Do you have syringes and Critical care to syringe feed her? If not, have your vet give you some and syringe feed her. It’s good she is drinking but she should eat something soon. Keep offering her some favorite greens and don’t worry about the collar for now.

With pain meds, most rabbits do not need to wear a collar, but if she starts messing with her suture then you may need to put it on her. I would call them and ask for metacam for the first 3 days.

Don’t agree with the vet there: a spay is more invasive than a neuter, and painkillers are no luxury. As Dana said: Metacam is a good idea.

It’s good news that she’s drinking btw! Maybe she’ll eat a small piece of fruit to get some energy. If she doesn’t feel like eating, hay tea may give her some extra nutrients. It’s what Dutch vets advise as a pick-me-up for ill rabbits:

Hay tea – For anybunny who doesn’t drink enough, especially for ill or recovering rabbits

Hope she’ll have a speedy recovery!

How is your bunny doing today Vicky?

I’m very glad to hear she is eating and active!

I wouldn’t worry about the mushy poops, I think they will start to resolve.

As far as cleaning her, I’m sure she is very sore, so I think I would just keep her area very clean for now. She also might learn to turn around and eat her cecals off the ground. Did the vet give you instructions to check on her incision? Maybe at an incision check you could try to remove some of the poops.

Eating something is better than nothing. Anesthesia can make them have weird poops for a few days afterward too, so it may not be entirely the veggies.

Can you wipe the area with a plain baby wipe? You would just need to be careful not to pull at her fur too hard while doing it.

Not eating enough hay is usually the cause of smaller poops and mushy poops.

It has only been a couple days since her spay, so I would just keep up offering her as much food as she will take, especially hay. Once her hay consumption gets back to normal, then her poops should be mostly back to normal. Each bun handles anesthesia and surgeries differently, so as long as you are seeing gradual improvements then I would keep up with what you are doing.

That’s good that she has the surgical shirt to prevent her from messing with her suture.

When you say she is cleaning herself, do you mean she is cleaning her suture area? Or just in general?

If she is just cleaning herself in general, that’s fine and means she is feeling OK (bunnies in a lot of pain usually do not groom themselves).

If she really is getting caked in mushy poops, then I agree it might be good to see if the vet can help clean her up and check on her incision, etc.

Gotcha! Yeah I’m guessing it’s because of the shirt. As long as she is behaving normally otherwise I wouldn’t worry about it. 🙂 I’m guessing the shirt is much more comfortable than a cone!

I think as long as she is slowly improving, then things are OK. But of course if you are concerned you can give your vet a ring, especially before we head into the weekend.

Did they say how long they want her to wear the shirt?

Yes, as long as she is making progress, I wouldn’t be too concerned. As Dana said, you can always contact your vet about your concerns just to be safe.

At the rescue we keep bunnies on cage confinement for 14 days after spaying.

As hard as it is to see her cooped up, I wouldn’t let her roam a room yet. If she zoomies or binkies she could pull a suture (there are internal ones too that need to heal).

A few days after a spay is much too early IMO. I do see a lot of recommendations for 10 days, but a lot of it depends on the technique the vet uses. In your case, I think as long as she is wearing the shirt and has her staples in, her exercise should be restricted.

You’re welcome! I know it is so hard to see them cooped up, but it’s only temporary!

14 days is what it normally takes for the internal incisions to heal.

Some short outside time after 1 week could be ok, but only with close monitoring. No binkying. No climbing or jumping.

It is very hard to have to confine them. It isnt cruel though, you are the parent and she is the child and you will have to do what’s best for her longterm well being, even if it means she won’t be pleased. Lots of nose rubs, apple or willow sticks to chew and lots of human time spent near the cage will help. You could read out loud to her from one of your favorite books. I did that when my bun was new in my home. The sound of your voice will reassure her that things are all good.

For some reason, pets seem to like classical music, particularly Mozart. So playing a bit of YouTube Mozart for her could perhaps feel soothing to her.

Agree! And lots of things to shred seem to be appreciated (paper mats, phone books, grass mats, etc).

It’s generally advised that you let a girl bun keep the nest for as long as she wants it. A false-pregnancy-bun should be given nesting material and be allowed  to make a nest – because when the hormones subside, the bun won’t be interested in the nest anymore. (False pregnancies in buns always resolve on their own).

Rabbit behavior is heavily influenced by hormones. A newly spayed or neutered bun can experience a hormonal surge post spay/neuter, but this is temporary and self-limiting. If your girl shows interest in the nest, I’d say let her have it. Her interest in it will fade spontaneously. How long this takes is not possible to say.

The hormones might persist for a while after the spay, and their action  might even become exacerbated. One theory is that the hormonal receptors get upregulated when the level of  circulating hormones drops. (The same principle as when a smoker stops smoking. The body then produces more nicotine receptors in order to catch every last nicotine molecule that they can possibly catch).

This is a physiological process the bun is going through. She can’t help it. The interest in a nest is hormonally dependent. She will lose interest in the nest when she’s ready to. There’s no harm in letting her have the nest meanwhile. It won’t prolong the process, but it might offer her some comfort while her body and brain are adjusting.

Rabbit urine is always very concentrated, so I wouldn’t worry about the colour unless you find spots of blood on her bedding/shirt.