Cause of Death

Question
My rabbit died this morning and I think I might have killed him. He was about 1.5 years old and had fleas. I did not realize how bad the fleas were before I began treating him.

I used Ultra Care Flea and Tick spray that is advertised as being for small animals including rabbits. The active ingredients are listed as pyrethrins .06 percent and piperonyl butoxide, technical*.

*Equivalent to 0.48 percent (butylcarbityl) (6-propyl-piperonyl) ether and 0.12 percent related compounds.
I donot think that I put too much of the fle spray on him because he did not like the smell and would run away. He did have trouble with his bowels and when I found him dead he had soiled himself badly.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to be as direct. Thank you.

Answer
Dear Dennis,

I am very sorry about the loss of your friend.

In general, unless you have an infestation of fleas in your area that's affecting everyone, fleas will be more attracted to a sick, compromised animal than to a healthy one.  A very severe infestation can cause potentially fatal anemia, but without more information (that is now too late to get), we can't know if this contributed to your bunny's death.  Only a necropsy (possibly with histopathology of major organ tissues) would reveal the exact cause of death.

The severe runny stool you saw could have been a sign of cecal dysbiosis/ileus:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.hmtl

which could have been caused by stress from the flea infestation or to whatever made him ill enough to be infested with so many fleas.

The flea remedy you used is not good for rabbits, and a healthy rabbit would probably not succumb to it.  But it sounds as if your bunny may have already been very ill, and a drug like this can push an already-compromised rabbit "over the edge."

I'm sorry it's too late for this, but you can also read:

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

for information on how to tell if your bunny is sick, and what to do if he is.

I'm sorry you had to learn that hard way that a bunny requires daily care and inspection for any problems.  They tend to be very stoic about illness and pain, and a bunny "parent" needs to be even more vigilant than a dog or cat owner, since those species are more apt to be obvious about illness and trouble.

I am sorry this comes too late to help your bunny, but I hope it will give you the information you need.

Dana