Guilty about my Bunny’s death

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Idamylove123

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Hi all, I’m not sure if this is the correct forum to be posting in but I could use some help. I have two rabbits, (Mini Rex) they are brother and sister and we saved them from an inbred breeder, therefor these rabbits were the product of inbreeding. On Tuesday, I was working outside all day, and came back to my room around 7:00PM to find my female Rex dead in her cage. After we buried her, I was trying to put things together, and quickly sensed an overwhelming feeling of guilt when I realized a lot of signs I hadn’t noticed in the past two days. My rabbit had been urinating a lot, and I had been changing her bedding every 3 days rather than every week. I hadn’t thought much about it because I usually schedule myself on the cleanings and feeding so I didn’t look into it. (big mistake) I had also begun to notice she wasn’t cleaning herself at all, and her fur became very dirty and matted. She was fine Tuesday morning when I woke up, and that night she wasn’t. She was 3 years old, and I’m not sure if that is old age for a rabbit, she had my male Rex were the only bunnies I have ever owned. I guess I just feel really guilty because I didn’t really spend much time with her, only ever taking care of her instead of really loving her; and that’s where the guilt is coming from. She had to die alone without anyone there with her in her cage, and I don’t think she died happy. I just feel like a bad owner...if anyone has any answers, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. (Photo is when we first got her)
 

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I am so sorry! Please don't feel bad. You didn't know and everyone makes mistakes! She was a beautiful rabbit! How old was she when you got her?
I think you should give the other rabbit tons of attention to make up for your mistakes. I think he will be very sad that she is gone so comforting him will be great. And it will comfort you too.
 
Thank you so much. And we got her around 7 or 8 weeks old. And yes, the male (pickle) has been getting a lot of time out lately, and I plan to keep it that way.
 
I am so sorry! I don't think you need to feel guilty at all. Rabbits are prey animals and so naturally secretive that often by the time they give up hiding that they aren't feeling well it's too late for us bunny parents to solve the mystery before it's too late. The signs can be especially hard to see for a first-time rabbit owner who has been lucky to have mostly healthy bunnies. I'm so sorry that it happened and I hope giving Pickles some love will offer you both peace.
 
Hi, sorry for your loss. 3 years is not old for a rabbit they can live 7-10 years depending on breed, some even longer up to 14 years, but you don't have to feel guilty it is great that you've analysed the past couple days so you will be more attentive for the signs in the future, but indeed rabbits are great at hiding their health problems so no wonder you missed some signs.
 
Thank you so much. And we got her around 7 or 8 weeks old. And yes, the male (pickle) has been getting a lot of time out lately, and I plan to keep it that way.
Is it okay if I try to figure out what happened? What did her diet look like? Based on the picture I see a lot of pellets, and no hay. What does Pickle's diet look like?
 
During the first few weeks we had them, they didn’t get hay. But since then we’ve been buying Timothy hay, and they would always get their own lettuce as well as carrots as treats.
 
During the first few weeks we had them, they didn’t get hay. But since then we’ve been buying Timothy hay, and they would always get their own lettuce as well as carrots as treats.
How many pellets did they get? How much exercise? Was there less or strange looking poop before she passed?
 
The bowl you see there, they would get two of those a day (it wasn’t very deep) one in the morning and one at night, along with some hay. And we had a harness for them and would walk them on the porch, as well as let them play in the bedroom. And yes, before she passed they were no longer pellets. Much like diarrhea.
 
Before I say what I think happened to her I want you to know that everyone makes mistakes.
I know how deep those bowls are and that is way too much food! If they are getting 2 of those full a day that is equal to 1 cup of food when rabbit should get 1/4 cup of pellets per day. It sounds like she got Gi-stasis which would make sense because of her diet. I would slowly reduce the amount of pellets you are feeding Pickles to 1/4 cup per day. I would also work on his diet to make it look similar to the diet below (photo credit: Rabbits Indoors)
 

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Oh no I'm so sorry to hear about your loss! She was beautiful. I can totally understand the guilt feeling, but you didn't know. We are humans and we make mistakes. At least now you will be able to keep an eye out for any future problems!
 
No one can give you the answers you want.
No one can tell you you did everything you could.
No one can tell you you did everything you possibly could to prevent the outcome you have gotten from your actions. Or that you could have cared less or more than you had time to.
Can anyone say you were neglectful because the normal cleaning and feeding schedule differed from What it was at first? Especially if these were your first bunnies?
Can anyone tell you that you could have been the last thing that your bunny saw or remembered before passing away..?

No.

NO ONE CAN GIVE YOU THE ANSWERS YOU WANT TO HEAR.

It is your choice to blame yourself.
It is your choice to see the signs, or be too caught up in you're own life to see that , what seems to be a small amount of time in between it being happy and it passing away, made a difference.

Only YOU can be the judge of that. But if you choose to fault yourself for not seeing the signs when you didnt know any better, than you will have to live with the guilt.
Or you can say you did everything you could to give them a good life and didnt know how much work they were and made a MISTAKE.

But I feel every soul and every living being has a purpose in this life. And unfortunately, we make mistakes as humans we cant come back from. Unknowingly... we and they, make sacrifices that aren't fair, but happen for a reason. But that is BEING HUMAN. And if they were your first bunnies, then you now know what to look for, and how to differ from past mistakes such as this.

Depending on what breed you get, bunnies can live up to 8-13years. You are their caregiver now. If you thought throwing them into a cage and them being companions would be enough.. then maybe now you will realise that they need YOU. Your love, attention, and for you to care for them when they cant care for themselves. They cant clean their own cage. They cant feed themself, or teach themselves to clean, love, or be there for one another. They cant tell you when something's wrong. They cant let you know that you aren't keeping up with what they need...

It sucks to say.. but sometimes it takes a loss, to be able to fully appreciate the things you may not pay attention to full time In life that you should have.

I'm sorry your bunny passed away. I'm sorry if you feel like you couldn't do anything, or that you could have done more to prevent this outcome. But no one on this forum can tell you the answers you want.

I can tell you to not be so hard on yourself, and to pay closer attention as you move forward.. I can tell you that sometimes they are worse than children and if you dont have time to notice their poops, or their behaviour differing, than maybe you need to take a step back and realise that your life is too busy for something as truly complex as owning a rabbit is..

But it's up to you. You can choose to pay attention. Or you can choose to let **** slip.

I'm sorry your bun has left us. And I hope you chose the right path for where you are in your life. But just remember, the things we want to love us when we need it most.. need it most even when we dont need them.

Goodluck.
 
What I CAN tell you, is if you EVER have ANY doubts, questions, or concerns going forward... everyone on this forum will help you in ANY way we possibly can and give you the best advice we can. There are NO stupid questions. There are NO judgemental users. And no matter what the issue or how small the matter is.. we are all here to help one another get through whatever each of us is going through. Okay? I will always be around if you need to ask anything and I know alot of amazing people on here that are around no matter what aswell. Were here for yoU. ALL U HAVE TO DO IS ASK. K
 
Before I say what I think happened to her I want you to know that everyone makes mistakes.
I know how deep those bowls are and that is way too much food! If they are getting 2 of those full a day that is equal to 1 cup of food when rabbit should get 1/4 cup of pellets per day. It sounds like she got Gi-stasis which would make sense because of her diet. I would slowly reduce the amount of pellets you are feeding Pickles to 1/4 cup per day. I would also work on his diet to make it look similar to the diet below (photo credit: Rabbits Indoors)


There are so many ways to feed rabbits, it's not like rabbits die because it's not the one most promoted, although this is a rather good one. Too many pellets (what is too much depends on what is in it) can lead to obesity and dental problems, they need the chewing motion of hay, grass, weeds, leafy stuff so their teeth wear down on each other properly. But that are long term issues.
Diarrhia and peeing a lot imho are not a sign of GI-stasis.

We here can't tell what really went wrong, if it was avoidable etc., things like that do happen, we cant change the past, just learn from it if there is something to learn.

Owning rabbits comes with a learning curve, we all make mistakes. In my first year I lost 14 of my 15 rabbits to Myxomatosis because I was oblivious that it existed and didn't figure out in time what's going on.
 

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