Feeling soo sad and guilty

[Ellen24]

Hello

Sadly we had our rabbit Blossom who was 7 put to sleep last week and I can’t stop feeling guilty about it . We also lost our other rabbit  Honey only 3 months ago.

When I got up and went out to feed Blossom on Thursday morning I noticed she hadn’t eaten her vegetables from the night before which is very unlike her. I fed her pellets and some more hay and she usually hops around the cage waiting for me to feed her and the goes out into the garden but that day she didn’t touch her food just lay there.

i rang the vets and took her in and they looked in her mouth and said it looks like she has ulcers on her tongue. They kept her in to feed her and file her teeth down and I picked her up later that day and they gave us pain relief for her. We got home and she went out into the garden I fed her vegetables that night and gave her some of the critical care feed I am not sure if she was taking this. We put her back in her hutch and at 330 am I went down to check on her and I am sure she was in the same place where I left her. I brought her in and she was easy to pick up which was unusual and she seemed uncoordinated on her back feet. I gave her some pain relief and other medication and some critical care feed and put her back in her bed to keep her warm but she went back downstairs.

when I got up a few hours later she was laying in her hay box and didn’t move when I lifted the lid I put some food in and she didn’t touch it. I went back to check on her and she was laying in the hay box she tried to get up but struggled then came out the box and was trying to hop but kept falling over. I picked her up and her legs went all stif looking back I wondered if she had a seizure. I brought her in the house and cuddled her I thought she was dying after a while she began to lift her head and seemed like she wanted to get off me so I took her to the garden and she hopped off and layed down I put a bit of the critical care feed next to her but she didn’t touch it then went to another place and lay down we had an appt with the vet as I thought she was dying to have her put to sleep as I didn’t want her suffering. When we went to pick her up to take her she didn’t even run off which is unlike her.

I now feel soo guilty I am worried I didn’t try hard enough but after seeing her try to hop and go all stiff and still not eating and pooing after a couple doses of pain relief and some supplement feed I thought she was suffering so we had her put to sleep. I don’t know if I made the right decision or if we can’t trying to force her to eat she would have recovered.

sorry about the long post I felt I just needed it write it somewhere that people may understand.

[DanaNM]

I think you made the right decision, it does sound like she was declining rapidly and something quite serious was wrong. It’s hard to know exactly what happened, but often when a rabbit starts to “crash” it can look like other common issues at first (lack of appetite, lethargy). Then things just get worse and worse very quickly, which sounds like what you were witnessing. I have tried to syringe feed a rabbit that was crashing like that and the food basically fell out of his mouth. He was also having trouble breathing and I wish we could have prevented his suffering.

It’s clear you loved her very much, it sounds like she had a wonderful life with you, and every choice you made was with her well-being in mind. Please don’t beat yourself up, although I know it’s hard not too. Good bunny parents always tend to feel guilty and second guess after making hard decisions.

((( Binky free Blossom )))

. . . 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.  

[Ellen24]

Thank you so much for your reply it has made me feel a little bit better. I think there was probably something wrong but we will never know what. I’m just glad she’s not suffering and I like to think she’s back with our other rabbit Honey now.

[Author]

Messages