why did my bunny die suddenly

Question
Hello. My children and I suffered a great loss 2 days ago.  Our rabbit was a 6 yr old male Dwarf rabbit.  A couple of weeks ago, I took Bunny Blue to the vet due to his excessive wetness around his eyes and lack of energy. He also was drinking excessively but eating normally.  The vet found his molars to be overgrown.  Bunny B was kept overnight, and given fluids (vet said he was dehydrated)and his molars were trimmed. Also bunny had lost half of his regular body weight from 4lbs-2lbs. A day later I brought Bunny B home and was given Metacam (Meloxicam)for pain.(he had sores in the upper part of his gums.)and he was great.  Jumping around, following me everywhere, more energetic than ever.  I thought his problem was solved.  The vet suggested I eliminate the alphalpa in his diet and go to an all Timothy hay and pellet diet. So I did. I also gave him bunny yogurt treats that he absolutely loved. Again Bunny B drank water excessively but had more pellet waste than normal but normal in texture. The night before he died, he was following me around and giving me so many bunny kisses actually cuddling and kissing my face. He was so happy.  The next morning when I went to let him out of his cage and feed him, he was lifeless, holding himself up by leaning on the cage.  I immediately rushed him to the vet.  Bunny B had a couple of seizures on the way.  By the time we arrived at the vet he was very bad.  The vet gave him an injection for his heart was weak and he wanted to try and get his heart beat back to normal.  I left Bunny B with the vet.  He put bunny on an heating pad, gave him fluids.(again Bunny Blue was dehydrated.) The vet called approx and hour later and told me that Bunny B had passed away.  The only possible reason the vet gave me was maybe a bacterial infection.   Can rabbits have diabetes?  I have searched everything trying to find an answer.  I feel so helpless and worry that I did something wrong.  Bunny Blue was a big part of our family.  Thanks for any insight you can offer.  

Melanie  

Answer
Dear Melanie,

I am very sorry for your tragic loss.  I know how bad it is to lose someone who was so much a beloved family member, and I wish I could have helped.

As you might imagine, it is impossible to know exactly what happened without an autopsy and possibly histopathology on a variety of tissues.  But a few things you say give me a hint about what *might* have been going on (though this is just an educated guess, and is certainly not a definitive answer).

Excessive drinking and excessive urination together are signs of renal disease.  If your bunny was dehydrated even though he was drinking excessively, there is a good chance that his kidneys had failed.  This can happen for a variety of reasons, from eating something toxic, to bad (unlucky) genetics, to chronic infection.  But once the kidneys fail, they cannot regenerate, and the only thing you can provide is palliative care.

It's a little bit unusual for a rabbit in renal failure to act normal and active in the last stages of the disease, but it's not unheard of.

Another possibility is that he had infection associated with his molar spurs (molar root abcesses?), and the infection became systemic (septicemia).  This could cause very rapid death with very little warning beforehand.

I know this comes too late to help your friend, but the following article tells how to spot the subtle signs of illness in rabbits and how to treat them before they become life-threatening (while you get ready to take bun to the vet):

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

The fact that he was on- and off-again lethargic and constantly dehydrated (how did the vet determine this?  With bloodwork?) suggest renal problems.  But again, there is no way to know for sure at this point.

I am so very sorry.  I send you many healing wishes, knowing that Bunny Blue had a wonderful, if too short, life full of love, and that he will always be in your hearts.

Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana