Sore hocks? in 12 year old

[mollydog]

I have a 12 year old Mini Rex.  She has had E.cunniculi and I have been able to keep that under control with my vets help.  She also had a prolonged bout of soft cecotropes that is almost completely better.  However now she seems to have something wrong with her feet.  I suspected sore hocks and found some of the pads of her back feet were a bit pink and possibly sore so I  changed all her flooring to fleece pads with Uhaul linings.  That seemed to help in that her back feet the hair grew back thickly over those pads but now her front feet pads seem to have the same problem.  I want to trim her nails more aggressively but the quick is very long and her nails are black so I don’t know how I can possibly cut them without cutting the quick and causing them to bleed.   I have read in other places in this forum to put down memory foam pads but I am not sure if this is the memory foam mattress pads or what.   I think she probably has arthritis in her feet as well because she has difficulty using the litter pan and I have to use puppy training pads under a fleece topper to absorb her urine.   I kept the Uhaul pads under the puppy pads and fleece topper for more cushioning but I can no longer use them to absorb urine because they are too bulky to wash as often as I need to,  The single layer of fleece with the puppy pad beneath works better.   Is it possible that there is too much cushioning?   It seemed like she is walking on a pillow and it doesn’t look comfortable although it helped the sore pads I think it could be uncomfortable in other ways.    Today I took out the Uhaul pad and put an egg crate type foam mattress pad under the puppy pad and fleece topper.  It looks  to be a  more stable of a surface.   Please tell me the best padding I should use under the puppy pad and fleece topper.   And also any tips on dealing with her long opaque nails.  Thank you.   

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’ve had great success with sore hocks and good quality memory foam bath mats. I bought the ones at Bed Bath and Beyond. The great thing about these mats is that they mimic the soft floor like mud and grass that bunnies are built for.

It’s very likely that she has arthritis at this age and it might be putting pressure on the sore spots. Walking on that much cushioning is probably difficult with arthritis.

I would talk to the vet about getting her some sort of pain management for the arthritis.

[Bunny House]

You can shine a flashlight on her nails to see the quick. That’s what I do with my girls since their nails are black.

[A Happy Herd of Hares]

So she should be ok, but what you should try is put a dab of Bag balm and wrap them with gauze and vet wrap so she can heal up the rest of the way. She’s 12?! Excellent job!

[jerseygirl]

Id love to see a pic of your girl, Bobo. It sounds like you’ve done a great job getting her hocks looking good again. That’s no small feat in a rex!

Im glad LPT saw this and suggested the bath mats. I think the added benefit with those is the outer lay is a soft, mircrofibre fabric that is non-abrasive. Just by chance, I did a search as I was trying find name of that outer fabric. I came across super size bathmats on groupon. That might be an option for you. Or a series of smaller ones that you can just switch out the soiled ones as needed.

Another option is VetBed with some puppy pee pads underneath. However, that might be a little more abrasive.

Do you think her incontinence is related to the EC or just general mobility issues? The urine makes the battle more challenging if the fur on her feet gets wet. That could certainly cause some fur loss.

If the quick in her nails is long, you might only be able to do small tip trims at a time. Usually when you press down with the clippers, they’ll pull back if you are too close to the quick. (She may do so regardless if she is feeling sensitive with her feet and/or some arthritis). You might only get away with regular tip trims, but the quick is supposed to reduce over time when the nails have frequent trims.
A strong light directed behind the nail definitely helps gauge where the quick is. There are even some clippers that have an in built light. I just use a small torch myself. There is always vet clinics or a rabbit rescue that offer nail trimming services if you find it difficult to do yourself.

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