ❤️ said:
Oh Hon, I am soooo sorry to hear about your bunny :(

Please know it couldn’t have been anything you did, especially since it sounds like all her routines were the same.

Most likely, it’s because she was stressed from losing her bonded sister, coupled with trying to cope without her. Not really sure how much time passed between losing her sister, and the time she started acting strange, but it does sound like GI stasis, which can happen unexpectedly sometimes. When bunnies go without eating for too long for whatever reason (stress, recovery from surgery, eating the wrong food, etc), then it can cause a number of issues such as tooth abscess or intestinal blockage, which can get complicated if stuff isn’t moving along in their system because of undigested hairs (from grooming) coupled with gas that is hard for bunnies to pass. So when a blockage happens, it causes a hard, painful lump that needs treatment right away. But it’s hard to tell exactly why a bunny died unless a necropsy is performed, and that needs to be done within 12-24 hours after death. However, that process is heartbreaking for most owners, so it often goes without being done, and that’s okay. As for the screams, unfortunately, bunnies make those screams only in intense pain/distress and/or when they think they’re going to die. But it’s good that at least she has you there and was not alone in those heart-shattering moments.

I know the pain lingers for a long time after a bunny is gone, and it’s natural for you to think of those last few days/weeks prior to the end. But as time passes, eventually, you’ll start to reminisce the good times as healing takes place in the heart. I hope some day you do open up your heart to having another bunny. We never know how long they’ll be with us, but all we can do is just enjoy one day at a time, for tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to any of us. Sending sunshine, hugs, and bunny binkies your way!!
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It was about 1,5 months between their deaths. This morning she was fine, when i came home at 1pm, she wasn't. She died at 3 pm, that's the weird part. No idea if it was gi statis, but i knew she was still eating, she ate cabbage about half an hour before her death. Not so sure about drinking though, i know she drank a little but not much. I indeed refused a necropsy because of that reason, and buried her next to her sister. Thank you for the kind words!
 
You really couldn't have done anything more than you did. The symptoms you described tell me that she was very critically ill, much more serious than a basic case of gi stasis. It's very likely no matter what you had tried there was no chance of her recovering because of how serious the illness was. So nothing the vet did caused her death. As Velveteen lop mentioned, it's likely the reason she screamed when the vet palpated her abdomen, was because the vet touched whatever was wrong with her internally and it was very painful. It could have been something like a liver torsion, cardiac arrest, or maybe a severe bacterial infection. But there is really no way to know for sure what it was without a necropsy. The scream and what appears to be a seizure, are both common when a rabbit dies, but I know how distressing it is to hear that scream.
 
JBun said:
You really couldn't have done anything more than you did. The symptoms you described tell me that she was very critically ill, much more serious than a basic case of gi stasis. It's very likely no matter what you had tried there was no chance of her recovering because of how serious the illness was. So nothing the vet did caused her death. As Velveteen lop mentioned, it's likely the reason she screamed when the vet palpated her abdomen, was because the vet touched whatever was wrong with her internally and it was very painful. It could have been something like a liver torsion, cardiac arrest, or maybe a severe bacterial infection. But there is really no way to know for sure what it was without a necropsy. The scream and what appears to be a seizure, are both common when a rabbit dies, but I know how distressing it is to hear that scream.
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Thanks for clarifying, after the first one suddenly died I promised myself that I would look closer if I see anything off, that's the thing, I saw nothing, nothing what so ever...
 
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