Rip Milo :(

[Cosmo ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡]

My almost 3 year old lion head buck named Milo had an appointment to get neutered on December 12, 2022 & I overslept which was like a sign to not go but the office allowed me to still bring him in. As soon as he finished all his food I rushed out the door & after dropping him off I thought to myself that I wish I had spent more time with him just in case that was the last chance I could have. He is now resting in a park I once took him since he didn’t wake up after the surgery. I can’t help but blame myself because I felt that the vet could have been more thorough yet I took him anyway because I thought that maybe this vet actually knew what they were doing since they helped recover him quickly from a mouth abscess. I’m aware of the risk of anesthetic complications but I don’t get the comfort of knowing that it was because of that since they didn’t perform any precautionary tests before the surgery. He wasn’t aggressive at all, he was a sweetheart, & even friendly to my cats but the main reason I took him was because I wanted to get him a friend plus he loved to spray on my bed. I also read that it prevents diseases like testicular cancer but I’d like to know if they can just develop this or if it’s a result of mating. I plan to take my new bunny Cosmo to a different vet for a checkup when he’s around six months but I’m sure you can understand why I’m hesitant to get him neutered. I understand that not neutering him means that he can’t have a friend & that I’ll have to deal with spraying, droppings, & humping. But besides that, if there is nothing life threatening I’m really not sure if it’s worth it.

[Bam]

I’m very sorry you lost Milo. He was beautiful.

Rabbit anaesthesia is a lot safer nowadays than it used to be, but adverse reactions still occur, albeit rarely.

Testicular cancer can develop spontaneously. It’s not a common form of cancer in rabbits, and the reason why the incidence has risen these last few years is simply that rabbits live longer nowadays. Testicular cancer in buns almost only occurs in elderly buns.

In short, a male bun is primarily neutered for convenience -both the bun’s convenience and the owner’s. A bun that sprays pee everywhere is likely to be kept in a restricted area, for practical reasons, whereas a neutered bun can be trained to free roam. Some intact buns can become obsessed with other pets in the household or the bun human and try to mate pretty much all the time.

I do understand your reluctance to have Cosmo neutered. It’s awful to lose a rabbit. It’d be extrenely unlikely to lose two rabbits during their neuters, though.

[Wick & Fable]

I’m very sorry for your loss, and it makes sense that this terrible experience generates hesitation to consider neutering another rabbit. As Bam mentions, rabbit anesthesia combined with a healthy rabbit and experienced rabbit vet is very safe, but there are sometimes things we cannot foresee, even with doing bloodwork or things ahead of time. It is rare, and it happens. Neutering, especially in the context of having a cat and also with thoughts of finding a partner for the your rabbit, is the recommended course of action to maximize the chance of long-standing stable relationships.

I’m very sorry for your loss. Binky free Milo.

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.

[LBJ10]

I’m so sorry for your loss. Reactions to anesthesia are very rare, but they do happen. Even in people. He was a beautiful bun. You were doing the right thing by having him neutered, especially since you wanted to get him a friend.

[Cosmo ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡]

You’re all so sweet. Thank you all for your responses. This forum has helped me so much in finding information & I finally decided to make an account because I wanted to hear people’s views on neuters because of my experience. I know that the outcome could have been inevitable but I felt that maybe the tests would have shown something & if they didn’t at least I would’ve known that I did all I could. I had a bad feeling when I was filling out the paperwork because there was a section about fasting my pet which I didn’t do which concerned two staff members. Firstly, they never told me to do so & when I asked why would I have to do that the staff member said that the tube could cause them to throw up. I was like but rabbits can’t throw up?? He checked in with the doctor & thankfully the doctor knew that you’re not supposed to fast rabbits but the fact that his team wasn’t even educated on a such a common thing to know about rabbits showed me that they don’t do this procedure often. On my way home I started crying because of how intense that bad feeling was. I didn’t go with my gut because I’ve always been told I am just a worrier so I thought maybe that’s all it was. But this is exactly why I always assume the worst possible outcome. It was extremely painful to see his deceased body but he did look peaceful & I can say that I’m grateful he didn’t suffer & that he lived a happy life but it should’ve been longer & I can’t help but feel responsible. Milo was with me through some of the hardest years of my life when I was in & out of hospitals. His pure existence kept me going because people would say to me what would Milo do if I wasn’t here anymore. He could tell when something was wrong & always knew how to comfort me. He wasn’t the cuddly type & only seemed to trust me so his affection was priceless. He literally slept with me every night it was the most precious thing ever. I never knew how strong a bond between us & rabbits can be.  I couldn’t handle losing him so that’s why I got Cosmo so soon which honestly feels kinda strange but I feel like I’m gonna have an even stronger bond with him. I have time to think on getting the procedure done & I’ll be able to discuss it with the vet during the checkup. I’m gonna be very picky this time with who I take him to. And doesn’t $530 for a neuter plus antibiotics/pain meds seem kind of ridiculous? I would expect that price for a spay. Thankfully the vet kind heartedly didn’t charge me.

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Oh no, that’s awful! It’s a rare occurrence, but it’s horrible if it happens to your bun. I’m very sorry for the loss of your sweet, gorgeous Milo. You’ve gone through so much together, it feels so unfair that your time together was way too short.

You only wanted the best for him, and having him neutered would indeed give him more options. It’s so sad when these freak occurrences happen, because the owners were only doing what’s best for their rabbit.

Neutering a male opens up so many possibilities like bonding and free-roaming. It also decreases the chance of aggression and stops spraying. In general I noticed that our boys got less frustrated too. They both had it really bad, and once the hormones were gone they were much happier and more relaxed.

I hope that a new vet can make you feel more confident when Cosmo needs a neuter. Share your worries with the new vet, maybe they can give you some more info about their procedures around surgery.

About the price of the procedure: I’m not familiar with the prices overseas, but in NL we paid €325 for Molly’s spay. That included the surgery, a 24 hour Metacam shot and a bottle of Metacam, no ABs were given. Owen’s neuter cost just €80, which was the surgery and a 24 hour Metacam shot. We bought an extra bottle of Metacam just in case.

 

Binky free, sweet Milo! You’ve been an amazing husbun.

[Author]

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