How much time does our bunny have?

Question
QUESTION: I took our facility (Nursing home) bunny to the vet yesterday...she is over 6 years old and the vet said that we need to "prepare our community" because she is old. Our residents adore this rabbit and I want them to be fully prepared for her death. How much time would you guess we have? I know you cannot give a specific time but I want to make sure that Sammy is in a separate room and not in full view of everyone when she dies? Is there any way to know when she is dying?  Any hints would be much appreciated! Thank You!

ANSWER: Dear Nichole,

Ummm...what on earth is making the vet think that Sammy is near death?  A rabbit who's only six years old is barely approaching middle age.  We have many rabbits living well into their teens!

Is Sammy ill?  What signs of illness is she showing?  

One thing is certain:  you need to take Sammy to a different veterinarian who knows a lot more about rabbits!  I hope you can find one with the list linked here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

If you think Sammy is really ill, please use the instructions here for some emergency protocols that you can use until you can get her to a vet who is rabbit-savvy (which I don't think the first one is, if he thinks that a six year old rabbit is "old"!)

Please let me know if Sammy is showing any signs of illness, and what they are.  I will be better able to help you.

And for all the best information on rabbit care, so that Sammy will be giving much joy for many years (and having a happy life), please visit:

www.rabbit.org/

Hope this helps.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I agree! All of the checking I've done says that they can live up to 8-12 years maybe longer. My question is, are there signs that she is actively dying? Here in the Nursing home we know when a human is actively dying. She is currently on an antibiotic and an probiotic for diarrhea/loose stools. (unknown cause). No diet changes or snack changes either...

Answer
Dear Nichole,

A rabbit is much like any other mammal, including a human.  You just need to learn to read the signs of illness, because rabbits--being prey species--hide their signs of illness until they are quite ill, unless you are attuned to the subtle signs.  The article I sent before:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sickbun.html

has a series of things you can do to determine if your bunny is sick.  But in the absence of signs such as inappetence, lethargy, sitting in odd spots and acting as if she's in pain, there's no reason to think that Sammy is dying.  Rabbit medicine has made tremendous advances in the past 15 years, and most common problems are quite treatable!

If the vet was this inexperienced with rabbits, I'm worried that he might have prescribed a dangerous antibiotic.  If it's anything ending in "cillin" or if it's clavamox, you must STOP GIVING IT IMMEDIATELY and get her to a rabbit-experienced vet for emergency treatment.  Some antibiotics that are safe for dogs, cats, and humans can be deadly to rabbits, and amoxycillin is one of them.

The runny stool, a sign of cecal dysbiosis, can be caused by any number of things, and to fully understand this condition, please read this:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

The most common triggers of the GI slowdown and GI flora imbalance that leads to mushy poop are incorrect diet, which you can check here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

and pain/stress caused by cryptic dental problems, which you can read about here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

Contrary to what many people might have told you, rabbits are NOT low maintenance pets.  They require at least as much care and socialization as a dog or cat, and their medicine is often completely different.  It's up to the wise bunny "parent" to learn as much as possible to be able to see signs of illness before they become serious, and to have a good rabbit vet available in case one is needed.  Again, you can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this will help, and that Sammy will be fine.

Dana