Post Surgery- Not Eating

[BunnyBrat]

Hello BinkyBunny!

I’ve been lurking on this forum for quite a while but today was the first time I felt the need to post something. 

My 7 year old, Plot, has just returned home from surgery. He had a big bladder stone removed. While recovering at the vet, he was not eating much and they began to give him Critical Care. We suspected that he wasn’t eating because he has always been fussy and hates being outside his home. So the vet told us to bring him home and try feeding him there.

We have been trying to feed him his Critical Care but he has been refusing to swallow. We get a bit in his mouth and wait. And he just sits there and looks angry and then it slowly dribbles out the side. 

Any tips on how to successfully give a fussy rabbit Critical Care?

We have tried in the past hiding his medicine in pieces of fruit. But he needs to take about 25ml of Critical Care two or three times a day, so that would be way to much junk food for his recovering diet. 

He has been very lethargic and has stayed in the corner of his hutch but has accepted pettings and treats. But beyond that is just very tired. 

Had anyone whose had a bunny with a bladder stone surgery seen similar behavior?

Thanks!

[JackRabbit]

Sometimes with Critical Care it seems like more is ending up on the bunny and you than is getting in the bunny but you just have to keep at it. Some BBers have had good luck witb mixing pure canned pumpkin (not pie filling but 100% pumpkin) in with the CC. The pumpkin has lots of fiber too. I’m assuming the vet sent you home with pain meds so definitely stay on schedule with that. I would also be in touch with your vet because they may also want to go ahead with some gut stimulant meds.

[kirstyol]

Bramble doesn’t take syringe feeding well either, he does the exact same thing, refuses to swallow it and it just drips down his chin. I can sometimes get him to take a little bit by just putting the tiniest amount in his mouth, or more so on his lips which causes him to lick it off but I would be there all day and it just stresses him out. What I have found is that if I mix the stuff in with banana and put it in a little dish and leave it near him in his cage he will eventually eat it. The worry with that is that if he doesn’t take it then its a problem and we have to try again with the syringe. Its just one of those awful things we have to go through, and Bramble is like that after every anaesthetic (he has molar spurs that need done every so often), so its a regular occurrence with us unfortunately.

[Bam]

I am one of those bunny -owners who have been covered in Critical Care trying to make a stubborn bunny eat. I figure as long as sth is going into the bunny, it’s worth it. When I had to syringe-feed my Yohio for 4 weeks, I mixed CC with berry -juice, (unsweetened blueberry/raspberry) that had a probiotic (lactobacillus plantarum) in it. It seemed to make him hate it a bit less. I know that someone here used baby food (unsweetened blueberry/pear I think) with her bunny.

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