Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Small Animal | Rabbit | Male | unneutered | 8 years and 8 months old | 4.9 lbs
I sadly lost my 9 year old bunny on Friday after a sudden illness and would like your thoughts on what happened please. I’m kicking myself that I should have noticed the signs earlier or that the treatment wasn’t right (I’m not blaming the vet) just would like to know what happened as I’m so confused. I’ve attached the full story as photos as this box has a limited word count! I would be very grateful for your opinion on what it could have been or if anything more could have been done.
1 Answer
Published on June 14th, 2020
I'm so sorry you lost your bunny. Please accept my condolences. Unfortunately, seemingly sudden death can happen in rabbits but without a post-mortem examination (necropsy) then the best we can do is guess at the possibilities. Now, I don't have his entire history so some of these things may not relate to him but typically this is the list we go by: 1. heatstroke 2. heart attack (can happen from underlying disease or a severe fright) 3. viral or bacterial disease 4. toxin ingestion 5. underlying kidney or liver problem 6. GI stasis (the GI tract stop moving) 7. heavy intestinal parasites burden 8. cancer 9. old age (could he be older than you thought) I didn't see that your vet did anything wrong or prescribed any incorrect medications. Again, I am so sorry for your loss. Please take care.
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