Our Bunny Passed Away Last Night- Questions....

[srtcody]

Our very healthy 3 year old Lop passed away last night suddenly and we are trying to make sense at why it happened and what caused it. She was out hopping around the house (monitored in the tile hallway) on Monday night and was perfectly fine and her usual happy self yesterday morning. When I got home from work at 4:15pm, she seemed fine. She was lounging and relaxing like she often does.

I walked by her cage at around 5:30pm and noticed she was laying down as usual but didn't move very much when I walked by. Usually when we walk by she'll jump up to say Hi. I opened her cage and petted her but she didn't react very much to it. I picked her up and could tell right away that something seemed off. She was awake and snuggled but something didn't seem right. I also noticed a small puddle of pee where she was laying and one of her back legs was soaked in it. I put her back down on a bed of her fluff and she didn't budge what so ever. She stayed exactly where I put her down and was breathing pretty heavy it seemed while trying to put pressure on her tummy with her bum raised up a little. We figured she had gas. She then adjusted herself to put more pressure on her tummy. She was acting very lethargic which isn't like her. I started looking online right away and the first thing that came up was 'GI Statis' and it mentioned gas. I noticed her ears seemed very warm but then quickly cooled down. I picked her up and wrapped her in a towel to keep her body warm and massaged her stomach a bit to help with the discomfort. She stayed still. Her eyes were fully open and she was totally aware of her surroundings. We took her into the living room and put her on the couch and kept her bundled up in the towel. Her condition stayed the same for a while. Around 6:45pm, out of nowhere she had a seizure. My wife picked her up and tried to help her. She stopped shaking after about 15 seconds and then took a few good breaths of relief it seemed. Then she had another quick seizure and let two big gasps out and passed away in her arms.

We have no idea what caused it. It all happened so quickly. There was no loss of appetite or loss of desire to drink her water. All her poops have been normal and there were absolutely no signs of anything wrong prior. She's always been super active and never had a single health problem. She lived in a very stress free enviroment and was always pampered. She's had gas once prior to this but that's when she was a baby and after we gave her a few blueberries. She was very grouchy for a while and then had a very messy poop. Besides that she's never had a problem. We're hoping you guys might have an idea on what could of caused it. We keep wondering and are unable to have closure due to this.


Also, we have another bunny. She's 2 and 1/2 years old and a Netherland Dwarf. She has always been in a completely separate cage in a different room of the house. Should we bring her in for a quick check to be safe or do you think everything should be okay? She's had no health problems either and seems 100% healthy.


Thank you for your time,
Cody and Chauntelle

 

[missyscove]

I'm so sorry for your loss.
Unfortunately rabbits are prey animals and often hide signs of illness until the very end so it's possible she was sick and you didn't know it. From your description it sounds like she lived a good life up until her very last day so you can take comfort in knowing she sounds like a happy and well-loved rabbit.
Seizures and other neurologic signs can sometimes be associated with E.cuniculi which can really have a number of presentations and could be contagious to your second rabbit, but then again many rabbits test positive for E.cuniculi with no clinical signs.
If you really must know your best bet is contacting your vet about a necropsy, but this should be performed as soon as possible after death for the best results and can be inconclusive.

As for your second rabbit, if she seems to be generally healthy, eating and drinking well, etc. I would say there's no need to rush into the vet but it may be worth a visit for your peace of mind. If you haven't already it would be worth discussing where your vet recommends you go for emergency care afterhours that might be comfortable seeing rabbits. You didn't mention if your girls were spayed and that would be worth discussing as well.

Lastly, welcome to RO! I'm sorry it's under such unfortunate circumstances.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We've had two of our younger bunnies go the same way--no symptoms or distress signs, fine that morning and gone that afternoon--never made it to their 4th birthday.

 

[JBun]

I'm very sorry you lost your bun. From your description it sounds like she may have died from bloat. Bloat can happen suddenly, as well as cause sudden death due to the bloated stomach putting pressure on the heart and lungs, as well as restricting blood flow. It can also cause the stomach to rupture. Bloat would account for the belly pressing as well as the seizures. It can be caused from a variety of things such as from food issues, blockage from a foreign object or felted mat of fur, pathogenic bacteria, etc. If bloat was the cause, it wouldn't necessarily affect your other rabbit at all, but this would also depend upon what the cause of the bloat was.

This is only a guess though. There are other internal problems that could also result in a rabbit belly pressing and having seizures, bloat would just be one of the more common ones to occur. Like missyscove mentioned, the only way to know for sure would be to have a necropsy done, but even then the findings can come back inconclusive.

 

[ladysown]

this is one of the sad things about rabbits. Seemingly normal perfectly happy rabbits can die unexpectedly. it's always a shame.

 

[flemishwhite]

We lost Bunny due to GI Statis. I was astounded that this happened since I knew about this problem. However, it was extremely unusual weather here. One day, the outside temp was 100 F. The days before and after were also extremely hot. Where I live, not many people have air conditioning since usually, even though during the few weeks of summer heat, cool air comes in from the ocean around 10:00 PM. Bunny wasn't eating very,very little...I thought it was because of the heat. She seemed basically ok, except a little less energetic. Then she collapsed. Ketosis had set in and it was too late to save her. She basically starved to death. I had no idea. Rabbits are masters at hiding stress and pain.

Rabbits can be very hardy and robust animals. Just read the very interesting story about how a few European rabbits rabbit turned loose in Australia turned into an awful plague that swept the nation. Their population explosion was unhindered by the semi-desert areas of Australia. Not withstanding these hardy and robust characteristics, they can be very fragile animals with regards to their gastro-intestinal system.

About rabbits being susceptible to sudden serious problems:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K0pU887FQs[/ame]

 

[RipJewel]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I know how it feels...my bunny, or I guess you could say my best friend, died this morning. I know it hurts...something that helped me was a website called Rainbow Bridge.

 

[majorv]

I'm sorry you lost your bunny but I agree with Jbun that it kind of sounds like bloat. If that's what caused it your other rabbit should be fine.

 

[squidpop]

I think bloat, like jbun said, also sounds very possible. I've read that the opening right where the stomach empties into the intestines is small and if a blockage occurs there the intestine can twist and it happens very suddenly. This is sad, I think it may have also happened to one of my rabbits. Since mine are Jersey Woolies, fluffy, I think they are prone to getting fur blockages.