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Blind bunnies

MichG

MichG

Mama Doe
Is there anyone on the forum who has a completely blind bun?
Minky has glaucoma in 1 eye and a cataract so has little or no vision. Thinking enucleation may happen in the future. Only problem is other eye also has a small cataract and poss start of glaucoma. Is it possible/fair to have a bun with no eyes?

My friend said its not fair to keep her alive with no eyes. She is only 9months old :( she is such a happy little thing
 
My old bunny Tommy had a cataract on one eye for years, never stopped him.

Twinkle my little red eye white has poor vision which is apparently to do with the red eyes, she is ok if you talk to her as you approach her, she does a bit of a Stevie Wonder head sway sometimes to get all the vision she can.

Personally if she is happy and has a full life in every other way and is healthy then keep her, enjoy her, I think if it was a case of having to remove the eyes sugically then maybe I would be thinking about whether to put her through that but if its just a case of 'broken' eyes then I am sure she will just become one spoilt little bunny girl
 
I have had 2 blind Rabbits. One born blind, the other going blind aged 9 due to bilateral cataracts. They both coped well, but Lara, the 9 year old, took some time adjusting.

Is Minky's hearing OK ? If not then personally I would not opt for enucleation. A Rabbit can cope without sight, but IMO not without both sight and hearing.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Is Minky's hearing OK ? If not then personally I would not opt for enucleation. A Rabbit can cope without sight, but IMO not without both sight and hearing.
Click to expand...

It seems perfectly fine. She can hear me coming and sort of responds to her name but since I have to pick her up twice a day for eye drops she won't come over to me anymore:cry:

I wouldn't enucleate both eyes unless they both became painful. I can tell she is very uncomfortable with her worst eye.
 
Bumble has very little sight and is expected to go blind (cataracts). He is under a year. I wouldn't consider putting him to sleep as he is happy and spends most of the day out in his run, unless it rains when he sensibly hops back into his hutch. He even manages to escape into the run next door with my trio. He can climb on top of his hutch too (can't work out how).

I had a blind dog (also cataracts) and he coped well so long as I didn't move things around. He still enjoyed his walks and had a good quality of life. When that stopped (because of a heart condition) he was helped to the Bridge.

My Bridge Bun, Daisy, had one eye removed and very, very little sight in the other. She lived a long and happy life, surviving myxi, until eventually she had so many other health problems it was unfair to keep her and she was PTS.

I don't believe it is cruel to keep a blind bun so long as they have a good quality of life.

I need to bond Bumble as I think he will be much happier with a wife. Furby is deaf and his wife, Faye, acts as his ears - even the vet nurse mentioned it. So sweet:)
 
Ive not experienced it in rabbits but our dog was totally blind for the last 4 years of her life. She had glycoma and cataracts in one eye and just cataracts in the other. She was fine, took a while for her to get used to it and learn new commands like up for going up the curb and down for going down one but at least you wont have all of that with a bun so it'll be less stressful for her. It was the glycoma that eventually meant we had to have her pts though, it started putting alot of pressure on her brain as it grew and she ended up senile and confused so thats something to keep a watch out for, it might be harder to spot in a bun
 
There are a fair few blind bunnies on the forum. I think it was Evie the giant who had her eyes removed?
Grim has very limited sight and has had ulcers and all sorts on his eyes. I discussed the possibility of removing his eyes with my vet if his infections didn't clear up. Luckily we found a good combination of antibiotics for him. But I don't think being completely blind would bother him. He runs into things anyway if I change his environment too much. :(
 
Thanks for all your replies. I was in pieces thinking I may have to pts her if her sight gets too bad. My brave little soldier.
My friend was so adamant that it was cruel as they are prey species etc. I guess to certain extent it does depend on the bunny as to whether they would cope, if she was really nervous and jumpy it might not be fair on her, but she isn't, she is friendly and inquisitive and a joy to look after :love:
 
Too many people who aren't bun savvy are too keen to say PTS it seems, without considering other options.

It sounds like this particular situation certainly depends on the bun themselves and how they deal with it.

I wish your bun all the best xxx
 
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