To Spay or Not to Spay

[Cookie's Cutest]

Hi!

I’m Liz and my awesome house rabbit friend’s name is Cookie (if that wasn’t already incredibly obvious ?). She’s a one-year-old Rex with no behavioral problems and an “only child” (we don’t have – or plan to ever get – another bunny). I read online that female Rexes on average have significantly shorter life spans than other house rabbits because they’re risk of developing uterine cancer is even greater than other breeds when left unspayed. They apparently only live ~5-6 years on average as a result (feel free to fact check me on this). My husband and I are trying to weigh the options between spaying Cookie and risking adhesions – which is, according to our vet, a 50% chance – or foregoing that in favor of the chance of her getting uterine cancer instead (which is evidently more probable, with the figure of 80% chance going around online, & that’s not even breed-specific). Does anyone have any good information on this? I don’t want her quality of life to be reduced by adhesions – & also the chance of her dying from stasis to be amplified – but 5-6 years is a lot shorter of a time I expected to spend with our lovable bundle of bunny love.

If anyone has any good background experience or veterinary articles on this, we’d be so grateful. Our vet as good as advised *against* not getting her spayed, and the internet doesn’t have much reliable information on the pros & cons of spaying an “only” rabbit to prevent cancer.

Thanks!

[12345ABCDE]

If your vet thinks the risks of issues with spaying are as high as 50%, and has advised against it, you should find another vet. That is ridiculously high. A competent vet would firstly not advise against spaying, and the risk factor would be minimal.

[Wick & Fable]

Spaying will also quell territorial and hormonal frustrations. It needs to be done in domesticated rabbits unless the rabbit cannot handle it. Your rabbit seems healthy, but it’s moreso your vet who seems inexperienced with spaying to have a 50% success rate.

Have you searched for other rabbit vets and resources?

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.

[Sirius&Luna]

I’m pretty sure that with an experienced rabbit vet the risks of a rabbit dying during a spay operation are much less than 1%. Unless there is a reason that your specific rabbit is more at risk (eg, a weak heart) then that figure sounds completely false to me.

As well as removing the risks of uterine cancer, it will make her calmer, more easily litter trained, and possible to bond if you want to in the future.

The Rabbit Welfare Association tells you how to find a rabbit savvy vet, and has a list if you’re in the UK. I’m sure with a bit of googling you’ll be able to find similar lists for other countries. This is a good starting point of factors to consider though

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-friendly-vets/

[Mikey]

A good vet will have less than 1 percent of deaths during spays. Many will argue even 1 percent is too high and too much of a risk. My guess is that the vet you are seeing is not certified or trained to work on rabbits.

Uterine cancer is very common (up to 80percent by age 3 in many breeds) in female rabbits. Curing uterine cancer is harder on their bodies as many medication and treatments are going to be needed, and it ultimately ends with a spay anyway. It is better to spay before uterine cancer for your bunny’s wellbeing.

[Cookie's Cutest]

Thanks so much for the responses, guys! I really appreciate it – it’s been quite a gnawing, anxiety-inducing issue for my family & I. A couple of things:

1) When you mention that a 50% chance of complications is exceedingly high, are you sure you’re not conflating “fatalities” with adhesions in general? Naturally, the “less than 1%” addresses fatalities & not problems that ensue as a consequence of surgery.

2) We’re really concerned specifically with the issue of her forming post-op adhesions & the implicated odds of that. That is, of course, what our vet intended to mean when she offered the 50% figure – and my understanding of that is that it is a pandemic problem with rabbit spays & severely impacts their quality of life as a result.

Yep, I searched up & down for an experienced rabbit vet, called 8 different officies, & consulted the House Rabbit Society for our state (we’re in the United States). That particular vet was inexperienced, but she was filling in, and (I believe) relaying information from the experienced rabbit vet that was going to actually perform the surgery. She just performed Cookie’s physical, & Cookie hopped away with a perfect bill of health. I think it’s worth mentioning again that she has absolutely no behavioral problems as well, and is actually the epitome of a happy & bouncy ball of bunny.

I don’t know. I’m really torn on this. If anyone has firm & concrete resources, I’d welcome them. I already read the debate that arose between two veternarians on this topic.

[Mikey]

There shouldnt be any complications at all. 50% is way too high. Let me explain a bit:

1. You can kind of guess complication risk by getting a full blood test done about a week before the spay is scheduled. If any of her numbers are off, the vet will postpone the surgery to get those number back to a healthy level. A bad vet will continue with the surgery, even if numbers are off. Numbers being off beings that complications are a high possibility if you continue with surgery, which is why a good vet will not proceed with surgery until its taken care of.

Example: My Bombur had his blood test done and his liver numbers came back a bit funky. She said it could be due to stress, if he didnt eat as much or even over ate before the blood draw, or if something was wrong with his liver. She refused to do the surgery until we could figure out what was up with his weird levels. Although weird, his levels were not life threatening, but going under could cause complications. We found out what caused the liver issues, fixed it, and the next blood test came up perfect. Surgery went without a problem.

2. Another “common” complication is if the air tube moves while they are transporting the rabbit to the table, or if the tube moves while theyre prepping the body for surgery. A very should be extra careful during surgery. Youll need to be wary of a vet who does this once, and wary even more so if theyve done it to several bunnies. This complication can cause death in the rabbit as they may not be able to breathe, hence, why a good vet is extra careful and doesnt let this happen.

3. Over or under anesthesia. Ive read this is sadly pretty common for inexperienced vets. Over anesthesia can kill your rabbit, under anesthesia can cause your rabbit to wake up during surgery. A well trained and certified rabbit vet will never have this problem. The problem is that some vets may lie saying they can work on rabbits and are certified to, but actually are not. This is the most common “complication” Ive read about.

4. Care “complication”: This is on the owners, not the vet. If you do not take proper care of your rabbit after surgery, obviously, there is a super high chance of complication. Complications being infection, fever, opening of the wound, ect.

By “common” on these, I mean these problems should not ever happen unless the vet messes up. If the vet says they have a 50% to cause any of these for your rabbit, that vet should not be trusted to put your rabbit under for surgery. 

[Wick & Fable]

It may be helpful for you to speak to an actually rabbit-experienced veterinarian who is experienced in doing spays. If you extend your search to find the -closest- rabbit-experienced veterinarian, perhaps you can give them a call and ask for a phone conversation, as you’re hesitant about rabbit spays and have been receiving conflicting responses. Some vets may be weary about just talking over the phone, but you may find one that’s very willing to have an educated discussion with you frankly about what to expect if a rabbit is spayed. Rabbit owners asking questions about the risks of spays is common, so an experienced rabbit vet would help.

If you live in the northeastern US, let me know via message and I can see if Wick’s vet can speak with you.

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.

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Cookie’s Cutest on 10/24/2017 10:37 AM

Thanks so much for the responses, guys! I really appreciate it – it’s been quite a gnawing, anxiety-inducing issue for my family & I. A couple of things:

1) When you mention that a 50% chance of complications is exceedingly high, are you sure you’re not conflating “fatalities” with adhesions in general? Naturally, the “less than 1%” addresses fatalities & not problems that ensue as a consequence of surgery.

2) We’re really concerned specifically with the issue of her forming post-op adhesions & the implicated odds of that. That is, of course, what our vet intended to mean when she offered the 50% figure – and my understanding of that is that it is a pandemic problem with rabbit spays & severely impacts their quality of life as a result.

Yep, I searched up & down for an experienced rabbit vet, called 8 different officies, & consulted the House Rabbit Society for our state (we’re in the United States). That particular vet was inexperienced, but she was filling in, and (I believe) relaying information from the experienced rabbit vet that was going to actually perform the surgery. She just performed Cookie’s physical, & Cookie hopped away with a perfect bill of health. I think it’s worth mentioning again that she has absolutely no behavioral problems as well, and is actually the epitome of a happy & bouncy ball of bunny.

I don’t know. I’m really torn on this. If anyone has firm & concrete resources, I’d welcome them.  I already read the debate that arose between two veternarians on this topic.

So it was that vet that “as good as advised *against* not getting her spayed” that you mention in the 1st post?

I do agree that it would help for you to speak with a vet that is greatly experienced with rabbit spays. It is true they form adhesions easily and in fact, rabbits are used to study this and develop ways to overcome this in human surgery. As a result, there are ways that the risk can be greatly minimised. Spaying female rabbits is more common now and techniques are better.  

There is literature available but most is only available to professionals or if subscribed to sites that host scientific articles. 

I already read the debate that arose between two veternarians on this topic.

Was this a debate on anti-spay v’s pro spay? Or specifically about adhesions?  I do know there was a British vet that had and article published earlier in the year that questioned whether neutering should be advocated for single housed rabbits and questioned the incidence of uterine tumours.

I will add, uterine tumours are not the only risk. There is also risk of developing endometrial/uterine polyps, pyometra and mammary tumours. 

If you do decide to keep Cookie intact, discuss with the vet how you can be proactive in checking her as she ages. Early detection tests if there are any..

Considering surgery for a healthy animal is scary and there are always risks to any surgery. Confidence in your vet can go a long way to making a decision so do think about another consult with the vet that would be performing the surgery should you choose to go ahead.  They will likely be more up to date on procedures and be able to point you toward some literature also. 

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