Loss of sense of smell?

[dragontattoo]

One of our rabbits, Dora, is just over 11 years old. In the past few months she's aged really quickly. We've taken her to the vets for a full check over and the vet couldn't find anything particularly wrong with her.

She seems to now be blind at least in one eye, poos everywhere - whenever she gets up from being sat somewhere for a while, there will be a pile of poos (the vet said this could be an age-related muscle loss thing), sometimes doesn't eat cecotropes, eats far less, and far slower. I get that all of this can be age-related, but one part of it really confuses me - we'll try and give her a treat / food and she has no idea it's there unless we specifically wave it in front of her better eye. Before, she'd find food right in front of her nose but now it's as if she doesn't know it's there at all. For example if she's eating her pellets in a bowl, the pellets on the left side of her bowl will be left untouched - we need to rotate the bowl so she gets the rest of them.

Is it possible for a rabbit to lose their sense of smell, as I assume that's what's happening here?

 

[Shimmer]

11 is a really good age. She's probably arthritic now, hence not being as agile or eating all her cecotropes. Is she on any treatment for arthritis?
Not sure about eating the pellets from one side of the bowl. Could be a sight thing, or maybe a dental issue that she eats pellets better on one side?

 

[dragontattoo]

11 is a really good age. She's probably arthritic now, hence not being as agile or eating all her cecotropes. Is she on any treatment for arthritis?
Not sure about eating the pellets from one side of the bowl. Could be a sight thing, or maybe a dental issue that she eats pellets better on one side?

Thanks, we're really lucky to have had her and Diego for as long as we have - he's just a few months older and has cataracts. They're both on a trial of Loxicom to see if it helps, we're struggling to see what difference it's making at the moment but when the trial ends we may notice, so we'll have to keep an eye out.

Maybe it is just a comfort thing, if it's not comfortable to eat on that side she may avoid it. The vet couldn't see anything wrong with her teeth but putting them out at this age to check is a worry - but on the other hand you don't want them in pain! Ugh.