Desex an older bunny girl?

[lorree]

Boonie is turning 4 next month and I haven’t had her desexed yet. Is she too old now?
I’ve heard female rabbits are highly likely to get ovarian problems if not desexed and I don’t want her to suffer anything like that but have I left it too late now?
I’m scared she’ll die on the operating table.
I have a great vet who treats all my animals and even performed an intense surgery on one of my guinea pigs and all went great, but I’m still scared for Boonie.
I met a lady who has 11 rabbits and she was getting hers desexed at my vet but when I asked her if she was worried about them dying she said “oh I have so many rabbits, if some die that’s ok”
I was so shocked at her response that I didnt ask her anything more.

[jerseygirl]

I don’t believe she’s too old to desex. The risk of these cancers increases from age 3 onward.

There is always a risk for any animal/human going under anaesthetic unfortunately.

You could get some blood work done first if you wanted. That can show indicators if a rabbit more potential risk or not for surgery.

I understand your hesitation. It’s nerve racking to have them go to surgery. No doubt about it.

I met a lady who has 11 rabbits and she was getting hers desexed at my vet but when I asked her if she was worried about them dying she said “oh I have so many rabbits, if some die that’s ok”
I was so shocked at her response that I didnt ask her anything more.

Odd response! She obviously cares enough to get them desexed but wow…
I can never understand that attitude.

[Bam]

Lovely response by that lady. Not. I too would’ve been lost for words.

You should consult your vet about this. There are risks with older girl buns because they have more fat deposited around their reproductive organs, but I have no personal experience. Your vet would hopefully have that. Your vet should help you do a risk-assesment and then you should make your choice based on that.

[lorree]

Thanks people.
That is a good idea about getting the vet to do risk assessment first rather then just going in blind.
I shall have to look into that.
Id rather know she’s all healthy first so I know she is strong enough (well hopefully).

I think the hardest bit will be the wait time. Bringing her to the vet in the early morning then waiting till the afternoon to pick her up… Gosh I’ll probably need Valium lol

I must admit when I was talking to that lady, after the initial shock, I kinda felt like yelling at her. So I had to shut my mouth

[Beka27]

Rescues will routinely have older buns spay/neutered to prepare them for adoption. The important thing is to have a rabbit savvy vet! Vets may want to do blood work over a certain age. This is a good thing to have done to look for underlying conditions, but unfortunately, the risk is always there any time any animal (or person!) needs to undergo anesthesia

[lorree]

I didn’t think of that, I guess rescues would have to do it all the time.

I know my vet is good
I guess I’ll have to get on to it
My worrying could be doing her more harm then good

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