All posts tagged: eyes

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: Bye Bye Left Eye

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Yesterday Tofu had his left eye removed. On Friday evening, I noticed Tofu’s left eye was sealed shut. I freaked out and called the vet immediately and we spent a big chunk of Saturday on standby at the vet clinic. Problems with rabbits escalate very quickly so if you have a pet rabbit and you have any concerns, do not hesitate to see your vet. The clinic was really busy with a bunch of emergencies, but we were also considered urgent by the vet and able to get a diagnosis. Tofu had a corneal ulcer which became severely infected within 24 hours. He probably scratched it or a piece of hay may have poked him in the eye. He already had cataracts in both eyes, so sight wasn’t an issue, but infection is bad news. We were given antibiotics and a follow up visit for Monday. He was super hungry over the weekend and got plenty of snuggles. It was traumatic having force open his red, pus-ridden eye four times a day to administer Chlorsig drops and ointment for infection. He didn’t like us …

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 – 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 …