Cleaning up a pee soaked bunny?

[AnniLop]

 Ok so I picked up Marble Cake from the vet after her spay and on my way home, she peed herself in the carrier….  So when we got home she was drenched in pee.  She kept trying to kick it off and shake it off and now she’s spent most of the night grooming herself.  I tried using a wet cloth to try to wipe most of it off but she looks adament on grooming herself.  She’s eatened, seems like her normal self just a bit more reserved and not wanting to come out to her xpen.  But I’m worried about the wound having pee on it since she was lying down in the carrier.  Any advice on how to clean her up?  She kinda smells strongly of urine…

[Roberta]

Frankly, residual pee is probably safer than tap water. Any liquid is going to migrate along the sutures. Chances are the pee would not stay liquid long enough to do so.
Stick with the damp cloth you’ll just have to do it little and often. Give it a chance to dry off as a light brush will also get rid of some of it.

[BinkyBunny]

Roberta and i must have tired to post at the same time — but she beat me to the punch, because my post didn’t post (darn old forum needs updating!)

As far as the cleaning, I agree with Roberta. I think that between you trying your best to wipe up excess urine and herself grooming, that she’ll be okay. It’s best to keep the incision dry so it can heal. Just keep an eye on it for the next few days to make sure it doesn’t get inflamed. She probably was cleaning it so diligently as I imagine the urine stung the incision area a bit.

As far as her behavior — the fact she’s grooming and even eating so soon after means she’s actually doing very well. Surprisingly so as it can take females until the the next day to even nibble on something. I’m figuring the vets gave her a pain med before she went home but it may be wearing off a bit and it’s normal for her to wanting to just hang out and be reserved. Did they send you home with any pain meds?

Keep us updated — so far, besides the urine oops, which will probably be just fine, she seems to be doing well considering.

[AnniLop]

This morning I checked up on her she seems fine. She’s eaten and drank water throughout the night. She’s not sleeping on her side as she usually does (she usually flops out) but she’s friendly to some pets on the head and has eaten all her parsley. The vet had sent me home with some liquid pain killers for three days morning and night. I Also checked the incision this morning looks alright. The vet said to bring her back in a week to 10 days so he can take a look at her. I gave up on trying to wipe her down as she kept flicking her back legs and pee was being splashed on me (blah….)

On another note… I can’t seem to get her to be much interested in eating hay. The vet said at there she scarfed down the hay…She used to eat it when i first got it… but I noticed even before the spay she just doesn’t touch it. Am i feeding her too much pellets and and veggies and she’s just not hungry? The vet told me its’ best to only give her like a teaspoon of pellets, and everything else should be hay and veggies. But… that seems soo little for her. She’s a big bunny about 10lbs. I give her a cup of pellets a day and by morning its’ all gone and a big plate of parsley and romain lettuce with some slices of apple and two baby carrots. She will eat all the veggies and pellets. But the hay she won’t touch… If i cut down on her pellets will she want to eat the hay?

[RabbitPam]

Yes, you should cut down the pellets. She only needs a maximum of 1/4 cup a day, fed once and when they’re gone, she’s done. After that she will turn to her hay for more food if she’s hungry.

I find that a cheap measuring cup with a handle that is exactly 1/4, filled but not over filled, is a great way to scoop out pellets and dump into a dish. That way I know exactly how much she’s getting. They will eat hay last unless they love it, so you need to cut back on other foods and treats to get good habits started. You want those 10 lbs to be muscle, not fat.

Sounds like all is well post-spay today. She will dry out more in fresh litter, too. She’s probably licking the incision site. Look for sitting in a meat loaf position, squinting eyes and grinding teeth as indicators that she needs some pain meds. She’s probably out of pain by now, but you can always give her one small dose of pain meds today to make her more comfortable. Her appetite will come back gradually, but if the hay is there, she’ll eat it.

Btw, did your vet use a different hay that she liked better?

[AnniLop]

 This is her sleeping.  I guess she’s feeling alright then.  She’s flopped over again.  No teeth grinding.  I’ve cut down on the pellets a little as you mentioned.  I’ll see if she’ll move on to the hay.  At the vet they give her timothy at home I have meadow hay but when the vet said she ate their hay i bought some and watched her last night… nope she stuffed her face with everything else but no hay.  So this morning I’ve removed a bit of pellets.  I’m gonna do it slowly so she’s not so angry.  Thanks for all the info guys! I really appreciate it!

[AnniLop]

oh … the attachment didn’t work…

[RabbitPam]

That’s OK about the attachments. If it’s really a full cup, I wouldn’t cut back so slowly. She will just eat more hay which is much, much better. She won’t be angry for long – she’ll opt to eat hay instead. Just keep it unlimited. You can give her both your home hay and the vet’s timothy at the same time, so she can pick and choose and develop a taste for both or indicate a preference for one.

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