Rabbits: is this an emergency?

Rabbits are the animal where 'we'll see how she is in the morning' most often ends badly. They are prey animals that hide illness, they cannot vomit, and their gut has to keep moving continuously or it starts producing toxins. A rabbit that looks slightly off on Friday evening can be dying by Monday.

Go now

Do not wait for morning. Drive, or call ahead and drive.

Not eating, or no droppings in the tray

Gut stasis. When the gut stops, food and hair lodge, gas-producing bacteria take over, and the liver has to work overtime clearing the toxins. The House Rabbit Society describes rabbits in this state as seeming to give up and die. None of the rabbit welfare organisations publish a specific hour cutoff — the honest version is that you do not wait for one. A missed meal or a missing pile of droppings is today's problem.

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Maggots, or a wet dirty patch near the back end

Flystrike. Flies lay eggs on damp or soiled fur and the maggots eat into living flesh. The RSPCA says it can happen in a matter of hours; the Rabbit Welfare Association puts serious damage within 24 hours. A clean, well-kept rabbit can still get it. Check the back end daily all year and twice a day in warm months.

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Fast, noisy or laboured breathing

Rabbits breathe silently at rest, and they cannot mouth-breathe — a blocked nose is a far bigger problem for a rabbit than for a cat. PDSA's instruction is never to wait and see whether it improves. Keep the journey as calm as you can, because stress itself makes it worse.

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Hunched up and grinding her teeth

Loud tooth grinding is not the soft purring sound a content rabbit makes. Combined with a hunched posture it means significant pain.

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Head tilted to one side

Usually an inner ear infection or the E. cuniculi parasite. It can come on very suddenly and treating it early changes the outcome.

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Be seen today

Call your vet for an appointment today, not next week.

Eating less than normal, or leaving the hay

Hay is about 85% of the diet. A rabbit going off hay is the first sign of most rabbit problems, including dental disease.

Droppings smaller or fewer than usual

Size and number track gut function directly.

Drooling or a wet chin

Almost always overgrown teeth, which need a vet not a wait.

Sitting apart from a bonded partner

Rabbits that normally lie together and stop are worth a look.

Watch and write it down

Not an emergency. Note when it started and how often, and raise it at the next appointment.

Soft, sticky droppings stuck to the fur

Often too many pellets and not enough hay. Fix the diet, and mention it at the next appointment.

A shed that looks dramatic

Rabbits shed in patches and it can look alarming. Brush more.

What normal looks like

These match exactly between the House Rabbit Society Foundation and Merck, which is rarer than it should be.

On the way

• Call aheadSo they can be ready when you arrive rather than starting from scratch. Say the species, the age, what you have seen and when it started.
• Take the packagingIf a substance is involved. Treatment for rat poison depends entirely on which of the five types it is, and you cannot tell from the color of the bait.
• Write down the timeWhen it started, how long a seizure lasted, when they last ate, when they last passed anything. You will not remember accurately once you are there.
• Keep the carrier dark and quietEspecially for birds, rabbits and cats. Stress alone makes a breathing problem worse, and in a bird in real distress the handling itself can kill.

What not to do

• Do not make them vomitNot unless a vet or a poison line has told you to. Salt can poison them, oil can go into the lungs, and for caustic substances it does more damage coming back up than it did going down.
• Do not give human painkillersOne regular acetaminophen tablet can kill an average cat. Ibuprofen ulcerates the stomach and damages the kidneys in both dogs and cats.
• Do not pull anythingNot string from a cat, not a stuck feather, not prolapsed tissue. Cut string if there is slack, keep tissue moist, and let a vet do the rest.
• Do not put your hands near the mouth during a seizureThey cannot control biting. Time it instead, and move furniture out of the way.
• Do not wait to see if it improves overnightThat sentence is on this page because it is the most common thing owners say afterwards.

Last reviewed October 2026. Written and maintained by Petdeals.io. General care information, not veterinary advice — for a sick animal, call a vet.