2 Bonded Buns. 1 Dies. What To Do?

[mlvc]

Hello,

Sometime during the night, my bun, Franklin, died. I was very shocked and saddened since he was fine the evening before and he had shown no signs of ill health and he wasn't old. Was it a heart attack?

I'm also upset about the fact that his cage mate, Flopsy, will become depressed due to the fact that they lived together for a few years and therefore had bonded. Flopsy is blind due to cataracts but he will obviously sense that Franklin is not there. I didn't remove Franklin's body right away because I've read that that isn't the right thing to do. I've taken the following advice:
"Give survivors three hours of complete privacy with the body. They may groom the beloved’s body, lie on or beside it, pounce on it, pull at it, run circles around it etc. When there is no response from the body, they begin to understand that their friend is truly gone and won’t be coming back. Instead of becoming deeply depressed and possibly dying, they will grieve and get on with life.
If you don’t go through this process, survivors will wait for their mates to return... and wait... and wait... and wait... The waiting may continue indefinitely, because they expect their companions to return. It can eventually result in deep depression, refusal to eat, and death."
This breaks my heart. Is it necessary to get him a new companion? I feel I should but I'm not sure when.

 

[Maureen Las]

You did the correct thing by leaving the body withFlopsy .
Now if you still have the body and can get a stuffed toy( like a stuffed rabbit) rub the body of Franklin on the toy so this scent will be strong.
if you no longer have the body take something of Franklin's and place it inFlopsy"a Area so the familar scent of him will still be present.

I agree the scenario of a blind bunny losing his mate is very sad.

I would give Flopsy a lot of extra attention for at least a few weeks and then decide whether you want to attempt to bond him.

Usually a bunny with sight can greatly assist the blind bunny so another bunny would be helpfulto Flopsy .. but unless he goes into deep grief over Franklin you do not HAVE to bond him

I am really sorry that you lost Franklin quickly. It could have been the onset of some acute problem but rabbits do tend to hide their problems very well so it's possible that he was ill and not showing any symptoms.

 

[mlvc]

They lived together, so Franklin's scent will still be present. I will for sure give him extra attention and keep an eye on him regarding the depression. I am just going to worry about him now when I'm at work. He'll be lonely now that Franklin's gone. Do rabbits get along with cats?

 

[Maureen Las]

Rabbits and cats can be friends but not like 2 buns bonded...and some cats actually are predatory towards rabbits

I have a cat that is friendly towards rabbits butI would still be afraid of claws and bites even if done accidentally or in play by the cat.

 

[Pipp]

You can try fostering a bunny with an agreement to adopt if they get along. I agree that Flopsy will do better with a 'seeing eye bunny' to take the lead. She'll certainly feel more secure.

Everybunny is different. I'd probably try and bond her to another bunny right away, but Flopsy's the only one who can approve or disapprove.

Poor bunny!


sas

 

[Happi Bun]

I'm so sorry for loss. I'm so happy that you were aware leaving Flopsy with Franklin's body was the right course of action, it really does help with healing process. Sometime last year at the rescue I volunteer a pair that had been very bonded for years suddenly were separated by death. They placed the body of the males deceased mate the cage, which he proceeded to groom. Once they felt he had realized what had happened they removed the body and rubbed a small stuffed animal toy all over his mates body. To this day I still catch him licking the stuffed toy. He didn't fall into a depression and is doing just fine on his own, which is how it will stay since he's an older bun.

Try to stay positive. :hug:

Some take it very hard and cannot live without their mate. Others especially when given the chance to spend time around with their deceased mate can continue to thrive with extra TLC from their human caregivers.

 

[mlvc]

Thanks everyone for your kind words and advice. I will see how he gets along in the next week or so and make a decision about getting another bun for him. So far, he is eating but he's just sitting/lying in one spot and not moving around much. This is doubly sad for me...sad because Franklin's gone and sad because I know Flopsy is sad too.

Franklin was a Dutch rabbit who I adopted from the humane society. He only had one eye and it was a beautiful blue eye. The other one was surgically removed but not sure why. I wanted a friend for Flopsy and I was so grateful that they bonded. No fighting when I introduced them. Just a lot of humping back and forth. It helped that they were both fixed, I suppose. I will miss him dearly.

 

[hartleybun]

:hug:this happened to me last year when my beloved buck hartley died suddenly. like franklin he was fine the night before. his doe, roxy, pined terribly. she wouldnt eat and lay huddled in their favourite spot. we know she had spent time with his body and i hoped she would recover. after the second day of not eating or drinking i decided to get another bunny. she had always been very timid and i didnt want her to die.

this was a thought thru personal decision. i had the time, money and space to cope with another bunny had they not bonded.

on the way back with the new buck, we phoned home and roxy was still lifeless. that night i put new bun, hartleybun, in a hutch beside her. gave both of them enough food and water to last the night and left them to it.

came down the following morning to find a new roxy - all food eaten, grooming herself thoroughly and very interested in the newcomer.

a year on and they are very happy and a well bonded pair.

what ever you decide will be right for you and flopsy. i wish you well

 

[fuzz16]

im sorry for your loss and i hope Flopsy doesn't get to depressed...i agree with some of the others that getting another bun right now would be helpful for her. sometimes it helps keep their mind off what they lost.

 

[tonyshuman]

You've gotten a lot of good advice already. I personally would wait at least 2 weeks, though, to look for another companion for Flopsy. That way you both will be ready. You want to be ready to be able to bond with a new bunny too, so that you don't pick one that you don't connect with. You and she can comfort each other for now--extra snuggles will help you both.

Also, the humane society or a rescue may have a bunny that has also lost a mate, or maybe one that's around the same age as Flopsy. We had a bunny come in whose mate had died--he eventually got adopted when another bunny who had lost her mate came in and chose him on a "bunny date."

 

[Pipp]

Again, everybunny -- and human -- is different. I found I really needed the distraction, I really needed to take my mind off of my loss so I immediately fostered another two bunnies, and it did help.

Any idea if Franklin had normal-size poops, normal urination and the same appetite as usual?

A lot may depend on why his eye was removed. He may have had an abscess or tumour that returned.

When my bunny died, it was cancer, he only appeared sick 12 hours before he passed away.

But with Franklin, it could have been almost anything.

So sorry.


sas :sad:

 

[DeepSeaGoddess]

Ginger passed away just this past Tuesday and I didn't read the forum about what to do beforehand. I didn't bring the body back from the vet. :bigtears: Kanga, her bonded mate didn't get the chance to say goodbye. He's doing ok though. I can tell he is sad though. We have been putting our cats in our bedroom (I have a very large bedroom....really 2 rooms and a bathroom) and sectioning off our living room and letting Kanga come down and hang with us for 3 hours or so in the mornings and 4-5 hours at night. He spends afternoons and overnight in his room. He seems to enjoy it....although when I think he is ready, we are going to look for another mate for him....he's very social. But, I said all this when really, I was just trying to say that we have just been showering him with attention and doing everything we can to make him happy.

So sorry for your loss...I'm still sad and depressed.....it is very difficult.

 

[Maureen Las]

DeepSeaGoddess wrote:

Ginger passed away just this past Tuesday and I didn't read the forum about what to do beforehand. I didn't bring the body back from the vet. :bigtears: Kanga, her bonded mate didn't get the chance to say goodbye. He's doing ok though. I can tell he is sad though. We have been putting our cats in our bedroom (I have a very large bedroom....really 2 rooms and a bathroom) and sectioning off our living room and letting Kanga come down and hang with us for 3 hours or so in the mornings and 4-5 hours at night. He spends afternoons and overnight in his room. He seems to enjoy it....although when I think he is ready, we are going to look for another mate for him....he's very social. But, I said all this when really, I was just trying to say that we have just been showering him with attention and doing everything we can to make him happy.

So sorry for your loss...I'm still sad and depressed.....it is very difficult.

:kiss:things will get better :hug:

 

[hartleybun]

DeepSeaGoddess wrote:

Ginger passed away just this past Tuesday and I didn't read the forum about what to do beforehand. I didn't bring the body back from the vet. :bigtears: Kanga, her bonded mate didn't get the chance to say goodbye. He's doing ok though. I can tell he is sad though. We have been putting our cats in our bedroom (I have a very large bedroom....really 2 rooms and a bathroom) and sectioning off our living room and letting Kanga come down and hang with us for 3 hours or so in the mornings and 4-5 hours at night. He spends afternoons and overnight in his room. He seems to enjoy it....although when I think he is ready, we are going to look for another mate for him....he's very social. But, I said all this when really, I was just trying to say that we have just been showering him with attention and doing everything we can to make him happy.

So sorry for your loss...I'm still sad and depressed.....it is very difficult.

:hug::hug: i am sorry for your loss. it takes time but things do improve.:hug: