Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Rabbits > Cataracts/health of a rescued rabbit

Cataracts/health of a rescued rabbit

22 10:26:29

Question
QUESTION: Hi Dana
I just rescued a rabbit that has been living in a chicken coop for his entire life. I was told that he is about 7-8 years old. Not sure what kind he is, as I am not very familiar with rabbits. He is all black, about 5 pounds ( total guess on the weight) and has about 8 inch long ears, (not floppy) if that helps any --or even matters.
Anyhow, he has a white film over about half of his left eye which I assume is a cataract. The poor little fellah was living off off chicken food ("egg layer crumbles", which I believe is made mostly of corn)and having to deal with bad water, constant dust, noise, very little sun, and typically nasty chickens/roosters, etc.
What all can I do for him at this point, other than give him the normal standard care and love?

Right now I have him in a wire cage, in the shade on the lawn, with a nice view and a nice gentle breeze blowing. I put a wood plank in there, so he can get off the wires, and I put a bowl of clean, cool water in there, a salt block, some romaine lettuce and some sliced up apple and some rabbit pellets. He loved the apple more than ADAM and EVE ever did!
I also put in a water bottle, the kind for rabbits with the little ball and tube mechanism but I am not sure he knows how to use it, hence the bowl of water which I am checking frequently to be sure it gets refilled if he tips it over. He seems very calm and curious about the outside world around him, and I am guessing he is very relieved to be out of that last environment. I plan to cover up the cage at night with a blanket, though where we live it does not get very cold at night, Not in the summer as it is right now anyway.
Is there any medication that can help with cataracts?
(I don't have a lot of money to spare or I would take him to a vet already.)
Instead,  I spent what I could afford on the items listed above.By the way, I assume the cage I have is too small, its about 40 inches by 40 inches long/wide, but for now it will have to do. Any advice you have for he and I will be greatly appreciated. I just want him to be comfortable and safe, and with a little luck, maybe even happy.
Thank you very much in advance.

ANSWER: Dear Chris,

Poor bunny!  I'm glad you were able to get him out of that bad situation.  But a small cage isn't really the best place for him, either.  If you really want to make BOTH of you happy, please go to:

http://www.rabbit.org/care/new-bunny-index.html

to find all you need to know about litterbox training and proper care of your new HOUSE rabbit.  This is really the best option, as rabbits can make wonderful indoor companions, as responsive and intelligent as a dog or cat.  Proper diet information can be found here:

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

and since he's been on such a poor diet until now, I'd recommend you get him on a healthy, balanced rabbit diet ASAP to ensure his future good health.  He's not old at the age of 7 or 8, as well cared for house rabbits are now living well into their teens.  But he'll need your help, and probably a good checkup from an experienced rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

The vet can tell you whether the white film is really a cataract or something else that might be treatable.  There are many different things that can cause lesions in/on the eye (e.g., a corneal injury, which isn't unlikely, given where he came from) and this could be treatable by an experienced vet who has the expertise to know what's wrong and how to fix it.

I hope this helps, and thank you for being his saving angel.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your advice Dana.

We took the sturdy little guy into the vet and he received some antibiotics -- via eye ointment for what turns out to be ulcerated corneas.
Poor guy, apparently it's a pretty painful condition.
We will continue to administer the medication 3 times a day for at least a week, and hope that it clears it up for him. Not sure how that happened to him, but I am guessing a chicken kicking grit at him is a likely cause. As you well know, Rabbits should NOT live in chicken coops, and I am very glad he is out of there.
(and no doubt- so is he)
We also had his nails trimmed, and a general checkup including testing/looking at his droppings to see if there were any bad things in there, which there wasn't. And yes, it turns out he also has cataracts, one eye much worse than the other, and so it's likely that he is almost fully blind in one eye but the other eye is more or less AOK.

Overall, the vet felt that aside from his eye conditions, he was in amazingly good shape, and at the proper weight, with healthy fur, great teeth and good energy. And she praised him for being such a durable and courageous rabbit.

Just FYI and for other readers -- the total cost of the visit/checkup including nail clipping, medication and the lab work was 94 dollars, and the vet was VERY nice, very helpful and very capable.

He is now in a larger area in a very nice sunny/shady spot, with a nice variety of proper food  in the correct daily amounts, along with plenty of Timothy hay, toys, bedding material, fresh water, playhouse, litter box, and nice fresh grass  under his feet to munch on as well.
When he recovers from the corneal ulcers, he is off to meet and live with a very sweet female bunny-- (if all goes well when they meet in a neutral location)
His potential new bunny friend has been fixed and I hope they decide to bond and become friends for life.

Thank you VERY much for your help and advice. Your encouragement definitely prompted me to learn more about the proper care of a rabbit and to seek out medical attention to him without delay.

I hope that pleases you to learn of this, as it should.

All the best to you and yours,

Chris

Answer
Dear Chris,

Thank you for sharing the wonderful news about the rescued bunny's great change of fortune!  I hope he'll be in top shape soon, in time to meet his new bride.

He will need to be neutered before the introduction, since he will likely mount the female mercilessly, even if she's spayed.  Since she's spayed, she will be more aggressive than an intact female in rejecting his advances, and this can foment serious fighting.  So neutering is a must for this to be a happy bond.

For tips and tricks on bonding the two lovebirds, please see the articles here:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=00062824-sp00000000&sp-q=bonding&user=enter

Good luck, and thank you for being the bunny's saving angel!

Dana