After losing my bunny a couple days ago, I’ve been thinking about the fragility of rabbits, and would like to hear others thoughts.
I have had 3 bunnies in my life – all of whom I deeply loved and cherished. All 3 passed away unexpectedly when they were only a few years old. In all 3 instances, I took the bun to the hospital within an hour of the symptoms arising. My first passed away from Tyzzer’s disease (the vet believes his hay had been contaminated). My second passed away from a liver lobe torsion on the left side (vet said it is rare that this particular lobe is involved). My third passed away a couple days ago after having surgery to remove an obstruction.
As I’m mourning the loss of my bun, one thing I keep hearing is “rabbits are fragile.” I even had a friend tell me last night that I should never get another rabbit due to their fragility, and should get a cat or dog as they tend to live longer.
However, when I dropped off some donations to a foster for a local rescue, I met several buns who were 9-11 years old. Many of these buns had been through quite a lot – living outside after being dumped, infections, surgeries, etc. The foster even told me about a bunny she knows who recently had his leg amputated after a long battle with infections, surgeries, smaller amputations, etc. While I was happy to hear these success stories, it does break my heart that none of my buns had such success.
All of this has made me wonder – are the buns in the success stories just lucky? Have I just been unlucky? Are rabbits truly as fragile as people think? Are they fragile when it comes to GI issues, but more resilient otherwise?
I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts. I know it won’t make a difference, but it’s just something I’ve been grappling with.
Here’s a picture of the bun I just lost. I loved him more than anything in the world, and the bond we shared was very strong. He deserved more than the 3 years he got.
by AverageGuilty316
1 Comment
i am so so sorry for your losses, it’s one of the many sad things of owning pets, they don’t live as long as us. i’m sure they lived happy lives with you and you sound like a loving owner.
as for the fragility of rabbits and whether or not it’s just luck or not i don’t know. i’ve owned several rabbits over the years and all have lived varying lengths. Ruby lived for a couple of years but one day when we woke in the morning she was found dead, we never found the cause. Boo lived till 2, he was desexed and vaccinated but was exposed to myxomatosis and we had to put him to sleep. My other rabbit who recently passed lived till nearly 9. I wasn’t able to get him desexed and he was never vaccinated (very irresponsible of me i know i will never be doing that again). My rabbit i have now is around a year and half old and i had her spayed and vaccinated a couple months ago.
i think that, like any animal, there’s always going to be issues. my last dog was lovely, but he had a hole in his heart and passed away at 10. the dog i have now is also lovely, but he’s not very smart and never learns (ie. he continued to poke a thistle despite it hurting him over 20 time).
i don’t think rabbits a more fragile than any other animal in terms of likely hood of health issues (yes they have more delicate spines and bones) but you are just as likely to have issues with cats or dogs than with rabbits. my family got a dog that now gets constant seizures and is takes HOURS out of the day to remind her training and so on and even then she has bad days.
if you love rabbits and that pet is the right one for you who suits your lifestyle then don’t decide to stop loving them and caring for them. i think that if you want you could volunteer to foster rabbits from your local rabbit rescue/sanctuary and see how you feel.
the fact is i think it’s just chance, sometimes really bad chance, that your pet is terminally ill. all the issues you’ve mentioned your rabbits had are very rare diseases and illnesses and the chance of having issues like that again are very slim. again i think you should foster for a while to see how you feel and if rabbits are still the right fit for you. you seem like a really loving owner and you did everything you could for your babies, sometimes people/pets get sick and it’s awful. but there’s nothing you can do to change it, all you can do is continue to love them until the very end and beyond
my thoughts go out to you and i hope your journey of healing from these losses is steady and that you have many around you to support you during these hard times 💛