Senior arthritic bunny. Need advice please

Firstly sorry I don’t post on here often. But I am hoping you lovely people might have some words of wisdom.

Our Netherlands dwarf x Rex is 11 years old (nearly 12) she is last of four rabbits. Now she is an only bunny she has become loving and affectionate ( she was evil to both her previous partners and the vet even agrees that Alex seems happier with human company lol)

So Alex is very arthritic now and gets very stiff. She is on metacam daily and has the whole garden to use as she pleases when she wants. Her indoor home ( 11ft by 16 ft summerhouse) has been modified to give easy access to everything and lots of blankets and sort bedding and loads of hay.

At the moment she looks terrible as she seems to be in a constant moult but we are worried about brushing her in case it hurts her. Also does anyone have suggestions of anything else we can do for her to keep her happy and comfortable in her later years. .... she comes in the house in the evening and hops from the sofa to my lap and falls fast asleep. She grooms me loads but no one else lol. She is so affectionate I want to do anything I can for her to make her life easier. Thanks in advance

Alex sounds a lovely bun. You seem very on the ball with her needs & I'm only slightly jealous you get lap cuddles. I have an arthritic recently widowed bun (who also weirdly looks brighter & healthier). Mouse is also going through a horrific moult - the only bad one I've seen her have. I use a tothbrush & try to gently tease tufts out when shes having a love. On top of twice daily metacam I feed oxbow joint support tabs & keep meaning to try Evening Primrose Oil. One thing Mousey loves is a heat source. Most of the year she is snoozing by the fire or radiator but she has snugglesafes all the time - she reallt enjoys a direct heat source. Like you I provide loads of soft flooring

She is jumping on the sofa still?

Two of the signs that Roo's arthritis was getting bad was that she didn't jump on the sofa anymore and that she didn't come out for exercise. She also stopped running towards me when I brought her food. After that she was put on some strong drugs and that gave her another 6 months being ok before things got bad for other reasons.

My only tips are that you could get her a comfy memory foam mattress, TheRange sell one for about £14. Or you could try some really soft bathroom mats, these are also good if incontinence is an issue.

Also make sure she has some long periods of peace time, where she can rest and sleep witihout humans getting her excited and running about unnecessarily.

When Roo was getting worse, another sign was that she was only active once per day instead of twice.

Stator said:

She is jumping on the sofa still?

Two of the signs that Roo's arthritis was getting bad was that she didn't jump on the sofa anymore and that she didn't come out for exercise. She also stopped running towards me when I brought her food. After that she was put on some strong drugs and that gave her another 6 months being ok before things got bad for other reasons.

My only tips are that you could get her a comfy memory foam mattress, TheRange sell one for about £14. Or you could try some really soft bathroom mats, these are also good if incontinence is an issue.

Also make sure she has some long periods of peace time, where she can rest and sleep witihout humans getting her excited and running about unnecessarily.

When Roo was getting worse, another sign was that she was only active once per day instead of twice.

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Hi thanks for the reply. No Alex doesn’t jump on the sofa we bring her in with her blanket on the sofa but she hops on my lap for grooming me and then snuggles down to sleep while we watch a film. She has a movie feast of carrot tops and dark green cavalo Nero (black kale) which she loves then my husband takes her out to her house where she hops straight in the little tray for a wee before starting to munch her tea and hay. She comes out in the garden in the mornings for a short while and then again around tea time as we are normally sat eating tea while she is sat munching the grass or sunning herself on the patio. I have asked my vet about upping her metacam but sadly I don’t think we will be able to keep her comfy much longer. We will enjoy her while we can though and do everything possible to keep her comfy

joey&boo said:

Alex sounds a lovely bun. You seem very on the ball with her needs & I'm only slightly jealous you get lap cuddles. I have an arthritic recently widowed bun (who also weirdly looks brighter & healthier). Mouse is also going through a horrific moult - the only bad one I've seen her have. I use a tothbrush & try to gently tease tufts out when shes having a love. On top of twice daily metacam I feed oxbow joint support tabs & keep meaning to try Evening Primrose Oil. One thing Mousey loves is a heat source. Most of the year she is snoozing by the fire or radiator but she has snugglesafes all the time - she reallt enjoys a direct heat source. Like you I provide loads of soft flooring

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Lol she has only got cuddly after losing her mate. I like idea of the toothbrush that should work lovely. As for the the tabs do they eat them willingly? Alex is a fussy madam (spoilt lol) we tried her on papaya and pineapple chunks before and some other bunny supplement but none of mine would ever touch them ��

bunnylover4 said:

Lol she has only got cuddly after losing her mate. I like idea of the toothbrush that should work lovely. As for the the tabs do they eat them willingly? Alex is a fussy madam (spoilt lol) we tried her on papaya and pineapple chunks before and some other bunny supplement but none of mine would ever touch them ��

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Mousey likes them a lot but when I read reviews people raved about them or the bun refused to eat them

Hello, it's good to hear from you again.

IME grooming arthritic Rabbits is something they actually enjoy. It can be a type of massage therapy which helps promote a better blood supply to muscle tissue. Also, being groomed can help Bunny psychologically as most Bunnies are very conscious of being clean and tidy. The only exception to the 'liking grooming' being Bunnies who hate any hands on care. But again IME even they seem to come around to the idea once they realise it can be a pleasurable experience

In non Covid times there are also other complimentary treatment options such as Acupuncture, Photobiomodulation (PBM Therapy) previously known as Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) and Physiotherapy. But because of how Vet consultations are being carried out at the moment, due to Covid 19 restrictions, these treatments may be less available

http://www.helpinghandsvetphysio.co.uk/rabbits/

https://www.thorlaser.com/pet/?utm_...8zMUhgLIHrCJ5Oj61w3NJ-xf1anlX-QBoCeAoQAvD_BwE

https://www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk/services/rehabilitation/veterinary-acupuncture/

If she's not mouling too bad you can try a darning/lint brush, like this https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewi...VTe7tCh0-yQBOEAkYASABEgJsCvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

It's a good way of getting lose hairs out of the coat and it doesn't cause any discomfort at all because it's just a piece of fabric.
When they are moulting properly though it's not that effective.