All posts filed under: Bunny behaviour

Tofu Tuesday: 10 tips for looking after a blind rabbit

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Uh oh, another surgery So…last week, Tofu’s corneal ulcer went from completely healed to a brand new corneal ulcer followed by a very bad infection. A corneal ulcer is just a fancy word for a scratch on the surface of the eye. With a blind eye that is constantly open, it is prone to things poking in there and scratching the surface which can quickly lead to infection. By quickly, I mean quickly! On Thursday it was decided by the vet he must have his eye removed (enucleation).

Tofu Tuesday: Bunny shaming #2

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Tofu the bunny has been more active. We thought that he didn’t jump up onto the couch and bed because he was getting old, but after surgery, he has been  jumping up onto the couch. On Friday we returned to the vet for a follow-up visit. They were pleased with his progress. One vet thought she recognised a picture of Tofu on the internet. She showed me the picture of this bok choy monster and yep, that’s him. The team at Lynfield Vets practice rabbit sorcery. They do amazing work and we are comforted by the fact there are always other rabbits in the waiting room when we visit. Want to see more bunny shaming? See here.

Update on Tofu

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For those that do not follow Bunny Eats Design on Facebook, here is an update on our heart-wrenching week. On Monday, we took Tofu to the vet. He stayed a few days while they ran tests. X-rays showed a marble-sized bladder stone which must be removed via surgery. The stone would be causing him pain and must be removed as soon as possible. Infection Because he also has a bladder infection, the infection must be cleared before they can operate. As you can imagine, infections and surgery are not friends.  Weight loss While Tofu has always been a little overweight, he has lost 200 grams since the last time he was weight. For a rabbit, that’s quite a large weight loss.  Glaucoma The vet was also concerned about one of his eyes. While Tofu already has cataracts in both eyes and cannot see, he may be developing glaucoma in his left eye. If this happens, the eye must be removed. This will be further costs further down the track. Decisions The tests, x-rays, surgery, meds …

An update on our little geriatric

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I just got a call from the vet and Tofu will be staying another night at the animal hospital. He has been diagnosed with bladder sludge (basically like bladder stones only they haven’t formed stones). His blood and poop have been tested and given the all clear. One tear duct was blocked and now clear. He has been washed and tomorrow he will get his bladder flushed of  sludge. So this is fairly good news and a relief. Can’t wait until we can get him home tomorrow but The Koala and I are confident that he is in great hands. Thank you to all the well wishers and we felt each and every one of them.

Tofu Tuesday: Bunny shaming

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You may have seen dog shaming or cat shaming, but have you seen bunny shaming? When The Koala and I went out of town for a few days last week, Tofu found his way up onto a chair to a chest of drawers and to this grass bunny gifted to us by Cassie and Flatpac of Food My Friend. Shame bunny, shame. It’s hard to shame a bunny though. They don’t have the same sense of guilt that dogs have. Sorry Cassie and Flatpac.

Tofu Tuesday: Tofu vs Thyme

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I didn’t witness this, but The Koala reported it back to me and I thought Tofu Tuesday fans would enjoy this too. I had planted a thyme plant in a plastic trough and left it on the edge of the deck about 2 feet up from ground level. Tofu the bunny, with terrible sight due to cataracts in both eyes, still has an excellent sense of smell. The very next day he used another, lower pot as a stepping stone to nibble at the overhanging thyme springs. Then he proceeded to pull the whole plant – and the dirt that goes with the plant – out and on top of his head. He continues eating. Unfazed. Hilarity ensues. I wish there was video or photos.

Tofu Tuesday: Blindness diary. Week 4

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Week 4 Even with his blindness, Tofu still spends 12 hours a day outside in the garden. He is eager to go outside in the mornings and runs to the back door to be let out. He sometimes comes inside on his own in the evenings, and equally, sometimes needs to be fetched. Tofu is jumping up onto our bed and couch and continues to move around the house like he owns the place. He still doesn’t sleep on our bed like he used to, but that’s no biggie. He prefers to sleep on the floor next to our bed. One time he went to jump onto the couch, but underestimated the height and fully bailed. I swear he looked embarrassed. Failing to reach the couch could happen due to his blindness or could just be something that happens. We once had a bunny named Sharmi and a couple of times, she bailed when jumping up onto things. One time Sharmi was walking along the top of the couch and fell off the back. She was …

Tofu Tuesday: Blindness diary. Week 3

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Week 3 Tofu is starting to jump up onto the couch and up to our bed on his own. Either he is getting very confident with his blindness or he has learned how to use what little sight he has. He runs to the back door most mornings now, eager to be let outside. Our feijoa tree is in full fruit so it’s possible he’s been dreaming of feijoas all night and is eager to see if any more fruit has dropped. It’s really hard for me to find feijoas in our backyard as our grass is long and the feijoa are green. But Tofu manages to find them fine as they smell wonderfully perfumy and sweet. Tofu has come back inside on his own a few times in the evenings, but usually he needs to be fetched. When we bring him inside, it takes him a little while to figure out where in the house he has been put down. But once that has been figured out, he’s pretty much good to go. Check out …

Tofu Tuesday: Blindness diary. Week 2

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Week 2 Before blindness, when Tofu was offered a grape or a piece of carrot, he took it firmly between his bunny teeth and ran away with it to somewhere he deemed “safe”. His instinct tells him the treat is too much of a good thing and he doesn’t trust us enough to eat his treat near us. Now that he cannot see, this impulse is a bit messed up. He recognises the treat, lunges for it, misses, takes off, realises he hasn’t got the treat, frantically returns for the treat, while still ready to flee. If he could just calm down and look for the carrot methodically, he’d find it. It’s a concerning how hysterical he gets over a piece of carrot. When there is just the three of us home, it is familiar. The sounds of the the house are regular and objects are where they should be, Tofu gets around fine. When there are lots of people in the house, random feet and bags in unusual places, Tofu gets disorientated. He can’t …

Tofu Tuesday: Blindness diary. Week 1

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Week 1 First week of blindness in both eyes, we all had to adapt. I admit, the first few times I saw him run into things, it was a funny sight but now it breaks my heart. However, blindness doesn’t stop Tofu from running at full speed. What a brave wee soul. A common collision is when he’s running at full speed down our hallway and we have a clothes horse set up. Even with perfect vision, a bunny would have trouble seeing the skinny legs of a clothes horse and the problem is that the clothes horse is not always up. It’s not in his memory so he forgets to put it in his mind’s eye. If we can find a new place to put the clothes horse, we could eliminate this problem. Tofu’s “raisins” can be found littered around outside his hutch. We keep his litter tray inside his hutch and most time he goes to the toilet in there. It’s hard to say if it’s blindness or if he is marking out …

Tofu Tuesday: Blindness diary – Intro

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“Love was kind, for a time Now just aches, and it makes me blind This mirrors haunts, by eyes too bright That I can’t see the others in my life” – MUMFORD & SONS, Lover’s Eyes In January this year, we noticed a cloudy white cataract appear in one of Tofu’s eyes and few months later, another cataract formed in his other eye. We took him to the vet were given eye drops. Eye drops neither cured it or harmed it, but helped the weepiness some. Now that Tofu is blind in not one, but both eyes, things are a little different in his world. The cause Cataracts (also known in bunnies as moon eyes) cause vision to become cloudy and can result in blindness. Since the size of Tofu’s cataracts fluctuate, his eyes are still searching for light which means he may see light, but the picture is severely impaired. Cataracts can appear with age and Tofu is 4 years old. While rabbits can live over 10 years, it’s hard to say how old the average …

Tofu Tuesday: How to give bunny a bath (and a recipe for a bunny burrito)

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Rabbits spend much of the day grooming themselves, but as they get older or rounder or sick, they may have trouble keeping their bottoms clean. When Tofu’s bum gets messy, he gets a bath. We usually bathe Tofu in the bathroom sink and it’s a two person job. But recently I bathed Tofu in the bath and found that it can easily be a one person job. Important: Get everything ready before you start. Never leave a rabbit unattended in water. Here are detailed instructions on how I bathe Tofu. Every bunny is different. Tofu doesn’t panic around water, he panics if he feels unsecure. Your rabbit might be different. The different smells, sights and water might be too much for him or her. Use this as a guide and use your best judgement. We have tried blowdrying Tofu, but he is very fluffy for a rabbit. It takes a really, really long time. If your rabbit is less fluffy, you could try blowdrying, but I find that the bunny burrito method works quite well …