Bunny passed of GI stasis

[Cinnamin]

Our 7 month old Jersey wooly passed away last night from GI stasis. As soon as we noticed something was off with him we took him the the local 24 hour emergency hospital. This was at around 10pm last night. We got there at about 1030-1045pm. He was very lethargic and breathing slower. As soon as we got there two techs took him back to run vitals and got oxygen on him. We sat in the waiting room for about 15 minutes then back in the room for another 20. This entire time there was no update for us. After this 35 minutes the doctor came in and told us what was going on and what the treatment needed to be. This took about 10 minutes. We approved it all to the doctor and it took another 10-15 minutes for another tech to come in with the invoice and how we were going to be paying for it. During this time we asked to see him and they said after we figure this out. We handled how to pay for that went out and After about another 10 minutes of filling out paperwork we asked again to see him before we left, they told us to go back in the room and he would be brought in so we could see him. The doctor came back in saying they were going to back to check on him and administer the first dose of medication and fluids and he had a cardiac arrest and passed away.

So we are not trying to put blame on anyone but we went to this hospital and were there for over an hour before starting to administer any medication to help him and nobody was watching him to make sure he was ok. They took him from us to put him in a cage and let him die. It seems to me they were more worried about money than truly helping our buddy. It is making us sick that we rushed there for them to not do anything. We want to know is this normal practice or if there is something we should do?

[Bunny House]

i am so sorry for your loss. Often times they will start administering fluids and maybe some pain meds but they might have to call a senior rabbit savvy vet for permission to do certain things. They also don’t want to administer some drugs if it happens to be a blockage because it can become fatal. Were the vets there specialized in bunnies? If they weren’t, they wouldn’t have known how serious the issue at hand was when you walked in the door.

I would talk to your regular vet and tell them what happened and try and get a stasis emergency kit on hand like fluids, pain meds and other items so you can get the bunny premedicated before going to the ER.

I have to say, it is hard to find a vet anywhere that you can fully trust, and isnt just about the money. Sometimes the hardest thing about caring for animals is that we do all we can do and if it is there time to go, we can’t stop them.

I am so sorry again for your loss

[Cinnamin]

Thank you so much. It has been really hard for us.

They said all the doctors were trained in rabbits and they had a specialist on calls 24/7 for all questions. She came in on our first meeting confirming to us that it was GI Stasis. So to he should of been on the medicine already at that point. It seems they are only about the money in some cases. We just cannot get over the lack of help they gave him

I didn’t know Stasis kits existed, was never told by any vet about them. we will definitely get one asap.

[Bam]

I’m very sorry for your loss. It doesn’t sound like you had a good vet experience, but I don’t know if it qualifies as malpractice. You should be able to get an itemized bill so you can see if they did anything, for example administered fluids as well as oxygen right when you came in. They could have been trying to stabilize him with supportive measures before starting anything else.

As BH says, stasis can be caused by a physical blockage, in which case you can’t give gut motility drugs due to the risk of intestinal rupture. Its not possible even for a vet to tell if there’s a blockage without an x-ray.

It’s very sad that they left you with the feeling that he didn’t get the best care. It’s enough of a tragedy to lose a beloved pet. I think it could help you to talk to your regular vet. Maybe they can offer some insights.

Not all vets are willing to prescribe a stasis kit, but you can ask. In the light of this experience it’s very understandable that you’d want to be able to take some acute measures at home. Hopefully it will never be needed.

Binky free, ****sweet boy****

[Phil]

Oh this is awfully sad, poor Bunny just starting his life with you, my vet is experienced he would feel tummy and listen for gut sounds, critical care would be seringe fed. Sounds pritty bad service you had, even worse not being with little bunny when they died, so sorry for you, its so hard to cope with suddenly loosing a bunny x

[Flakie]

I’m so sad to hear of your loss of your little bunny so so young. My heart goes out to you. I’ve not heard of a stasis kit either but will check with my vet when we are there for their check up.

My bun passed with GI issues in January but we were lucky to have him for 10 years.

Very sad binky free sweet bunny x

[LittlePuffyTail]

So sorry for your loss.

((((Binky Free)))))))

[Gordo and Janice]

I’m so sorry Cinnamin. Not a good situation. I empathize with you. It can be very angering (to say the very least) along with all of the other emotions. In the end you did the very best you could for your bunny. You loved him and gave him a loving environment. You immediately took him in to the emergency clinic to get him help. Surely he knew he was loved. Reading about it all gets me a little fired up because I’m telling you, I relate. I know it feels like an injustice has been done (and it is quite possible it has) but regardless you did the absolute best you possibly could. And doing the best you can with loving intent for your bunny is all anyone could ask. Try to remember your little guy and the wonderful memories, the fun laughable memories. It was wonderful you got to share in each others lives. Try to remember the good and be grateful for the time even though it was short. It will take some time. It always does. My heart goes out to you.

Binky free {{{sweet little guy}}}

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