Should she be spayed?

[HareIvoryWhiskers]

Hi, hello again! So sorry to post so much. I didn’t intend to post this much. ^v^; Anywho! My step mom, mom and grandma tell me not to spay Honeydew because they all say the same thing. They have a bad feeling about spaying her. They think she wouldn’t make it through surgery or that there would be complications since our vet would send her home the same day as surgery. Not to mention every time I save enough money for her surgery something comes up so I have to help pay for whatever. Example needing a new washer or dryer. I’m starting to feel like it’s not meant to be. *Sigh* She is almost 5 years old. Is it too late now?

[LBJ10]

It isn’t too late to spay her. At age 5 though, she likely already has changes in her uterus. Cancer can start forming by age 3 or 4, but it can often take awhile before it progresses. By spaying her now, you are eliminating the possibility that her life being cut short. I’m not trying to scare you. Her developing cancer isn’t a 100% for sure thing. But the risk is pretty high.

That being said, you do want to make sure that a rabbit savvy vet does the surgery. Look for one that has a lot of experience spaying rabbits. No surgery is 100% risk-free, but a rabbit savvy vet should have an extremely good success rate. Due to her age, you may want to have blood work done just to make sure everything is functioning properly before surgery.

[DanaNM]

It isn’t too late! There is a high chance that she may already have some cancer, but it can be removed in the spay surgery. At the rescue I volunteered at we had a 7 year old rabbit come in that was unspayed. She had a lot of cancer all throughout her uterus and ovaries, but they were able to remove it and she did very well afterwards. Another member here had the same story with their 7 year old rescue bun.

It is important to get a good vet for spays, and you should flat-out ask them how many spays they do, and how often they have complications.

There is always a chance that something can go wrong in a surgery, but in the case of spaying it’s much less likely than the risk of the bun developing cancer (studies have found between 50 and 75% rates of cancer in female rabbits by age 4).

. . . 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.  

[Author]

Messages