Hello, I'm new and desperately worried!! PLEASE HELP!!

hello, my name is Kathryn and I am TOTALLY new to this website and have NEVER used a forum or anything, so PLEASE forgive me if I don't do this right, but I'm so worried and would REALLY appreciate you taking the time to read this and if you're extra-lovely maybe giving some advice!! I got to this website thingy as I searched to find out how long giant French lops are expected to live for!! As I've found out the max seems to be between 4-7, so I think the GORGEOUS man in my life (my beautiful grey and White 'gentle giant' French lop "Winston") is maybe getting on a bit!! Anyway... I'm so worried about the the little chap!! Basically ALL his life he has been OBSESSIVELY clean.... CONSTANTLY cleaning himself, never had a dirty bum etc!! But over the last couple of weeks he hasn't been cleaning himself round his bum or back legs for some reason and now his back legs and bum are in quite a state, bless his heart!! And unfortunately I am disabled and unable to scoop him up and put him on his back for any period of time to clean him up myself... He's just too stubborn, big and strong and I'm really worried he will get an infection!! On top of this... The last few days he has been peeing so much and everywhere but the litter tray... His wee seems quite concentrated and dark!! He's even peeing in his bed... Which he would NEVER do before, being the clean freak that he is!! He has always been such a healthy, hearty rabbit, but he's just not himself!! I'm so scared that he's maybe lost control of his bladder or something and will get urine burns etc!!! I think I'm gunna try and get him to the vets tomorrow as I'm abit worried about his breathing too!! But I would be incredibly grateful for any advice... Im so sorry this is SUCHA long rant, but I'm petrified that the vets will say I'm losing the little angel!! I had a terrible accident about seven years ago and had quite bad injuries and Winston the bunny has sometimes been my only bit of sunshine on my darkest of days and has been somewhat of a therapy pet... But he's more than that and I love him so much and I feel so guilty that I can't help him right this moment!! And I love the little dude so much!! I truly apologise if this sounds like an over-dramatic rant... But I'm just a really worried mum!! PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN!! thankyou for taking the time to read this!! Kathryn xx

Hello Kathryn, welcome to the forum :wave: Sorry to hear Winston is having a few problems. There are lots of people on here who are very knowledgeable about rabbit health problems, however there cant really be any substitute for seeing a vet so I think going to the vet is very important.

All of these problems can be due to many different things...has he ever had dental problems? Sometimes a mucky bum can be caused by dental problems. Does he eat much hay? What about pellets and veggies? Trying to increase his hay intake might help.

Its important to get his wee problem looked in to too. I dont want to scare you but I have two bunnies who also suffer urinary incontienence (with excessive drinking as well) and one has EC (E Cuniculi which is a parasite) and the other we have found he has kidney damage. EC is treatable, but as I said there can be all sorts of things causing the problems, so it really is best to take him to the vet and help him get the right treatment.

How old is Winston?

Hello

It sounds as though Winston may have a problem with his spine. Possibly arthritis, making it painful for him to clean himself. Or he may have the onset of a neurological problem (Encephalitozoon Cuniculi or'EC') that is effecting his bladder control. A UTI is also a possibility.

Really without a thorough examination it's impossible to say what may be wrong. So I would definitely get him to the Vet tomorrow where he can be examined and appropriate treatment can be given

Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

Welcome to the forum.. but sorry to hear about Winston.
As already said.. a trip to the vets tomorrow is best.. hope all goes well.. try not to worry and let us know how he goes on.

Oh love you sound so worried, as others have said a vet trip is needed. Ensure that you find a bunny savy vet if you don't have one already. Do wish you all the luck in the world, keep us posted on how your little man is.

Hi there :wave: & welcome to the forum.
We all love our bunnies to pieces on here, so yes we understand how worrying it is when they are ill.

So much can be done for ill bunnies these days. As others have said, you need a good vet who has further training in rabbit illness "exotics training".
If your vet is not exotics trained & you need a recommendation; post a thread asking for rabbit vets in your nearest big town in the "rabbit chat" section.

Please let us know how you get on. Wishing you & Winston all the best.