I think me and my bunnies are cursed.

Just got back from the vets, was only meant to be a routine weigh in, her jabs doing and a quick once over...The vet said shes not looking bad to say shes getting on a bit, to which I said shes only 5 please dont say that! The vet then said that if she was being brutally honest, she doesnt see many rabbits past the 6-7mark and that if you have a rabbit that goes beyond that then your doing really well...

saying that, she said although shes a bit on the podgey side, considering shes lost her mate and its winter so shes not particularly active its nothing drastic...lets look at her teeth....teeth are perfect (thank god)

but it only took a quick glance in her eyes to see that shes got cateracts starting

Considering I was on the verge of reserving a husband for her, I was pretty gobsmacked and the vet said that perhaps it would be best not to stress her out by getting her a new partner, especially if shes feeling old age a bit.

Not sure what to think, but feeling very teary at the thought of my poor bun going blind and feeling her age and thinking about her mortality

Just once I'd like a bun that goes at a ripe old age instead of illness.

Does the vet know what has caused the cataracts?

If she is healthy and just has cataracts I see no reason why she can't be bonded, even if it is 'just' for a year or two because that gives her a year or two more of happiness and a friend.

I have all of mine who have an average life expectancy turning 5 in the next few months (some are older but all will then be 5 or older- so that's 13 of them aged 5 and over, and then 3 who are younger but who are too sick to expect them to have an average life expectancy) but I personally count that as middle aged for my crew (who are small buns).

My vet has said though, that often they commonly see rabbits die around the 5-6 mark and when I raised this on the forum before, the thinking was that at this time it's when they start to develop problems, but that with better vet care now, advancing knowledge, better ownership, etc, a lot of these issues can be managed.

I think facing her mortality is important and necessary but don't write her off yet; she hasn't written herself off.

Thank you, I was hoping you'd reply to this I was looking at "Flash's Place" the other day and felt all welled up, you know your stuff!

The vet seems to think its just old age, I dont think shes ever had fantastic eyesight to begin with though, just going on the way she moves and how startled she is sometimes.

I'm just worried about stressing her out to be honest...I cant get the image out of my head of her struggling to see and getting upset and badgered and pestered by another bunny that she cant fend off...if only there was a way to get a completely submissive and chilled out dead cert husband for her...I've fallen in love with a new zealand boy but

But as you say, On the other hand its not fair to have her just mooching on and having a boring life when she could have a few more years of companionship and happiness... might even be a second wind for her and perk her up a bit...

My Candyfloss is blind and bonded with Dusk, and both of them have never been happier. They had a challenging bond because her anxieties got in the way but we got there and it was totally worth it for them.

Your bunny doesn't need to be submissive, he just needs to have a chilled inner core and be tolerant. He might turn her life around.

thats reassuring to know, and that does sound a lot like Mollie..I've had my suspicions that her grumpiness sometimes is based around being a bit nervous...are they outdoor buns? and was he always blind?

Yup, they are outdoor buns. The bonding took three months but I did it April to July so we took advantage of the warm weather.

She's a REW and came to me as a rescue but the presumption is that she has always had these sight issues. She's turned four recently and is very happy.

Awww bless you, that sounds difficult. To be honest, once any further diagnosis for instance on cause of cataracts is worked through, I think I'd be more inclined to bond a bunny now if there is a chance that her eyesight might get worse. I would have thought it would be far more reassuring for a bunny to have a bunny friend to help reassure them and reduce their anxiety, to cuddle up to and to have familiar smells to follow around, than to be alone and unable to see. For a prey animal, I think that would be pretty distressing as they'd always have to stay on the high alert if they don't have somebun to help be alert with them. So if there's a chance that her cataracts are going to get worse, but that she's otherwise 'healthy', I would look out for a calm bunny who might be happy to just potter around and snooze, to see if you can get her bonded before she loses too much more sight.

Just my thoughts, I'm sure others will have different views. Good luck with whatever you decide xx

What a lovely pair! That was my other concern, whether I'd have to bring her in or not, shes never been a fan of coming inside anyway, and one of her favourite things to do is lie out in the garden...Do you have any tips for caring for a blind bunny?

Thanks again!

I don't see (excuse the pun ) a reason to bring her in whilst she is otherwise fit and healthy

My tip is to be aware of her senses. So, when you approach, talk to her so she knows you are there and keep talking so she always knows where you are and so therefore doesn't startle. I tend to have my iphone playing in my pocket and sing along whilst also gabbling away to them both.

Candyfloss has an exceptionally heightened sense of smell (which is possibly something Mollie might get) and she therefore reacts very dramatically to anything different. An example is if I handle Dusk (her friend) first, she will then fight him because he smells of whatever is on me. She also reacts badly if I remove him from where they live.

When she fights him I literally just load them straight into a carry case and take them on a drive. This works two fold because it neutralises the emotions they are feeling, so she loses her hostility and gives him a chance to return to his normal smell whilst all snuggled up with her.

They are also housed separately from all my other bunnies for similar smell related reasons. I would also never try and bond them into a trio. They definitely need to be a pair.

that makes a lot of sense...*deep breaths* I feel a bit better now...I think your right, the best thing is to get my bum in gear, get the garage equipped and set out for two to live separately but alongside for a while, let her get used to the changes while I find a rabbit...I think its probably going to be a case of finding the right rabbit for her, not just finding one I like and hoping for the best (Although I'd never do that anyway)


Thank you! Panic ceasing...I'l appologise now Sky-O as theres a good chance of you recieving a stream of PM's with various blind rabbit queries

You're more than welcome to PM me

Shame you're not nearer me because I could have helped you find the right friend for her. I'm sure you'll be able to find one though Candyfloss divorced three others before she found Dusk. Dusk is a very nice bunny and inherently chilled. When she was panicked and anxious about him, he would just sort of stand in the middle going 'but what's she doing now?' and looking confused, as opposed to reacting to her anxiety and causing fights (which was what one of the friends did when she got bad- but he also had his own sight issues and probably just attacked the 'thing that moved').