I'm beginning to feel a little cursed

[Donna Little]

Okay I don't think I mentioned this but a few weeks ago my big gorgeous rabbit Armani died. He wasn't feeling good for 2 days so I took him to the vet but they could find nothing wrong with him. I brought him back home and he was dead in the crate when I got out of the car. He was the only rabbit I'd ever met that really had an incredible personality and liked everyone he met. I have no idea what happened and I just couldn't believe he died like that. He was precious and I really miss him. I knew his little companion Willow was going to be devastated. She was totally bonded with him but had literally nothing to do with me. She's never been unfriendly but just prefers the company of other animals over people. She was most assuredly grieving but had my cats to keep her company and seemed to be doing okay. Well, Fri I could tell she wasn't herself so I kept an eye on her all day. Sat morning she didn't want to eat so I decided to take her to the vet. I got ready to leave and went to get her and she was dead. They both had been eating the same things they've always eaten, living in the same place, doing the same things.... What the hell??!
I don't know that she wasn't just extremely depressed and ultimately died because of that but good grief. I can't say that I was super attached to her because she never wanted me to touch her but I've had her almost 4 yrs so I did care.
Well to make matters worse we still have a problem with the fox on our property. Now we've discovered there's more than one. Greeeaaaattttt.....
When my hubby went to bury Willow out by the wooded area he came back in and told me that Armani had been dug up and his body was gone. I immediately assumed it was the fox. He said he dug a deep hole and buried Willow so hopefully they wouldn't do the same to her. We were watching a movie on the screened porch last night and we heard them fighting and it sounded really close to the house. I let my dogs out this morning to potty only to find Willow's fur scattered all over my backyard! Seriously adding insult to injury! I really did not need to see that. They are definitely getting bolder and are showing their faces more frequently but to be eating my rabbit in the backyard so close to where we were on the porch?! This is getting ridiculous. We've got to catch these things and get them off of our property....

[chowder]

I'm so sorry you had to lose your rabbits like that. I had guinea pigs so I know how attached you can get to the little guys.

We have fox problems here, too. I talked to the guy at animal control and they don't do anything about them because they are considered just a natural animal like a squirrel. I'm not sure what the laws are in your area, but when my husband shot the BB gun at the one that was screaming at us, it took off and didn't come back for a LONG time. Then it came back so he did it again and it hasn't come back since. Now, we live in the county and it's perfectly legal for us to shoot BB guns here. It may not be if you are in a city limits.

I was sick of the thing screaming at me and the dogs and threatening us every morning and evening and decided it was me or him! It was actually bigger then Chelsy, plus my neighbors all have little bitty dogs that run around without fenced yards so we took action on it. We didn't hit it or anything, just shot near it. It's worked for now and it hasn't come back yet.

[Unosmom]

I'm sorry :( I used to have a guinea pig for 6 years and when he died, I was heartbroken. I dont think I'd want enough one, they just dont live very long.

[cprcheetah]

OMG how devastating. One of my coworkers actually had a bunny die of a 'broken' heart. Her one bunny died after a neuter and then the companion died within about 72 hours. I am so sorry for your loss.,

[minnieme]

Oi vey, that's rough. So sorry for your loss and the crappy rediscovery you made the next day. I am sending some good vibes your way...I hope they make it there soon and everything turns around for you.

[Donna Little]

I think Willow did grieve herself to death. Right after Armani died I brought a litter of puppies home to foster and Willow attached herself to them. She stayed right beside their pen and would interact with them when I'd let them out. I told my husband that I felt sorry for her but didn't want to get another rabbit and keep that cycle going. One is always going to die before the other so what do you do?
Anyhow, one of the rescues in my area had a good previous adopter looking to adopt 2 Dachshund pups so I asked if they wanted to take the litter and just do the adoptions themselves. Willow stopped wanting to go outside the day they left so I don't know if she started grieving all over again. Poor little girl...
When I called my local AC to borrow a large trap for the fox they told me I wasn't allowed to use it for wildlife. I got one from a friend but we've had no luck so far. My husband intends to shoot them if we can catch them. I think they're beautiful but they're getting way too comfortable for me to feel safe. My cats have an outdoor enclosure to go out and sun themselves in and now since I've seen the foxes come out during the day I'm worried they'll get into the cat yard and kill my cats. Not okay! Knowing they can't be relocated (in my area at least) shooting them is unfortunately going to be the only answer....

[xellil]

Donna, i'm so sorry. I remember when you posted about your male rabbit. I have also had a pet dug up by varmints, and it's like getting robbed - you just feel so violated, even if it IS an animal that did it and not a burglar.

[CavePaws]

Can you get a live trap and relocate them miles away? It is definitely what I would do. I am sorry to hear about your bunnies. I had two sisters, one who died around 2 years old because she ate a ton of plastic off the bottom of her cage. Then the other lived to be around 7 and had to be put to sleep after a very bad leg injury that we had been tending to for months. Her quality of life was just deteriorating so we had to put her down. If they stop eating they can get very sick very fast and it is really hard to get their digestive tract going again without force feeding. We had several incidents where Abby stopped eating and had to force feed her a gruel made of pulverized roughage to get her digestive system going. They are just so fragile. :/

[Donna Little]

We have a live trap but it's against the law to relocate them. Don't really know all the reasons but even if we have a professional trapper come to the house they have to kill the fox. And after seeing it out my window stalking my beloved Toby, I don't have that much of a problem with this.
Rabbits are definitely fragile. When Armani started acting sick I made him eat, massaged his belly, syringed water into his mouth and he was peeing and pooping fine. He just obviously wasn't well. I took him in and they checked his teeth and belly and all seemed normal. They sent me home with something to keep his belly moving and increase his appetite and within 30 minutes he was dead. Willow was acting normal as far as eating goes up until Thurs. She didn't want to eat her piece of carrot that morning but later that day was back to herself, eating just fine. Fri was okay but that night she was out in the yard and didn't want to come inside. Not too out of the norm but she'd usually always come for a treat and I had to go get her to make her come in. Saturday she was just sitting in one place and let me walk up and pet her. She didn't like to be touched so I knew she was sick. Within an hour she was dead. No more rabbits for me. The 2 I had lived to be around 4 each. My 2 cats are both FIV+ and hopefully they'll still manage to live good long lives. I hate my guys dying....

[swolek]

I'm very sorry for your losses :(. Rabbits go downhill quickly so sometimes there just isn't enough time. It sucks that the first vet sent you home, I wonder how experienced they were with rabbits. What brand of food did you feed? I know some breeders have had their suspicions with certain brands perhaps being contaminated but I'd think you would have seen more symptoms.

I also feel you on the fox issue. When we buried Sparkie (a free-range Giant Chinchilla rabbit who I adored) he was partially dug up overnight. The animal who did it left his ear sticking out of the ground, it was horrible. I remember coming back inside and just bursting into tears, it really bothered me.

Again, sorry for your losses, especially so close together. It sounds like they were very loved bunnies (something that can't be said for most pet rabbits).