Oreo’s spay – question

[Ali925]

Hi all,

My 6 month old Oreo is getting spayed on Wednesday.  I have read a lot of the older posts and gotten some good advice regarding pre and post spay preparation/care.  However, I have one question I don’t think I saw answered.  How did you handle the litter box?  I don’t expect her to hop in and out of it as usual and actually I think it’s probably good to discourage any movement like that for a few days.  We plan to restrict her to her cage (when usually she has a large pen attached to the cage) for at least the first few days.  

Should we remove the box completely and just put litter on the ground where the box usually is?  I have seen low profile litter boxes for special needs bunnies, but I didn’t want to buy something extra that will probably only be used once.  Also, I’m concerned that she’ll sit in her litter area since she sometimes like to chill in the litter box and I don’t want that to affect the incision site.  Maybe that’s not as big of a concern?

Any advice is welcome; especially since I’m sure many of you have been through this already.  Thanks in advance!  I know I’m not an active member on here but every time I have a question you are all so helpful, so thanks for that.

[jerseygirl]

I think she should manage the litterbox just fine. It’s probably good to keep her things in her cage as they are. If you do find she has trouble with the box (I highly doubt it) perhaps use those puppy pads in the corner where she goes?
She may like to lay down on a bare cage floor also as it is coolish and may feel soothing to the incision area. Hope it all goes well!

[Ali925]

Thanks jerseygirl,
I was thinking of lining the cage with a towel since she likes laying on those (and just changing them out daily or as needed..). The only thing she uses her cage for now is eating/drinking and using litter box. She spends most of the day in her pen laying on towels or playing of course. Because of that, her cage is empty except for what I just mentioned. I think if I don’t put towels down she may stay in her litter box… I guess I could do half towel and half bare cage floor and see what she goes to.
Thanks, I hope it goes well too…I’m very nervous. Can’t wait until it’s over.

[Beka27]

Some people remove the litterbox, but I would leave it in if she seems to be handling it okay. Make sure it’s very clean (and probably change the litter daily). For many buns the litterbox is sort of a “safe spot” b/c it is their own personal area. You could also put some soft hay over top of the litter and this may encourage nibbling.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I left the litter box. Also I bleached it out before she came home and thoroughly cleaned everything just in case. If you use aspen chips or WSP or yesterdays news etc-try using something softer like carefresh (maybe switch a few days prior to surgery so she knows it’s still potty stuff)

[Denise12]

We left her litter box in her cage and its doing great. Buster just got spayed Saturday. She is now loafed in it.
The first day back she didn’t go in it really and was pooping a lot of outside of it. I hand fed her hay, b/c I saw she wasn’t eating any.
It was all cleaned for her before she came home too. She’s really not going the bathroom too much.

[Ali925]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I’ll keep the litter box in then… Also, we use carefresh, so I think it should be okay. The surgery is tomorrow morning, so now I’m getting nervous… They keep her overnight too, so we won’t see her until Thursday. But it’s probably better since they’ll be able to monitor her better than we would. Any other words of advice are welcome…

[Beka27]

Healing vibes for Oreo!!!!!

[Sarita]

Keep us updated! Healing vibes to Oreo.

[Ali925]

Thanks for your support! The vet called me this afternoon to say she did fine, no issues. She was in recovery at the time, so there wasn’t much to report other then that the surgery went well. We’ll hear from them tomorrow morning to see if she’s ready to come home. I don’t think they’ll let us take her until she’s eating again. That’s probably a good safety so we don’t end up back there if she’s refusing to eat.

I was very impressed with our vet, he’s great. He took Oreo directly from my husband (not a technician or anything) and he’s the one to call to give updates, etc. Maybe this is always how it is, but I had no idea. Hopefully she comes home tomorrow…it’s weird (and quiet!) without her…

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