Please help – my wee rabbit Georgie died last night

[Leah]

Dear all,

I took over the care and homed my neighbours rabbit when it took sick when they were on holiday over 4 months ago.  At the time the vet said an ear infection and prescribed Baytrill for 3 weeks with metacam as she had developed a head tilt and balance issues, after 3 weeks she changed it to Sulfatrim and started a course of panacur but the sulfatrim upset her tummy so we stopped both.   Soon after she went into stasis and we nearly lost her, that was in July but we got her through it.  I still was concerned for the cause of head tilt and took her to a more rabbit savvy vet that i had heard of and he said he was sure it was EC and not an ear infection.  Her balance by now was fine but still had a head tilt.  A couple of weeks ago she started shaking her ears a lot and acting like she was trying to blow something out of her nose so we took her back to the vet who said he thought it could have been spurs on her teeth but just in case prescribed her baytrill, that was a week ago.  As she had eating issues we also gave her a syringe of critical care everyday.  I noticed her breathing was a little quick a couple of days ago but on googling it didn’t think it was a medical emergency everything else with her was fine.  

Last night I gave her her critical care but she only took a small amount so i got her liquid baytrill as I had been doing and gave her that.  Immediately after she opened her mouth strangely a few times and struggled to get down, my mum sat her on the floor and she wiggled and went to run off, which she always did and fell over, had a very short seizure, only seconds and just died.  It looked like a brain trauma, perhaps a stroke but I am terrified I killed her giving her the medication, choked her or it went down wrong.

I am so heartbroken, I loved her so much, i need to know did i do this giving her the medication, from getting the medication and death was only 30 secs to a minute and her wee eye bulged just before she died.  My mum is a nurse and said it looked like a brain thing but I hate to think I killed her giving her the medication.  Please can someone advise   Thank you

[Odette]

I am so sorry for the loss of your Georgie. Binky free, sweet girl.

Aspiration pneumonia (from the med going down wrong) wouldn’t be fatal that fast and wouldn’t cause neurological symptoms. The med didn’t cause her death. You did not cause Georgie’s death. Please don’t blame yourself.

[Gina.Jenny]

It sounds to me like you have been doing all the right things for a poorly bun, and you did everything possible to ease her passing. I know right now it is really painful, but please believe nothing you did caused this.

[Q8bunny]

It sounds like your mom is right and you loved and did right by her. Please don’t blame yourself.
(((Binky free, little Georgie bun)))

[Bam]

I’m so sorry you lost your Georgie. It wasn’t that she breathed in her meds, that can happen but the symptoms are not like that. It could’ve been a brain thing like your mother says – quite possibly the EC that she got Panacur for wasn’t completely eridacated and had started to multiply again in her brain. EC is a very devious parasite, it’s not even yet understood quite how it affects rabbits.

You did right by her, you gave her vet care when she needed it, you gave her meds, there was nothing yiou ouhgt to have done differently. I’m so sorry she didn’t get well, but none of it was your fault.

Binky Free, Georgie. Your mommy loved you very much.

[Luna]

I’m sorry about your bun. I usually don’t look/reply to these threads because they are so sad (rip yohio) but I wanted to say you did everything right. You followed the vet’s instructions, and even got a second medical opinion. Georgie knew she was loved by you

[Leah]

Thank you so much for your replies. My heart is broken I haven’t stopped crying, I just desperately want her back, she was only 2 and so adorable. I have been sleeping at my parents 4 doors away cos every time I walk into my house it aches she is not there. All the what ifs are torturing me.. I should have took her to the vet the night before as she was breathing fast but then it stopped so I didn’t think it was an emergency.. wish I had have trusted my instinct on Saturday and started panacur again but thought I would wait until her antibiotics had finished, the vet said give it to her at Christmas but I decided I would start it after antibiotics… wish I hadn’t given her the critical care and antibiotic Tuesday night and just left her alone, if she didn’t die from choking maybe I still did choke her and it brought on a stroke. I am just so confused and heart broken worse than I even thought I would be.. I miss her so much it aches

[Bladesmith]

Binky Free, Georgie.  My condolences.  Know that you did all you could to keep her healthy and happy.

[Leah]

Thank you … I tried for her, I loved her so much and miss her so much, still can’t get my head round it at all

[Leah]

I worry so much I caused it, it would destroy me if I thought I did so much for her and loved her so much then caused her death, it was so sudden, and the way she opened and closed her mouth a few times like a fish just before the seizure.. my head is full of what ifs, did I choke her a little and it brought on a stroke… I am so shocked and sad

[Deleted User]

I know how you feel, see my thread in Rainbow Bridge called “little red”

There are so many what if’s going round in my head every single day, please don’t blame yourself, I’m sure you did nothing wrong but we are programmed to try and find reasons we would be responsible. The only thing you are responsible for is giving Georgie a loving home when he needed it most, be kind to yourself x

[Leah]

AxGizmo, I read your post, I am so sorry for your loss also, it breaks your heart. I am still heart broken but also now so angry. The original vet we went to see said Georgie had an ear infection and treated her for over a month with antibiotics, even though I kept saying to them could this not be EC and they kept saying no it isn’t EC. Eventually I got so annoyed that I just said to them please leave me out a prescription for panacur. I started giving it to her but the antibiotics they had given her had affected her stomach so we stopped. I then found another vet who said this is definitely EC, he said at that time it wasn’t active though and he didn’t want to risk another bout of GI stasis. On Saturday looking back she fell over only a couple of times and again I said to my mum she needs panacur but she was on antibiotics again from the new vet to rule out a respiratory infection so i decided to let her finish the few more days on antibiotics and then start panacur. I am sure now from her symptoms on Saturday the EC came back and she died on the Tuesday. I am so mad at myself for not trusting my judgement in the beginning and treating her with panacur instead of a month of antibiotics for an ear infection she probably never had, I wish I had have taken her off the antibiotic on Saturday and started the panacur, at lease she would have had 3 days of pancur before her death, it might have prevented it, all her symptoms from Saturday to her death on Tuesday were EC i am nearly sure

[Bam]

A bunny choking wouldn’t bring on a stroke. I’d sooner think her heart was weakened, perhaps affected by the ec parasite. Heart-problems are always coupled with lungs/breathing problems because of how closely these organs work together. The ec parasite affect organs with a high blood flow, typically the brain, the heart and the kidneys. Bunnies tend to have seizures when they die, it’s part of the dying process.

I’m sorry you couldn’t save her. You did all you could. I’m so glad she had a human who loved her so much. Baytril does have some effect on ec, so it was good to give her that – but te ec parasite is a bad one, it really is, it’s not always treatment works.

Luna. Thank you <3

[Leah]

Thank you Bam. I am convinced now it was EC and am so angry with the original vet for constantly saying no it is an ear infection and treating that for a month, if I had have trusted my instinct I could have given her the panacur that month back in May when she took sick first time, I wish i had have ignored the vet and trusted my judgement. SWhe seemed though all summer to have no symptoms of EC, even the new vet i found who is rabbit savvy, when I asked in August about giving her panacur said that there were not active parasites at that time and he was more worried about her tummy, again I wish I had ignored him and done it anyway. She had no symptoms from June to October at all, she was great then on Saturday she fell over a couple of times and i decided when her antibiotics finish for the respiratory thing (now probably EC) i would start the panacur. She was dead 3 days later, if I had have started the panacur on the Saturday could it have saved her? Thank you

[Bam]

I really doubt giving her panacur for 3 days would’ve saved her. You often have to give panacur for a couple of weeks before you see any effect.

You can’t blame yourself for trusting a vet. We have to trust vets. They have many, many years of training and they charge us good money for their expertise. It’s not even completely legal to try and treat a sick pet yourself. But I do know how angry it makes you when you suspect your pet hasn’t gotten the right diagnosis/treatment.

[Leah]

Thank you Bam. I am so angry and it will always be in my mind that I should have trusted my instincts and found another vet sooner or demanded they try the panacur which i did in the end but the antibiotics had caused her tummy problems and I had to stop it after only a few days. She didn’t show symptoms at all for about 3 months, she was great, healthy and happy so i trusted the new vet that she didn’t need it while it was inactive. Just so much regret, it all cost her her life. I am back at work today and sitting crying, I have a very understanding boss. I get her ashes back today.

[Bladesmith]

I know I’m new to rabbits, but I’ve been with animals all my life, as well as having been a K9 officer.

Sometimes all you can do is ALL you can do.  And it’s never enough, at the end.  The way I think of it, to preserve my own sanity, is to think of all the GOOD you accomplished while our little fuzzy friends are in our lives, how much better there lives were, and how much better they made our lives, and made us, in however much time we’re graced with their presence.

It’s clear you loved Georgie dearly, and I have no doubt Georgie knew it and thrived on it.  She won’t forget it.  I wish you peace and surcease of sorrow.  And so would Georgie.

[Leah]

Thank you… it is still so raw and so sudden in front of me, so many things in my head now I wonder did she have a heart attack and if I had not given her critical care and meds and left her alone it might not have brought it on, if I had called the vet as soon as her breathing changed the day before.. what ifs I would just hate to have been responsible or could have saved her and didn’t. I did love her so very much

[Bam]

Leah, we all feel that when someone in our care dies. That’s part of owning a pet and it’s very, very painful.
Try not to concentrate on the what-ifs. It can never lead to anything good because there will never be any answers to those questions.

Be glad that you are a great person who loved her rabbit so much and really tried to help her when she was ill. Not everybody are capable of caring that much for such a little helpless soul, and that you do really says a lot about you as a person.

[jerseygirl]

Ive only just read throught this thread. I agree with all everyone has already said.

My heart goes out to you. I know what it is like and how your mind won’t let go of “what if it was something I did that caused them to go?”. It just prolongs the grief but it’s normal to think that way also. Especially when you’ve been caring for a sick rabbit and it is more dependant on you then usual.

 You said “and if I had not given her critical care and meds and left her alone it might not have brought it on,” but I rather think if you hadn’t given them and she passed regardless, you might be questioning if having not giving them was a reason why she went. Do you see?  It’s just beating yourself up. 

Ive had 2 of my rabbits pass away in front of me and both breathed like that with their mouths. I think it is just part of the dying process. Jersey acted very oddly with holding her head up ( i thought it was like a stroke too). Then she breathed through her mouth a bit then she slipped away. With Maple, she fell on her side and seized and kicked out, then did the mouth breathing. Its all so quick and you feel so helpless. But at least Georgie was with those who loved her. With it being so quick, she wouldn’t have suffered, so let that provide some comfort to you.

Try not to go over the treatment too much either. Head tilt very often is attributed to ear infections and there are some symptoms that point to it being more likely that. Even if it was EC, the baytril would have helped because it supposedly helps suppress the EC spores.

I have a rabbit in my care at the moment who has head tilt. The vet, who had been practicing for years and knows rabbits was quite honest and questioning about the treatments we usually do for these rabbits. He asked “would they get better on their own? We don’t know? And we don’t know if these medications are really what did help cure a rabbit”. He was also saying common treatment will be a certain way for many years then it will all change and they’d be a new protocol and claims that the old way wouldn’t have made any difference. It can be a confusing condition. 

Its also normal to feel some anger during grief. Thats okay. But don’t let it take over. 

 

Anyway, I want to say Im very sorry for your loss and thank you for taking her on it the first place!
***Binky Free Georgie!***

[Leah]

Thanks so much Bam and jerseygirl. I am so sorry for your wee bunnies, it really is heart breaking. I am sleeping at my parents since she died cos I just cant bear to be in my own house and her not there it is not the same, it was just her and me and now it is so empty. I think about her constantly and miss her terribly,I only had her for 4 and a half months but she will be forever in my heart. My neighbors asked my Dad over a year ago if I wanted a rabbit and I said no cos i didn’t think it would be fair being at work all day and have a pet, i had never had a pet in my house before, it was her. I wish I had gone over and seen her cos I would have fallen in love with her and took her home then but I hadn’t seen her I only took her off my neighbors after she got sick to care for her, we could have had longer together… what ifs, what ifs. I got her ashes back and I hope that I see her again one day. I was over at my house yesterday morning and the house was so cold cos I hadn’t been sleeping there for a few days, I was crying, of course and I walked towards where she used to sleep when I first got her and all of a sudden felt completely warm, the room was freezing… I am very skeptical of such things but it made me wonder. Thanks for your support, you are all such good caring people xx

[Author]

Messages