Grooming Before Neutering~Need Bunny Owner Opinions ASAP

[hiskatey93]

So Cash, my wonderful bunny boy is getting neutered bright and early tomorrow. Hence why I am asking for replies as quickly as possible before bed time for both myself and the boyfriend.

Now unlike most buns (from what I hear), he is not a clean bunny. He will pee somewhere, and then lay in it. I think he just does not care. 

So anyway the vet asked that we just make sure that he is all neat and whatnot down in his bum-oley region. Okay.

Easier said then done. Cash, who is normally cuddly and loving, hates being groomed. He’ll snarl and honk, and thump and bite. He just hates it. A brushing he can handle, as long as it is less than five minutes.

So I pulled out some baby wipes, thinking okay maybe just clean up his fur, and make him fresh down there.

And then I discovered exactly how badly his bum-oley is. ((I am a first time rabbit owner, so I’m still learning a lot about grooming! Please don’t get upset. His hatred of grooming is not helping with my learning!)) He normally sits on his legs and tucks them under him when I groom them, so I don’t normally see under his back legs. Well to aid in the grooming my boyfriend laid him on his side and just pet him endlessly. To the point he fell asleep. I lifted his legs and oh gods all the matted fur. 

I had no idea it was as bad as it was, and it was a ll pee soaked too. 

So now I’m having a slight dilemma. I’ve gotten the serious matted pieces cut out. But he started to squirm and fight when I tried to get the smaller bits cut out and brush the fur out. >.<

I feel like I might hurt him if I brush it out, and cutting it out isn’t working either. When he squirms I’m terrified he might stab himself if I can’t move the scissors away quick enough.  Might it just be better to shave it off, and have the underside of his butt naked??? ((We have a pet safe electronic razor from my dog who passed along.)) I feel like it would be the safest, and least traumatizing thing for him, but I wanted to get the opinion of other users.

The problem spots would be right around his anal region, around the genitals, and the inner, underside of his rear legs, near where the joints are. 

[Mocha]

They should shave his fur (down there) and disinfect his skin before the surgery. I wouldn’t shave him yourself, rabbit skin is VERY sensitive and you might tear it easily from one teeny mistake.

[Roberta]

I get a groomer in… My lady has angora’s of her own that she keeps regularly trimmed (they are pets like mine not show or breeding rabbits) Piglet is rocking his punk do at the moment and Blossom has had her bottom trim. Blossom suffers from stress and often sits in her own cecals… I have to do bottom baths for her. She has a very mild soothing conditioning rinse for furries I got from another rabbit rescue and it helps remove the matts… If he doesn’t like grooming though I am not sure how you would go. I use the kitchen sink as it’s a good height for me to maintain control. I clear everything off. Put about 2 inches of tepid water in with a squidge of the rinse then Bloss stands in the sink with her front paws on my arm whilst I attend to the area gently working out any bits… Then she snuggles in her towel whilst I gently remove and knots… It has taken a while for her to be calm through the process. The first couple of times I ended up getting drenched.

[Stickerbunny]

The vet should shave the area and clean it before surgery. I have never been told to do my own presurgery grooming of an animal, since they tend to do it after the animal is under and do it very, very well. I find it quite odd your vet would tell you to super clean the area. My vet even shaved my girls neck for me while they were doing thr rest of the presurgery cleaning, since she came with matted fur there.

But, I would not shave a bun if you have never done it before and he struggles. You could easily tear the skin. Just clean it as best you can I would say and explain the situation when you drop him off. When you get him back, try to keep the area trimmed and washed since you know it is an issue now.

My girl lays in pee too, it is gross. She is a rex though so luckily the fur is so short I don’t have to worry about mats. Some buns are just messy.

[hiskatey93]

Posted By Stickerbunny on 7/29/2014 1:38 AM

The vet should shave the area and clean it before surgery. I have never been told to do my own presurgery grooming of an animal, since they tend to do it after the animal is under and do it very, very well. I find it quite odd your vet would tell you to super clean the area. My vet even shaved my girls neck for me while they were doing thr rest of the presurgery cleaning, since she came with matted fur there.

But, I would not shave a bun if you have never done it before and he struggles. You could easily tear the skin. Just clean it as best you can I would say and explain the situation when you drop him off. When you get him back, try to keep the area trimmed and washed since you know it is an issue now.

My girl lays in pee too, it is gross. She is a rex though so luckily the fur is so short I don’t have to worry about mats. Some buns are just messy.

I wound up just cleaning his fur the best I could, and when I brought him in, I explained how he struggled, and I couldn’t get him clean. The vet said it was no problem, and was unsure as to why I was a little confused.

Apparently the chick who gave me the directions was new and didn’t know. She just assumed and added that bit in.

So that confusion is all cleared up. She told me they would happily shave any problem areas and clean him up nice and pretty.

I’m gonna try to get him used to grooming more constantly, and try to do it every other day, rather than once a week honestly. He sits in his poop and pee without a care, and I just don’t get it.  He doesn’t go potty in one spot in his cage, he goes everywhere and just lays in it. Gross bunny. >.< His fur isn't that long, but it's incredibly thick, and with how large he is, he can be a bit of a pain to handle.

Well anyway the vet called me, and he is done with his surgery, and recovering slowly from the drugs. He will be home in about six hours, doing well, and she assured me that his bum is nice and squeaky clean now. 

[Stickerbunny]

Yay, glad surgery went well. And ah, new employees, that explains it!

Yeah, Stickers will go wherever takes her fancy (the floor, the box, etc) sometimes too. I keep plastic wrap around their litterboxes and I have walked in on her laying on TOP of the plastic wrap, it covered in pee where she just peed on it. Just gross. Hopefully your boy will pick up the litterbox thing after his hormones settle though. Mine _mostly_ use it, just occasionally don’t feel like it since I bonded them (solo they were great though). So, fingers crossed he picks up the litterbox training and will stop laying in pee for you!

[Roberta]

I agree with SB, in a month or so his habits should improve… Glad he did OK and he has a clean bottom.

[hiskatey93]

Posted By Stickerbunny on 7/29/2014 12:28 PM

Yay, glad surgery went well. And ah, new employees, that explains it!

Yeah, Stickers will go wherever takes her fancy (the floor, the box, etc) sometimes too. I keep plastic wrap around their litterboxes and I have walked in on her laying on TOP of the plastic wrap, it covered in pee where she just peed on it. Just gross. Hopefully your boy will pick up the litterbox thing after his hormones settle though. Mine _mostly_ use it, just occasionally don’t feel like it since I bonded them (solo they were great though). So, fingers crossed he picks up the litterbox training and will stop laying in pee for you!

I hope so! In the cage he’s like oh hey… Pee! *flops*

Outside of the cage about 80% of the time he will use the litterbox. He will just poo everywhere though. I have to find a new litter box. I think it’s too small for him. I got the largest one I could find, but it isn’t all that much larger than him. He has about an inch or so around all sides… So that might be it too. :/

An update. So when he came home my vet warned me he would be all sorts of groggy, not want to eat, and just sleep.

Yep no. Came home, I put him in our computer room with me, and he was all up for snuggling, and attempting to binky everywhere. I stopped him from doing so cause I was worried he would hurt himself, so I kinda just grabbed him and pet him constantly.

He hates most kinds of bedding in his cage, so I just put a towel down, and a nice fluffy pillow down for his bum. He shredded the towel overnight, but I woke up to him snuggling on the pillow asleep, obviously comfortable =D Made my day. He doesn’t seem to even notice he is missing a few parts and shows no discomfort lol. Makes me wonder about him. :/

~~~~~~~~

Also saw your post on how your vet gave you the wrong dosage on meds! Hope your bun is feeling better soon! And thankfully he didn’t charge you for their mistake!

[hiskatey93]

Posted By Roberta on 7/29/2014 7:36 PM

I agree with SB, in a month or so his habits should improve… Glad he did OK and he has a clean bottom.

His entire bottom is just completely naked.

I love it. My friend wound up writing a hilarious poem/song about it. 

I hope his grooming and cleanliness habits do improve! It would be a tremendous help!

[Author]

Messages