How to know when arthritis is a problem

[Alicia]

I took Izzy to the vets a couple of weeks ago and the vet said she had arthritis but he said not to change anything unless she gets worse. I feel like she's struggling with one of her legs a bit, not massively but she walks a bit strangely sometimes and sometimes sits with it out to the side a bit. She's still eating and running around but I'm concerned that she may be in pain. As I say this isn't all the time so I'm not sure whether to ask for metacam now, or to hold off because I know that once she's on metacam she probably won't come off it and I don't know if I want her to be on painkillers if it's not absolutely necessary. How do you know when?

 

[SJH]

I'd trial a low dose of metacam and see if there is any positive difference after a few days. If there is, it's clearly helpful. If not, discontinue.

 

[Santa]

I agree with SJH - I've previously been told that the easiest way to tell if a rabbit is in pain is to give it pain relief and see if its behaviour changes. I would say that she probably is in at least some discomfort if you've noticed a change in her, so some pain relief should soon show you whether it helps. Metacam is yummy so it's usually very easy to give and plenty of people give it long term without problem, so personally I wouldn't worry about her possibly having to stay on it; better that she's comfy if she needs it