Rabbit getting really old

[Gloves]

Hey all, new here. Hope this is the right place for this topic.

Looking for some tips for general bunny care, thinking of the inevitable. I have some specific questions but please feel free to share general tips as well if you have them.

Basically my (female) pet rabbit is getting on in years - she's around 10-12 years old. She's potty trained, but has started having little accidents on the rug the past few weeks and generally peeing outside of her box. Oddly, she's also spending a bit more time IN her box, just napping there. She's free to roam our apartment as she wishes, though she sticks to the carpet and her cage (a really big ferret cage). She's also having a harder time with cleaning herself so we've had to clean her bottom every so often over the past couple of months.

I'm curious also, with no experience in this sort of thing, what passing might be like. I want her to live her happiest life and she still seems like a happy rabbit; she hops around, she comes happily honking to me when I bring her some greens or a treat and she gobbles it up. She's been sick before and she's pretty clearly not actively sick or sad at this time. Is there anything I can do to detect "the end", or ease her pain if I see it coming? I don't want to do anything severe or premature.

Sorry if this is a bit of a novel, I might be rambling, it's an emotional thing to write about. Thanks in advance for any guidance!

 

[JBun]

Low sided litter box, cut down one side or you may be able to buy one made this way. I cut the front side of my rabbits down. I eventually started having to put down disposable puppy pee pads over the whole floor of her room as my old rabbits mobility lessened, she lost use of her hind legs, and she wasn't making it to the litter box anymore.



Have your rabbit checked for arthritis/spondylosis by a knowledgeable rabbit vet, and if present, possibly put on adequan or cartrophen injections, daily meloxicam, glucosamine, and/or msm( some of the possible treatment options). A member on here had really good results with adequan injections helping his old rabbit. My old bun was on twice daily meloxicam(0.3-0.6mg/kg), and that really helped her to act more comfortable moving around and to be more active than she would otherwise have been without it.

http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Arthritis
Medirabbit (arthritis treatment in rabbits)

https://www.vgr1.com/metacam/
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
When you say dirty bum, do you mean pee or poop? Generally a rabbits bum should stay pretty clean. When it isn't, that can mean there is a health or dietary issue that needs correcting. If it's pee because she's not making it into the litter box, getting her on meds for arthritis may help improve this.

When they start declining, you may see them being lethargic and reluctant to move around, not just from temporarily being sick but on an ongoing continued basis that can't be managed with the appropriate medications and pain management. Reduced appetite, increasing unmanageable medical issues , not excited to come eat treats. With my old rabbit a few days before she passed, she seemed to get confused about eating and drinking, and about what she was doing overall. Generally, if they are happy to eat and have treats, they are still doing well.

http://www.disabledrabbits.com/seniors.html

 

[JBun]

This was the set up I had towards the end of her life when she had limited mobility. She was old, she slept a lot, but she still happily came to the bowl for treats and liked snuggling with her bunny companion. So as long as they still seem to enjoy things and can be made fairly comfortable with the health issues that crop up with old age, as long as that quality of life is there, I don't see any reason why not to let them live out their life.

 

[Gloves]

Very helpful, thanks a lot! I've asked my wife to reach out to our vet. We've not actually seen the vet in a number of years because our bun has been very healthy and active for quite a while now. Beyond everything, probably time for a checkup regardless.

 

[Semac]

Hi Gloves,
I recently had to deal with two of my bunnies end of life. They were around the same age as your rabbit. I will become clear when it is time to do the humane thing. I had a vet come to my house to have them euthanized. It might be an idea to start looking for a mobile vet who deals with rabbits as trips to the vet are incredibly stressful.