Mild ear condition to critical overnight

[tiggerbunny]

Hi everyone,

 

Two weeks ago my husband and I said goodbye to our beautiful little girl Tigger. She was very young, only about 9 months old, and obviously there’s nothing that can be done now, but I just wondered if anyone might be able to help us figure out exactly what she was ill with, since it was under a week from when I started noticing she seemed a bit lethargic to saying goodbye.

 

For just a couple days I noticed she seemed to be less energetic than usual, but nothing drastic, so although I was concerned I felt I didn’t have much reason to be. And then one Wednesday we noticed her left ear was down, she was holding it back against her head (mum was a lionhead and dad was a lop–Tigger’s ears were of the sticky-up variety). We took her to the vet on Friday morning; he was able to look inside her ear and we saw a red sore, like a scab. He gave her antibiotics, pain killers, and ear drops. We administered two rounds of the medication, but when we woke up on Saturday she was just laid at the bottom of her hutch. We rushed her to the vets but clearly she was in critical condition–in a lot of pain and really struggling to breathe, and the vet said for how critical she was, euthanasia would not be a wrong option. She didn’t quite know what it was, but she suggested it may have been an ear infection which made its way to Tigger’s brain (although she’d never displayed any head tilt or loss of balance).

For all the research I’ve done I can’t quite find anything that matches her condition. There was no discharge from her eyes or ears, and she was eating and pooping normally right up until the Friday, *maybe* the Thursday, and even when her ear was down she was still happy to hop around the garden as usual. Clearly though her ear was causing her distress–she’d shake her head occasionally, she wasn’t happy when we went to touch her ear, and she herself would go to scratch it but evidently couldn’t because it hurt too much. She was an outdoor rabbit but she wasn’t vaccinated–I’m from Canada but my husband and I live in England, and while I’ve owned rabbits before vaccination has never crossed my mind.

 

Thank you all, any ideas would be really appreciated!

[Bam]

I’m very sorry that you lost your bunny girl. It’s very difficult to say what took her, we can just guess.

A sore can cause septic shock -even the smallest sores can give rise to sepsis. This is of course more common in the elderly or the immunocompromised. An ear infection that reaches the brain more commonly comes from an infection contained inside the eardrum. It is of course possible that the visible sore came from her attempting to scratch her ear to alleviate pain from an aching middle ear. A middle ear infection can spread to the lungs (or vice versa) via the ear trumpet that connects the middle ear to the pharynx. A ear infection that spreads to the brain can cause death very rapidly, within hours.

It is of course also possible that her death just coincided with the ear problem. As you’re probably aware now, the RVHD2 virus is currently killing lots of rabbits across Europe. The “old” RVHD1 virus kills quicker, often without any warning signs. There is also myxomatosis, but the symptoms of myxo are very different from what you describe. All three illnesses can be vaccinated against now.

Rabbits are notorious for hiding symptoms of illness, but it sounds like your girl was enjoying life up until the very end, and that is a blessing of sorts. It’s very sad that you lost her. She was clearly dearly loved.

Binky free ****Tigger****

[Snowflake]

I am so sorry to you and your husband for the loss of your bunny Tigger girl. It is very sad to lose any pet, no matter how long you have had them. It is ok to grieve. Hope you focus on the joy she brought you both. Blessings!!??

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m so very sorry for the loss of your Tigger.

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

[tiggerbunny]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and bam for the helpful information….you’re right, we won’t ever really know but having an outside opinion is helpful. We’re just grateful Tigger’s at least out of pain now. Thank you again everyone, bless you all <3

[Author]

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