Bunny died

[twilightstruggle]

One of my bunnies died suddenly this morning ð???. Vet believes it was cancer. I'm in shock as he only started looking poorly today. Also very worried about his pal as they were very closely bonded. Don't know why I'm posting - a bit of sympathy and advice really.

[chocoluvva]

Sorry to hear that twilight.
FWIW - I had a bunny that died of cancer - we had her put down as she was clearly suffering.

[flowers}

[twilightstruggle]

Thanks choco.

Does anyone know whether we should start trying to bond the surviving bunny with a new bunny right away or would he be better off with some time I mourn? It's very difficult to tell what he's thinking... I think he's looking for his friend. Hate to think of him being sad. They were ever so close.

[FernieB]

So sorry to hear about your poor bunny . What a shock.

Does his friend seem okay? Is he pining? How old is he and is he neutered? If he's neutered you should be able to find a girlfriend for him quite easily from a rescue.

[twilightstruggle]

Thanks for your reply Fernie.

His friend seems reasonably ok. He's eating and drinking and has been mooching about the garden nibbling everything in the standard fashion. He's been a bit more cuddly, but that might be because I'm being more attentive than usual. I worry that he's fine because he hasn't realised his friend is gone yet and that he'll deteriorate over the next few days. They are/were both neutered males, approximately 5 years old - the surviving one was the dominant one if that makes a difference.

[FernieB]

I've been looking at a lot of rescues recently and there are lots of older bunnies that seem to be almost permanent residents. You should have no problems finding a friend of a similar age. The RSPCA always have lots of bunnies as do local rescues. They should help with bonding too.

[Midori1999]

I'm sorry about your bunny.

If the remaining rabbit saw the body of the one you lost then he will know he is gone. If not then he probably still knows as he will have known he was ill. They're surprisingly resilient, but I have always bonded with a new bunny ASAP. In fact, I'm now trying to bond all of mine into a group so I don't risk being left with a single bunny again, but that's obviously not for everyone.

I agree that a rescue is the best place to get advice and find a wife. They can usually 'speed date' to find a bunny yours likes.

[fiverabbits]

Let me tell you about my rabbit Ozzy. He came here at 8 weeks with his friend Woody. They got on well until they were 3.5 years and Woody died very suddenly. Then he became friends with Sooty one of our other rabbits for 2 years, then Sooty died and he became friends with Georgina who we had rescued 6 months earlier. We had to have Georgina PTS so we where really worried about him as he was now 6.5 years old so tried him with Smokey who was another rescue. They got on great and even lived indoors for their last two years until Smokey died two months before Ozzy who died aged 9 years and 10 months. Please try to get another rabbit as they are better in a pair or more. All were neutered.