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frightened to have Coopa spayed

jacks123

New Kit
Hi all

New to posting, but been watching for some time and you all seem to have a wealth of knowledge.

Coopa is our 2nd bunny our last bunny a lionhead called Harley died last year after being spayed. She recovered really well from the operation but after returning from her follow on check up she went down hill. she started urinating over herself and not eating. She never recovered from this even after taking her back to the vets (several times) for anti biotics etc and died a couple of months later. Apart from the peeing as i've already mentioned, we have absolutely no problems with her and i came to the conclusion that i would rather have 5 years of fun with Coopa than risk having to see her go through the same as Harley.

Coopa is a fantastic, loving bunny who will sit on your lap for hours on end watching the TV and being fussed (sitting on her blanket). She's was completely house trained but over the last couple of weeks she's taken to suddenly peeing, very thick creamy wee. She doesn't pose to do it so i assume its taking her by surprise as well (in fact sometimes its as if she doesn't even realise she's done it).

So my question. Coopa's now around 7 months old and not been spayed. After Harley's experience i really didn't want to get Coopa spayed. Is her actions marking or do you think she might have an infection. If i take her to the vets will the insist on getting her spayed?

My husband and i love that bunny to bits, and we only want what's best for her.

Jax
 
Hi,

Your fear is understandable! Sorry for the loss of your rabbit!
Im new to rabbits and i have just recently had Lopsy spayed my 9Month French Lop. I was the same as you debating the pros and cons and i finally decided it was the better option.

I had Lopsy spayed on Wednesday, she was v.sleepy and barely ate. I brought her home soon to take her back to the Vets. They kept her in over night and gave her more painkiller and syringe fed her. I picked her up the following day. She had started eating and drinking and pooing! It really was hard to watch her as she was soooo miserable. I offered her, her fav goodies which she finally took. And today she is better than ever, ive never been so happy to see so many poos!!!!!

My advice would be have a chat with your vet, find a good rabbit vet that carries out alot of spaying and neutering.

I would advise after the op leaving the rabbit with the Vet, as they can keep a close eye on them.

Hope this helps

Natalie
 
Did you have a pm to find out what Harley actually died of? It may well have been that it was totally unrelated, especially as you say she seemed to recover well from the operation.
 
the vet cannot force you to have her speyed and i can well understand your apprehension. we had a rabbit we had done who then a few weeks later died of unrelated causes and decided not to neuter our next one... but she died of uterine cancer at age4/5 i will always now feel guilty that i could have saved her if id speyed. so my current rabbits are speyed except dora who will be done next month or later this month.(not done yet as saving for vet costs)
i think although you say you wud be happy can u live knowing if she is ill and dying due to cancer you could of prevented(and thus has to be put down) it is a hard decision and one only you can make but i would take to vets to be on safe side reg current problem only reason they wud do a spey for the wee prob is if it was an infection of the uterus or cancer beggining, do not know what first symptoms are or even if this is a symptom ever(and so this could be nothing to worry about) we found out about the cancer as a secondry to another problem sadly when it was ours so cannot advise reg that.
 
:wave: is there another practice near you that has better vets that have more knowledge in rabbits? it would be best advisable to get the bun checked out as others have said. but there is no need to get her done straight away, i usaully wait till they are 2 years of age, as it is mainly when they get alot older they are at more risk. but find or speak more to your vet.
 
I can totally understand your fears. I'm so sorry for your loss by the way. But I feel the pros outweigh the cons and as other posters have said Harley may have gone to rainbow bridge from something entirely different.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Louise
xxx
 
:wave: WELCOME TO RU!!!

If you are at all worried about Coopa I would go see a vet to put your mind at rest - and "no" he/she cannot "make you" have her spayed - only suggest that a good way to go.;)

I understand your worries on this and all owners that have to see their pets go under GA worry like mad until they're home safe and sound...but I really urge you not to let past experience stop you from getting her spayed. I say this not because she's likely to have young being a single bun, not even because her temperament may change as hormones kick in, but rather because you wish for "5 happy years" with her. Female buns are very prone to Cancer if not spayed and that kind of puts a pretty dark cloud over your wish of a long and happy time together if she is not "done".:(

It is really up to you and "no" (in answer to your question) neither the vet or anyone else can "make you" spay her. I would though if I were you...

TP;)
 
Hi all

New to posting, but been watching for some time and you all seem to have a wealth of knowledge.

Coopa is our 2nd bunny our last bunny a lionhead called Harley died last year after being spayed. She recovered really well from the operation but after returning from her follow on check up she went down hill. she started urinating over herself and not eating. She never recovered from this even after taking her back to the vets (several times) for anti biotics etc and died a couple of months later. Apart from the peeing as i've already mentioned, we have absolutely no problems with her and i came to the conclusion that i would rather have 5 years of fun with Coopa than risk having to see her go through the same as Harley.

Jax
It's a difficult decision for you to make, esp in light of what happened to Harley, but wouldn't you rather give her a chance of spending 10 years with you? Nia was spayed in January and found to have extensive cancer of the uterus. She recovered amazingly quickly from the op, but sadly she died 6 weeks later from an unrelated condition..ECuniculi which made her incontinent among other things..so it may be that poor Harley didn't die as a result of the op at all. You say you don't want to "risk having to see her go through the same as Harley.", but if she does go on to develop cancer she will go through a period of illness, and some of that period you won't even be aware of it as bunnies hide their illnesses so well. (We had no idea that Nia had cancer until she was spayed!). All that aside, it is you who has to decide and no-one can criticise you about the decision you ultimately make as you will have gone by your heart and with lots of soul searching, and who knows, she may well be one of the 25% or so who go on to live to a ripe old age anyway:)
 
thick creamy wee is usually caused by too much calcium in the diet - does she eat alfalfa at all as that's too high in protein or calcium for adult rabbits pellets also contain a lot of calcium, so cut back on those now she's fully grown and make sure she eats mostly meadow or timmy hay. Try to encourage her to drink more by giving her water in a dish, slightly warmed from the kettle, maybe with a splash of apple juice in it, and if she eats veg then wet them first - this will all help make her wee more normal :)

As for spaying, well it's up to you really - we all feel differently about it. Cancer is largely genetic, and a healthy immune system destroys cancer cells to an extent. The statistics that 50% - 80% of does will develop uterine cancer, are based on a study done in the 1940's, when scientific method left a lot to be desired, and nobody has done a study on the survival rate of spayed does since. And of course pre-cancerous changes to the womb happen years before full blown cancer develops, as in humans - vets will class pre-cancerous changes as 'cancer'.

I had 6 unspayed girls adopted as adults from rescues. The 2 older ones have both died since, but not from uterine cancer - one just had a fit and died (possibly from e-cuniculi - the vet couldn't find anything wrong) and the other died last week from heart disease (which I think was brought on by kidney failure) - her 4 unspayed daughters live as a group and are now getting on for 4yrs old.

If you are in the USA or even the UK, it can be difficult to find a rabbit specialist vet though - see this vet questionaire if you do decide to get her spayed http://www.mybunny.org/info/vet_questionnaire.htm
 
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Hi guys

wow thanks for all the information. Starting to come round to the idea of getting her spayed.

Tonight she's started making a nest by pulling her fur out (know she's not pregnant) so i guess i'm gonna have to be brave.

Still worried coz she has a fantastic personality.... god that sounds mad, but i know you guys on here will understand what i mean. Just hope she doesn't change too much.

once again a massive MASSIVE thanks.

Jacks
 
I always leave my girl's nests undisturbed for a week or more - they usually guard it for a couple of days, and you may even need to give feed/drink to her on the nest if she's really broody, but they usually lose interest after about 3 or 4 days - whereas if you tidy the nest away immediately, she will get distressed and build another, plucking hersel bald in the process, so it's best to leave it where it is for at least 7 days - they are quite works of art anyway :)
 
the bloke i work with lost his bunny to a spey, his wife refuses to have the current bun done because of that loss (they nicked something while operating) i think they beleive the risk of cancer is not as scary as another loss thro operation and i really dont blame them :cry::cry:

the only problem with thier unspayed bun is she thinx she owns his wife and pees on her to prove it :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: oh and bites him :lol::lol:

i think you should go with your heart hun, no amount of facts thrown at me would make me go thro an op i beleived i lost a pet too previsously....
 
:wave::wave: I can understand you being nervous about having her spade having lost one before although I'd say that I think the benefits outweigh the risk.

I was wondering, did your last bun show any sign of muscle weakness or any other symptoms except for loss of bladder control? I ask because it can be one of the first symptoms of EC which can lie dorment but may rear its ugly head after stress or for some reason lack of water which might have happened if she was feeling a bit unwell after her spay.

http://www.yourpetshealth.co.uk/page15.htm#ecunic

If some of her symptoms sound like EC it would have been very easy to treat with Panacur.
 
Hi,
I was really worried about getting all of mine done especially Oscar as he has such a lovely temperment the only thing was he sprayed everyhere. He was neutered and is still the same lovely bunny but now without the spraying. I have my last doe to be spayed she'll be done next month. I would much rather risk the op than risk cancer in does but I totally understand where your coming from I'd feel exactly the same.

Good luck with whatever you decide :D
 
I'm not an expert but I have 5 females, all between 1 and 4 years of age and none of them have been spayed. The facts and figures ( dating back to 1950 ? ) made me think an update of scientific proof is perhaps in order :rolleyes:
 
I'm not an expert but I have 5 females, all between 1 and 4 years of age and none of them have been spayed. The facts and figures ( dating back to 1950 ? ) made me think an update of scientific proof is perhaps in order :rolleyes:


the stat is that 85% of unspayed female rabbits will develop uterine cancer by the age of four and that the older the doe, the greater the risk. . Dr Barbara Deeb in Washington reported that between 1994-1996 9 out of 16 does (40%) undergoing spaying over 3 years of age showed signs of uterine cancer and 40 % seems to be quite a common incidence in later studies.

In your case you suggest that your 5 buns haven't contracted the cancer BUT they are only 1 -4 years old so may either be to young to have started to develop the disease OR may have developed it but not at an advanced stage and therefore not showing symptoms.
 
Hi guys

wow thanks for all the information. Starting to come round to the idea of getting her spayed.

Tonight she's started making a nest by pulling her fur out (know she's not pregnant) so i guess i'm gonna have to be brave.

Still worried coz she has a fantastic personality.... god that sounds mad, but i know you guys on here will understand what i mean. Just hope she doesn't change too much.

once again a massive MASSIVE thanks.

Jacks


good luck with whatever you decide, and I'm sorry for the loss of your other rabbit - I jsut wanted to say that after I had mine spayed her personality was just the same, but less aggressive. :lol:
 
Hi Jacks123-
I don't know where you live but if anywhere near Gloucestershire pm me and I can give you my vets Jason's tel no as he is very experienced with rabbits and speying. Also if ur anywhere near Yorkshire a vet called Frances Harcourt-Brown is very experienced too.

Such a hard decision- go with your heart.best wishes -Sue:wave:
 
Id go to a recommended vet, i pay more at my vets but they do a brilliant job and always keep buns overnight to be monitored post-op. Ive had 2 bucks and my doe done there, absolutely no problems, they were all bright as soon as i got them home, saffy scar is beautiful (im a nurse and get excited about these things! :roll::lol:) she is sooooooo much better after being spayed.
 
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