Not drinking after spay - when to start syringing?

Valentine went to the vets for her spay today, so has been a very worrying and stressful day . That said, she seems to have recovered as well as we could have hoped for so far. She is eating with encouragement (a few sprigs of fresh herbs and a decent amount of raspberry leaves - think my plants are going to be bare by the morning!). As for pooing, she has produced maybe 20 'bumbles' (as the vet called them ) in all, and they seem to be fairly healthy looking... sorry if anyone's eating. Not a huge amount, but hopefully enough to show that her gut is moving?

My concern is that she has not drunk anything as far as I can see. She has two water bowls and her usual bottle in the hutch. I have been trying to encourage her to drink, but with no joy so far. She did do one wee fairly soon after coming back from the vets, but nothing since then.

I was wondering when I need to start giving her something to drink using a syringe? And also, how much should I give her if we have to resort to this?

Thank you everyone x

Wigs said:

Valentine went to the vets for her spay today, so has been a very worrying and stressful day . That said, she seems to have recovered as well as we could have hoped for so far. She is eating with encouragement (a few sprigs of fresh herbs and a decent amount of raspberry leaves - think my plants are going to be bare by the morning!). As for pooing, she has produced maybe 20 'bumbles' (as the vet called them ) in all, and they seem to be fairly healthy looking... sorry if anyone's eating. Not a huge amount, but hopefully enough to show that her gut is moving?

My concern is that she has not drunk anything as far as I can see. She has two water bowls and her usual bottle in the hutch. I have been trying to encourage her to drink, but with no joy so far. She did do one wee fairly soon after coming back from the vets, but nothing since then.

I was wondering when I need to start giving her something to drink using a syringe? And also, how much should I give her if we have to resort to this?

Thank you everyone x

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If she's eating voluntarily then she's probably ok to drink voluntarily. It depends how easy she is to syringe. If she's keen then I would have a go giving her a little fluids by syringe, cooled boiled water or cooled herbal tea - she's most likely to accept the latter. Peppermint/camomile tea goes down well with my buns. You could try putting a drop of fresh apple juice in her water bowl and then diluting it down - or do the same with her water bottle, it might encourage her. As long as she is self feeding and alert she's probably ok. If she will happily syringe feed fluids then maybe a little if you want - 5-10ml perhaps? If a bun was totally anorexic I'd be doing 10-20ml every 4hrs or so so it just depends. If she's very resistant I'd leave it alone as struggling she could aspirate any fluids - syringing fluids is always a bit risky and usually reserved for a very ill anorexic bun. If you are concerned still in morning then you could pop her back for some sub-cut fluids from vet. I hope she makes a quick recovery.

Ooh, also... I have only been providing tap water so far. Is there anything else that I can offer her that may be more tempting? (have seen herbal tea mentioned a few times on the forum?)

Thanks so much for the quick reply

I have some peppermint and cammomile tea in the house, so will give those a go now. She does seem to be fairly alert, and is hopping around, so not too worried yet. Had to give her Metacam orally by syringe earlier, and she was surprisingly ok with us doing this. Hopefully it won't come to it, but if it does, I hope that syringing fluid won't cause her too much stress.

Wigs said:

Thanks so much for the quick reply

I have some peppermint and cammomile tea in the house, so will give those a go now. She does seem to be fairly alert, and is hopping around, so not too worried yet. Had to give her Metacam orally by syringe earlier, and she was surprisingly ok with us doing this. Hopefully it won't come to it, but if it does, I hope that syringing fluid won't cause her too much stress.

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She sound ok for now, but if you are worried in the night, then try the fluids, but just do 0.5 ml at a time and take it gently. Peppermint and camomile tea sounds fine

You could also try feeding her freshly washed and still wet herbs/leaves for added hydration

I will do, thanks again