• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Neuter or not to Neuter?

LaLa

Alpha Buck
I think I already know what the outcome of this thread is.

I have a girl lion head who is about 6 months old, she is very affection, not aggressive and she does not bite furniture etc etc however she has started to wee on my carpet and I don't know how to stop her.

Most people say to neuter is the only option however both vets that I have asked and a few other people do not recommend it unless necessary i.e she is aggressive or if she had male company etc. I personally don't want to get her done and hope she is just going through a stage of weeing.

This is looking unlikely that she will stop. I guess my question is does everyone think I should get her neutered? Have any other people decided against it and if so why? and have other people lost pets by having them put under?

My reasons are quite simple, she is not aggressive, I had rabbits as a child and they were not done, none of them had womb cancer and lived a long life. She is small and I am very scared of her being put under as only around 95% of operations on small animals are successful at my current vet. I'm just generally terrified of losing her and i know to some people that may sound selfish.

Opinions or advice please? :)
 
i would not nuter as she is not aggresive and theres not a male to get her pregnant


people say they cna get cancer but to be honest its luck o the draw my mum had rabbits in the 60s and they did not have nutering then and they all lived fine i think its just luck of the draw

but its what you want for your bunny have you tried litter training her to a certen spot or used get off wich scares them away from that place so they will not wee?
 
It's not at all selfish, you are just weighing up what is best for your pet (how can that be selfish?)

Given a similar dilemma recently (my Esme is a similar age). I decided to opt for neutering, actually it wasn't much of a dilemma for me when I had all the facts. Best advice I'd give is choose your vet very carefully. Unfortunately Esme had an adverse reaction to the anaesthetic so had to be brought out of the anaesthetic without the operation being done, so I'm glad I chose a good vet as they handed her back safe and sound. I will have other anaesthetic options for the neuter but haven't pursued them yet.
 
I would definitely advise having her neutered. Unfortunately, there is a very high risk of uterine cancer in unspeyed does, and the operation is low risk these days if done by an experienced rabbit savvy vet. She's a good age for the op now too, and I've personally always found neutered buns easier to litter trian.
 
i would not nuter as she is not aggresive and theres not a male to get her pregnant


people say they cna get cancer but to be honest its luck o the draw my mum had rabbits in the 60s and they did not have nutering then and they all lived fine i think its just luck of the draw

but its what you want for your bunny have you tried litter training her to a certen spot or used get off wich scares them away from that place so they will not wee?


I litter trained her as soon as we got her or so I thought she has always gone in her tray in her cage, I've had her since March/April and I would say it's the last month she has started to poo and wee in corners.

What is get off?

Thanks :)
 
It's not at all selfish, you are just weighing up what is best for your pet (how can that be selfish?)

Given a similar dilemma recently (my Esme is a similar age). I decided to opt for neutering, actually it wasn't much of a dilemma for me when I had all the facts. Best advice I'd give is choose your vet very carefully. Unfortunately Esme had an adverse reaction to the anaesthetic so had to be brought out of the anaesthetic without the operation being done, so I'm glad I chose a good vet as they handed her back safe and sound. I will have other anaesthetic options for the neuter but haven't pursued them yet.

Thank you for your advice.

I know I'm not selfish but I guess I just wonder if I am being fair to her. If she was aggressive or seemed unhappy then I know I would have probably no option. I know the stats mentioned for cancer but .... (I just don't know what to do)
 
ohh its a spray wich basicly disattracts them to go there they dont liek the smell but to us it is ok its used so they dont go somewhere you dont wnat them 2
 
I would definitely advise having her neutered. Unfortunately, there is a very high risk of uterine cancer in unspeyed does, and the operation is low risk these days if done by an experienced rabbit savvy vet. She's a good age for the op now too, and I've personally always found neutered buns easier to litter trian.

Thanks.

Have you ever lost a bun during the op?
 
Hi - I've had at least 10 speys done on rabbits under my care, and am happy to say I have never lost one or had complications.

Also, I work at a vet practice and it is VERY rare for us to lose a bun under a routine anaesthetic. On the rare occasions when there are problems it is most often due to an underlying problem.
 
One of my unspayed does used to wee as she walked :shock: Her old hutch had sprays of urine up the sides etc and I think it was as she was jumping around going up and downstairs (though God knows it was in some funny places!!) Since she was spayed (last week) and put in a much bigger hutch with copious litter trays I haven't seen any stray wee at all :)

ETA I had 2 does spayed last week and they both came through the GA fine. I admit I was worried but weighed it up and felt spaying was by far the best option. Had a few problems when one of them stopped eating afterwards but she's fine now :)
 
I have to say that up until recently non of my females had been spayed, and have lived happily with a neutered male. Like you I was worried about the op, but earlier this year I lost Bertha to uterine cancer and she was only 4, all my girl bunnies haven't lived past 5 and I now wonder if this is because they weren't spayed, especially when I read on here about so many 8-10 year old rabbits. Uterine cancer affects 80% of females over 4 and after Bertha died I decided they would all be spayed. The first 3 have been done and Jessica was 5, it was very scary but there were no problems with the anaethetic, it was the recovery afterwards.
The only time I've every had a bunny suffer problems under a GA, the vet realised and he was taken out of the anaesthetic quickly and they tried another day with a different drug and he was fine. He was a dental bun and went on to have another 3 ops after that before he passed away.
 
Hi - I've had at least 10 speys done on rabbits under my care, and am happy to say I have never lost one or had complications.

Also, I work at a vet practice and it is VERY rare for us to lose a bun under a routine anaesthetic. On the rare occasions when there are problems it is most often due to an underlying problem.

Ok thank you, so I guess I need to do some more research into a good vet practice that is used to dealing with buns.
 
One of my unspayed does used to wee as she walked :shock: Her old hutch had sprays of urine up the sides etc and I think it was as she was jumping around going up and downstairs (though God knows it was in some funny places!!) Since she was spayed (last week) and put in a much bigger hutch with copious litter trays I haven't seen any stray wee at all :)

Ok thanks for that. She does only have one litter tray in her cage,maybe I can try another litter tray in the lounge.
 
Hon, I would get her neutered, i'm worried she may get frustrated if she's not and would calm down alot more :)

I will definately get my two done as I can see my boy getting agressive and Kiki won't be having any babies and am worried about cancer x x
 
i really don't think "luck of the draw" comes into it, the risk of cancer is so great i really would recommend spaying without a second thought. you will be happier knowing she is no long at risk and, mainly, your bun will be happier.

i totally understand it's a scary prospect but the risk of complications is so low, you'd wonder why you worried so much about it!

Monkeypuzzler posted a brilliant article from the RWA in a thread recently about the cancer risks... i'm a bit too tipsy to find it though!

best of luck x
 
I would agree with neutering too. I had all 4 of my girls done with no problems.

If you find a vet that you trust and who knows rabbits you'll be fine.
 
I would always neuter. I've had zillions of buns spayed & lost one - but she was a foster & I didn't know her history etc (& the vet was convinced that the age I had been told, was way off)

You can always have blood tests done before a spay so vet can determine any obvious risks.

I have however heard of a fair few buns that have had cancer as a result of not being spayed.
 
i have this advice. i lost a bun to uterine cancer and it is horrible.horrible horrible. i have now got all neutered buns. they are more affectionate(well except chelsea) and are easier to bond should you wish to get afreind for her at a later point. also i got so upset watching dora as she would pull out fur from her belly at age 3(she was not done when i took her in age 3) and constantly ripped te fur out leaving red sore patches she would even squak while doing it...it was horrible to watch an d i creid several times while waiting to get her done. when i did get her done last month i had snowy already done go with her to keep her company the vets agreed it was the best option. she recovered well tho you need to ensure that the firt 24-48hours you get them eating and pooping i found first 24hours all dora would eat was dandilions and herbs...naughgty bun but eventually watching snowy scoff all the dinner ...she is greedy then she joined in eating to. we also had sooty done last month she was 9years old as we do not feel we could go through the pain of losing another to cancer. i have 2 3year old buns and a 10 and a 9year old bun all are outdoors bun with indoor/shed style areas at night in cold weather.
 
I have to agree with everyone else. I think benefits of spaying far outweigh any risk of the surgery. All my does have been spayed except my first, who I lost to cancer at 10 yrs old. I have never had any problems with the actual surgery, just one bun, Tippex, who went anorexic for 3 days after surgery.

Also I think if you feel concerned leaving your bun in the care of your vet, it's time to change vets. I trust my vets 110% with all of my animals.
 
Back
Top