rabbit died suddenly and i dont know why

Question
My rabbit had a good life.  She was an indoor house rabbit, spayed, litter trained and fed daily greens and hay.  She also had kibble in her cage and slept in a cage when she was not running about her indoor rabbit run.  I had two cats and she was not afraid of them as she grew up with them.  I recently got a kitten (three months ago) and kept them separate only because sometimes the kitten would be aggressive and think she was a kitten and was too rough with her.  The rabbit was not afraid of her though and was never injured.  My rabbit was acting fine...eating normally, going to the bathroom normally, drinking water etc.  She seemed in perfect health and happy.  Suddenly the next morning my petsitter (I was at work) went to feed her and called her to tell me that the rabbit wasn't moving.  I came home to find her in her cage, looking like she was sleeping, in her favorite stretched out position spread out on her belly with her feet behind her, but she was dead.  She looked asleep and very peaceful.  I am devastated and shocked.  There was no warning.  She was not sick and I certainly didn't expect her to die when she was just shy of her fifth birthday.  I felt she had a good life so why did she die so young?  Some people tell me five years old is average and then others say 10 years old.  I am very depressed about it and just have no idea what could have happened. The only reason it seems it was a quick sudden death was because she was stretched out in her sleeping position.  Only her eyes were open.  I am so confused and sad and shocked.  I just don't know if this is normal or what could explain the mystery of such a sudden unexpected death.  The only thing I do know is that my petsitter had given her petromalt the week before, but she had taken that for years to help prevent furballs and nothing I found on Petromalt said it could be toxic.

Answer
I am very sorry for your lose. Loosing a pet is no different than loosing a family member in my opinion, and I know it is hard.

I don't think it was the Petromalt, as I am a big fan of it and have never heard anything bad about it, or it causing problems in rabbits.  It is actually a good thing that you used it as having a GI stasis is not a good thing.

Unfornunately some rabbits can live to be 10yrs, these however have excellent genetics and are lucky, most rabbits life span is 5-7 years, so a sudden death at almost five is not uncommon.  If you saw no signs of anything wrong, or sickness, I would assume it was due to her age, and genetics. It sounds as if she went peacefully so be thankful for that.

Again I am sorry for your lose, this bun sounds like she had a wonderful life and it ended peacefully which you should be glad for.

Good Luck
Amy