Just under a year ago, I adopted a little boy bunny. We were told he was around 8 months old at the time, but he was quite small and underweight.
I always knew he was a little different — he leans to one side, has poor balance, stiff joints, and almost no visible neck. He looks very compacted.
He’s a healthier weight now, but still smaller than expected for his age.
Rabbit savvy vets had done done a lot of testing – EC was ruled out with a negative test and a CT scan showed no abnormalities or middle ear disease.
X-rays revealed curvature of the spine and compression around the neck and shoulder area.
Kidney ultrasound showed both kidneys are smaller than normal, more pointed at one end, and with a thinner cortex — likely congenital.
UPC levels have been consistently elevated — originally 0.6, dropped to 0.4 after a few weeks on Benazapril, but spiked to 0.8 after stopping it (to rule out temporary causes like a UTI). He’s now on Telmisartan, and we’re waiting on the latest results.
Is there anything else in the blood test/urinalaysis results that I should look into? The majority of things were in the normal range.
We were told that cats with similar kidney issues often have their lifespan cut in half, and for rabbits it’s likely even shorter. If his estimated age was accurate when I adopted him, he’s approaching 2 now, that might mean we only have a year or so left together. I’m absolutely beside myself.
If anyone has had a bunny with similar issues, I’d be so grateful to hear your experience or any advice that might help. Aside from his medication, I’m being very careful with his diet (especially calcium), but I don’t know if there’s anything else I can do.
He is the sweetest, most affectionate brave little boy. He's so funny and intelligent too. The connection we have is like nothing I've experienced before, I'd littlerly do anything for him. I just want to give him the best quality of life for as long as I can.
by Loose_Ad_9396