How to tell if a female bunny has uterine cancer?

A work colleague has a 7.5yr old bunny, unspayed, who stopped eating on Saturday. When they couldnt get her to eat they discovered a large spur righth at the back which they removed under GA. She still isnt eating pellets or hard food but is having some green food and has started pooing although not normal poops yet and still isnt quite herself!

My colleague said that the vet could feel something in her abdomen but I haven't had a chance to quiz her to find out more details on that but bearing in mind her age and that she's unspayed what can you do to check for cancer? Does it show in bloods, xray etc?

Also, just in case its just her mouth being still a bit sore, how long does it take for dental bunnies sometimes to start eating properly again?

Is she on pain relief? If not, it would be sensible for her to be because often they need it after a dental.

The recovery time frame after a dental varies bunny to bunny. Some of mine come back very normal and better than they left, and others, such as Sky, take a few days or a week or even more, depending on personality, what they had done, stress levels, stress reaction, etc.

For uterine cancer they could potentially scan but I don't know how useful it might be. Blood tests would also be sensible. Obviously the potential for a spay if the bunny is fit enough (or if the vet is sure it's cancer and they want to give the spay a shot anyway).

Boudicca said:

A work colleague has a 7.5yr old bunny, unspayed, who stopped eating on Saturday. When they couldnt get her to eat they discovered a large spur righth at the back which they removed under GA. She still isnt eating pellets or hard food but is having some green food and has started pooing although not normal poops yet and still isnt quite herself!

My colleague said that the vet could feel something in her abdomen but I haven't had a chance to quiz her to find out more details on that but bearing in mind her age and that she's unspayed what can you do to check for cancer? Does it show in bloods, xray etc?

Also, just in case its just her mouth being still a bit sore, how long does it take for dental bunnies sometimes to start eating properly again?

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An enlarged/abnormal uterus can be palpated on examination. UC would be a likely scenario in a 7.5 year old doe. U/S could give more details, urinalysis may show blood which could be related to UC but could also be due to infection

Pain after Dental treatment can vary, totally depends on exactly what was found, if there was soft tissue damage/ulceration, if there is elongated tooth root involvement, if the procedure took a long time and thus the jaw was clamped open for a long time (TMJ type pain)

Hope Bunny feels better soon

Thank you both!! Apparently the vet did palpate her and felt something that was enlarged! He prescribed something that is contraindicated (as most drugs are) to 'help with removing puss' I presume from the uterus?? It's something that is used in female dogs with this problem. Unfortunately, she couldnt remember the name of the drug, but will find out and let me know! Apparently, there was some ulceration of the tongue.

I will pass on all your comments re recovery time and tests for UC. The bunny is seeing the vet again tomorrow morning!

My colleague is quite bunny savvy herself and all of her other bunnies are neutered. This one was taken on along with her sister when the owners didn't want her, but as they were already 5 and unspayed she didnt want to take the risk with neutering particularly as the sister was unwell and passed away a few months later.

Fifi's uterine cancer was diagnosed via x-ray. Daisy had blood in her urine and Poppet may well have it as she has blood in her urine and a very tender abdomen. We will know more tomorrow.

I would say if it turns out she doesn't need an emergency spay due to possible illness and is otherwise in good health I would still get it done sooner rather than later. We have always worked on the basis of routinely spaying bunnies up to and including 7 years old. Once they get to 8 years then we don't routinely spay unless symptoms indicate possible cancer or infection

Thanks Liz! Hopefully I will have a chance to speak to her tomorrow after the next vet visit and I will pass on your info and also that at 7.5yrs theres still a good chance of recovery if she has her spayed! She made it through the GA for the dental, albeit rather groggy for sometime afterwards, so once she's back up to full strength and eating properly it may be worth trying!

Boudicca said:

Thanks Liz! Hopefully I will have a chance to speak to her tomorrow after the next vet visit and I will pass on your info and also that at 7.5yrs theres still a good chance of recovery if she has her spayed! She made it through the GA for the dental, albeit rather groggy for sometime afterwards, so once she's back up to full strength and eating properly it may be worth trying!

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A spay is a much 'bigger' procedure than a Dental. I would be asking for pre op bloods and a chest Xray before going ahead with a spay, which is effectively major abdominal surgery xx

Jack's-Jane said:

A spay is a much 'bigger' procedure than a Dental. I would be asking for pre op bloods and a chest Xray before going ahead with a spay, which is effectively major abdominal surgery xx

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I did specify that the rabbit needs to be in good health if it wasn't being spayed routinely rather than as a medical emergency

Yes absolutely any major abdominal surgery is a major deal for a bunny! I'm hoping my colleague will request further tests based on what has been said earlier! However, Im not sure she would go down the route of spaying if it wasnt an emergency based on the bunnies age! I'm trying to get some extra info and opinions for her for any decision she may have to make! She's been up nights on end with her bunny and clearly adores her and wants what is the best for her She's just spent her 20yr service award on getting a major new run attached to the bunny shed

Is your colleague based in in town we met in? If so, what vets does she use? We have some really sucky vets around!

I'm not sure exactly where she's based but I get the impression it's not town centre as she has other animals including a horse! She does go into Ravenswood to stock up on bunny medical essentials! I'll ask which vets it is!

Boudicca said:

Thanks Liz! Hopefully I will have a chance to speak to her tomorrow after the next vet visit and I will pass on your info and also that at 7.5yrs theres still a good chance of recovery if she has her spayed! She made it through the GA for the dental, albeit rather groggy for sometime afterwards, so once she's back up to full strength and eating properly it may be worth trying!

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I don't have any advice to add other than what has already been said but just wanted to confirm that I've heard of a fair few older girls doing well after spays. Georgie_f's bunny, Cloud, was spayed at 7 years and is still going strong, and my mum's bun Socks was spayed at 5+ (probably more 6/7 age mark, but she was a rescue). In her case the spay went well, but the cancer had already spread, so she would have died whether she had the spay or not. Which is the argument for doing them sooner rather than later.

Here is my thread looking for info on spaying on older does, when I was looking for Socks.

Iam sure you know Poppets story by now, she is now recovering well from a huge spay operation at 9 years old. the first few days were hard work but a week on and she was periscoping in the garden quite happily today