Worried about Kenco U/D He's gone

I am worried about my little old man Kenco. He is 8 and a half. He has been losing weight over the last few months and this is usually a sign of him needing a dental. He last had a dental in around September time. We started to feed him and Buttercup separately, and been giving Kenco lots more pellets than usual, softened down with water. More recently we have also been adding Protexin Profibre to these as well to help put weight on and help his tummy.

We booked him in for a dental last week with our regular vet and she took some spurs off from him but needed to refer him to a more specialised bunny dental vet because his mouth is so uneven due to malocclusion. Last week his weight was 1.7kg and he is usually 2.4kg. I've also noticed that as well as losing weight all over he seems to have lost muscle tone around his back end. So I wanted him to be tested again for EC. He had been positive in the past. He has always had trouble with urinating so I do sometimes wonder if, despite treatment, we never completely eradicated the EC? Anyway last week she couldnt get blood for him - both she and we were in a rush so he is going back on New Year's Eve for a follow-up and she will do blood tests then.

So today he has had a thorough dental and his teeth taken right down with the specialist dental vet. He will go back to see this vet in a month's time. She agreed the priority was to get weight on him - he has gone up to 1.8kg which at least is a tiny step in the right direction. Poor little thing.

The other worry I have about him is that his eyes have started to become more blue/pearlised, in particular his left eye seems to be half-covered by a pearly-blue coloured mist and I am now worried that he is going blind in that eye, which again is making me think EC? But of course could just be down to his old age.

Its unbearable seeing my little man aging and getting old. But more than anything I just want him to be comfortable and have good quality of life. I can't bear the thought of him being disorientated, cold and hungry. He has a large kennel with Buttercup and a snugglehouse in one corner with lots of straw where they snuggle at night-time (and during the day), we don't move things around in their house so that he can keep familiar with the layout.

Please does anyone have any tips or advice for how we can keep Kenco comfortable and happy as he moves in to old age? I am so worried for him, he seemed so young and lively still in the summer and this deterioration seems to have just happened in the last couple of months.

I am so sorry to hear about all of the problems Kenco has been having. Unfortunately I am not much use with what the cause of his weight loss and eyes could be. I can only think in relationship to when my cat was elderly and her back legs became thin and changes in her eyes. To me it sounds more like old age but hopefully someone experienced will have a better idea.

At least he has put on a little weight, that is always a good sign.

Hope there is more positive outcomes in the new year.

Bless him I can't help on most of it, but my heather who is nearly 10 has been having a pearly blue haze over her eyes. I've just had a referral to an ophthalmic expert and he has diagnosed keratoconjunctivitis sicca - commonly known as 'dry eye'. Apparently it is very uncommon in rabbits but I guess as they live longer, there is more chance of tear production malfunctioning just like in us hoomins. One of the reasons the surface looks dull is because there isn't a tear film to keep it shiny and lubricated so it doesn't reflect the light, and the dryness also causes diffuse surface ulceration. Has Kenko had his eyes checked for ulcers? It might not be anything similar of course, but given his age I thought it worth a mention.

Hope your little one is ok and that he picks up now he's had his dental x x

Thank you both, I really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. Theo has kindly suggested trying him with some porridge oats to help with the weight issue so will try him with some of those tonight alongside his usual pellet 'soup' and Protexin. Yes at least his weight is going in the right direction and he hasn't lost any more.

Santa thank you for explaining about the eye condition that Heather has and about your referral to the opthalmic vet. I'm sorry to hear about Heather's eye problems. Its definitely worth me mentioning all these things to the vet when we go back on Monday for him and if she thinks its appropriate then I will ask about a referral to an eye specialist because if there is anything that can help prevent further degeneration of his eyes it has to be worth it. But it may just be old age and not something we can stop in its tracks. We will see.

Thanks again both xx

Hope you have a good Christmas Helen, and all your lovely furries. Glad you have Theo on hand.

No problem - although he did use all his whizzy ophthalmic equipment to have a really thorough look, it was actually easily diagnosed in the end - the referral vet used fluorescein strips instead of drops to do the normal ulcer check, and it left a perfect square at the top of her eye where she doesn't have tears to move it across the surface. He then used the schirmer test to assess tear flow and there was none from one eye, and about 50% less than there should be from the other. So it may be something your own vet is able to rule out - I just think it's one of those things that has been so uncommon that it isn't necessarily looked for. While not curable, it's easily treated too, requiring using artificial tears several times a day.

Good luck, hope he is ok x x

Sending vibes for Kenco.

Poor Kenco, and poor you - I know how stressful it can be looking after a bunny who is losing weight :-(

Hopefully he will continue to put on weight though Totally agree with the porridge oats they are good, also barley rings are supposed to be good for weight gain... I also fed mine pureed organic fruit for babies (organic) which you can get in supermarkets. Not sure if this had an impact but worth a go, Honey loved hers

Good luck, and let us know how you get on xx

Thanks again BYB and hope you have a lovely Christmas too!

Thanks Santa, that is good to know. I will ask my vet all about diagnosing eye problems when we go and see what she suggests. It is good to know that your buns' condition is treatable, I meant to ask. Hopefully if it is something that can be treated as well it may stop it progressing, or at least slow it down.

Hurricanhoney, thank you.

Honey Monster, thank you too, we gave him some dry porridge in a bowl next to his pellet soup this evening but he didnt touch them - I'm wondering if we should mix them in to his pellet soup in the morning? THanks for all the suggestions x

helgalush said:

Thanks again BYB and hope you have a lovely Christmas too!

Thanks Santa, that is good to know. I will ask my vet all about diagnosing eye problems when we go and see what she suggests. It is good to know that your buns' condition is treatable, I meant to ask. Hopefully if it is something that can be treated as well it may stop it progressing, or at least slow it down.

Hurricanhoney, thank you.

Honey Monster, thank you too, we gave him some dry porridge in a bowl next to his pellet soup this evening but he didnt touch them - I'm wondering if we should mix them in to his pellet soup in the morning? THanks for all the suggestions x

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I would definitely serve them soaked as they do swell up in the tum which can cause problems for some Rabbits

Hope Kenco gains some weight and that there is nothing too serious going on for him.

Jack's-Jane said:

I would definitely serve them soaked as they do swell up in the tum which can cause problems for some Rabbits

Hope Kenco gains some weight and that there is nothing too serious going on for him.

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Ah ok, I was wondering, we will soak them in with his pellets then and see how he gets on.

Thank you Jane, I hope so too x

If he will take them soaked then go for it

Honey turned her nose up if they were soaked but loved them dry and they never caused her problems, as far as I am aware anyway

I always soak porridge oats too, I worry that they could swell up, absorb too much moisture out of bunny's gut and send them into stasis, so I don't think it's worth the risk. I use hot water and then leave it for a few minutes to cool down until it's a sensible temperature (but still a little warm at this time of year). Santa used to like hers with a slice of mashed 'nana, although it is really important to only give this to buns who are used to it and who need to gain weight, as all these high carb items can cause more problems than they solve if you're not careful.

Here you can see Dudley enjoying his herby oat porridge (clicky to show vid)

Honey Monster said:

If he will take them soaked then go for it

Honey turned her nose up if they were soaked but loved them dry and they never caused her problems, as far as I am aware anyway

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Morse has his 'raw' too, but I only feed a very, very small amount to allow for 'in tummy swell'

Sending vibes for Kenco, and thinking of you. xx

Santa said:

I always soak porridge oats too, I worry that they could swell up, absorb too much moisture out of bunny's gut and send them into stasis, so I don't think it's worth the risk. I use hot water and then leave it for a few minutes to cool down until it's a sensible temperature (but still a little warm at this time of year). Santa used to like hers with a slice of mashed 'nana, although it is really important to only give this to buns who are used to it and who need to gain weight, as all these high carb items can cause more problems than they solve if you're not careful.

Here you can see Dudley enjoying his herby oat porridge (clicky to show vid)

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Aw bless Dudley, such a cute video!!! I don't think we will give a lot of oats then as I think he is doing ok with his soaked pellets and the Protexin which we only added in the last week or two as we had to order it in, but I will definitely add a sprinkling of them soaked and see how he gets on with that.

Thanks for all the advice and wishes for Kenco xx

Sending lots of vibes for Kenco xx

Thank you x

Sorry to hear he's having problems. Given his history, symptoms, and the unreliability of blood tests, personally I'd treat immediately for EC too as a precaution..... :wave:

When Homer lost weight i started to give him porridge oats in water. About half a teaspoon with boiling water and let it cool right down. Try it with different consistencies. He loved it and had jiggy hips when he ate it. I think I started with 1/4 teaspoon.

He was 8.5 when one of his eyes started to go cloudy. Our vet said it was linear cataracts and best left unless it got any worse as it was probably old age. We did the same as you and left everything where he knew it was.