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Getting Amy Spayed- Update: The Stitches Saga

SJ_R

Mama Doe
(Mods, wasn't sure if to place here or in Health; please do move if in the wrong place, sorry)

Hello! So, after six months after first getting her (and her being five months old then, Amy is now about eleven months old), things have finally settled down enough here that we can finally arrange to get her spayed; I'm going to call tomorrow and see if we can get in on the 24th or 25th (my father has blocked these days off so we'll have no guests in or any work to do; if we cannot get it on one of those days, well, we'll sort something out). However, as this is my first major operation on a rabbit I have, and Amy is my sweet little darling, I am more than a little nervous (I know that it's not very dangerous, she's quite healthy etc, but I will worry regardless), so I have many, many questions and advice to ask for, about the operation, and care both before and after, if you don't mind. I want to do this right, to have it all go as smoothly as possible for Amy.

I found this page, http://rabbit.org/faq-spaying-and-neutering/ quite useful, particularly the questions to ask when making the appointment. Does anyone have any ideas of any other questions I should ask? Anything to make sure of? This is information I need quite soon.

I've heard a few other pieces of advice; I should add that she is also not vaccinated, and that getting vaccinated at the same time as spaying makes them feel poorly. When should I arrange for the vaccinations? When the stitches come out?

I have heard it best to send some pellets and favourite greens/herbs along with the bun so they start eating right away; should I include hay, and since Amy loves just about all the food, it is all her favourite, is there any specifics I should avoid, anything easy on the tummy to suggest? Anything else to send with her?

I have a non slip bowl for water, because I've heard it's easier to drink from than a bottle post-spay, some Oxbrow Critical Care Fine Grind, syringes, a Snugglesafe heat pad, and have ordered a soft sleeping pad (http://www.deemillen.co.uk/snuggle-p-12057.html), she loves to flop on everything, and a blanket (I plan on sleeping with it so it smells like me, then sending it with her to the vet's; is this a good idea?). She has a Catit Cabrio Carrier with a bunvelope (https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/188551098/cotton-bun-velope-soft-quilted-carrier?ref=related-0) inside. In her XXL dog crate there is a wooden handmade house, her hay box and a plastic litter tray (alongside toys). Is there anything else anyone can think of?

Now, about exercise; Amy gets out for exercise in my bun proofed room during the day, and then through the living room on the couch for snuggles in the evening (I am very lucky in the Amy LOVES to come through the be petted/snuggled/generally made a fuss of; she is currently keeping my feet warm at the end of the recliner); I pick her up and carry her for this. How soon until we can resume normal exercise, and, particularly, cuddles? I don't want to stress her either physically or mentally; she does not, naturally, particularly like being picked up, I try to do it as carefully and infrequently as possible, and sometimes she needs some coaxing, but as soon as we're on the couch, she's all over me for attention, licking my hands and sitting on me. I have a canvas pop up playpen (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Easipet-Fab...TF8&qid=1401997302&sr=1-3&keywords=playpen+xl) I use with the chinchilla; can I use this with her for the first few days?

What should I do for her cage? I mean, do I line it with newspaper like normal, or go for old towels/blankets? She loves to chew and tear up the paper.

I think this is all I can think of for now, but I will most like have more questions, so watch this space. Thank you in advance very much for any help.
 
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Hi there. I have had many bunnies spayed so I know how worrying it is. I assume your Vet does many rabbit neuters which helps the worry. My Vets are excellent in this area so I have had no problems.

I would get your bunny vaccinated now so she will be covered by the time she is spayed.

I normally just send some spring greens in with mine, not a lot just in the hopes they may be interested, some Vets like to ensure the rabbit is eating and pooing before sending them home. I wouldn't send any pellets as they invariably won't eat them for a day or two post spay.

Personally I wouldn't put a blanket in the carrier but that is your preference. I just put newspaper in.

She will need at least 3 days of rest with no jumping or running around, I usually wait for a week as it does no harm to be quiet and the rabbit should be healing nicely by then.

You can put towels, blankets or newspaper in her cage, some Vets say no hay but ours don't worry about that now. Obviously shavings are a no-no as they could stick to the wound.

She will take up to 3 days to start eating and pooing normally, some recover more quickly than others.

She will be given 3 injections one an antibiotic, one for pain relief and one to help to get her gut moving. The Vet may also give you some pain relief to take home with you. A lot of owners specifically ask for some.
 
I don't have any experience of having bunnies spayed as I only have a boy rabbit, but best of luck to Amy when you book her in.
 
I really don't mean to be rude or attention seeking, but, well, I was expecting more sources of advice, y'know, to hear from more experienced rabbit owners just what I should do, and although I do not doubt tonibun, surely someone could back up or add to that advice? I'll be honest with you, the main reason I ever joined this forum, other than wanting to be a better rabbit owner in general, was to ask for help with this specifically. All I want to do is to help my rabbit through a major operation best I can. I need, and appreciate, all the advice I can get.
 
Hi

Sorry I missed this post. Doughnut was spayed and I collected her at 6.00pm. They shouldn't give her back to you until she has eaten and toileted.

Doughnut didn't want any pellets and I was upset in the morning when she hadn't eaten any but they prefer fresh food. Get herbs and also fresh grass if you can. Definitely give lots of hay.

Make sure you come home with some pain relief. She had metacam for the next 5 days. Gave it to her twice a day. They have an injection which lasts 24 hours so you start the pain relief the following morning. She was fine, not in pain at all but quiet although as soon as I got her home she jumped on a shelf! I was worried but all OK and was told she needed hutch rest for 24 hours, so as not to break the stitches. She also had antibotics.

A drinking bowl is a good idea, as it's easier for them. Doughnut hate being picked up so I just put the medicine on a tiny bit of weetabix and she was fine with that.

I would ask the vets when you get the stitches out about the vaccinations, they will know when a good time is. I would make sure she has fully recovered though as like you said it's a big op.

As for cuddles I would leave it until she comes to you, you will soon know when she is feeling better. Maybe lots of strokes on her level if she comes over, otherwise I would let her be.

Let me know what your other concerns are.
 
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I missed this too.

I've had all 3 of mine spayed, and all 3 recovered at different rates.

Marble - because Marble is quite big (4.5kg) she had fluids during surgery which helped her recover quickly. She was eating straight away and wolfed everything, but was very quiet in herself for 3-4 days. I had to ask the vet to up her metacam as I felt she was in pain and wasn't getting enough pain relief.

Maizie - she only weighs around 1.5kg so no fluids. She didn't eat at the vets, but I agreed with them to bring her home as both myself and the vet thought it was due to stress. When we got home, she was nibbling little bits but not much. She was spayed on Friday, and was back to her normal self yesterday.

Daisy - she had me worried the most. She also didn't eat at the vets but came home with Maizie. Her surgery took slightly longer than Maizies so put the long recovery down to that.

With both Maizie and Daisy I was up all night syringe feeding them critical care every hour as they would only take 0.3-0.5ml at a time. As of Saturday afternoon they were both feeling much better and are back to their normal selves.

We had a follow up appointment on Saturday, and we have another one today. The vet nurse has also phoned everyday to see how they are, and to reassure me that the OOH vet was available if I needed advice (particularly Friday night).

Ideally the vet won't send a rabbit home until they have eaten and pooped, but if you're confident in syringe feeding, and care at home, they may allow the bun home if they feel that being hospitalised will stress the rabbit.

I sent pellets, herbs, and readi grass with my two as the vet had their own hay there.

As for lifting/carrying, I wouldn't. I've only picked my two up to wrap them in a blanket for syringe feeding, and even then, I was wrapping them in the blanket on the floor first.

Exercise - I was advised to restrict their area for the first 48 hours, and then to ensure that there was nothing for them to jump on. His was difficult as they free range my living room. I moved all of the toys etc that they can jump on out of the room, and have pulled my sofa out into a bed (it's a sofa bed) so they can't jump on that.

In the litter trays I've used puppy pads and had hay in a rack above it. This works for mine as they don't eat or chew paper etc. If she does, then I would have a couple of old towels to hand.

If shes indoors, you probably won't need the snugglesafe heat pad, Daisy felt a bit cold to me so I wrapped her in the blanket and cuddled her which warmed her up.

I can't think of anything else to tell you, but if you have any questions ill try my best to answer :thumb:

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 
Thank you for the advice! It eases my mind a little to know what to do somewhat. I'm too tired at this moment to think of anything else; I think that almost everything has been covered by now. I haven't managed to call the vet's just yet; I should say that from what I've heard from family friends and how they've handled Lucky, the dog, they aren't excellent. They're competent, and the only vet's in a small town (the next nearest one a town over and a half hour drive away), and not the worst vet's, but you they won't just easily tell you things, you have to insist upon asking questions. Last I heard, the only one with a decent bedside manner was a nice Belgian or German (not clear on which) vet that only works part time; do hope we end up with him, he sounds very qualified and very friendly/caring.

I used to give my first rabbit, Baby, painkillers (she had genetic malocclusion) orally if not on her food; I think I can adjust to syringe feeding Amy. She is a real good eater, just loves her food and putting anything she can in her mouth to chew, particularly drinking straws...
 
Make sure the vet sends you home with painkillers - insist on this, as most of the problems that you see on here regarding spays, and that I had before I knew better, are due to them not being given enough pain relief. I have 4 girls so they've all been spayed. It's likely she'll go for pellets last when she starts eating again. What often tempts them is something smelly like herbs, and if she isn't drinking you can dip it in water lightly. All mine took at least 3 days to start to get back to normal, just make sure she's eating something to keep her gut moving.
I would also get her vaccinated quickly now.
Best of luck, I'm sure she'll be fine, she's lucky to have an owner who cares about her so much.
 
I would only ever have a rabbit spayed at a rabbit savvy vets, if you are in any doubt about the ability of yours then I would look for a different vets.

When I had Apricot and Ginger spayed, I asked for them to have subcutaneous fluids and a gut stimulant to help their recovery, I also had metacam to give them at home. They were very quiet the first evening, but ate grass and dandelion leaves I had picked for them, some rosemary I had clipped for them, and they ate their pellets and readigrass overnight. Normally they're very good hay eaters but they went off it a bit for a day or too, but as they were eating plenty of forage and readigrass I didn't mind.

Mine are outside bunnies but I had them indoors for a week, I had newspaper on the floor, hay in a rack, so that none got stuck in their wound, and only a low litter tray with newspaper only in it so they didn't catch their wound. For looking at the wound, as mine are hyperactive and don't flop on their sides when I'm around much :lol: I would offer something tasty held high enough up so they had to reach up slightly for it, so I could have a quick look at their wound.

A few bunnies nibble at their wound, if they have to wear those plastic buster collars as a last resort it will mean they can't eat their caecal poos. A better option would be some kind of t shirt or you can buy them on the internet. Mine never bothered with their wounds though.
 
Not sure if anyone will still be paying attention to this, but a tentative date is set for the 15 July due to circumstances. She'll get a check over, and if everything is okay she'll go ahead and get spayed; if not, well, we'll deal with it. She's a bit chubby but mostly healthy.
 
Thank you all very much indeed for all the advice and support. I (and indirectly Amy) really appreciate it.
 
Good luck. I always get so nervous with getting any of mine neutered :oops:

I always take a good selection of foods in for them, just so they have a choice. Wild picked foods, like dandelion leaves, raspberry leaves, rose leaves, etc are often preferred. Also strong smelling herbs like basil and mint.

I always keep mine confined to a cage for at least the first night as they are often dopey from all the drugs. I didn't bother with a litter tray when they first came home, and when I was happy they could move comfortably I put a tray with just newspaper in for them.

With last girl I had neutered, I had to put a soft, slightly padded cover in her cage as she was too uncomfortable to lie down the first night without it.

At home, keep offering a variety off foods, and replace with fresh ones every couple of hours. And make sure you get pain relief to give at home for a few days afterwards. I keep my buns inside at least for one night rather than use a snugglesafe. Bun could still be dopey from the meds and not be able to move away from it if she gets too hot.
 
I'm going to Pets At Home tomorrow. Is there anything there I could buy that I don't already have in preparation for Tuesday?
 
Once again, not sure if anyone's still paying attention to this, but Amy is now in for her spay. Consultation went well; the vet was a nice lady, knew her stuff, though she told me they didn't do many spays, mostly castrations (which could probably have been shared over the phone, but never mind), that they hadn't seen a case of uterus cancer up there, and that it was high risk but they would do their best (I did have to sign something, a waiver I think, however). Left her with her carrier and her food; she'll come back with that and her painkillers. She'll get her claws cut there, they needed a trim, and have her vaccinations in a couple of weeks at a check up. Stitches are the dissolving kind. She did say it would cost around £100, if anyone's doing a survey on how these prices vary. I've to call around two. I'm going to sit for a bit and then clean her cage and get it ready for her.

Thank you all again for the advice.
 
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Was wondering how that went

She'll feel really really sorry for herself when you get her back so try not to feel to despondent for the first 24 hours and let her recover. She'll probably start eating a little bit overnight so make sure she has stuff available

Good luck x
 
Sending vibes that Amy will come through her operation well with no problems. Please keep her quiet when back home, she will probably not be interested in her pellets but some do nibble a bit of grass or Spring Greens. Some don't want to eat anything until the next morning. Don't worry, they all recover over different periods. I would cover her cage to give her more privacy and security. The painkillers they give her will last until tomorrow. Please let us know how Amy is recovering. This is a very good Forum for caring advice as we have rabbits' welfare at heart.
 
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