R.I.P. Smokey AKA Boy Bunny

We only had the privilege of knowing him for just over a year, but we grew to dearly love him and  his sweet nature.

He came from an animal rescue centre to live with us along with his sister last November. 

 

Unfortunately Boy Bunny became ill yesterday and despite being taken to the vets as soon as we knew he was poorly, his health declined rapidly and he had to be put to sleep in the evening because he was in extreme pain. 

He died of bloat from gastro intestinal statis or GI statis. You can read more about the condition here. In short, this is when the rabbits digestion system stops working and the gases and excrement build up inside the bunny.

Sadly, we missed some of the tell tale signs. He had soft stools on and off ever since we had him. Despite this, he was healthy and happy in every other way so we were never worried about him. He always had a good supply of fresh hay, he ate well, drank lots of water, loved exploring his run and used to binky regularly. 

I just wish we were more knowledgeable about the tell tale signs - the tiny stools, the soft stools... we could have changed his diet and saved him :-(  If you have a rabbit and are reading this, I would urge you not to ignore any changes in their stools because even though they may seem healthy, it could be an underlying health problem. As we have learnt to our cost, rabbits have very sensitive digestive systems.

Boy Bunny and Girl Bunny were a bonded pair. Girl Bunny and he were inseparable. He was very devoted to her and spent many hours grooming her and cuddling up to her. As he died at the vets, she did not know he was dead and therefore was waiting for him to return. After doing some research on the Internet we decided to follow some advice on how to shorten and minimise her grief. We had to put his dead body in the hutch with her for 3 hours so that she would know he was dead. 

It was very sad to see her sniffing his little body but hopefully she now knows that he is gone forever and that should help her to bond more easily with another rabbit. I will seek further advise from the rabbit rescue centre as to how and when we should try bonding her with another rabbit. I really feel that rabbits should not be alone.

We have shed many tears over the loss of this special little boy and we will all miss him very much, especially Girl Bunny.

R.I.P. Smokey AKA Boy Bunny