Gaining weight after surgery

[benjaminbinky]

Hello – my bunny Benjamin had liver surgery last month. He’s been back to the vet for rechecks twice since then and he’s in great health. He’s eating lots of hay on his own and has good energy even though he’s not exercising a ton due to healing from surgery. He’s lost a little weight since the surgery (beyond the weight of the removed liver lobe). I’m trying to help him gain weight again but I’m feeling limited. Benjamin can’t have pellets because they make him gassy. The vet recommended I try oats over the weekend, which I did. I gave him 1/4 teaspoon per day for two days and that ended up causing him to have a LOT of excess cecals and a slightly messy butt. So I cut those out. The vet said try a couple more days on the oats to see if his GI adjusts to the oats but I’m really nervous about messing with his sensitive tummy. The last option the vet recommended was to give him critical care to help increase his calorie intake. I came here to ask for any more advice/options you all might know of! The critical care is a last resort. I’m getting a scale soon so I can keep exact track of Benjamin’s weight. For now I can feel his hip bones and spine much more easily than a month ago and it worries me 🙁

 

His current diet is an unlimited mixture of timothy hay and orchard hay. He gets occasional treats of timothy cubes, oxbow natural science digestive support tablets, and freeze dried or fresh strawberries, and a couple bites of carrot. These treats are spread out across the week.

Like I said, he’s eating hay like a champion. I want to help him gain weight and have energy for binkies again!

[DanaNM]

I wonder if another pellet brand could help? Often buns are sensitive to a specific ingredient rather than pellets as a whole. You can also find pure timothy pellets that are meant for horses that might work. Oat hay could also be good for him and less likely to cause issues than straight oats. You also might ask the vet if you could try some alfalfa hay in small amounts.

I do think critical care would be a good idea in this case, especially while he is recovering. There are other brands of similar products that he may do well on if critical care isn’t a great fit. My bun hated critical care and the sherwood brand recovery food, but he loved Emeraid Herbivore Sustain and would eat it willingly off a plate. He was a senior and had trouble eating hay due to arthritis in his jaw, and that product helped us have several more months with him.

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Wick & Fable]

My primary suggestion is actually CC feedings. Unlike adding more pellets or treats, CC is nutritionally balanced, so it’s supplement into a daily diet is less likely to disrupt GI and may just lead to some excess cecals at times.

I’ve done supplemental CC feedings for two of my rabbits due to different reasons, and it did well for both without GI complications.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[benjaminbinky]

Thank you so much! I will check those out ASAP. I really appreciate your reply!

[Author]

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