The Rex coat changes the senior picture
All rabbits slow down with age, but the Rex carries a specific vulnerability into old age: his famous velvet coat is short and dense, which leaves the fur padding over his hocks thinner than in most breeds. A younger Rex in constant motion redistributes his weight; a heavier, arthritic senior sitting for long stretches presses those thinly covered hocks into the floor for hours. Add reduced flexibility — the twist to reach caecotrophs and groom his rear becomes harder — and senior Rex care centres on feet, weight, and the places he can no longer clean himself.
Floors, litter boxes, and getting around
Cover hard or wire flooring completely with soft, washable layers: fleece over padding, low-pile rugs with grip, and deep hay or bedding in his resting zone. Check his hocks daily for pink, hairless, or broken skin, and treat any sore patch as a reason to soften his world further and speak to a vet promptly, because rabbit skin breaks down fast under continued pressure. Swap his litter box for one with a cut-down or low entry side so he can step in rather than hop, and remove ramps or levels that once entertained him; a senior Rex who hesitates at a jump often simply stops using whatever lies beyond it, including his hay.
Feeding a slower metabolism
Keep grass hay as the centre of his diet and available where he rests, not only across the enclosure. Measure his pellets rather than filling the bowl from habit, since pellets sized for an active adult quietly fatten a senior who naps most of the day, and extra weight multiplies both hock pressure and grooming difficulty. Leafy greens he already knows suit him better than novel foods at this age. Weigh him weekly and keep a simple record; a Rex's plush coat hides both gain and loss remarkably well, and your hands plus the scale will catch what the eye misses.
Grooming help he can accept
Brush him gently and more often, because he sheds into a coat he can no longer maintain alone, and check his rear end daily for soiling he cannot reach to clean — a dirty rear in warm weather is an urgent flystrike risk, not a cosmetic issue. Check that he is eating his caecotrophs; uneaten ones stuck to his fur or the floor can mean he physically cannot reach them, which is worth raising with a vet rather than simply cleaning up. Keep handling low, supported, and brief, and let floor-level companionship replace being picked up.
When a senior Rex needs the vet
Seek veterinary advice promptly for sore or weeping hocks, any break in the skin, reduced droppings, a rabbit who stops eating hay, head tilt, or a rear end he repeatedly soils. Gradual stiffness, slower hopping, and longer naps are ageing; sudden change in any of them is a symptom. Dividing the daily hock check, weight log, and grooming help among the household through KinsLe Care Teams keeps each small senior task visibly owned, so the Rex's extra care happens every day rather than whenever someone remembers.