Not eating post spay! HELP!

[novabun]

Hi everyone,

Nova was spayed yesterday. I picked her up at 1:30PM and we were home by 4 (the clinic was far away).

She was still drowsy, and slept most of the way home. She didn’t eat anything at the vet’s and ate nothing all night.

This morning, she still refused hay, pellets, greens, and even treats. She fought her medication, and I tried to give her Critical Care to no avail. In a panic, I called the closest bunny vet and got her in as an emergency. They gave her more pain meds, gave her fluids, and force fed her some of my Critical Care.

It has been 4 and a half hours since then, and Nova is either hunched in the corner of her cage grinding her teeth (in pain), or hopping around normally – grooming herself a lot and chewing on the cage wires.

HOWEVER, she has not touched water once. The only thing she ate were a few treats and some banana, and I’ve only seen one single poo. I am trying to force hay and greens into her mouth to no avail. I also tried mixing juice with her water, hay tea, etc and nothing has worked.

The vet said I could bring her back again in an hour for more force feeding and fluids.. but travel is so stressful on her, and she sometimes seems fine and full of energy. I don’t want to make things worse by shoving her in the carrier and taking her on a 40min car ride. But I also don’t want her to get stasis!  What should I do?? I’ve been crying with worry all day…

[LittlePuffyTail]

It’s normal for girls to not want to eat much after their spay. Are you able to syringe the Critical Care yourself? If you’re not sure how, I suggest not attempting it as there is a danger of aspiration.

The fact that she ate treats and banana is a good sign.

How long since she ate? Any poops?

[novabun]

Thanks for the reply.
I can’t syringe the Critical Care myself – I’m not good at restraining her and I’m very afraid of something going wrong (like aspiration)

We just got back from the vet, who gave her a syringe full of Critical Care. I have not seen any poops at all, but she is very full of energy (and attitude) and thumped the entire time we were there. I’m going to keep an eye on her and if she doesn’t eat all night/morning, we will have to go back for fluids and more force feeding.

EDIT: she is highly agitated, running back and forth and shaking the walls of her pen to get out. all of that energy is a good sign, right? She still won’t take any hay, treats, food or water.

[novabun]

It’s Day 3 now and Nova has not touched water or peed, at all.

I try to syringe it to her but she is very upset and none of it gets in her mouth, just all over her face and cage.

She ate a bite of baby carrot and that was all last night. I didn’t see any poop this morning either…

I’m so worried for my girl.. she should be feeling a little better by now, right? Reading all these stories of bunnies bouncing back the morning after are really making me think something is seriously wrong  

[Bam]

She should’ve eaten by now and she absolutely must get some food in her. Can you get anyone to help hold her while you syringe her CC or pellet mush?

As for bouncing back the next day, it’s very very rare for girl buns. Boys do it all the time, but a spay is a much more invasive procedure than a neuter.

It’s a good sign that she’s fighting you when you try to give her water — it means she has strength and willpower.

If you still aren’t seeing poop, I’d call the vet again, she might need a gut stimulant.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Mine was VERY fussy the few days after – I had to try EVERYTHING, all the treats possible, all the usual ‘no-nos’ but anything to get her in the mood for eating.
(my saviour was rose petals…!)

Have you tried everything… apple, banana, carrots, raisins, various herbs, strawberry (dried from cereals?), mango, shreddies (if in uk) yes some high in sugar, but the priority at the moment is to give her encouragement to eat.

Definitely thumping is a good sign !! Haha

I presume when you are syringing you are wrapping her in a bunny burrito so all her paws are inside and ‘safe’ and it makes it easier for you…

[novabun]

Since my earlier post, I have gotten her to eat a bite of banana and a single piece of hay that I shoved in her face until she angrily munched it
I tried to hide some banana in a salad to get her to eat some veggies, but she refused.
My biggest worry is that she definitely isn’t drinking water or eating greens. I haven’t seen her pee at all. She’s already very distraught from all the vet visits, but if i can’t get her to drink I’ll be forced to bring her back for fluids…

So far I have tried carrots, bananas, her Oxbow treats, romaine, spinach, strawberries and strawberry tops, oats, pumpkin, apple juice and pineapple juice in her water… she turns her head and narrows her eyes at me. So I leave it laying near her but she never touches it. She’s never had parsley or mint so I am about to head to the store to get her some and see if it works..

EDIT: I bought little Nova some basil, parsley, mint, carrot and banana baby food, more bananas, and an apple. She has eaten a tiny bite of parsley – but even better, she’s nibbling at hay!  My question is, how much do I need to worry about her water intake? I still haven’t seen her drink or pee. I’ve been dipping the veggies in water but she isn’t eating them. And when I put the water bowl to her face, she turns away. If I don’t see her drink for the next few hours should I take her to the vet again for fluids? 

[Vienna Blue in France]

I’m really not sure…. would she drink a bit of apple juice flavoured water? Or pineapple? Or smushed banana in it?
She had fluids from vet yesterday (?) so I think she should be OK till atleast tomorrow when you can see if she drinks more.

TBH I don’t ever “see” my buns drinking outside of summer but I think they get more than plenty fluids from the chicory they eat, because they sure pee enough fluids!

[Bam]

Call the vet again if you haven’t seen any pee yet. She might need a round of sub q fluids. Bunnies don’t always drink a lot as Vienna says, it doesn’t matter if they get their water from greens or from a bowl, but there should be quite a lot of pee every day.

She’s eaten something at least, that’s a good sign. But you should ask your vet about the pee issue.

[novabun]

Posted By bam on 2/01/2017 3:01 PM

Call the vet again if you haven’t seen any pee yet. She might need a round of sub q fluids. Bunnies don’t always drink a lot as Vienna says, it doesn’t matter if they get their water from greens or from a bowl, but there should be quite a lot of pee every day.

She’s eaten something at least, that’s a good sign. But you should ask your vet about the pee issue.

The vet told me that she’s most likely drinking when I’m not watching her, but if I still don’t see any pee I should bring her in.

HOWEVER, as soon as I got home, I grabbed the carrier and walked up to the cage.. and Nova stretched, hopped over to her pellets, and took a few bites.  Then she went and peed in the litter box! It was only a little bit, but it’s not dark or unusual looking. 

Eating pellets is a very good sign, right? She is pooping, but they are still little poops. For now, I am going to keep harassing her with the water and hay instead of stressing her out with a long car ride to the vet.

EDIT: Since that one nibble of pellets Nova hasn’t touched a thing, food or water. I tried administering Clinical Care and she freaked out, kicking and running – it got all over her and she’s hiding in the corner of her cage now. I’ve left her alone for about an hour, but she isn’t eating or using the bathroom. All of the vets are closed… should I try Clinical Care again?

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