To all of the older female bunnies!

[Asha :)]

Hi there,
I had a dwarf lop a few years ago, she was only 3 when she developed lung cancer and passed away.
I am terrified female rabbits are more likely to pass at an earlier age compared to males, as I have recently adopted a beautiful mini lop bunny and she is beautiful. I love her and she has fit straight into our family wonderfully.

I am very scared that she isn’t going to live for a long time either, as I’ve heard of many female bunnies who pass early, but haven’t heard of many who last more than 3-4+ years.

So anyone who has a elderly female bunny or
Knows of any please share anything with me!

Thankyou!

[Sarita]

No, that’s not true. I don’t think it has to do with gender at all. Sometimes it just has to do with poor breeding or poor care (not that I’m saying that is the case with any of the rabbits you mention). Of course, there is nothing that you can do to prevent certain illnesses and cancers (uterine of course can be prevented with spaying) no matter how well they are cared for.

My friend has 3 female rabbits who are over 9 years old and I have 2 that are over 8 years old. Plus I also have one right now that is about 6 years old.

And I know of many may more that last longer than 3 or 4 years.

[Asha :)]

Oh wow,
That makes me feel better, I’ve only ever had one bunny before and the vet said it couldn’t of been prevented and
It was just one of those things. But she was so young and small
I do everything I can for my new bunny and I plan to get her spayed when she is 6 months. That is the earliest a female can be spayed isn’t it?
Thanks for your help!

[Monkeybun]

Alot of the females you hear of passing early are likely those that didn’t get spayed, and got uterine cancer. Thats the big killer of girl bunnies.

[Asha :)]

Must be I think, is it encouraged for males to be spayed as well?

[Monkeybun]

Boys should be neutered as well, they don’t have as high a risk of cancer as girls do, but they often spray And of course, you can’t bond un-altered bunnies. All they’d be wanting to do is mate. Neutering boys lets them be themselves instead of sex-crazed maniacs lol.

[Asha :)]

I see also, while your online, do you know anything about bunnies eating their own poop? Asha has just started to do it but I don’t know why or if it’s good for her or not :/ any ideas?

[Sarita]

Yes, those are cecals and she should be eating them.

[Asha :)]

Oh good,
In the morning, she has had a bit of sloppy poos. It’s not too bad like running or anything. But just a few little round poos all joined together and not round normal ones she does in the afternoon, I don’t
Know why she does this, is this unusual for a baby bunny around 11 weeks old?

[LittlePuffyTail]

Those are cecals too. It’s kind of a gross necessity for bunnies. I thought you might find this article informative:

http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/diet/cecals.html

[Mandyyy]

 No, I don’t think gender is an issue with bunnies (lack of fixing can cause overian cancers in females… but not gender itself means a lower expecting life span) My bunnies are unaltered females who are about 7 and 8 (I recsued them when they were already adults, so not exactly sure on age but we estimate them to be around that) and they are still healthy and hoppy. Haha. 

[RabbitPam]

The cancers girl bunnies are prone to are in the reproductive system, which is why spaying helps so much.
Lung cancer sounds a bit unusual, and I’m wondering if there were any environmental contributors you weren’t aware of, like an accidental carcinogenic spray (say if a bug guy came or a carpet cleaning service). I am absolutely not blaming you or want you to rack your brains. My point is that there are so many environmental toxins we can’t control that it could have been something totally remote, even a genetic trigger from a strain in her breed. The spaying is a proven preventative measure, but the rest can’t be helped much.

So, once spayed, little girl bunnies can live a long time, especially if you pamper them as Divas, like Sarita does hers.

[Asha :)]

My bunny was outside, close to a BBQ and we told the vet that and they assured us it had nothing to do with it. But I’m still
Not sure. The new bunny I adopted is in a more enclosed space an in inside all the time. But she sleeps in a garage room which is different to where the other bunny was.

This makes me feel much better,
And my little asha is definitely a spoilt one! I’d love to foster another bunny but im not sure how asha will like it, she will either love it and get attached and become depressed when the other bunny leaves, or not like it the entire time. :/ hmmm

[bunnyfriend]

My Bridge bunny passed away from cancer, he was only 2-3 years old. Cases like that are more of a fluke (outside of uterine, ovarian, or mammory cancer) and there’s nothing you or I could’ve done for our bunnies, though I really wish I could’ve. Your Asha should have a long and happy life

If do end up fostering, you would have to keep your bunny seperate from the foster (never introduce them). Sorry I know that sucks, but it doesn’t work to introduce unless you’re planning on adopting and bonding them.

[LoveChaCha]

Posted By RabbitPam on 11/08/2011 11:23 AM

So, once spayed, little girl bunnies can live a long time, especially if you pamper them as Divas, like Sarita does hers.

 

Of course.. all lady buns are big divas and are not afraid of showing it.. er… I know this because well.. I have one

I have a friend whose male lionhead passed at the age of 2.

[kralspace]

My Hershey was around 7 and Lola 5-6 when I lost them, neither to cancer. Pringles is going on 5 now.

[jerseygirl]

The lungs is one of the most common places uterine cancer can metastisis to. Not that this is what happened with your rabbit. If your vet was able to determine lung cancer, they may have been able to tell you about uterine if that was the case. It’s quite possible cancer originated in the lungs. I’m sorry you lost it at a young age and can understand your concern about Asha.
The important thing is you plan to get Asha spayed. That is something you can do to improve her chances of living longer.

p.s. Love the name you chose for her. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the little bun I’m a friend of Kafrns. ;o)

[Asha :)]

I definitely do plan to get her spayed.
Really? Aw ! Oh she’s lovely I love all of her bunnies too! So adorable!
Thanks for everyone’s advice and comments!!

[BinkyBunny]

 Everyone has given some good advice, I just wanted to pop in to at least say my two cents about lung cancer because that is what Jack had. I also looked for a reason for the cancer as we don’t smoke, don’t use aerosols, sprays and have always been conscientious about the what could be irritating to their respiratory system— or system in general.   I remember even asking the vet if there was anything that could have caused this –even our vaccuum??  I was grasping at anything.   My vet said that cancers in older bunnies are not uncommon even with the best care. And I think that rings true for any animal — I ditto what Sarita said  ”Of course, there is nothing that you can do to prevent certain illnesses and cancers (uterine of course can be prevented with spaying) no matter how well they are cared for.”

And of course, I double ditto spaying to prevent uterine cancer and the spread of it (as Jerseygirl mentioned). 

Currently, I have Vivian who we don’t know for sure how old she is but she was estimated to be at LEAST 6 years old when I adopted her, and so at the very minimum she is a little over 8 years old now, and she is still curious, spunky, strong and healthy (KNOCK ON WOOD!!).  

There are definitely females out there that have not been spayed and are living into their bunny senior years as another member posted.  And the rates of cancer definitely can be debated as you will find resources that support and dispute.   My understanding though now is that the percentage increases with age and so the higher rate of over 70% is normally for bunnies entering into their senior age, but when they are young the rate is much lower.

It is hard to find current info on this, as many of the studies were from decades ago, but I did come across this last week from another forum post (regarding the craiglist argument or something ).   http://buckysbunnies.tripod.com/UC.html  Even though the author, who is a breeder,  poo poos HRS stats and accuses rescues of using the higher percentage rate to “scare” people into spaying, the percentages that he stated due to his research and other studies is high enough for me.  (Even if the lowest rate may actually be only 50% or a bit lower for female bunnies over 6 years old — that’s scary enough, I don’t need it to be 85% to make me get my rabbit spayed.  Another study that clarifies the percentage rate and confirms the studies of the past.  http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/resour…terine.htm, 

Bottomline for me though, regardless if the percentage only increases with age – I don’t want to wait until they are at a higher risk of cancer as it would be more risky for them to go into surgery after 6 years old (not impossible, just more risky.)

I also just follow what my rabbit savvy vet says (as she is one of the top rabbit vets around), and she always encourages spaying  - just from her own experience of what she has seen as far as cancers in unspayed females.    

 

[Asha :)]

Wow thankyou so much for that information. That is fantastic! I will definitely read up
On that, i have posted photos of my darling asha on the “welcome” forum page if any of you want to see, the topic name is “my new baby, Asha ”
Thanks heaps everyone!

[Kafrn]

Im not 100% sure, would have to check with the others here… But when Stu had the issue with the uterine cancer a few weeks ago, before the operation, the vet had to Xray to make sure that it hadnt spread to her lungs. I was discussing it with JerseyGirl at the time I think, and she also mentioned that reproductive cancers in unspayed bunnies quite often spread to the lungs. Is this the cancer that the vet could have been talking about with the last bunny? My vet had told me that if Stus tumour had spread to her lungs then they could remove part of the lung, but it would be a very risky operation.

[Kafrn]

I just meant that as part of a discussion, I didnt mean thats what happened to your bunny, sorry.

[BinkyBunny]

Kafrn — I have also read that where the uterine cancer can spread to the lungs. Seems to be a common place for it to spread to.

In our case, I don’t know about the removal of the lung part as that was never offered too me as an option. (I do remember her saying that the lung cancer can be pretty aggressive — grows fast, within weeks and months. I know how much Jack’s life declined with less air capacity and I wonder what the quality of life would be for a bunny with part of their lung removed..   And of course whatever lung cancer Jack had had nothing to do with spreading from anywhere else. And since he is a male, this all might be mute point. 

I know that chemo can be used on other animals, but my vet said rabbits do very poorly with that. (as expected knowing their system).

[Asha :)]

Oh i see, it’s ok o know noone is accusing me of anything just really appreciate everyones responses!

[Author]

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