Old bunny not able to rest comfortably?

[Rawr]

Sandy is 10 years old, approaching 10.5 years old. Over the past year and a half we’ve seen him age considerably fast, and now he’s definitely not as mobile as before.

I’ve noticed he no longer flops or lamb chops (I’m thinking it’s painful or he has arthritis) to rest. Instead he seems to lean on things or lean over things. For instance he sometimes falls asleep with his head in his food bowl. He also hangs his neck over the edge of his toilet (it’s a 4 inch high flat pan). That’s his current preferred position, where he sits in or outside of his toilet, and just hangs his head on the edge. It looks super uncomfortable and I wonder if it hurts his neck.

A few times he’s even leaned over his water bowl where his face would even fall into the water! After at least two incidents where he’d get startled and you could hear like he inhaled water, we took his water bowl away and keep him on the bottle now. Previously he’s never had problems with the bottle, but we initially figured an arthritic bun should be more comfortable with a bowl. However, in order to prevent him from falling asleep and drowning in his bowl, we decided it was better to take away the bowl and have him reach for his bottle instead. Instead we just keep that water bowl empty now so he has an extra surface to hang his head over.

Anyone notice this happen with senior buns? I want to try to find him a more comfortable sleeping solution but not sure what to do.

Photo for reference: https://i.imgur.com/dOw0nrR.png

Apologies for all the coco puffs in the photo. Sandy has lost all his litter training habits since a round of stasis last May.

[Doodler]

I am so sorry your guy can’t get comfy. Is he on any pain meds?

There is a YouTuber that has an older Dutch and they made a heat spot for their bunny and this includes a box with cotton balls taped around the edge for cushion because their bun would also sleep sitting up and they would use the box as a chin rest.

If you haven’t already I would talk comfort care with your vet and then look for something soft like that that they would be willing to use instead of the water bowl.

[Mm]

I felt very sad reading sandy’s Story since I have a 8.5 bun. I too have noticed her age considerably fast since she turned 8 last Jun. much more frequent stasis and now new problem with pointy molars. We are still dealing with the dental issue right now. I can image a similar life she is going to experience in the near future and I’m not sure if I’m ready for that.

I agree with long term pain med. it’s recommended in senior buns by many vets. My Tutu is not yet at that stage but it’s definitely an opinion once she’s there. Right now as a prevention to arthritis, she is getting oxbow joint tablet and Sherwood joint pill.

[FlemishDad]

My young bun loves to arrange and lie on towels. Maybe he could use a couple of towels on the floor to get comfy or rest his head.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I think you should talk to your vet about pain meds as well.

What is his flooring made of? Does he have any soft or padded place to sleep. Memory Foam bath mats or vet bed mats are a good option.

[Rawr]

Flooring is a plastic pad on top of our hardwood floor that’s lined with pee pads. He used to have foam mats as flooring until he started losing his potty training habits and it became crazy to clean up after.

I will bringing those mats back to put under his training pads as it should help how he stands. The main problem seems to be that his litter habits are terrible now so if we put any towels, mats, etc he just pees all over them. I will consider softening up his area now that we’ve resigned to the life of training pads.

The other problem seems to be that he can’t lie down maybe due to joint pain. The one time I did catch him lambchopped last month, I wondered if he could even get up. I brought out a papaya treat to tempt him and he struggled for so long to even stand up. I ended up  picking him up and setting him on his feet properly and almost cried to see him have to struggle through that. For now I’ve put his old water bowl back in his area now and flipped it upside down so he can rest his head on. Also, as he gets two daily feedings of pellets, I’ve brought back his exercise ball that he used to get to try to induce some movement. He can hop around, but I feel like every time he gets out of his area, he just leaves a total mess, so it’s a huge risk letting him anywhere near carpet. I feel bad because he used to have free reign in the house when we were home, but now he’s confined to his pen area due to his litter habits.

Sandy gets daily doses of joint support (Oxbow) but no special medication right now. I will speak to our vet to see if he has any recommendations. I just went back through some old videos (only a year or two ago) where he would happily hop around the house, flop, and wrestle with the broom. It’s sad to see how much he’s aged over the past year 

[tobyluv]

When one of my past rabbits started having trouble moving around, likely due to arthritis, Metacam helped him a lot. It made a big difference in his mobility and it surely made him feel better by taking away pain and inflammation.

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