Post spay – not eating

[Alisha]

When I went and picked Luna up today, I was kind of expecting them to bring up critical care or tell me if she hasn’t eaten in 12 hours to bring her in or something like that. They didn’t. I don’t know why I didn’t ask. I just forgot in the moment. They gave me two medications for her and told me when to give her them and that’s it. 

It’s dinner time and she won’t eat, should I try to give her critical care? Her medicine dose is in half an hour and I’ve never syringe fed an animal before so this will be interesting…

Since she’s not eating, would it be worth just mixing her medicine in the critical care and get all three  things done at once or is that a big no?

[JLH]

when my bun was spayed she had not eating for 12 hours so I called her doctor and she had me pick up a different/stronger pain med, after 30 mins of a dose of the new pain med she was eating and happy. I think your bun is in too much pain that she doesn’t want to eat. I would call her doctor if you can, if not at least get some water in her. I don’t know anything about the critical care feeding so for that I apologize.

[Doodler]

My doe didn’t really eat the first day and she only nibbled the second day. Her appetite picked up on the third day. Your girl had a much rougher go of it. My vet instructed me that if she didn’t start eating to contact them and that would be when they would discuss Critical Care. I never had to use it but if I wasn’t getting nibbles on the second day I would have called them to see if I should. Is she drinking and pooping? The main thing you have to be careful of is if she has a blockage because then you won’t want to force feed her. In her case I doubt that is the cause but of course we always have to be cautious.

If it were me I wouldn’t mix the medicine in Critical Care for a couple of reasons. If you can’t get the Critical Care in her you will waste the medicine and she won’t get the dosage she needs. I am assuming one is Metacam, which my bunnies have all loved so hopefully she’ll love it too. If it’s another pain medicine I am not sure if it’s as delicious. I am assuming the other is for infection. Some medicines can loose efficacy when mixed with other things so it’s not worth the risk. If you list what they are others may have an opinion on whether you can mix it.

[Kiki]

I bribed mine with banana after day 2

[Dface]

Sometimes rabbits crave weird stuff when thet are feeling poorly. Mine have all eaten dandelions when feeling unwell and i had a vet who used to spend her lunch pickinng dandelion leaves for rabbits who wouldnt eat after anesthetic, sometimes fresh grass can be given successfully too. If she hasnt eaten in 12 hours i would start by syringing critical care, there are youtube videos showing a range of techniques to use.

[Bam]

She must eat. It’s especially important for chubby buns, and your vet claims Luna is chubby. So I’d give her CC right away and not wait. Chubby buns are more at risk of a very dangerous condition called hepatic lipidosis if they dont eat. I just read about this last night when I was looking for info about spaying a chubby bun. It isn’t abnormal for a girl bun to not want to eat post spay, but Luna has to.

She might also benefit from a warm water bottle or hand warmers in a towel so she keeps her body temp up.

Pretty much whatever she wants to eat now is fine. One of our members has a bun who only wanted to eat rose petals after her spay. Pellets are as a rule the last thing the go back to.

[Alisha]

I need to go to the pet store and buy a syringe that is big enough to hold the CC. I tried with my biggest syringe they gave me and that was a fail ha so when they open I’ll be driving over there. She hates the metacam. anything I’m putting in her mouth she just hates it haha I tried giving her a small spoon of CC just in case it smelled good to lick at. She looked at me like I was crazy haha Oh man this is so stressful

She is not drinking ANY water. I think I caught her eating her poop at one point so there’s something but she needs more than that.

[Alisha]

She is also a really difficult rabbit when it comes to cooperating with things. I have scratches all over my arm from her attacking me because she doesn’t want to be a bunny burrito

[Bam]

It’s really good that she is feisty! Its inconvenient for the human, but it shows strength and fighting spirit and that is great.

It’s common for buns to not drink much post surgery. They are as a rule given fluids at the vet (and she was probably given a lot of fluids because of the bleeding), plus if she isn’t eating dry food, she has very little need to drink.

It can be tricky to syringe feed a rabbit, and a lot of the CC tends to end up on the bun and the human + the furniture. As long as you get some of it into her it’s not worrisome.

Does she wash herself after being g fed? That is another important good sign to look out for.

[Kiki]

Does she have any favorite foods/or treats that you haven’t tried yet? My vet also told me to put a little fruit juice in her water to entice her. So I bought some fresh pineapple at the store and put some of that in there. She drank right away after that

[Alisha]

She has been cleaning herself a lot so I figured that’s a good sign but she seems aggitated and keeps digging at things randomly and just seems overall pissed off. Yes I just tried feeding her the critial care and yes I’m sure some of it went into her system but the majority of it ended up on my face, my shirt, my pants, my bed haha and she has quite a bit stuck on her dewlap and I tried to wipe it off and she got mad so I’m kinda hoping she licks it clean and gets more nutrients from it or something. It’s apple banana flavored. It can’t be that bad. She’s a drama queen.

What worries me is she keeps sitting in her litter and hay and I’d rather her be sitting on something soft since her entire stomach is lined with staples. I am wondering if she’s cold at all so I did order a heat pad that I will have to pick up in the evening. I’m hopping it’s safe if I just make sure she can’t get to the cord? I just want to see if she’d like to sit on it or not. Idk.

I’ve tried giving her her favorite treat and she won’t take it. I could try the juice thing but I highly doubt that would make a difference. She’s highly uninterested in anything so I’m hoping it wears off soon so I don’t have to keep force feeding her because she totally hates me right now haha

[DanaNM]

Hi there, just tuning in , sorry you are having a rough go of it

I wouldn’t recommend a heating pad, but you can wrap a bottle of warm water in a towel and place it near her. You can also microwave some rice and put it in a sock for her to cuddle up to.

Keep at it with the critical care, no matter how much she fights you. Some buns like it more with canned pumpkin (unsweetened) mixed in. Add extra liquid so she gets some more fluids in her.

You can also offer mint tea to encourage her to drink.

Do you have fresh grass available? My bun just went through a stasis bought and once he started feeling a bit better he loved that. Keep trying different herbs and things, as sometimes they crave different things when not feeling well.

. . . 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.  

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