What to do with blind bunny?

[SquishTheBunny]

I have a 16 year old dwarf rabbit and her buddy, a 5 year old French lop. Over the past 2 months I have noticed the French lop becoming more reclusive and although eating/drinking well she is not as "playful"as she once was.

Today I noticed that both her eyes were affected by cataracts and her vision has obviously been going for a while (did notice a unilateral cateract last month).

Now, I’m preparing that 16 year old dwarf, although fine right now, isn’t going to be around forever. When the time comes to let her go - should the other go as well? I wouldnt normally want to euthanize a pet for being blind…but being a rabbit/prey animal, who will be losing her bonded partner…is it in her best interest to go too?

[Marshfield]

Can you do cataract surgery on a bunny? Could you introduce another adult bunny? Otherwise, I would consider sending them over the bridge together

[roseymare]

I would worry that the blind bunny will not do well without her buddy. You might be surprised by how much she relies on her.

[SquishTheBunny]

She really does rely on the old girl…blind bunny is always right behind her and constantly snuggles up with her (even though blind bunny is 6x the size!).

I could do surgery, but apparently in rabbits it’s not often successful in regaining vision .

I have also thought about replacing old bunny with another, but not sure how well blind bunny will bond with another…or if the other will dominate…

Maybe jumping the gun as the old girl is looking incredible, but at 16 you’ve got to be couting the days not years!!

[GraceLikeRain]

If blind bunny does not adjust well I think humane euthanasia can absolutely be a compassionate decision. Processing this before you are in that position is clearly rooted in empathy rather than convenience. If the French lop is withdrawing with a known companion I imagine introducing a new rabbit down the road could be very stressful. Fingers crossed your old girl continues to do well and you don’t have to make any decisions for quite some time.