old rabbits health

Question
my rabbit is 7 years old and has always had problems with soft poo. he regulally has pro biotics, i only feed him the vet recomended burgess excel food and hay and always has access to water. the only further advice i have given by my vet is to put him down due to his age but untill now he has had a good quality of life. please can you recomend anything else to help his digestion?
many thanks

Answer
Dear Marie,

You definitely need a new vet if (1) he thinks a seven year old rabbit is old and (2) occasional mushy poop is a condition worthy of death.

What on earth kind of vet is this?!  S/he sounds ghoulish to me.  Run, don't walk to a new vet!

First, a seven year old rabbit is not OLD by any stretch of the imagination.  Our well-loved house rabbits live well into their teens with good care (and a bit of good luck and genetics).  He's middle aged at most, and could have many rich years ahead of him!

Second, chronic mushy poop is not always caused by diet.  Your bunny appears to be suffering from chronic cecal dysbiosis, a condition not uncommon in rabbits for several reasons.  You can read more about it here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/poop.html

Note that the most common reason for this condition is incorrect diet.  You can check here to compare what your bunny is getting with what is a healthy diet that promotes intestinal health:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

Cryptic health problems also can cause stress, and this can trigger GI slowdown in rabbits, resulting in cecal dysbiosis and messy bottom.  Anything from urinary tract infection, arthritis, or dental problems may be responsible.  Dental problems are especially common triggers of GI slowdown, especially in short-faced rabbits such as lops and dwarfs.  You can read more about this here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

You will need the help of a good rabbit vet to figure out the problem and treat it appropriately, and you can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I certainly would not trust a vet who wanted to euthanize him for something this simple!  Yeesh!  I doubt very much that such a vet would even *think* of checking the teeth, which is probably the #2 cause of chronic cecal dysbiosis.

In the meantime, here are some tips for keeping him clean until you can get him to a rabbit-savvy vet:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html

I hope this helps, and your bunny will be back to his old self soon!

Dana