UPDATE: Harlow’s home from surgery. Spay went well. Pictures and questions!!

[Auburnie]

I’m super super nervous. The blood work was going to be 70 dollars and I had no idea it was extra. I thought it was a part of the process. Because of her past two appointments costing me 84 dollars, i had to pass on the blood work before surgery and I feel like I’ve been kicked in the gut. 
The VA told me that the test would check her liver and a bunch of other stuff just to make sure she would be okay to go under anesthetic and now my anxiety is through the roof. They do surgeries around noon and it is now noon here so I’m having a hard time calming down.
They’ve never lost a bunny there, but I’ve heard of people having bunnies with problems causing them to never be allowed under anesthetic. What if Harlow has that problem and passes today?

I went ahead and checked that I want pain meds for her afterwards just because i want her to be as comfortable as possible.
I’m just so scared. I watched a video on youtube of a rabbit being spayed to help calm my nerves and its not as bad as i thought it would be. But it’s still very serious and i know there is a chance that something could go wrong. 

Have any of you lost a baby do to this procedure? I’ve read some posts on here from members who have.
I really hope the odds are in my babies favor. I’m stressing out so badly. 

[Sr. Melangell]

I’ve not lost a baby, my bunnies in the past were not spayed or neutered, apart from Nia the ex show rabbit I had and spayed before I got her, Olly was neutered before he came here, I’ve had dogs and cats neutered and spayed, I was worried too, I kept phoning the vets every 30 minutes then 20 minutes then 10 minutes, I know how you feel, but try and relax, I know it is easier said than done, have a cup of tea and listen to some quiet music, just think, your baby will be home soon, so be strong and give her a hug from me and Olly.

[Auburnie]

I am having some raspberry tea. I keep checking my phone to make sure I didn’t miss any calls even though it’s been glued to my side! lol

Thank you for your comforting words. I’m trying to do my best. I just keep thinking about the “what ifs”. if anything happens i’m going to feel terrible. 

[LittlePuffyTail]

I fully understand how nervous you are but just try to keep in mind that the vast majority of bunnies are 100% fine during and after this procedure. If your vet is rabbit experienced, I suspect she will be just fine.

I’m not really one to talk, though…I’m always stressed and worried when my bunnies go under anaesthesia. The best thing is to just try to keep busy.

Be prepared, though, for a tired bunny who will just want to be left alone to rest. Olivia was quite poorly for a few days after her spay. Make sure to give pain meds as directed and have all her fave foods on hand to try to coax her to eat.

[Bam]

Most young buns have no problem with anaesthetics. Blood-work is recommended for elderly buns prior to surgery, but my vets didn’t even suggest blood-work before my boys’ neuters. Neutering is minor surgery of course, but it’s still done under full anaesthesia. Don’t feel bad for not doing the blood-work. Even if you have them done and the bun is ok-ed, there’s still no 100% guarantee. There never is and that goes for people as well as bunnies and other pets. That’s why full anesthesia only ever should be done when the procedure absolutely calls for it. Otherwise you could put people under for any slightly painful treatment like getting a tattoo or even for long boring trans-Atlantic flights.

((((((Harlow))))))

I can very well understand your worry though, it’s awful, you feel so powerless. Hang on to the fact that you are doing it with her best interest at heart. There’s an 80% plus risk that an unspayed doe gets uterine cancer at a young age. You don’t want that for her. So whatever happens, you are doing it for her sake.

[Auburnie]

Thank you very much LPT! I’m not excited about seeing her in so much pain. I’ve read some people don’t give their buns medicine, but I just wanted to make sure i gave her every bit of relief that i could.
Bam, that does help a lot! I felt so terrible when the lady asked about the blood work. But what you say definitely makes a lot of sense and has put me at ease.

I got the call from her vet and the surgery went very well and she is fully awake and moving now!!! I cried tears of joy. I’m scheduled to pick her up in a few hours, they said they’d call me if they’re confident that she can leave at an earlier time.
Waiting to pick her up isn’t nearly as bad as waiting to hear from her doctor though.

They probably hold pets there after surgery for multiple safety reasons. Do you think it could be to help the owners out too and making sure they don’t see their fur baby all groggy and hurting?

[Sr. Melangell]

Its so they know your pet is OK and ready to go home, also it is like when we wake up, it has to be really quiet, not a lot of people and a brass band walking round, I told you she would be home soon, are you excited?

[Bam]

Good to hear!!!!!!

I think they want to see to it so everything is ok. They generally wake the bun up with a shot after the surgery, but there’s always a bit grogginess. Last time I picked my Yohio up after his dental, he fell over from sitting up in his carrier, poor baby =(

They should give a pain-killer before she wakes up, and they should tell you its duration so you can keep up the pain-meds continously. Pain-management is very important. It’s been found that especially prey animals heal better with pain-meds than without.
Here’s an article by Dana Krempels, a big authority on bunny medicine, scroll down to post-surgical care:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/opcare.html

[Mimsy]

Glad to hear your fur baby is doing good.

Yeah, I asked about pain meds right away and was glad to hear an immediate, we always give pain medication to bunnies.

[Auburnie]

Thank you so much everyone. 

Yes, i am super excited to pick her up. I miss her a lot and she probably is ready to come home too. I cleaned up her cage, took out the little house thing I made her because she loves to jump on top of it.
My biggest concern right now is getting her from the carrier to her cage without hurting her. So i lift her out the top or set it in her cage and let her come out on her own?
She has a ton of treats here waiting for her. I made her first mini salad and gave it to her last night and has some water on it too so i knew she would have some stuff in her system. I’ve read that they can lose their appetite after surgery so i’m hoping the treats will entice her to eat. 

[Sr. Melangell]

Yes just like us we can loose appetite, as for the carry box you could open it and let her come out on her own, that’s what I do with Olly because he can’t be picked up.

[Bam]

Yes, I too open the carrier and let the bun come out on it’s own. The time Yohio was so groggy, I let him sit in the carrier for a couple of hours though, his balance was so poor and I wanted to keep him where I could see him, so I put the closed carrier beside me. I gave him some dandelion greens and when he started to eat, I let him out.

Your girl might not want to eat today, but if she hasn’t eaten by tomorrow, you’ll need to syringe-feed her. You can use Critical Care (a powder that your vet might carry) or pellet-mash (your normal pellets dissolved in water). Give her an open water-bowl, if she normally has a bottle, a bottle may be too much trouble for her to bother with.

[Sr. Melangell]

Is she home?

[Vienna Blue in France]

YAY re Harlow up and awake !!!!!
I was so glad to hear you mananged a raspberry tea with all your worrying…. that’s going some !!
Personally , I would have only managed a normal one…. LOL
(I’m just kidding!)

Bam – what is it about a doe’s uterus that gives her cancer if it is left in her?…. something to do with not having a litter?
What are the known symptoms of afflicted does prior to diagnosis? Do you know?

[LittlePuffyTail]

Glad to hear she made out okay!

My vet likes to keep bunnies for several hours after anaesthetic until they are eating on their own. It’s also to keep them more calm and confined….they are very wobbly when the effects are wearing off and if they try to move too much they could get hurt.

[Niamian]

Speedy recovery ((((Harlow))))

[Bam]

How is she doing now?

Vienna, here are 2 articles about uterine cancer in the rabbit doe:

http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/uterine.htm
http://www.petmd.com/rabbit/conditions/reproductive/c_rb_uterine_adenocarcinoma

[Auburnie]

Harlow made it home safely last night! Sorry I haven’t been on to update, she’s been awful sore and I’ve been doing a lot of my school work. I took a day of to stay with her, not to mention the roads here are terribly snowy and icy so I wouldn’t have gone in anyways.

Last night when Harlow got home, she did not eat. She flopped right down and spent most of her night flopping from one cozy spot to the next. She licked a few drops of water when i tried to get her to drink, but that’s the extent of her water intake for yesterday. 
Today she ate a few small pieces of hay when i offered some by hand. I figured since she was showing interest in food that was being hand fed, id get her some nice fruits and veggies. I cleaned them well and left water drops all over them so she could eat and get hydrated.

However, I have some concerns. 

Her poops are not circular, they are oval shaped and flat. They’re the same size as normal, maybe even a bit larger, but not their normal shape. Color is still the same. 
I thought i heard her make a weird noise but i’m not sure. i couldn’t have been her tummy, i heard it across the room. She hasn’t been making noise sense. 
She’s going back and forth between flopping down and stretching her legs, so sitting with her legs tucked under her. 

i’m going to try to offer her more food. She’s due for todays dose of medicine. I’m not sure what is normal for the day after surgery and what isn’t. The fact she’s taking food has to be a good sign.
 

[kmurphy]

After surgery/anesthesia they often have dark, misshapen poops. I have tried to link the poop guide below. There is a picture of the small poops I’m talking about. She seems to behaving normally for a bunny recovering. Just keep offering her food and water!

https://imgur.com/a/5N4lD

[Auburnie]

i just gave her some medicine.
Terrified me. She kicked and grunted and freaked out. I don’t want to hurt her and i’m worried that I might have.

She took the medicine and then showed me her teeth for close to a minute afterwards. She’s never done this before.

i don’t want to hurt her, but she needs her medicine. What should i do?

[kmurphy]

We can trick our bunny by putting something delicious on the end of the syringe like banana goop or all natural applesauce. This might not work if your bunny really isn’t feeling well. Maybe pick her up and wrap her in a towel so she can’t kick and get hurt. I’m not sure what would be best. Good luck.

[Bam]

You do need to give her her meds. If it’s metacam, many bunnies like the taste of it and will lick it off the syringe so you don’t have to force feed it. It’s normal for her to be grumpy now, but you should see improvement in her mood after the pain-meds. Pain-meds often helps with appetite too.

It is normal for a girl to be rather out of it the next few days after a spay.

As kmurphy says, oddly shaped poop is common after surgery, it means they have eaten a bit too little (it’s not a sign of anything wrong, it’s just because she didn’t eat yesterday when you brought her home.) The poop should return to normal once she eats like normal again.

[Auburnie]

picking her up is mission impossible. About two weeks ago, out of nowhere, she freaks right out when i pick her up. kicks her feet, scratches me, kicks fur. it’s obvious it stresses her out. it’s impossible to get her out of such a large cage just so i can give her the medicine. :/

After a few scratches earlier i wrapped her up and gave her medicine. Tried to offer banana after. Put her back down once she was calm. i’m just worried that something i do could result in a problem for her.

[Mimsy]

I wonder if they gave you a weird flavored one. Willow likes hers.

I was really paranoid that she wasn’t eating though. She wouldn’t even take a little carrot, which she loves. I knew blackberry leaves are supposed to help stomach upsets with bunnies, so we pulled some leaves off the ones growing in our yard. She ate all we gave her! I’m guessing it was nausea, since wild rabbits will go eat them when they get stomach upsets, so she is a smart cookie and knows what will help her.

[Bam]

I’m glad to hear Willow ate her leaves!
Auburnie, maybe she’d eat the Metacam voluntarily if you mixed it with f ex mashed banana or baby fruit purée or canned (plain) pumpkin? One person here mixed meds with a tiny bit of cold oatmeal to get her bun to eat it, that bun too absolutely hated being picked up.

[Sr. Melangell]

If it is liquid could you measure it out and give it her on a treat? So glad she is home

[Auburnie]

iSo yesterday she managed to eat just a little bit of hay on her own. I couldn’t get her to eat very much. Strawberry leaves and a two leaves of Red Romaine. She had a few slices of banana too.

No pellets. Bam you mentioned syringe feeding her a pellet mash, but since she has been eating her veggies and some hay, what do you suppose i do?
I haven’t seen her drink yet which is mainly why i fed her some romaine hoping it would get that water in her system. 

[Vienna Blue in France]

bam – thanks for the medlinks

[Niamian]

((((Harlow))))
Hope her appetite returns as soon as posible!

I must say now that Biancas spay is getting near I’m getting more and more nervous after reading about Harlow and Willow troubles.

[Auburnie]

Harlow will eat if hand fed. She still isn’t eating on her own and might need another vet appointment but her poops returned to normal size  now so that’s a good sign. The only thing that worries me is that if she’s taking the food so well and everything, i wonder if she just got into a bad habit of being hand fed. Probably crazy to even consider. But as long as her poops are back to normal size, I can’t really complain. She has a full bowl of pellets and a lot of hay in there to eat whenever she decides to. 

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