worried about having my little doe Wanda spayed at 5 years old

[blackbunsmum]

Hello Everyone
I have just joined this forum although I have been reading the excellent forums on rabbit health for a while. I am looking for advice and support regarding my very active and beautiful black bun. She is 5 years old and due to be spayed on Tuesday (so anxious about it). I discovered an elongated mammary cyst/lump last week and took her to see my regular vet. My vet is generally very good but didn't seem too sure what it could be and said I could either have it taken out or wait and see if it got any bigger. I then discovered a very rabbit savvy vet on the other side of my county called Molly Varga (who I think is the webinar rabbit vet) who I believe is very good and took her to see her. She said that she could detect that her uterus was a bit enlarged (which is apparently quite common at this age) and that the lump could be mammary dysplasia linked to that. She couldn't detect any lumps in her uterus but it was def enlarged. She recommended to have the lump removed and spay at the same time. I have been monitoring my rabbits urine and there is no blood whatsovever which I know can be an indicator of uterine cancer (and I know the stats about this) and so am relieved about that and she seems so well. I know I should have had her spayed when young and planned to do it but was totally put off by a friend who spayed her rabbit and had a terrible time as it went into stasis for a time and needed loads of aftercare and stressed her out bigtime. So I didn't do it.

She lives with her very active 8 year old mum who is also unspayed. (wouldn't have her done at her age). I am so worried about this operation next week particularly because she is 5 years old and I love her to bits. I keep worrying and worrying. Can anyone reassure me that I am doing the right thing? I'm sure this rabbit savvy vet wouldn't recommend it if it was unsafe. She even said that she had operated on rabbits that had been found to have uterine cancer and gone on to live another 3 or 4 years. I am also worrying about the mammary lump in case it is cancer.

such a weary rabbit worrier I have become but they are part of the family aren't they? If anyone could reassure me I would be very greatful

thanks
Blackbunsmum

p.s is it advisable to take her mum/hutch partner to the vets when she has the op to offer comfort when she comes round and could anyone give me any advice on aftercare. They are both housebuns who sleep in an indoor cage during the night and have a whole room to play in during the day. Is it recommended to put down a vet fleece (of which I have) after the op to keep her dry?

 

[Aly&Poppy<3]

As they are bonded I would take them so their bond doesn't break and ask for metacam for her pain relief as the 24 hour injection they give them isn't enough :wave:

Fleece is better yep keep any hay raised in hay racks so it can't agitate the wound I used a towel in my girls litter trays so I could see what was coming out easily! (Stole the ingenious idea off here )

I had my 4 year old sneezy bun spayed and was worried but it will benefit her in the long run as I don't need to worry about uterine cancer, it will be a weight of your mind try not to worry and keep yourself busy in the day while they're at the vets

There is always a risk as with any animal but the benefits out weigh it for me, she will be fine :wave::thumb:

xx

 

[blackbunsmum]

thanks for that advice. The towel idea is great. Then I will really see what is coming through. The only thing that worries me is that I might not be sure if it is coming from her or from her mum who lives with her? At the moment they sleep in an indoor cage which has sawdust underneath and hay on top. So I will need to put the towel at one end won't I? will she be ok to go in her carpeted room (which has a hay tray) after the op or are they not supposed to move around much?

her mum is a bit sneezy too and is under treatment with baytril in water at the moment (which Wanda is also having too although not sneezy).

 

[JemimaH]

One of my girls was spayed at 5 and a half in August 2012, although she had complications afterwards the actual operation went fine. Dee stopped eating and went into stasis, then got a UTI bless her but most buns are ok, Dee just wanted to be awkward and stress me out :roll: :lol:. I'm with Aly and I feel the benefits outweigh the risks, so I'd always go for it. I'm sure Wanda will be fine!:wave:

ETA: I also kept all of mine in a small cage for at least a day, well my girls anyway, just to limit the risk of them ripping their stitches if they move around too much.

 

[blackbunsmum]

How do the vets deal with the stasis and uti? Did you have to take your bun back in straightway? I am dreading that happening but your bun got through ok in the end Jemima? I am such a worrier about my pets when they get ill.

 

[chloeturner]

Hello :wave: I had misty done a couple of weeks ago, shes 4, and shes absolutely fine now you are most definitely doing the best thing for your bun. What is her favourite veg that she absolutely goes mad for?? I took a few bits of veggies in a little food bag, and when I picked her up the nurse said she'd already eaten some. Tempt her with whatever you can Misty isnt a huge hay eater, but that night I put her a few nuggets in her bowl, some veg and a little hay, and she got to work on the hay and veggies and left the nuggets til morning!! It's hard to try and get them not to lick it, but having to restrict exercise for the first couple of days is always the worse what with boredom and that. Good luck, hope I helped, and I'm sure she'll be fine!! Some rabbits can live to a grand old age of 10, so 5 is most definitely still a good time to have her done xxx

 

[blackbunsmum]

Thanks everyone for your reassurance about the spay and the brilliant suggestions about aftercare etc. I am a bit worried about her trying to chew at her wound after particularly as she will have two scars from the removal of the mammary lump and the spay although the vet said she would see how she went during the op and it could be that she may decide to have 2 ops. hopefully we can get it all done in one and I will have a happy binkying bun again after a week or so.

thanks everyone.

 

[RogerRabbit999]

Good luck with the spaying and I am sure with such a good vet she will be absolutely fine. When Pippa was spayed, her partner Dipsy went in with her, and afterwards she had a newborn babygro put on her so that she could not get at the stitches. You have definately got to do this though, as you would never forgive yourself if she developed cancer later which so many do, knowing that you could have prevented it with the spay. I know some people might frown at the idea of the babygro, but hey at the end of the day it did the job, and my vet and myself just knew Pippa would be a nightmare with the stitches, and she only had it for a few days, as didn't do much for her bunny cred with the others lol. Please let us know how she gets on. Pippa was quite keen to eat her hay and fresh stuff afterwards, but the vet did warn me that male buns eat pretty much straight away, but that it is normal for females to take a bit longer, and he was happy that she was nibbling at bits, drinking and passing urine etc so everything was good.

 

[RogerRabbit999]

Forgot to say that my vet who is a rabbit specialist and only works with bunnies, always gives a gut stimulant straight away and antibiotics, and is a firm believer that prevention is far better when buns have just had surgery, so I would definately ask your vet if they will be doing the same, as you wouldn't have to worry about these then.

 

[blackbunsmum]

Thanks Roger rabbit. The baby gro is a great idea and will ask about the gut stimulant too.. The thing that worries me is how I will be able to tell if she is pooing and urinating properly when she shares her indoor pad with her mum. I suppose I will have to watch over her periodically and check that it is her pooing as well as mum. Any suggestions?

 

[RogerRabbit999]

When Pip was spayed and as Dipsy was with her, they were still in the same apartment lol, but they put a dividing mesh thing inbetween them so that they could still fuss each other, but they could monitor Pips toileting, and as she was on a big pad thing it was easy to see where she had wet etc. She needed to have her own water as well so that they could check how much she had drank, as Simon doesn't discharge them until they have drank, wet and passed droppings I was quite happy that she would be fine when I took her home and she was. When Wanda is home if she is eating and drinking then it will have to be working at the other end as well, if all was fine at vets after op, so it doesn't matter you probably won't know who's droppings are whose, but you will see her eating and drinking. Can I just say that I've noticed lots of people suggest giving baby food to tempt them with eating afterwards and in desperation kind of thing, but my vet said this is something that should most definately be avoided as it contains far too much sugar, and just tends to sit in the abdomen, and with the bun not initially being so active, can often cause bloat which can be fatal. It was so sad to hear that the bunnies had got through the surgery really well and then in effect been killed with kindness with the baby food thing. Honestly, Wanda will be fine and up and running before you know it. Pip went in in the morning and came home in the evening about 7, was a little sleepy and just loving being groomed by Dipsy, and she loved the parsley and herby leaves I had got her as a treat and Dipsy of course, and the next morning she was up and running, and other than wearing the babygro, you wouldn't have thought she had been spayed the day before.

 

[RogerRabbit999]

Babygro was just a thin cotton one not thick towelling one by the way, and I am sure you will have worked yourself up into a right frenzy which I did as Pippa was a cruelty case, nearly starved to death, and is really diddy, and I was just terrified something would go wrong, but I can honestly say when friends came round the next day to see her I didn't dare mention what a state I had been in, as I just knew they would think I had lost the plot what with her tearing around as per usual, looking like nothing had even happened!!

 

[blackbunsmum]

Babygro was just a thin cotton one not thick towelling one by the way, and I am sure you will have worked yourself up into a right frenzy which I did as Pippa was a cruelty case, nearly starved to death, and is really diddy, and I was just terrified something would go wrong, but I can honestly say when friends came round the next day to see her I didn't dare mention what a state I had been in, as I just knew they would think I had lost the plot what with her tearing around as per usual, looking like nothing had even happened!!

My husband is used to my rabbity worries by now thank goodness and my friends. I have adopted quite a few rescue centre buns ovef the years. My current ones came from a local centre. I usually have had bucks in the past and the neutering was much less complicated. I do wish I hadnt let someone put me off having them done when they were younger though. They told me about all the complications they had had with their rabbit and it put me off having them done :-(

 

[RogerRabbit999]

I know exactly what you mean, but like people, every person, bunny is unique and individual and I just think that for everything that has happened to my buns over the years, that had a positive outcome, there will always be someone who experienced the same with a complete opposite ending. I'm convinced anyway that so much to do with our bunnies is actually dependent on the vet. I trust Simon completely, he has many years experience and where many vets don't see rabbits often, that is all that Simon sees and probably does 6-8 ops per day and probably sees 20+ per day. Not many vets actually secure the airway and that can be quite high risk and doesn't leave much lee-way should things go wrong, but Simon does, and too be honest it makes their throats dry and gets them drinking again quickly which is exactly what you want.

 

[blackbunsmum]

I think it is important to go and see a rabbit savvy vet when there is surgery needed. My normal vet is very good for routine illnesses such as snuffles and panacur treatments plus vaccs and has done tooth ops very well and I really like her (plus they are amazingly reasonable forsmall pets) but didnt seem to be too concerned about the lump or that it could most probably be linked to probs kicking off in the uterus, which is why I decided to see a renowned rabbit vet who fortunately is only half an hour away. The new vets are alot more expensive than my normal vets (i.e £41 for a 20 min consultation as opposed to the £12 at my normal practice and the op will be around £150, maybe more) but I am reassured that she is going to an expert and will get the best poss care. For general things i will continue to use my other vet which I am for Mum rabbit's snuffly nose( currently on baytril). I couldnt afford them all the time.