Spay Scar

[MeowBun]

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I’ve got a bit of a conundrum.
I have a 5-7-year-old female mini rex named Lily who I adopted around 3.5 months
ago. I was told she was fixed. Since then, however, she has displayed a bit (and
I mean a bit, only once each) of behavior (nesting, urine spraying) I believe to
be more associated with unspayed females.

So when I took her into the
vet for a general checkup, I asked them to shave her belly to check for a spay
scar and they were unable to definitively find one! There is a VERY pale line,
but it really looks more like just a skin crease… and when I asked the
previous owner, she says she was told Lily was fixed before she adopted her, and
she doesn’t remember the contact info of the original owner. Very
annoying.

My question is: is it possible for a spay scar to heal so well
that you can hardly tell it’s there? We seem to be looking at a time frame of
2-5 years ago the procedure was done. I just don’t want to put her through the
unnecessary risk and pain (not to mention the $450) of a spay procedure if she
may be already fixed, but I also don’t want to increase her risk of uterine
cancer! Do you have any bunnies who have a spay scar that’s hardly visible?

[JackRabbit]

Could the vet do an ultrasound to look for a uterus?

[MeowBun]

She could, but that would also be $400, so she says it would be better to just go for the surgery and see what they find. We’ve spent more than $1500 on Lily in the last few months for other health concerns, I definitely can’t afford to get both done.

[JackRabbit]

I would check with another vet for ultrasound price — $400 for that is insane. My vet is the priciest in our town and they charge $380 for a spay and $50 for ultrasound (had one done on Marlee a, couple months ago to confirm no bladder stones). I would think the vet would prefer to go a non-invasive route for the bunny in case surgery can be avoided.

[MeowBun]

Thanks JackRabbit, I’m going to shop around for a better ultrasound price. I thought it sounded steep, but I didn’t really have a point of reference. I’d obviously much prefer to go a non-surgical route if I’m unsure.

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