Zelda’s spay went ok but she hate’s the E collar

[kittsbuns]

She did ok with the spay but how do I get her to eat and drink and take meds with that thing on? She’s still groggy and fidgity she trys to lay down and then she’s back up. how will she eat her night poo.

[Beka27]

why does she have one? was she trying to get at the stiches at the vet? i thought they only gave that as a last resort if they would not leave them alone… i know Meadow did not have one after her spay.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Usually they only provide a collar if the rabbit keeps pulling the stitches out. What kind of suture did they use to close up the incision?

[kittsbuns]

I ask the vet she said she had inside stitches and out stitches and if she pulled one of the outside ones lose that she would die before i could get her help. I think she was stress out today she had several operations today and was rambling about the bunny group said to do this and that. So she hasn’t tried to eat or drink I tried to feed her hay she had nothing to do with it. I’ll try feed her water with a lg syringe in a little while I’m still worried to death I’m not doing something right and I’m going to lose her. It’s going to be a long night. Any ideas all try to get back a check later.

[kittsbuns]

Yeah she drank 4 ml of water. I mixed a tsp of baby apple juice in a half a glass of water and used a lg syringe and she drank it all and licked the E collar.And then went and peed by the litter box. If she does not eat in the morning I’ll make her a pellet slurry

[Firsttimer]

I went through the same thing with Pepper, the collar was a nightmare but I found that when I took it off she would go straight for the stitches with her teeth. Every morning I would wake up to find her filthy as she’d been trying to reach her ‘night poo’ and it had ended up smeared all over the collar. So it was a case of cleaning her up every morning and every night. As for food, Pepper ate quite quickly but some food bowls gave her problems with reaching the food, I had to make sure I put her food on a plate or very wide bowl. Eventually I took Pepper for her check up earlier than they told me to (a few days) and luckily she’d healed well enough to have the stitches taken out and that horrible collar binned. Pepper tugged and pulled at it so much that sometimes I would get home from work and she’d have it on like a hat as she’d pulled it over her face but hadn’t got the ties from around her neck, luckily it hadn’t caused her any pain.

[Beka27]

how is she today kittsbuns?

i remember you telling us about that lornatrae… i ‘d be very worried she’d hurt herself on her collar, but i guess if the vet feels it’s necessary…

[kittsbuns]

She pooped 7 pills and drank a little more. she did fight me picking her up she got lose and jumped on the bed I hope she didn’t tear any thing lose. And i hope I got all the meds down her. Now I’m worried about the eating thing. She doesen’t have ties on hers they taped it I would love to take it off for a little while while I’m here with her but I don’t know how to tie it back on. She’s a very hyper bunny I think that’s why she got the collar.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Don’t know if this will work, but I trimmed my collar; I trimmed it at her face level, so she could still eat and drink herself…though after about a day and half, she would ‘rodeo’ to get the collar off and I couldn’t keep it on….soooo luckily she didn’t go for her stitches.

You tie it back on the same as you tie a shoelace, don’t knot it you want to be able to take it off without scissors. Just make a bow, and stick one finger under the collar while you tie it so you know it’s not too tight.

Is she eating well yet? Have you tried veggies?

[kittsbuns]

She has not ate anything and I’m worried now she won’t even drink from a syringe I just hung a water bottle on the out side I don’t know if she does how to use one or if she can get to it with the collar on. I have to work tomorrow the vet said she could stay there and they could watch her and maybe get her to eat and drink. I hope this dosen’t stress her out more another group said it might. Now I’m scared again I thought I was doing somthing good for her. She won’t let me get near her I guess all leave her alone tonight and try to get some rest 9 hrs since Sat is not enough. Maybe she’ll rest to so all I’ve did is cry all day. I guess nothing bad will happen over night I Hope.

[kittsbuns]

She has not ate anything and I’m worried now she won’t even drink from a syringe I just hung a water bottle on the out side I don’t know if she does how to use one or if she can get to it with the collar on. I have to work tomorrow the vet said she could stay there and they could watch her and maybe get her to eat and drink. I hope this dosen’t stress her out more another group said it might. Now I’m scared again I thought I was doing somthing good for her. She won’t let me get near her I guess all leave her alone tonight and try to get some rest 9 hrs since Sat is not enough. Maybe she’ll rest to so all I’ve did is cry all day. I guess nothing bad will happen over night I Hope.

[MooBunnay]

I have had several bunnies spayed and neutered and have never had anyone give me a collar for my bunnies. If it were me, I’d try removing the collar for awhile, and keep and eye on her to make sure she doesn’t go for the stitches, but give her some time with the collar off, it is probably freaking her out! If she does start to go for the stitches, then yes, the collar is probably a good idea, but if you are monitoring her, I think she’d relax a bit more if she doesn’t have the collar on. Then, if she really did go for the stitches you can always go back to the vet to help you get it back on her

I had two female bunnies go through a difficult recovery from a spay as well, its ok, you are doing the best you can! Try giving her a bowl of water underneath the water bottle, in case she would prefer to use a bowl. Also, try giving her some fragrant vegetables like cilantro or parsley, break the stems in half before you give them to her so that she can smell them well. The females always take a bit longer to recover, its very normal.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Poor Zelda Stormy had to wear a collar after his neuter until he was totally healed. It was really hard and sad. I had to feed him by hand, pellet by pellet and most of his hay too.

[Gravehearted]

kittsbuns – is she doing any better? please let us know!

[BinkyBunny]

I am always so baffled with people have had vets who put collars on their bunnies after the post spay. It can cause such stress on the bunny. My own bunnies never had collars, and out of all the bunnies I’ve seen over the years the humane society and local rabbit rescue, very rarely are they fitted with a collar.

Since it has been 24 hours and she still hasn’t nibbled anything, I would call your vet. Did they send her home with any pain meds?
You can also ask your vet to show you how to syringe feed, and hopefully they will provide you with Critical Care and show you how to do it. If they don’t offer, I would ask.

Please keep us updated! Sending healing vibes!

[skunklionshow]

When Leo opened up his neuter incision, I asked if he should wear an e-collar (they had to put staples in him).  The vet said that they NEVER use e-collars in their practice b/c bunnies are already so low to the ground, that it is just not helpful.  In addition, he said that when a rabbit goes for their incisions, it may mean that they are in pain.  I hope I didn’t make this more nervewhackign for you. 

When Jessica got spayed, I had to put her on cage rest (single cage level) for the first few days.  Another thought is a flexible e-collar.  I had a kitten w a broken leg, when she got pinned up they used the flexible e-collar so she couldn’t access her stitches.  It tends to be less stressful for the smaller animals…just a thought.

Have you tried feeding her any baby food or super yummy squishy fruits (i.e. bananas)?  I would probably start her on force feeding & touchbase w/ the vet to see if they want to increase her pain meds.

[Beka27]

it’s been two days without an update. please let us know what is going on.

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