In my vaccination post, I mentioned that some issues had come to light with certain bunnies whilst having their vaccination & Mot.  Well, my dear Daisy was one of the bunnies where a problem has been confirmed.
The last few weeks before the vet visit I had started to notice that Daisy’s eyes were looking cloudy & I suspected she may be starting with cataracts. The other issue I noticed was a slight change in her behaviour. Normally, when I open her indoor pen gate, she is out & about for a good few hours regularly taking naps in between.  However, Daisy stayed in the pen most of the time napping & only occasionally coming out for a quick mooch about but then straight back to her pen for a snooze.  Daisy is going to be ten years old in October so a few more naps wasn’t really a surprise but the lack of moving about a lot was, she isn’t really an ‘old’ ten year old.
Thinking she may be starting with a bit of arthritis & stiffness I decided to put her on painkillers for two weeks & see if it made any difference.  The two weeks passed & there was no difference.

Armed with the information I had gathered, I discussed her issues & the vet was able to confirm she was at the early stages of having cataracts.

I explained about her reluctance to come out of her pen & the painkiller trial.  It was thought that maybe Daisy is losing her confidence a little as she cannot see just as clearly as she could.  We don’t know this for sure but we cannot find any other explanation. All of my bunnies, except Toffee, who have had cataracts in the past have lost confidence but generally not so soon & nor whilst they still have reasonable vision. I am convinced Toffee is so different because of the way Poppy looks after him & gives him reassurance, unfortunately, Apollo is totally unaware of Daisy’s needs.

I can’t blame Apollo for being unaware as I imagine his early life, there wasn’t much social interaction & of course being a young boy, he’s too busy having fun himself.

There are consequences for Daisy not moving around much & that is sitting in one position for too long is causing poo, hay & shredded paper to stick to her.

The above photo also shows to me Daisy is sitting to one side & I am considering doing the painkiller test again as maybe she is experiencing some pain.  Her actual poo is normal, there are no soft & abnormal poos. Last weekend it had got a bit worse so she was given a leg bath by her Auntie C whilst I held her. The day after she seemed happier as there was a little massage involved. So maybe there is some pain? As a precaution I have also started to add probiotics to her water just for good measure.

To date, Daisy’s messy foot & rear have got no worse so I am monitoring closely for now.  It’s no fun getting old!