The change that always counts: hay refusal
For a Californian rabbit, refusing hay is the appetite change that outranks all others, because hay is not one food among many for a rabbit — it is the engine of his gut and the grinder of his teeth. A Californian rabbit who walks past a fresh hay rack he would normally attack, or who mouths a strand and drops it, is showing you a symptom, whether the cause sits in his mouth, his gut or elsewhere. Watch his droppings as the confirmation: a Californian rabbit eating less hay passes fewer, smaller droppings within hours, and the tray turning quiet alongside the untouched rack removes any doubt about whether the change is real.
Pickiness that points at his mouth
A Californian rabbit whose appetite changes shape rather than size is often telling a dental story: he still rushes to the bowl but selects greens and softened pellets while leaving long hay strands, drops half-chewed food, or eats from one side of his mouth. Weight loss across a week or two beside this picky pattern in a Californian rabbit means the total intake has been falling even while mealtimes still look busy. These are vet-visit changes, not wait-and-see ones, because a Californian rabbit cannot show you his back teeth and the problem behind selective eating rarely resolves on its own — it quietly deepens while he compensates with softer food.
The slow fade that owners underestimate
A Californian rabbit can also prompt concern without any dramatic refusal: eating perhaps three-quarters of his usual hay, leaving pellets he used to finish, and grazing in shorter bouts across several days. Anchor your judgement to output rather than impression — count the droppings roughly, notice whether his hay rack needs refilling as often, and weigh your Californian rabbit weekly, because a falling weight trend converts a vague feeling into a fact. If the fade continues past a couple of days, or the droppings keep shrinking, book the vet while the problem is still small; a Californian rabbit seen early for eating less is a far simpler patient than one seen late for eating nothing.
Changes that ride along with other signs
Some appetite changes in a Californian rabbit demand a vet the moment they are noticed, because of the company they keep. Appetite loss with runny droppings, or with drinking that suddenly surges or stops, points beyond the gut and also belongs at the vet promptly. A Californian rabbit who stops eating after a fright, a journey or a companion's death may genuinely be stressed, but the safe rule is unchanged: if nothing has passed his lips and nothing has left his tray for half a day, the cause no longer matters for the decision — he needs to be seen that day.
Making the vet visit count
A Californian rabbit's vet visit goes better when you arrive with the pattern written down: the day his hay intake first dropped, which foods he still accepts, how his droppings changed, and whether his weight has moved. Bring a sample of his droppings and, if you can, the hay he is refusing, because both help the vet judge gut function and food quality at a glance. Note any recent changes at home too — new hay batch, new pellets, a house move, a lost companion — since a Californian rabbit's appetite often answers to his environment as well as his body. Keeping that feeding log as you go in KinsLe through Pet Passport means the history is ready before you need it, not reconstructed from memory in a waiting room.