# Do rabbits get dementia?



## Blaise in Surrey (Jun 10, 2014)

I really need your thoughts please....

Our house rabbit, a neutered male, is around eight years old. He is free range in one room, with a big cage that he enters to eat, and to use his litter tray. Until about a year ago he poo-ed and wee-ed only in the tray. Then he began to be a bit casual about pooing elsewhere in his house. He has regular checks at the vet (when he has his nails clipped, and in between if I have any concerns) and is in good health.

For many years the base of his cage was covered with newspaper, with barley straw on top. We have always used newspaper in his litter tray. When the pooing got out of hand, I removed the barley straw and left just the newspaper, and this solved the problem. However, over the past few weeks he has started weeing and pooing all over the cage. He does not have a UTI and is otherwise behaving totally normally. This morning I discovered that he had wee-ed in one of his (empty) food dishes! Yuck! It's a small dish and he is a medium-sized rabbit, so this is quite an achievement! 

Any ideas what's going on please?


----------



## Blaise in Surrey (Jun 10, 2014)

Bump....


----------



## kimthecat (Aug 11, 2009)

Blaise in Surrey said:


> I really need your thoughts please....
> 
> Our house rabbit, a neutered male, is around eight years old. He is free range in one room, with a big cage that he enters to eat, and to use his litter tray. Until about a year ago he poo-ed and wee-ed only in the tray. Then he began to be a bit casual about pooing elsewhere in his house. He has regular checks at the vet (when he has his nails clipped, and in between if I have any concerns) and is in good health.
> 
> ...


There don't seem to be rabbit experts here now . 

you could try asking on
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/

He is a good age for a rabbit , he is still quite agile , can he get into the tray ok?
What are his poos like? has he lost weight
Most of my rabbits were housed in pairs in the shed and had the run of the garden , later I had a couple indoors , I dont think they had dementia , generally I would tend to think when an animal starts doing this it perhaps has a more medical cause than
dementia but I'm not an expert.


----------

