Morbid — Read at your own risk!

[Juicy]

Hey y’all, 

I was at the vet Saturday getting Demi’s nails clipped (fiance out of town for a while), and the saddest thing happened. Someone brought in her bunny, “Honey”, and sat down and calmly talked with the receptionist. When she turned the carrier, I could see that poor Honey was on his side and twitching. I said, “Oh my G-d…is Honey ok?!?” and she just said “No, he’s not ok. Not at all.” 

Since then, I’ve been unable to stop thinking about poor Honey. I keep wishing that person was holding him instead of keeping him in the carrier when he was like that. These thoughts are making me so sad! Then I go try to hug Demi, but of course she happily hops away in my time of need. 

Sorry for the sad backstory, but this kind of thing has got me thinking. We spayed our girl so we’ve got her another 10 years, hopefully. When her time comes, assuming she’s not sick, will it be peaceful? Or will she be twitching like that and in pain? I just feel like I need to know. I know you can’t “know”. But I’m sure there’s some probability involved here. Anyone to help me prepare for this?

Thanks,

J, J & Demi

[Mikey]

She may have had him in the carrier in case he got scared and started to freak out. The carrier could be there to partially block his view, as well as to help keep other animals away/keep other animals uninterested. Hopefully that helps you a bit to explain why she may not have been holding him

You never really know how your animal will pass. Ive had a rabbit die in my moms arms due to stasis so many years ago when vets didnt really know about stasis or how to treat it. It was really sad and he died within days of my guinea pig who died of old age. We buried them together and planted a pretty tree above them. We had another bun die of old age. He died sprawled out and sleeping in his favorite corner of his cage. Ive had a dog who had to be put down due to uncontrollable cancer that was causing her too much pain. She was so relaxed when they gave her the shot; we knew it was the right thing to do. I had one goldfish die in pain, but he wouldnt let us put him down (to tell for a fish, try to hold them in the water; if they struggle, even if weakly, they have a will to live). He was fighting for about a week before he just couldnt any more and passed while we were asleep

I hope for my three bunny boys that they die of old age in their sleep. If they get sick or are in pain, i will do my best to treat it to the best of my bank account and to the best of the vets ability (we are lucky to have a vet who majored in cancer treatments and brain issues in small animals). If at any point they are too in pain or too lethargic, i will not force them to live for me. If they seem miserable day in and day out, and treatment isnt working, i wont force them to stay on this earth. Although i really hope they die in their sleep in their favorite relaxing position, there is no way to tell what will happen so many years down the road

The only way to ‘prepare’ is to know it may be a possibility. Take it as it comes and dont worry about it until it is here. If in the future your rabbit is old and sickly, the best thing you can do is stay calm and examine all possibilities for your baby, then move one step at a time until all options run out or your baby is cured

[Bam]

I agree with Mikey. You can never know. There can be seizure activity while a rabbit is in the last moments of the dying process, but not so you’d have time to put the bun in a carrier and take it somewhere.

There are buns that have epilepsy after trauma or due to congenital abnormalities of the brain, there is also e cuniculi, a parasite that commonly presents with neuro symptoms (because of that it’s often called a bunny stroke, but it isn’t vascular like a stroke in humans).

All in all, we can’t know how our sweet buns one day will go. We can be pretty sure it will be very, very sad and distressing for us – but that’s because we love them so much. And we can’t not love.

[Love4Bunny]

I think about the same thing too, Juicy. After losing my Nan and Uncle a few years back (one of old age, one of heart failure), I’m accepting (in my heart) more and more, that all of us will die, and we really have no control over how we go (how’s that for morbid? I mean, my animals could outlive me. Humans are not guaranteed a healthy life, and the same goes for our beloved animals. With that in mind, I’ve become okay with enjoying what time I have with all my furbabies and as Mikey touched on, keeping them happy for as long as they’re alive.

It’s human nature to blame ourselves when animals get sick or die. But at the end of the day, if we do the best given the situation, our animals will be loved while they’re alive and even though death feels overwhelming, the good memories are stronger in the end.

[Muchelle]

Years ago I kept russian dwarf hamsters. One time they had an accidental litter (a classic: vendor assured me it was two girls… and got babies). One of the babies was refused by the mom, so I raised her. Let’s say she was, uhm, “special”. Probably did have cerebral palsy or other neurological problems. But she was the sweetest thing. She’d sleep in my pocket all day, fall asleep in my hand or just lounge on my shoulder. One day I left home in a hurry, didn’t close the door of the attic as I always would do… when I got back, my parents told me they had found her downstairs. She somewhat escaped her cage and fell right down the stairs. She was a six months hamster and I’m still heartbroken… so I know it’ll hurt like hell when something will happen to the bun.

Of course I hope it will happen because of veeeery old age, but I know life is unpredictable (trust me, I’m a paramedic =.= I’ve seen stuff). So I have settled to just wish to be there with him when it’s going to be time.

[Sleepy]

Tbf, I’m sure Honey’s owner will be wishing they were holding Honey too. It’s just not always feasible. With our last bridge bunny, I know my sister feels immense guilt that she didn’t hold him instead of using the carrier for his last ride but at the time we thought we could still help him and the carrier’s usually safer for them. Especially in a vet clinic filled with other excitable animals.

Though peaceful deaths are possible, you can never expect it. All our bridge bunnies have passed due to health issues (the first somehow got pneumonia, the second due to a possible heart issue, the third due to a terrible mix of a dead leg and something in his lungs that came while he was healing from a broken leg) that weren’t easy for the bunny or us and it’s hard to be prepared for any of that.

Our hamsters, however, have mostly died of old age and it still hurts as much as losing the buns. All you can really do at that point is hope for the best and be willing to let go of them when it’s their time, whenever that is.

[Juicy]

Sorry I’m late on this, but thanks all. I know I can’t exactly “prepare” for this. Just wanted to know if there was a statistically significant possibility that it wouldn’t be peaceful in older rabbits.

It is a vet that mostly sees birds and rabbits, so I love bringing her there. I’m a dog person but hate dogs barking around her and scaring her. So I guess I didn’t understand why that person wouldn’t at least pet their rabbit, at the time. But you know what, if I were in her position I’d probably be a disaster and who knows what I’d do.

I’m sorry for all of your losses! You are right that I can only hope for the best, as we all can. Let’s agree to focus on the many good years instead

[Author]

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