Anesthesia

[Kirsty]

Hi everyone,

 

I have been planning on getting my rabbit neutered, but today after talking to the vet who would be giving him the anesthesia I am really scared about it. He said anesthesia is very risky with rabbits and that he needed me to know my rabbit could die from it. Now I don’t know if I want to go through with it. I know neutering and spaying rabbits is a healthy thing, but I don’t want him to die because of it!

For those of you who have neutered or spayed rabbits, did your vet tell you the risks? Were you scared? I am really considering not getting this done now. I just want him to be as healthy as possible.

 

I also have a question about rabbits and cats together. Last week my boyfriend’s mom gave us a kitten she got from the pound. He is only about 9 weeks old and tinier than my four month old rabbit. We let them play together a lot and my rabbit doesn’t seem to mind him. Sometimes he chases the kitten and sometimes the kitten chases him. He feels comfortable enough to relax near the kitten, so I know they will probably be good friends. I am just wondering if it is possible for a kitten to pass diseases to a rabbit. I have not taken either of them to the vet yet, but have an appointment for both of them next week. I think my kitten has fleas and ear mites and I know those can be passed to rabbits, but should I be concerned about anything else? I will ask the vet next week at their appointment, but wanted to ask here too. Thank you for any help!

 

[LongEaredLions]

If your vet is this uncomfortable with having bunnies in surgery, I would be looking for a new vet. Isoflorane is a very safe anaesthetic for bunnies. Of course there are always some bunnies that are sensitive in those areas, but if you ask your vet, he should give you at least a %99 success rate. I am always scared during surgeries on my bunnies no matter what, but getting rabbits fixed, and especially neutering is very safe.
Kittens can pass some illnesses to bunnies, but only a select few. You can ask your vet about how to prevent any illness transfers in your pets.
Your bunny and your cat are both adorable!

[JackRabbit]

I agree with LEL. If your vet is that uncomfortable or has a high “incident” rate, I would be looking for another vet.

[Kirsty]

Thank you for the replies! I am going to call some other vets around here to see what they say. I know people who have taken their pets to the one I have an appointment with and they say that vet is very good. I will definitely take my kitten there, but as for getting my rabbit neutered, I’ll look for someone more confident.

[LBJ10]

Yep, sounds like the vet isn’t very confident. Surgery will always carry some risk, but a good rabbit vet should have a 99% success rate.

I wouldn’t be terribly worried about your new kitten and rabbit interacting (supervised, of course). There are a few things that can be passed from cats to bunnies, but not a lot as LEL said. I would not recommend allowing the cat to use the bunny litter box and vice versa.

[Stickerbunny]

There is a risk with ANY animal (and with humans) that they could die while under. But, it should be a LOW (1% or lower) risk. With rabbits, you need what they call an exotics vet. Vets do not get trained in rabbits, hamsters, ferrets, reptiles, birds etc in normal vet school. If they want to take the classes having to do with those animals, they have to pay for special classes. They also have to go to special seminars and such to keep up to date with their care throughout their career. So, a regular dog/cat vet, no matter how awesome they are, cannot treat a bunny – even though many of them will insist that they “treat rabbits all the time” and then make mistakes with our beloved pets because they won’t just admit “I didn’t study that particular animal, let me give you a reference for someone I know who does work with them” – I have no idea WHY vets don’t just say that.

I called around to a bunch of vets in my area and they all insisted they could treat rabbits and then when I quizzed them on bunnies, they didn’t have a clue. They wanted to fast them before surgery (rabbits cannot vomit, so they can and should eat right up to surgery time and my vet let me put some hay in the carrier so they could munch on it until surgery time and then if they wanted to after) which is dangerous since GI stasis is a problem and bunnies don’t like to eat right after surgery, so starving them for a day before that as well is just adding to the risk. And they didn’t even know what antibiotics were toxic to rabbits. Dog/cat vets have assured owners they know how to care for rabbits and then given them frontline, which is fatal to them.

So, if your vet is just saying “there is a risk, we let everyone know this with any animal” that’s normal and while it’s scary to hear, it is a possibility and they should let you know that. However, if your vet was saying “this is a really risky procedure with rabbits specifically” … find a new vet. And do not be afraid to ask to speak to the vet directly when you call around and ask them a few basic questions – what flea medication is good for bunnies, if they should fast before surgery, etc. If they cannot answer those, they have no business touching your baby.

Edit: Some vets like to do blood work and an exam before surgery, to make sure the bunny is in optimal health and has the least risk of complications. While calling around, if the price seems high at some place, be sure to ask what is included. Blood work will run a little higher and an exotics vet is typically a little more expensive than a regular dog/cat vet. 

[Kirsty]

Hello again

 

Thank you for all the advice! I do supervise my rabbit and kitten, especially since my kitten uses his claws… I always fear he might poke my rabbit in the eyes. I’m going to try and get his nails trimmed. He already made a mess of my hands (which look worse than they feel). Kittens are so crazy!

I don’t want him accidentally hurting my bunny! Sawyer, my bunny, sometimes nudges the kitten like he does to me when he wants me to pet him. It’s really cute! So I’m pretty sure they’ll be fine together. They use different litter boxes. Sawyer has one in his cage with paper-based litter.

 I will make sure to tell both vets (since I’m still bringing my kitten to the first) that they play together and to make sure they don’t give anything to each other even though it’s rare. I am afraid my bunny has fleas now because of my new kitten… What kind of flea medicine is good for rabbits? I will ask my bunny’s vet too.

 

As for the vet advice, everyone has been very helpful. I called another vet (40 minutes away from me,) that specializes in birds and small animals. I told them what the other vet said and they told me they spay and neuter rabbits every week and treat small animals. I feel better going to them.

 Here is their website http://birdandpet.net/index.html . I know websites can be deceiving and made to look good for show, but I feel they are what they say they are. They have a long list of exotic animals they treat, including hedgehogs! Out of all the vets I’ve researched around here, I think this one is the best.

The first vet I talked to mentioned that anesthesia on birds was risky too, so since the other vet deals with birds a lot, they must really know how to handle that sort of thing

I will make sure to quiz them about bunnies when I get there. Hopefully they know what they are doing. I am a lot more confident they do.

[LBJ10]

Revolution = Good choice
Frontline = Very Very BAD

Good luck with the new vet, it sounds like you’re on the right track.

[Kirsty]

Thank you very much!

[Kirsty]

Hi again everyone!

 

I wanted to update how things were going with my rabbit and the vet. The one I found was very good and I am happy with the place I took him. He had his surgery yesterday and is recovering. His vet was really nice and knew a lot about rabbits. She wasn’t concerned about the anesthesia and when I asked about something to give him to prevent fleas she gave me Revolution. The vet visit and neutering cost a little more than I would have liked, but it was worth it.

 

Here he is at his first appointment. The vet said he was very brave and healthy. I brought him in a big plastic storage bin and made sure he was comfortable. His cage was way too big to bring. He had some hay to nibble on and one of his timothy hay mats to make him feel more comfortable. The ride to the vet is takes 45 minutes to an hour. He seemed pretty calm both times I brought him. Thanks again for all the advice!

[LBJ10]

Yay! So glad you found a vet who knows rabbits.

[robyn and 'tipps']

Totally understand your initial concerns…Glad you found a good vet. And isnt he adorable! Great pic. So cute!

[LongEaredLions]

Glad you found a good vet and everything went well.
Your bun bun is a cutie!

[Kirsty]

Thank you Your bunnies are really cute too!

The vet called today to see how he was doing but I didn’t get a chance to answer. I called back and left them a message but his vet was probably too busy to call me back. This happened a couple days ago. She ended up calling me back at 9 PM because she was dealing with an emergency. Today must have been extra crazy there. I will call tomorrow, but I just thought of some new questions for this thread until I can call again.

I just gave him his medicine and noticed swelling at the incision sight. Another person posted a picture of her rabbit’s swelling and it looked a lot worse, so I am guessing it is okay? The paper they gave me said to look out for that. It’s not red, just very pink. Is this normal? He is acting fine.

The paper also says to keep him from running and jumping and that he can resume normal activity in 10-14 days, but he is really eager to get out of his cage and play. Do I have to keep him in his cage the whole time? I don’t think that would be fair for him. Or should I just let him out and monitor him/ follow him around the entire time? I let him out for a couple of minutes (he escaped from me when I was about to give him medicine) and he started hopping around the room. I caught him before he could start running. He usually races around the room and I don’t want him to injure himself.

[LongEaredLions]

The insision will be pink, but if you are concerned, see if you can get a photo and post it, and maybe we can help. Does it look swollen/bubbly/inflamed?

It is best to keep him contained for a week or so. Hopping is fine, it is the racing/binking/jumping you want to avoid.

[Kirsty]

It looks swollen, but not inflamed or bubbly. It’s just pink. I will try to get a picture when I give him medicine again. Maybe by then it will be better. My kitten was neutered about a week ago and the area just looked really small, not puffy and swollen like I see on my bunny (and the few other pictures I’ve seen of other rabbits) . I’m used to cats being neutered, but have never seen a neutered bunny right after surgery.

I’ll make sure to keep him contained. When he was really little he used to play in a playpen. Maybe I’ll set that up again so he will have more room, but not the entire room. He won’t be able to run or jump in there like he used to since he is a lot bigger now.

Thanks again!

[Author]

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