Not eating after spay

[phi]

Hi,
I’m really stressed about my little girl and hoping to hear about your buns post spay experiences…

She got spayed on Tuesday and we were given metacam to administer once a day

A few hours after the spay she was nibbling a tiny tiny bit of hay, maybe a strand here and there.
Wednesday morning she nibbled a few strands of hay again and maybe a few pellets… But nothing the rest of the day so we took her in to the vet because they were worried.

Vet said he heard some movement but gave us two meds to help stimulate her gut and also recommended feeding her with critical care. He gave her an injection of pain killer, I think it helped because that night – 24 hours after the spay – she actually had a full meal overnight including fresh veg and pellets

But Thursday morning after she ate absolutely nothing, absolutely no response to any food offerings, and still had no interest in food by midday

We took her to the vet as they advised us to bring her in, worried about stasis setting in. I didn’t want to because I know she’d get stressed a bit, but I did because they recommended it..

It’s Friday and she’s still got absolutely no interest in food, it feels like she got worse. We’ve been giving her a bit of critical care throughout the day but she obviously hates it and I’m worried I’m hurting her mouth.. I’m getting so upset seeing her so sad and she looks so uncomfortable all the time. She hardly moves all day and night apart from some repositioning every few hours.

Has anyone had a similar experience? I don’t know what to do.

Am I supposed to keep bringing her to the vet for pain killers with the injection? Metacam doesn’t seem to do anything for her..

Will she ever get better from this? Do rabbits ever fully recover after needing to be force fed critical care?

[jerseygirl]

Im sorry to hear she is taking this long. It’s good she had a turn around after the injection so perhaps further pain management is the key.
May I ask what dose and strength metacam she is getting? Maybe there needs be an adjustment of the oral pain meds or an alternative one given?

Sending {{{healing vibes}}} for you bunny.

[phi]

She was about 1.1kg when she got spayed, she lost weight since then and is now under 1kg. She was prescribed 0.3ml once per day…

She’s so much worse this morning than before. I woke up and found her front chest soaked from standing over her water bowl. Her ears and paws were wet. She’s feels completely limp that I thought she had a broken paw but she seems functional.

She doesn’t even really swallow when I give her the critical care….. It’s really scary and sad but I think I’m supposed to keep going with it?

[Bam]

You should contact your vet again, this is not good. 0.3 ml Metacam is a very low dose though. Medirabbit says Metacam (meloxicam) can be given in doses ranging from 0.1 ml to 1.5 ml per kilo body weight and day. Rabbits metabolize Metacam more quickly than dogs and cats, thus they need a higher dosage. Ranitidine (Zantac) can be given to protect the stomach lining during the course of Metacam. Ranitidine can also help with gut motility. http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

[phi]

Thank you for the info. I was wondering as well about the pain meds because they don’t seem to be helping her at all really. We’ve been to the vet every day since Tuesday so we’re on our way now since you’ve mentioned it I feel more comfortable pressing the vet to see if we can do anything more for her pain. I’m just worried that it’s complicated now because she’s really not eating anything except the small amounts of critical care I can get down her.

Can anyone give me hope that she is going to be okay? Do rabbits ever recover from something like this? It just feels awful

[Bam]

Rabbits do recover from things like these, but every case is different of course. We’ve had rabbits here at have come back from the brink of death. This is very serious though, and she needs vet intervention with supportive care like fluids (warmed up fluids if she’s hypothermic) and possibly antibiotics and adequate pain relief. Tramadol and buprenorphin can be used with rabbits, but they both slow the GI tract so must be used with caution.
Here’s an abstract from a study on metabolism of meloxicam in rabbits:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/16521861/
I’ll be keeping her in my thoughts.

[phi]

Thanks bam, I really needed to hear that rabbits can come back from this.

Vet said her temperature is normal and he can hear movement in her gut. Wound site looks “good” and he was happy with how it looked. So he said it’s probably pain and the uncomfortableness of her GI slowing down..

Asked about the metacam dose, he said we could do 0.35 with the gut stimulants and critical care but not more than once a day in case of other complications.

She had a pain injection just now so I’m hoping she just feels a lot better after that and will regain some appetite

We didn’t want to leave her there because we can give her the critical care and he said she probably wouldn’t get anything different from the stay, just that they would be able to keep an eye on her but I think she would rather be at home

[Bam]

Many rabbits do prefer to be home, rabbits are very big on routines and “normalcy”. I’m glad her temp was good and the surgical site too. Hopefully she’ll feel better soon. Keep feeding her, of course. Talk to her and try to be in the same room as she but (obviously!) dont make lots of noise etc. Rabbits appreciate company even if they don’t seem to be interacting.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Keep trying and finding what your rabbit might eat to get the gut going. Try absolutely anything on the rabbit-can-eat list… even naughty treats like baby carrots, raisins or hard stale bread even…. just get her interest back !!

I had all my rabbit’s favourite treats on standby for after her op and she didn’t want any of them!!
I eventually had to go and steal some rose petals and leaves from the neighbours garden as this is what my rabbit decided she wanted to nibble. Once your bun is back to normal, she will forgive you for the force feeding !

[phi]

Thank you for the responses everyone.

Unfortunately she passed away suddenly today…

Very upset about it obviously. I was giving her critical care every few hours even at 4am at night just hope she wasn’t in too much agony throughout the day.

Thanks again everyone I found this forum comforting

[Wick & Fable]

I’m so sorry to read about this phi. I imagine any pet would feel comforted knowing their owner stayed up during the night to help nurture them. Rabbits can be very receptive of their owner’s affect, so I’m sure she felt the love and support you were giving to her up until her last moments.

Binky free.

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.

[Bam]

I’m so very sorry, phi. You did all you possibly could for her. I’m convinced she knew you were trying to help her, animals know. As Wick says, rabbits are receptive, they read us much more clearly than we can ever hope to read them.

Binky free, sweet little girl ?

[Vienna Blue in France]

So sorry Phi. How sad. Rabbits can be so fragile. You did all you could.
(((( Binky free ))))

[Sofia]

Binky free, sweet angel

[Muj Mom N Bun]

Binky free, sweet baby, so so sorry. I am crying for you phi, and for your little angel.

[Author]

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