Senior bunny and dementia?

[Ali925]

Hi all.  I was here back at the end of December to ask about my holland lop Blu and his ear infection/ head tilt.  Well we’ve treated everything but here we are almost 3 months later and he is still only about to turn to the left when moving about. He is still pretty strong, and can take a step or two now in the forward direction, but he mostly only goes in the one direction.  His head tilt is different where it isn’t affecting his head at all, just his body turns to one direction,  his head has always remained upright.  His head scans to the left and back when he is just sitting there and he still has nystagmus.  His legs are under him in a way that he can balance himself upright but they aren’t in the normal fashion due to his left lean.

Anyhow, I am wondering if anyone has experience with senior bunny, very senior, he’s 13, and dementia?  I know the ear infection caused some neurological effects, but it seems now they are permanent even though his ear is healed?  His only interest is getting food and eating like he’s never eaten before.  I know that’s not uncommon for bunnies 😉 but moreso of an obsession where he goes nuts if I am near like I have another meal for him, and not the way he always was.  I am happy for this that he keeps his strength up considering he’s only a little over 2lbs and still dealing with some medical issues, but I wonder if he thinks he hasn’t eaten yet? and forgets?  There isn’t really much to do but keep caring for him as is, but I just wonder if anyone with a very elder bun has any experience with this.  He has been confined to a small space since his ear infection/head tilt, since he still mostly spins when he tries to get anywhere and I don’t want him hurting himself, but he just doesn’t seem to act like he knows what is going on anymore since the onset of symptoms in Dec.  Maybe it’s his eyesight too.  I will put food down and he knows it is there and he will go in the total opposite direction and take forever to finally find it.  He also has completely lost his litterbox habits since the sickness and he just pees wherever.  He always had perfect litterbox habits before this.  He still has good movement and all so I don’t think it’s an arthritis issue, but also perhaps age or brain related?  I didn’t think he would make it this long after all we went through in December and January but he is just a fighter and won’t give up.  It just seems so sad for me to watch knowing how he must struggle every day and can’t hop about like normal.

Thanks for any input you have.

[DanaNM]

This sounds like it could be EC. My senior started showing symptoms around age 12. Circling/spinning and scanning was a main symptom for him. Ear infections do not cause neuro affects, but EC definitely does. I recommend talking to your vet about this. EC tests are unreliable, but many vets will treat on suspicion. Treating my bun helped a lot, he stopped circling!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Ali925]

Thank you! I had thought of EC when he first fell ill, but the my vet didn’t think it so with the symptoms he presented. His ear infection (staph was identified) was severe and the lean was to the affected ear side, so it made sense. I know there can be secondary infection of EC on top of it but he doesn’t seem to show many signs of that.  He also had and still has white discharge from the left nostril and sneezing, etc, upper respiratory infection that seems to be chronic now. I’m beginning to think much of this is age related.  What I do realize now is that he may have been acting this way because he can’t see! I knew his sight was not great anymore but I never realized how his eyes looked different than they used to. He either is going blind or is from what looks like cataracts on both eyes. I feel so dumb for not noticing but I’ve been so wrapped up in his other daily issues. Would make sense that he struggles to find and use the litter box anymore and why he often runs the other way when he smells and hears his food being put down. Anyhow thank you so much for your response.

[DanaNM]

Cataracts can also be from EC! But also from age, as you said. It can be very difficult to tease thing apart but I would mention it to your vet again. The treatment for EC is generally very well tolerated.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

Not being able to see can definitely make them confused. They might go toward your shadow on the floor, for example, instead of toward you. Cataracts can be due to age or EC. Typically, the difference is age-related cataracts develop slowly over time. EC cataracts develop quickly.

[Ali925]

Thank you so much DanaNM and LBJ10 for both of your replies.  I am aware of EC related ones but I am certain he was like this way before symptoms started, perhaps years?  They didn’t change quickly, I totally missed it because I didn’t know that’s what would make his eyes look that way until I started doing some research.  I usually feel like I’m very informed on what’s going on and I feel so dumb that I missed that!  Also my vet has never mentioned it in his well visits but I think because I never mentioned any issues or had questions about his vision, I thought oh he’s just acting old!  I know rabbit’s vision isn’t great to begin with anyhow.  Now that I know this it makes perfect sense that he seems so confused.  He will go the wrong way frantically sniffing for what he knows I brought for him, etc.  I even shined a light at his eyes and he didn’t react.

This is how they appear for reference; both eyes look the same.

 

[LBJ10]

Hmm… just looking at the photo, I’d say that is more than just old age. Cataracts caused by age tend to be the posterior kind. Have you had his eye pressure checked? Cataracts like that can lead to glaucoma.

[Bam]

I agree this looks like a bit more than “just” the typical cataracts you see in (virtually all) aging pets.

There would be little harm in treating for ec. A very rare side effect is bone marrow suppression. I recently chatted with one of our old forum members whose bun got bone marrow suppression during treatment with a bendazole. For this bun it just meant stopping the bendazole for one week, then his values had normalized and he was put back on it because his other EC symptoms had improved so much on the med.

I recognize what you said about running in the wrong direction. I had that happen with a dog who was then diagnosed with neuro borreliosis (Lyme disease affecting the brain, esp the  balance organs and hearing). She got well with antibiotics, which proves the brain can heal 🙂

The cataracts wont go away with EC meds though, but they can stop the damage from progressing.

 

[Ali925]

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it.  I will be calling my vet tomorrow, they’re closed on weekends.  I had him there at the end of December at the start of all this, and I asked if it could be EC and he didn’t think so at all.  Now maybe it happened secondary from fighting the ear infection/respiratory infection that he started with.  So he was on baytril and ear drops until the infection cleared.  But all in all the baytril was continued for about 2 months with no improvement on the circling or nystagmus.  The ear seemed better though.  Then I was told they would call to follow up on his progress and I never heard back once I said he was about the same.  They said they’d get back to me if the vet had any more suggestions, but I had already pressed him at the last visit I had to explore anything else, EC treatment, a different antibiotic, etc etc but he felt there wasn’t much more to try in his experience.  He assumed it must be damage that cannot be undone from the extensive ear infection.  I will ask again about EC given the situation with his eyes and unresolved circling/nystagmus.  Blu doesn’t present like the classic case so I guess he assumed it couldn’t be.  Thanks again so much for your input.  It’s so hard seeing him like this.  He has always been so incredibly healthy his whole life, never acted old even as he aged!  Just these last few months 🙁  I have been so lucky I know.

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