Licorice gets Neutered tomorrow – nervous!

[Katscarpena]

Two things right off the bat – first many thanks to Albert’s thread. Seeing his recovery process helped put my mind at ease. It seems like in about 3-4 days he was mostly himself again.

Second thing – Licorice is the little Jersey Wooly we found stray.  He was SO matted – I mean it was unreal. He looked twice the size he was – all felted down under there. It’s been bad. We did the best we could – and got out 80% of the matted areas – then he just stopped wanting to be brushed. So the vet has agreed to shave him down while he is under already.

 This leads into my question – so he will not only have surgery, but he’s going to come home pretty ah “bare.” I am so worried he will just be miserable. He’ll be uncomfortable I’m sure from the surgery – and then possibly even cold due to having no hair left. Poor baby!!!

 

What else should I do here? I’m considering removing all his bedding and putting in towels (except in his litter pan.) What is everyone thoughts on this?

 And I’ll post pics of him shaved at some point – poor thing, I know he will be hilarious looking. But – how do I keep him from getting matted again? Someone I had contacted from the Angora society had really advised against shaving him unless he’s just completely felted – but he really is back on his haunches and has stopped letting us brush him (assuming it hurts a bit.)

Kate

[LittlePuffyTail]

What type of bedding are you using?

I’m sure he will be just fine. Make sure his area is warm. Bunnies are great at adapting.

I’ve never owned a wool breed but I suggest starting to brush him regularly as his hair grows back. He will probably be more tolerant because it won’t be all matted and so not painful. You’ll really have to work on getting him to accept getting brushed.

Sending (((Vibes))) for an easy neuter and speedy recovery!

[LBJ10]

If the mats are bad, then sometimes it is easier just to “start over”. So having his shaved is a good idea. Then you can maintain it as it grows out.

[BunnyLady1989]

Yeah, I would just stay on top of brushing him. Wishing him a speedy recovery! And can’t wait to see pics of his less furry self

[Bam]

If you’ve a hot water bottle, you can wrap it in a fleece blanket and put it in his cage so he can snuggle up against it when he comes home. Just make sure there’s enough room for him to move away from it if it gets too warm for his liking. My Bam snuggled with his hot water-bottle when he came home from his neuter.

Matted fur is thought to be painful, not just when it’s being brushed, so my guess is it will be a relief for him to be shaved. And as LPT, LBJ and BunnyLady say, then you can start over.

Best of luck and many vibes for him! I too am looking forward to pics of him!

 

PS: fleece is better than towels because towels have long threads that can cause serious tummy-trouble if ingested. Not that he’ll probably ingest a lot of anything right after his neuter, but for future use, fleece is safer than woven fabric.

[Katscarpena]

Thank you all so much for the reassurances!

Bam – one of the boys said they’d give up a fleece blanket for him. I’ll do that instead just in case.

My poor 10 year old is really worried he is going to “hate us” for having him “snipped and shaved.” I keep telling him he might not be himself for a few days, but he’ll be alright and it’s for his health. I hope neither of the boys lose it when we drop him at the vet tomorrow. Licorice is intuitive, and senses when they are upset – he goes over and licks them then. (Or he likes salty tears – but hey – we like the former reasoning. LOL)

[Katscarpena]

UPDATE – they called and said he did great in surgery. The Dr. didn’t have the heart to fully shave him because it’s freezing here still (snowing today) and he’s such a lil’ bit (2.6 lbs only), so they got all the big mats and brushed out the rest while he was under. They are keeping him until he is eating and drinking. I have to call at 3pm for another update.

And in the meantime – Chipper chewed a hole in my couch then refused to come out from under the couch when he realized Licorice was missing. So strange. I thought he’d be relieved to have a break from Mr. Sassy-pants. He seems to be unsettled that he’s gone though. Is that normal?

[Katscarpena]

Is shaking normal? He is shaking – is he cold possibly?

 He ate 2 cheerios, but won’t touch any other food. Also – he seems kind of dazed. Is all this normal? 

 

[LBJ10]

How much time had lapsed? They can sometimes be a little out of it when they first come home. A little wobbly and whatnot. If he isn’t better now, then I would be worried.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

You asked this only a few hours after he came out of so that sounds all pretty normal. They normally are back to normal 24 hours from coming home.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

How is he now?

[Katscarpena]

Thank you all so much for your concerns! I pulled out a heating pad and put it under his cage where he was laying, and he was much better. The shaking stopped later last night. He started eating and drinking last night as well. Hooray for Cheerios! He went for those, then a strawberry, when they were gone – he ate a bunch of hay.

This morning he seems good, still a little disoriented. He did fine with taking his meds – I think he is likely very uncomfortable. I think with what counts though – the eating and drinking he is golden. He is sitting behind me eating hay now. He ate some pellets too. I can see he’s pooping too – they are very small. No urine yet as far as I can tell. I’m keeping an eye on that now.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m glad to hear he made it through well. Hope he’s back to himself very soon!

[Katscarpena]

I do too. He’s so pitiful right now. =( He is usually a very energetic little guy. All he’s doing is laying around. And he keeps sighing! So sad! He is eating and drinking here and there though – so I know he’s ok. I just have never felt so sorry for the little guy.

[LopNessMonster]

Aww poor bunbun. I stayed home with Nessie the day after her spay and she just huddled in the corner under the couch for almost the entire day and when she walked she was waddling instead of hopping. It was kind of funny but I felt bad because I know she must have been hurting some. I let her stay huddled up and brought her a bowl of water and some greens and hay so she wouldn’t have to move too much. She was doing a lot better the second day and I’m sure Licorice will too. It may take a bit to get back to hops and flops (Nessie didn’t flop for weeks) but he should be happy again soon. <3 to Licorice

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Yeah Bam got neutered Tuesday and he still doesn’t hop..he just does like an awkward walking like a dog type thing. Looks odd coming from a bunny.

The fact he’s eating and drinking are great. He’s passed the hump and he will soon get better. Just give a couple days to rest and heal. I would avoid letting him out of the cage for a couple days. He can accidentaly irritate the incision or tear it making the recovery more difficult. Just a nice flat cage, no jumping. And he’ll be just fine

Yay licorice!

[Bam]

Great that he’s doing so well!

My Bam wasn’t very happy after his neuter either – he was actually quite miserable-looking. But he came around.

[Katscarpena]

Yes! The waddling. Poor thing. He also is sighing. Like “oh woe is me. I’m a sad bunny.” He is very slowly coming about. Mostly resting. His appetite is good, and he was “asking” to be let out (chewing the cage bars) – but I reached in and petted him for a bit in the cage, and he just went back to sleep. Poor sweetie.

[LBJ10]

It sounds like there has been a lot of improvement since I last checked this thread. That’s good! I’m sure he will be back to his normal self in no time. =)

How is his fur? You’ll want to check it once he’s better if he’s been laying around a lot. It shouldn’t be too difficult to run a quick comb through. Nothing that will upset him too much, but enough to get everything back into place if there was some rubbing going on.

[Katscarpena]

His fur leaves a lot to be desired. While I am glad the vet didn’t want to shave him clean – it might have seriously been better. I still am going to have to work at a few mats (minor ones) but he is not in the mood. I think all his laying around is making them worse.

[LBJ10]

Yes, it can certainly contribute to the problem. What kind of comb/brush do you have?

[Kbana]

I am glad to hear he is eating and pooping! I didn’t confine Albert actually after his neuter. Though he isn’t free range so that helped. I just took out his maze/hidey house so that he couldn’t jump. Sorry to hear you are still dealing with mats. Hopefully as he heals up more he will be more tolerant of the brushing. I actually use a cheap plastic fine toothed comb and it seems to work pretty well. I hold the base of the fur so it doesn’t tug on his skin. The metal de-matting combs made me nervous.

[Katscarpena]

LBJ10 – we have 2 types of grooming tools – a metal mat pick/hook type thing, and a brush. He was very cooperative and let me brush him this morning while eating a strawberry.

We are letting him out again as of today – he was really “asking” (bites on cage bars.) He is post-op day 3 and seems mostly like himself. A little tired acting still – but the site looks good. No swelling, bruising, or bleeding. I can see the vet left his scrotum, and they used surgical glue – so he has no sutures. He appears to be healing very well.

[LBJ10]

If you need something for when he’s shedding, I would recommend the Hair Buster comb. It is great at getting the loose stuff off. Otherwise, a brush is fine for keeping everything from getting tangled/matted.

It’s normals for them the simply make an incision in the sacks and remove the testicle. What’s left behind will love shriveled now, but they will shrink over time. Glad everything looks okay and glad he’s tolerant of brushing. I think even a little bit on a regular basis is going to do wonders for keeping him mat-free.

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