Old bunny suddenly losing weight

[Hollandblaze03]

Hello, I have a Holland lop who is approximately 7-8 years old. She has only been with me for 3-4 years but in her time with me I have never seen anything like this. Over the past 2-3 months she has lost a LOT of weight. She is practically skin and bones at this point but she is eating, drinking, pooping, and peeing. She is still relatively active and everything looks normal. She does have trouble cleaning herself but that is simply because she has a tiny bit of arthritis that we are treating. We have increased the amount of food she gets by almost triple and she simply won’t gain back the weight. I know that is dogs, as the get older and closer to dying or old age; they tend to drop a good amount of weight. Is it the same for rabbits?

 

[Hollandblaze03]

It also might be important to note that she was a brood doe before I got her. She have more litters than she probably should have so her quality of life really wasn’t great before I got her. This obviously took a toll on her body but it has never been this bad

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Sounds like a Vet check is in order--rule out parasites and organ functions. Some of ours lived a really long time--one a week shy of nineteen while others looked older at 8--just how it is. Put a couple back on Alfalfa to get their weight up.

 

[JBun]

Like N. McClelland mentioned, parasites is a possibility and is easily treated. But I would be concerned about the other possible causes of weight loss where there is also an increased appetite, that are common in older rabbits, which are much more serious.

If she's not spayed, I would be concerned about possible uterine cancer. Another possibility for increased appetite accompanied with weight loss, is kidney failure, which alfalfa hay should not be given in this case due to the high calcium content.

https://www.rabbitnetwork.org/educa...abbit-health-articles/weight-loss-in-rabbits/
If you haven't been to the vet for a blood test or xrays yet, I would suggest doing that right away. If your current vet isn't a knowledgeable rabbit vet, you may be able to find one near you in the link below. I would recommend getting your rabbit seen as soon as you can get her into the vet. The sooner this is addressed, the greater chance there will be that surgery or meds could help give you a little more time with your bun.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-...abbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/