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Cataracts

22 10:26:22

Question
We have a 4 year old Dwarf Holland Lop "Hoppy" who is an Indoor Rabbit. He recently developed cloudiness of his Right eye and quickly on the left eye. The Vet has said this is more than likely Cataracts. His eyes and ears  appear fine. We are treating him with Voltaren eye drops 4x/day and Ferbendazole 5omg/ml oral soln-1.2ml/daily.
He does not appear in any pain. We are careful not to move any furniture. His cage is left open for him to go in and out. He appears reluctant to go into his pet igloo (his favourite place).
 Will he regain any eyesight with the treatment.
What is the life expectancy of a Dwarf Holland Lop. My daughter loves him dearly.Is there anything else we can do?

Answer
Dear Wendy,

At the age of four, your bunny is still quite young.  Purebred rabbits tend to have more health problems than hybrids, and may have a somewhat shorter life expectancy because of that.  But I knew of at least one Holland Lop who lived to be 13!

I'm glad you have a vet you trust with your rabbit.  But no matter how good that person may be with general medicine, unless s/he is a board certified veterinary ophthalmologist, your bunny may not be getting the best diagnosis and treatment for the condition he has.  If your vet prescribed fenbendazole, then s/he probably suspects that the cataracts (if that's what they are) are due to a parasite known as E. cuniculi.  But this is actually one of the *least* common causes of cataracts in rabbits.  

Rabbits are prone to glaucoma, and this can cause blindness and cataracts if the proper medication is not given.  Voltaran is an anti-inflammatory drug, but it cannot be used to treat glaucoma.  And if your bunny is getting cataracts from glaucoma, then precious time is being wasted.

Please check the yellow pages or seek a referral for a good veterinary ophthalmologist who can look at your bunny's eyes and know for certain what the whiteness is, what is the probable cause, and what would be the most effective treatments.

I hope this will help.

Dana