Post surgery behaviour

[monbun]

My bun George-Michael had bladder stone surgery on Friday. When he came home he was a bit groggy but quickly went back to his regular energy levels (a bit to my chagrin as he’s not supposed to be too active as per vet’s advice…). He would eat CC when I offered it to him on a spoon, and seemed to tolerate his med administration okay.

Now he’s eating hay on his own (not enough I don’t think, but still on his own initiative) and he’s also been eating greens on his own. But he doesn’t want pellets and if I even go near him with CC he turns away. I’ve syringe fed him a couple of times but he struggles immensely and it worries me that he might be hurting himself so I’m not sure if it’s worth the effort? (Maybe he’s already hurt himself and that’s why he’s being difficult?) 

His poop amount has gone down considerably–which is understandable since he’s not eating much. I’m just not sure what to do. The forcefeeding is stressing him out/may be hurting him, but he needs to eat more than he already does or he’ll be in trouble?

I’ve emailed his vet but they’re not the most easy to contact (I wanted to go elsewhere for the surgery because they’re hard to get hold of, so while I wait I figured I’d check in on if anyone here has any advice).

[Wick & Fable]

If he’s not eating enough, you need to force-feed critical care. It can seem like you’re being a bad owner, forcing your rabbit to do something it doesn’t want, but that small window of (not really) harmful suffering is what’s required for a full recovery.

Although rabbits flail when restrained, they typically won’t actually hurt themselves unless they fall off of something, or they ram into a nearby object at high speeds. If it’s simply you, grabbing and gently restraining them (I trust you know the difference between a firm grip and one that would break bones), they will not harm themselves.

Since he is eating some things on his own, that’s good; however, you believe overall nutrient consumption is low, or your rabbit is losing weight and is clearly still hungry, you need to force feed CC.

Alternatively, you can make a pellet mush and see if this is more enticing to your rabbit. You soak pellets in water to create it.

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.

[Luna]

When a bun is recovering from illness/surgery, it usual takes a while for them to return to their normal amount of food consumption, and pellets are often the food last returned to. By not eating enough hay, do you think it’s just a little less than his normal? It’s good that he is eating both hay and greens on his own, so depending on how much, the critical care might not be as necessary as it was in the beginning. It’s definitely a hard balancing act – on the one hand you need to make sure he is eating enough to keep his gut moving, but on the other hand a lot of stress can possibly slow down the gut. Sorry for such a gray area answer, but it really depends on your bun and how much you can gauge he is eating and how often. If he was eating the critical care from a spoon previously, maybe he will eat it if you pour it over his greens on a plate?

[monbun]

I’ve tried tricking him to eat it and it never works! It’s just interesting because the vet tech said they didn’t have to forcefeed him CC, he just ate it off a plate which he really never did with me. I guess he was probably starved for nutrients at first and is now back to his sassy self. 

I’ll see if I can continue feeding him CC for now… I just want to make sure he gets enough nutrition for his healing. As for the hay– I’ve always felt like he doesn’t eat enough hay. (He gets a variety of fresh hay and I’ve tried multiple brands.) So I guess it’s on par with how much he normally eats, but it’s not too much. 

I feel like a lot of stuff is kind of a gray area with the buns. I don’t think he’d hurt himself normally but I’m just worried he’ll tear his stitches from his frantic kicking about, really, especially since the vet specified that he needed to not be too active. 

[Scarlet]

He sounds picky on the hay, have you tried fresher stuff? Some of them have a tendency to snub dried and some prefer it.

You might have to attempt a bunny burrito to stifle kicks and struggling as you force feed him. He’ll likely hold this against you until he’s back up to snuff, some of them hold it against us for ever letting them have surgery, so that could also be the case.

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