Did I need to have our rabbit put down

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

Last Sunday (6th Jan) I went out to the garden to get our two rabbits Motty and Maisey in for the night.  As I picked Maisey up I noticed and enormous clump of poo stuck to her bottom, which wouldn't easily come away, and so my partner and I spent an hour cleaning her up and put her back out into her hutch to be with Motty for the night in their outdoor hutch.  The lump seemed to be made up of normal round poo's all glued together with the softer stuff.  As Maisey was a rescue rabbit and we had been told that her previous owners allowed her to get so big she couldn't clean herself we've had to clean her up from time to time so were not terribly worried, although this was worse than we'd seen before.

The following day she had a further clump stuck to her so I decided to bring them both in (so that they could continue to be together) and put them in their indoor hutch to keep an eye on her, also allowing me to give their hutch a good scrub in case there were any nasties lurking in there.  Maisey liked to scoff everything in the garden so I fed them only hay for the first day or so, and very small amounts of food with plenty of hay for the next few days.

After another messy day with what looked like diarrhoea she was good for the rest of the week, so on Sunday I refurbished their outdoor home and decided to put them back outside.  As I took Maisey first and put her in the hutch she looked to have what would be a short fit which I've never seen before, just laying on her side with an odd expression on her face and her legs kicking out.  She calmed down and I picked her up for a cuddle and then put her back in the hutch, and put Motty with her.  Motty wasn't brilliant and left her alone but Maisey just sat at the front of the cage staring out into nothing, with her head moving backwards and forwards in little motions which I had actually noticed a couple of days previously and wondered if she had always done.

As I was really worried I called the vet and they said I could bring her straight up.  When we saw the vet we explained and he said that he new straight away what the problem was, and that she had a very large tumour in her abdomen which he could feel.

He described the tumour as 'knobbly' rather than 'smooth' which would mean that it would be more agressive, and that it would eventually spread to the liver, lungs and brain, when it would start to become very painful.

We asked if she would be in any pain right now, and he said that it would depend upon the symptoms, which he listed as including diarrhoea, breathing problems, staring into space and fitting.  As we had seen the diarrhoea and the fit (and he noticed the head movement and said that she appeared to be having difficulty breathing and that she was glazy eyed staring into space like she had done just after her fit) he advised that the only real option was to have her put down straight away as she would already be in pain, or likely be very very soon.

We were devestated, but took onboard the vet's advice and agreed to have her put down immediately.  I gave her a kiss and a tearful goodbye, and left her with the vet.

I'm now worried that we may not have made the right choice and that we could have done more for Maisey.  Although we are by no means wealthy I would have paid the earth to save her, but it all seemed to indicate that things were hopeless.  We have always thought the vet a good and honest man and have no reason to question him, but I don't know if we did the right thing.  Before I brought her indoors she was as active as usual and enjoying scoffing plants and grass in the garden, and still went barmy for food when I brought it to her even when she was indoors.  I'm wondering now if she could have had more time at home with Motty before going, or even if she could have been saved.

I'm sorry for the long sprawling question, I'm still really upset and probably not in the best frame of mind to be writing an account, but I've been searching on rabbit cancer today and found this site, and wanted to ask an expert opinion.

We also now have Motty at home who did not get to see Maisey go so will be confused by it all.  I'm sure that he will need another companion, but don't know how long it should be before we find one for him as he may still think that Maisey is coming back.

I hope you can help answer, and that I've given enough information in all this for you to be able to.

Thank you,
Tom

ANSWER: Hi Tom

I know all too well the difficult position you were in.  It is never an easy decision to make....and for me, it's difficult to make even with wildlife.  There are a lot of things that come into play when making decisions like that.  I tend to wait longer due to our medical capability here.  This past Sunday was the fourth anniversary of the loss of my special little girl...the namesake of our rescue.  I still find myself revisiting her last days and wondering if there was something I could have done...or not done differently.  I made the decision with her based on the information and treatments available at that time. I think that is what you did too.  And I don't know of any vet that will euthanize an animal without just cause.  Based on the fact that a vet was involved, I would think you made the correct decision.

I would start finding Motty a new friend as soon as possible.  Rabbits, like most animals, react to loss differently than we do.  He will grieve and miss her but by nature, they know life goes on.  It is a lot tougher on us.  But I learned long ago that we can't apply human standards to other species.

Best wishes....you sound like wonderful people.

Randy

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

QUESTION: Hi Randy,

Thank you for your answer.  I don't want to eat into other people's question asking space too much but I just wanted to check one more thing.

Is it quite normal for a vet to diagnose a tumour in the way I described - it was simply feeling around the abdomen to discover the size and nature of the lump.  There were no tissue samples analysed or anything like that, it was just a case of feeling her tummy.

I don't want to get into blaming the vet for anything, but I don't know if I should try to look for a more rabbit oriented vet, or if his diagnosis was normal.

Thanks again for your kind answer.
Tom

Answer
Hi Tom,

That is a tough call.  I do both domestic and wildlife rescue.  I have a slightly different attitude for each.  With domestics, I prefer answers.  I am much more into clinical diagnosis than even most vets.  I want to know the root cause of whatever is happening.  I want tests or whatever before I make a decision.  But on the flip side, and something that comes up in wildlife rescue often, is that sometimes you make a decision based on experience.  I can see things in wildlife that tell me they might have a chance or not and base my decisions on that feeling.  Experienced hands can sometimes tell you things that the most sophisticated diagnostics can't.  I don't think I can give you a really proper answer on this one.  My personal feeling is that no vet worth his/her salt will ever put an animal down without just cause.  The vets I know feel they have failed if your animal get sick when it receives routine care and all of them, like me, take it personally when we lose one.  If I had to make a call either way here....I suspect the vet knew something and acted properly.  But it would never hurt, just to ease your mind, to ask for a chat with him just for your own peace of mind.

Randy