False pregnancy – how to get them out of it?

[thegreenjudy]

I had a vets appointment yesterday to get Rabby spayed. Unfortunately the nurse said we can’t do it
today as she is in false pregnancy (she tested her and realised she was actually lactating). My bunny is on her own but I blame our cat.. lol.. Rabby was conspicuously submissive towards our cat and it seemed as if she took her for a big boy bunny as she was constantly running after her and tried the cat to groom her which I think sent her hormones into overdrive.

Anyhoo, I am keeping the cat away for now and hope she will come out of it soon
The nurse said that bunnies couldn’t /shouldn’t be spayed during false pregnancies but couldn’t find anything about that subject online. However, she also said it might take a few weeks especially if she keeps coming out and getting back into false pregnancy. She plucked quite a bit of fur off her sides. But nurse said not to encourage her and give her bedding rather tiny cuddly toys which could mimic babies so she thinks she’s given birth.

It’s very different advice from what I read here. Has anyone got suggestions on how to get her and keep her out of it?

[LBJ10]

Hmm… I haven’t heard anything on the topic stating that a female cannot be spayed during a false pregnancy. MediRabbit doesn’t say anything. It only says that the individual should be stabilized prior to surgery if there is another health concern (i.e. an infection) accompanying the false pregnancy.

To help her get over the false pregnancy, I think it is most helpful to just leave her be. Give her nesting materials and a nesting box and allow her to build a nest. Things will naturally conclude when no babies come after she has built the nest.

[thegreenjudy]

Yeah so that’s the problem.. she said nesting materials would only encourage her and prolong the
false pregnancy.. so I am a bit confused…lol

[LBJ10]

I wouldn’t think so. I would think that it would allow things to conclude. She builds a nest to satisfy her hormonal urges and then goes about her daily life once she realizes there are no babies. It seems to me that that would be less stressful overall too. But I’m not a vet.

[Deleted User]

I know nothing of false pregnancies etc, but I just wanted to say that I personally would be glad that this vet didn’t perform a spay. I would take this advice/reluctance as a sign that this particular vet isn’t very knowledgeable on rabbits. Id use this time to look elsewhere and get a second opinion so you can ensure your bunny gets seen by someone who knows what they are doing

[thegreenjudy]

Well, it was actually not the vet but the nurse who checked her beforehand who said that.
I did a bit of research and it looks like female dogs shouldn’t get spayed during false pregnancies as it could make matters worse as it throws their hormones out of whack.
So I am not sure if a similar principle applies to bunnies.

The reason why I have to get her spayed there is because I adopted her from that place – in turn
they pay for vaccines and spaying.

I bought her a box today and bought some suitable nesting material. We will see how that goes, lol.

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