Tofu had a check up last week with bloods, poop and x-rays done. At over 8 years old, he is considered a geriatric so it’s be advised that he gets regular check ups. Most things can be caught early on. He had a little bit of bladder sludge which was treated by expressing the bladder rather than the bladder flush he had previously.
We have a course of Metacam and we’re due back this weekend to see if the sludge has stayed clear.
Tofu should definitely increase his water consumption to help with is bladder issues. Tofu doesn’t drink water very much. His water bottle holds about 300 mls and never needs refilling. Ever. I tip it out and refill it when I feel like it’s needs refreshing, but it never goes to empty…not even close. My estimates is he drinks about 3 mls of water a day. Average. Most days he drinks nothing, some days he drinks a little. Online sources say that rabbits drink between 50-200 mls a day. The difference is huge.
Since our vet visit, I’ve been force feeding him 30-40 mls of water a day. It doesn’t sound like much but it’s a start. While he might drink water when encouraged, the bulk of it has to be forced and you can bet he doesn’t much care for that.
The vet mentioned that Tofu could stand to lose about 200 grams. So like millions of other foodies, Tofu is starting 2016 on a diet. For now, we are currently cutting out pellets completely. He was on a small amount per day of Oxbow Adult pellets which are good quality pellets, not the colourful junk that you find at the supermarket and pet stores. But if grass, hay and veges are better for him, then that’s the way we’re going. I don’t want him to starve but shifting a little weight could be good for him. He’s used to grazing all day and a good appetite is a good sign for a bunny.
Click here to see more editions of Tofu Tuesday.
Bunny Eats Design 
I remember very clearly when Dustie had to lose a few hundred grams…we had been leaving her pellets out all day because our previous bunny, Spunkie never over ate, but Dustie LOVED to eat so it eventually caught up with us. She was rationed to 1 small scoop in the morning and in the evening and she really looked forward to it. She was a good water drinker and she peed with such velocity that it made a divot in the litter and you could hear it whooshing out! Later on when she began to decline, we were often able to coax her to either eat or drink by making munching noises and pretending we were eating or drinking (yes, we did look silly!) She adored kale (too much isn’t good either) and alfalfa.
8 years is a good age for a bunny and Tofu seems to be aging well. I wish him many years of health, he has a great life with you and the Koala.
Aww, thanks for sharing your memories Eva. I love reading about Dustie and Spunkie. I can just imaging you making munching noises and pretending you’re eating and drinking. I will try that. I don’t mind if I look silly!
Tofu doesn’t get kale at all these days, calcium sludge has been linked with kale. That’s OK though, due to kale being so popular with the clean eaters, it’s ridiculously expensive anyway.
I might use a small amount of pellets as Tofu’s treat. He should take his meds with food and if his pellets came directly after eating, I think he wouldn’t mind so much.
I suspect they know a lot more about bunnies these days, particularly in areas where they are more popular pets. I wish Tofu all the best, it’s such a joy to see his beautiful face.
I’m glad to hear Tofu is doing relatively well for an old bunny. I can imagine it’s difficult to make a bunny drink more water. I’d hate to have to do that with my cat. BTW, I had a bunny dream the other night. I woke up from pain and after 3 hours awake I took muscle relaxants and painkillers. I then dreamed of a bundle of bunnies at the art college I used to go to.
There were about 20, big bunnies and small and a passel of baby bunnies that could fit in my palm and suckled at my fingers. Then the biggest male moved them out. They lined up in lanes and stopped when the light was red. He’d stomp his foot twice and they’d move out. The dream made me smile and made me feel better. 🙂 Hooray for bunnies.
lol. Bunny stomps are not to be taken lightly! Sometimes Tofu gets into a huff and stomps his feet for no reason we can discern. Usually we scoop him up for cuddles and he’s fine after that.
Awww, poor Tofu. 😦 I’m not an expert or anything, but it seems like it might help him to drink just a teeny bit more water if you rinse some of his greens in it and let them stay dripping wet. I don’t know if that would help anything or not since the amount of water would be really small, but… Tofu is so cute, even if he does need to lose a few grams! 🙂
That’s actually some we try to do. If I am handfeeding Tofu, I dip each piece of food into water before I pass it to him. I just love hearing the sounds he makes when he’s eating something really juicy! Parsley is the best for this as it holds a lot of water once dipped.
Yes, I know! They are so cute when they nibble things!
Aw, get better Tofu! And drink a lot of water! 😉
Still a legend bunny!