Rabbit with Arthritis

[RJ2023]

I think my lovely 7 year old pet rabbit (Halley) is developing arthritis in her back legs and I am really sad about it for her and for me.

Has anyone else dealt with it?

I will obviously take her to the vet but if they prescribe pain relief I live on my own and the chances of being able to syringe that into her mouth every day is going to be impossible.

She lives in a two floor hutch in the lounge and I noticed about four months ago that she wasn't using the upstairs as much (where she always used to sleep) and now won't leave the hutch at all to run around. It's really sad.

Ah poor bunny, my 9 yr old dog has developed a bit of stiffness in her front legs and she yelps sometimes when she jumps off something, the vet advised keep her weight optimum which l do and she is regularly checked out and advice always followed and some OTC medication and some prescribed as necessary . I find it a sad reminder of their short lifespan compared to ours but nothing we can do about that except make their lives as happy and comfortable as possible. I have a lovely vet whom l trust implicitly and follow his advice as we go along.
See what the vet says, they can do so much these days, you never know that might be able improve things for her. Fingers crossed for you.

I had a rabbit, who is sadly no longer with us, but she did make 13 so she did very well bless her. She was on metacam for arthritis in her back legs and it did really help. Also it’s really sweet tasting so she used to come up to me and I would hold the syringe out, she would grab the end with her mouth herself and I would then give her the medicine. She loved it so it might be easier to give than you think and definitely worth a try.

I know it works with dogs and horses, so I was wondering whether there is such a thing as a turmeric supplement suitable for rabbits. Maybe if there is, that could be an option.

I was at the vets yesterday with my arthritic dog getting her regular acupuncture and the vet was telling me about an arthritic rabbit she had treated with acupuncture. She described how the rabbit ended up lying down and completely stretching out her back legs and her owner was amazed. Might be worth exploring, the acupuncture has made a miraculous difference to my dog.

Thanks everyone - I will take her to the vet and see if I can get her some metacam. It's good to know it might not be as difficult to administer as I am thinking.

My dog went through this and now takes a daily anti-inflammatory which has worked wonders.

Is this something that could be looked into (difficult I know to get rabbit to take a tablet, but might there be a liquid form of something similar?).