My bunny Grandpa

Question
Hi Dr. Krempels,
This morning my pet bunny Grandpa died. He hadn't eaten in two days, and he drank only a little water. We weren't too concerned because he has done that in the past when he was sick. He was very weak and was walking funny last night, almost like he couldn't control one side of his body correctly. Then this morning his right side of his body didn't work, and he was running around frantically. Then he fell over on his side, and his left side starting kicking and twitching. Right before he died his muscles just quivered really rapidly and tensed up, then he relaxed and didn't wake up. I know you need an autopsy to find out the actual cause of death, but I am really just searching for some peace of mind. Is there anything I could have done? He seemed so scared. Thank you so much for your help!

Answer
Dear Jessica,

I am very sorry about the loss of Grandpa.

Whenever a rabbit is not eating, it's an emergency, and Grandpa should have been seen by a rabbit-experienced veterinarian immediately.  It's possible that he could have been treated for whatever was wrong, but there is no way to know that now.  I am sorry.

It could have been anything.  You don't say how old he is, or if he had any other symptoms.  But--as with humans or any other animal--there are possibly *hundreds* of things that can cause death.  And I cannot even begin to make a guess without knowing more.

I am sorry that you were not able to get him to the vet in time.  If you have any other rabbits, then you can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

and can learn to tell if your bunny is sick here:

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

I wish I could have helped sooner.

Take care,
Dana