HELP SPAY

[Vicky]

Hi, today I got my baby spayed. She got her 24 hours meds but the vet didn’t give me any meds at home. She said she does not need them now and if she is in pain i should call.

They gave her one of those plastic collars which I’m really not a fan of. And i feel awful she has it on her neck.

She has staple stitches. I hope they are called like that.

Is it okay? Or should I just go and ask for meds. And what about the collar? Can anyone give me some advice please? :(((

She hasn’t eaten yet it’s been almost 12 hours. She has been drinking tho.

Thank you!!

[DanaNM]

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.

. . . 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.  

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

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!

[DanaNM]

How is your bunny doing today Vicky?

. . . 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.  

[Vicky]

She has eaten greens, some pellets and some hay.

Her poops are always small size. But the issue is she had some mushy poops too. I think it was from a lot greens which she ate so I stopped that and tried to feed hay instead.

She cannot reach her cecotropes tho, and when I try to “clean” her up down there she becomes angry. And it’s just stuck over her butt. What can I do? She won’t let me pick her up or clean it.

She is not in pain just to say, she is very active.

[DanaNM]

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.

. . . 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.  

[Vicky]

<p style=”padding-left: 40px;”>The vet didn’t tell me to check incisions but i checked them yesterday they were just fine. I cannot check them anymore because she has like this outfit on here so she wouldn’t touch her stitches.</p>
She again had mushy poops and still eating just a little bit. When it should be kind of back to normal? She still has small poops, not eating very much and mushy poop sometime.

She was spayed on Monday morning

[LBJ10]

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.

[Vicky]

Oh but how do I clean the poopy butt now? She never lets me pick her up before spay too. She just won’t let me

[LBJ10]

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.

[Vicky]

I have one more question. She has this posoperation shirt on and she is always cleaning herself, like all the time. Is it okay?

[Vicky]

I was trying to go it with wet towel but she won’t let me “go there” at all. Should I call the vet and she will do it or idk

[jerseybunnies]

If she doesn’t let you do it, I would suggest bringing her to the vet. I had an old bunny who had this problem and the vets were able to clean him off. He was in an unfamiliar environment so, as he would be running away and stuff at home, he was chill at the vet since he didn’t recognize the place. That is what I would suggest. I don’t know how long until poops will return to normal, that didn’t happen to my previous neuter. You definitely need pain meds. 100%. Only put on the plastic cone if she is picking at her sutures. Watch her closely, make sure she’s eating and drinking regularly.

These are just my suggestions. Please seek an experienced veterinarian if you have medical needs / questions. Thank you! 

[Vicky]

I managed to do it in the shower as she doesn’t go there so she was calmer yay.

I thought she would need pain meds too and i was freaking out but she is healthy, happy, drinking a lot and eating if I hand feed her. She even flops on her side and purr when I pet her.

She does have a postsurgical shirt on not a cone. I’m scared to put it off of her because she has staple stitches and they could be easily bit out by her.

Only thing I’m waiting for is her poo begin to look normal. She has them a lot but they are so small.

 

[jerseybunnies]

That sounds great! After the poops are normal, your rabbit should be up and running just like before! 🙂

These are just my suggestions. Please seek an experienced veterinarian if you have medical needs / questions. Thank you! 

[Vicky]

How long could it be until her poops turn back normal?

[DanaNM]

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.

. . . 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.  

[Vicky]

Thank you very much for the answer!!

Yes, she is cleaning herself not touching the incision area. But she is doing it like most of the day. Could it be because she has this shirt on?

 

[DanaNM]

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!

. . . 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.  

[Vicky]

Thank you! And could she still be eating less than usual?

She is happy about her food, acting normal but she is eating just not as much as before. And of course less poops then.

Is it still okay?:)

[DanaNM]

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?

. . . 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.  

[Vicky]

Well they gave her a cone to wear for ten days but i couldn’t do that so i gave her a shirt. She needs her stitches removed so until then I will leave the shirt on.

She would like to go out of her xpen, can i let her free roam in one room or is it too much? I saw some bunnies free roam on second day after spay but some were kept in cage ten days hmm.

Thank you

 

[LBJ10]

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.

[DanaNM]

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).

. . . 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.  

[Vicky]

Oh wow, i haven’t heard they should be caged for 14 days, thats so long 😳 some bunnies run around after few days or week 😳

[DanaNM]

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.

. . . 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.  

[Vicky]

Okay I think I will just leave her restricted like she is until the staples are removed. Thank you for your opinion ! 😊

[DanaNM]

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

. . . 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.  

[Vicky]

Yeaah i feel bad for her. She seems quite sad to be in small space 🥺

[Bam]

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.

[Vicky]

Aw, thank you very much these are the words I needed to hear to reassure me in everything.

Sometimes I just overthink but it’s because I want best for her. And when I see she wants something like now she wants to get out i would do anything to make her pleased.

And can I ask how much time you usually spend with your bun? 😊 I’m really always curious about that.

[DanaNM]

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

. . . 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.  

[Vicky]

Thank you very much for suggestions you all are so sweet and helpful

[Vicky]

Sorry to bother you a lot. I just have one more question.

Before my bunny went to spay, she had like a false pregnancy and she made a nest for her “babies” should I remove it before I let her free roam or leave it there?

[Bam]

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.

[Vicky]

She had already finished the nest before we went to spay her.
But yes okay I will keep it there and maybe now she won’t show interest at all. If she won’t i will then take it away.

[Bam]

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.

 

[Vicky]

Ohhh thank you very much. I hope it won’t be worse, she seems very good now.

And i have read that orangey urine is okay after spay too is it true? Mine has like this reddish orange urine now. She doesn’t eat carrots tho haha if it’s the case

 

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

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

[Author]

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