Bit of a strange introduction

[Shan]

Hello.
I’ve been thinking for days about joining a rabbit forum For some advice and hopefully help me too. I have owned rabbits for over 4 years now. It very first began when my sister was going on holiday and asked me to take care of her beloved rabbit. I said yes and honestly was scared to death about this new responsibility however over the days I fell very much in love with him. In fact when it was time for him to go
Home I was very upset.
A few months after she got a cat, who really did not get on with him
and she asked me if he’d like to come and live with us. I was over the moon and we had two years together til he got poorly and we had to say goodbye. After his passing we adopted another boy bunny who we had for two years. He was the most wonderful bunny so gentle and loving. However last month we were settling down to bed when we heard some strange goings on from his house. My partner shot across the room to find him on his side and doing what looked like fitting. We rushed him to an emergency vet at 11pm to discover it was nerogical and we had to say goodbye to him too. He was fine that’s what destroys me the most. There was no warning signs no symptoms that he may be poorly and it truly left a big hole in hearts. Two weeks after we got another rabbit. This time a baby girl from the breeder 8 weeks old absolutely beautiful little girl. However the first night we had her like a switch I began feeling very anxious going over all these scinerios in my head that she was going to die the way our last one did that it was going to be horrific and it was going to happen if I went to sleep. From
That night it got worse over the last month I was constantly worrying that her teeth were going to over grow and she’d get poorly, that she’d fit the way our bunny did that I wasn’t giving her enough excersise even though she was mainly out of her cage. It got to the point where we had to rehome her. Now I’m sat here broken hearted pining after my beautiful rabbit I gave away because I let anxiety win.
I guess I’m looking for some support and perhaps someone who understands to an extent what I am feeling in terms of anxiety and how it can effect you to the extent where it stops you enjoying things you love. Rabbits have been a passion of mine for so long and now I feel like I can never ever have one again because I’m so so scared of bad things happening or me not doing enough for them. I want to overcome this so that I can have rabbits again my heart is truly broken and I don’t know what to do or where to start

[DanaNM]

I’m so sorry for the loss of your babies.

I think that type of anxiety is something most bunny parents deal with, especially once you lost one. I’ve had two bunnies die very suddenly on me, one that was about 9, the other was only 1. They can have heart attacks and seizures, which sounds like what happened to your second bun.

I can relate to being very worried about what a baby bunny will grow up to be. They are so fragile to begin with….

I’ve had a bit of ups and downs over the last few years, and what I can say is that you never really know with bunnies. They did not evolve to live long lives, and so problems can pop up seemingly out of nowhere. All you can do is give them the best care you can, learn the early symptoms of brewing problems, and get regular vet check ups. But even then, things can happen that we have no control over. I adopted a 8 month old bunny to bond with my 8 year old, assuming she would outlive him, and he passed away of unknown causes (the vet did a necropsy and didn’t find anything). I re-bonded her with a 9 year old boy, who doesn’t act a day over 2. I do worry about him, but I also feel like if he’s made it this long, he doesn’t have any major genetic problems.

I would suggest waiting a little while to adopt again so you can mourn the loss of your other bunnies, and if you can, adopt an older bunny (maybe 4-6 years) who’s history you know. That way you will know if there are any conditions to watch (like teeth, food sensitivities, etc).

I do think a small amount of anxiety makes you a better bunny parent (ha!). I also think being armed with a good bunny first aid kit and a good vet will make you more confident. It sounds like even though you only had a couple of years with your bunnies, that you gave them a very loving home, and that they brought you a lot of joy. I think that focusing on that fact might help you.

Do you have a lot of anxiety in other parts of your life? It might help to talk to a counselor as well.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[BrunosMama]

I am so sorry for your lost as.

We have been bunny slaves for 7 years now and we have always had numerous bunnies (we have nine at the moment). We have lost bunnies of all ages (one poor little guy was poorly when we got him and only lasted a week.) Almost all of them have passed suddenly with little to no warning signs. It can make a bunny parent a little gun shy. But we have four bunnies rounding the seven year mark who are trooping along just fine!

Like someone has already said, give every bunny all your love and treat them well and enjoy of second of their little lives with you. They are such amazing companions.

You will know when you are ready to give your heart to another bun.

[Shan]

Thankyou
I’ve battled anxiety in general for 5 years now. But never ever has that anxiety been over my bunnies obviously the normal anxiety like if they seem a little under the weather. But this has really effected me and now I just feel like a terrible person for giving her away but I made sure she was going to somewhere where she’d be loved and seems to be doing so well and bonding with another bunny.
I do hope it settles to an extent where I am able to have another rabbit because they truly are the best animals and I’ve had so many beautiful memories over the years I’ve had them.

[Shan]

Yes I will definately be adopting next time (hopefully there will be a next time) I just hope that this isn’t something that’s going to destroy something I love. It’s been a very difficult few months and usually they say that another bunny can heal some of the pain of loosing one and I did believe that because it was true the first time. However this time has been difficult to the point where I’ve lost sleep I’m that scared of anything bad happening.

[Deleted User]

I’m so sorry for the loss of your sweet buns <3

As someone who also struggles with anxiety, rabbits are definitely one for the nerves. To see such a sweet, loving creature lose life before your eyes… it’s so cruel and unfair. I am fortunate enough that Ophelia seems to be in excellent health, but she does get extremely stressed in new situations. We brought her with us on vacation because I just couldn’t bear the thought of having someone else look after her. My anxiety was eating away at me, and although I know she would have probably been totally fine at home with someone watching her, I just couldn’t come to terms with having someone else watch over her. She was very stressed at the vacation home and was acting very strange. For the first two days of the vacation I couldn’t enjoy anything because I just worried about her constantly. Luckily she came around after a few days.

I completely understand the hesitance you are facing. You don’t want to have to experience that heartbreak again, and that is completely reasonable. But if you think of it from the buns perspective, any time with a loving and caring bunparent is a huge impact on their life. Regardless of freak accidents and unexpected illness, you will be giving a bun the opportunity to be truly loved and that is something that is worth persevering for.

I genuinely believe that you must have a true passion for rabbits to really experience them for what they are. You have that passion, and I truly hope that you can find it in yourself one day to open up your heart to rabbits again.

[Author]

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