House Rabbit Cateracts

[maxi]

:wave: Hello everyone I sorry that I have not been on for a while. I Dont know what to do and I need your Help, My house rabbit Harry is nearly 6 years old and is in very good health he has just had his Injections in June, but he has cateracts in both eyes I have got him Insurance but the vets says that a GA his heart would not take it, I would do any thing for Harry as I love him to bits , my husband says that if he lived another say 6 years would it not be worth haveing it done but I am fightered if i lose harry. He is eating and pooing and drinking and eating his hay and greens and is very happy I dont move things around, he is happy in his self, you know when you dont know what to do, I just want him to have a best life ever thank you for taking the time in reading this, have any one had an operation on there rabbits eyes for cateracts xx

 

[Fee]

Poor wee soul... i have no experience of a blind bunny.. But there are people on here with poorly sighted rabbits..

Maybe the only bit of advice is keep everything the same and dont move anything in his set up so he knows where everything is..

I hope you find advice

Lots of love
Fee x

 

[nessar]

I don't have any personal experience of this, but why do the vets think a GA would kill him? Has he had heart trouble or breathing trouble in the past?

If you do decide to go ahead with it, I would recommend asking to be referred to an exotic or rabbit specialist, as that will give him the best chance.

I believe with the operation for cataracts, they remove the corneas, meaning that the rabbit can still see but can't see properly like they used to, usually they can't focus but can still make out shapes and light, so they shouldn't bump into things.

I believe there is a form of cataracts that can be caused by the parasite E.C. in rabbits, and that treatment for E.C. can help in these cases, so it may be worth looking into this before going ahead with an operation. Treatment is basically rabbit-wormer for 28 days, which thorough disinfecting of their home on certain days.

 

[Pandora1]

Cattaracts

Hi

My bunny has cataracts in both eyes and I can tell his sight is not as good as it used to be. I put all his bowls etc around the outside of wherever he is so he doesn't bump into things. He is fine in himself, it is a shock getting used to them. However, he is 10 years old so he cant have anything done to them now, but he has just had a dental in June, at his age and pulled through it, so 6 years old is young. Maybe you should get a second opinion, you would if it was yourself.

Pandora

 

[JemimaH]

As others have said, 6 isn't that old unless he has other health concerns/conditions. If, for instance, he'd had a failed attempt at a GA before (i.e. stopped breathing whilst under or reacted badly) or a heart condition then that would be a different story, but I wouldn't have said 6 was too old for a GA myself.

Again, as others have said, it depends on your vet. Are they an exotics specialist or savvy with bunnies? I see a wonderful specialist for my bunny and I would always recommend you try and do the same, as some vets just aren't that knowledgeable with bunnies.

 

[Santa]

:wave: I have a bunny who has cataracts in both eyes, he was about 4 when he developed them. After much research both by myself and my vet (who spoke to a number of exotics and ophthalmic specialists), I decided that the best thing to do was...absolutely nothing. Apparently cataracts caused by EC tend to present in one eye, not both, tend to present in bunnies in less than 2 years old, and tend to be very uneven and not the classic 'cloudy' eye shape of a normal lens cataract. Richard Saunders' view when I spoke to him the other year was that if it is caused by ec, panacur is unlikely to do anything because the lens is completely sealed and enclosed in the jelly of the eye so the ec will have been there since birth. In Bertram's case it therefore seemed very unlikely to be due to EC, but more to do with the fact that he lacks pigment in his eyes and the lenses have therefore become damaged over time.

From the research we did, it transpires that cataract operations do not work well on bunnies, no matter how young. Their eyes do not recover well after the surgery and their sight does not tend to settle or restore well, so they are likely to end up not seeing much more than they can with the cataract anyway. It's not the GA that concerned me, more the prognosis of a good sight outcome from the surgery. So in the end I decided not to try it, as it seemed like a very big operation with very minimal if any likely benefit...and I live within an hour's drive of one of the most highly qualified exotics and ophthalmology specialist vets in the country!

Bertram is a perfectly happy little chap, he knows where everything is, he uses his whiskers a lot to navigate his way around and he has an astonishing sense of smell...he can sense dinner coming at 300 paces :lol:

 

[maxi]

House Rabbit cateracts

:wave: Hello Everyone thank you soo much for sending me messages I have decided to not have the operation on Harrys eys. He is happy healthy just had a full MOT at the vests in June had his yearly Injections and the vets says he is fine except for his eyes, I think it was me getting upset for him, Thank you Fee and Pandora but it was santa when I read your message about your rabbit Bertram it was you who made me decide not to have it done, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me ! Harry gets the best of every thing just like all our Rabbits on thie site, I just worry about him many Thanks again xx

 

[Pandora1]

rabbit cataracts

Good for you. Its good to get advice from someone who has been there. Good luck Harry.

Pandora

 

[maxi]

House Rabbit cateracts

:wave::wave: Thank you

 

[MightyMax]

:wave: I have a bunny who has cataracts in both eyes, he was about 4 when he developed them. After much research both by myself and my vet (who spoke to a number of exotics and ophthalmic specialists), I decided that the best thing to do was...absolutely nothing. Apparently cataracts caused by EC tend to present in one eye, not both, tend to present in bunnies in less than 2 years old, and tend to be very uneven and not the classic 'cloudy' eye shape of a normal lens cataract. Richard Saunders' view when I spoke to him the other year was that if it is caused by ec, panacur is unlikely to do anything because the lens is completely sealed and enclosed in the jelly of the eye so the ec will have been there since birth.

Similarly here. I have had one bunny who went blind very young, another who developed cataracts later, and another who's going blind in old age. No way would I put any of my buns through an op. Having said that, my buns were all halves of bonded pairs, and I do find it makes a difference to have a chum who can lead you to the food bowl and make sure you're OK

 

[dizzyg]

I know you've made your decision, so I just wanted to add...

My late bunny Eddie had cataracts in his middle age and we just left them. His quality of life didn't suffer and he could still find his way around the garden. He was single.

*lily* on here has a completely blind bunny called Louie who is single as well and he seems just fine! Rabbits have great hearing and sense of smell, so get on fine in my limited experience.

Wishing you and Harry many more happy years together!

 

[EmmaLouiseHolt]

Bunny cataract advice

:wave: I have a bunny who has cataracts in both eyes, he was about 4 when he developed them. After much research both by myself and my vet (who spoke to a number of exotics and ophthalmic specialists), I decided that the best thing to do was...absolutely nothing. Apparently cataracts caused by EC tend to present in one eye, not both, tend to present in bunnies in less than 2 years old, and tend to be very uneven and not the classic 'cloudy' eye shape of a normal lens cataract. Richard Saunders' view when I spoke to him the other year was that if it is caused by ec, panacur is unlikely to do anything because the lens is completely sealed and enclosed in the jelly of the eye so the ec will have been there since birth. In Bertram's case it therefore seemed very unlikely to be due to EC, but more to do with the fact that he lacks pigment in his eyes and the lenses have therefore become damaged over time.

From the research we did, it transpires that cataract operations do not work well on bunnies, no matter how young. Their eyes do not recover well after the surgery and their sight does not tend to settle or restore well, so they are likely to end up not seeing much more than they can with the cataract anyway. It's not the GA that concerned me, more the prognosis of a good sight outcome from the surgery. So in the end I decided not to try it, as it seemed like a very big operation with very minimal if any likely benefit...and I live within an hour's drive of one of the most highly qualified exotics and ophthalmology specialist vets in the country!

Bertram is a perfectly happy little chap, he knows where everything is, he uses his whiskers a lot to navigate his way around and he has an astonishing sense of smell...he can sense dinner coming at 300 paces :lol:

Hi, my 4 year old bunny has a mature cataract in one eye and the other is showing signs of going the same way. I’m agonising over the surgery decision. There seem to be risks in surgery but risks of leaving them too eg uivitus and glaucoma. Did your bunny get either of these things? If so, were they painful or is there anything that can be done to stop the pain? Your story gave me hope but I’m so scared of doing the wrong thing by her. Many many thanks. Emma x