Cone or no cone?

Jelly was spayed on Thursday and they said to keep a cone on her but she absolutely hates it. I left it on her and she didn’t move, eat or go to the toilet for 12 hours so I’ve taken it off and so far it doesn’t look like she’s touched her stitches. Is it normal for them to wear cones? The vet never mentioned a cone when Beans was neutered. She hates it but I’m nervous because I know how quickly they can do damage to themselves

I'm always against cones for rabbits. if they must have something, they should have a medical vest which stops them from chewing their stitches.

rabbits hate having something around their neck, it stresses them out immensely. it stops them from being able to drink, eat, eat their cecratrophs (sp?) and groom themselves. rabbits are not dogs and do not do well with a cone. I don't understand vets who give them out first time. if they are given the correct medication, they are highly unlikely to touch their stitches anyway. if they do touch their stitches, then something should be given, but not right away.

I would recommend taking it off and leaving it off.....if you're that worried get a medical vest;
https://www.vetsend.co.uk/medical-pet-shirt-rabbit/

I did wonder whether some kind of vest would be better suited to rabbits, I’d never heard of cones being used with rabbits before. Fortunately she seems to be doing well, isn’t touching her stitches and isn’t moving quite well. I haven’t been told to give her any painkillers, she had one that lasted 24 hours but that was given on Thursday so I’ve wondered about giving her some metacam. Perhaps I should ring and speak to the vet, I can’t imagine Jelly is very comfortable

:shock:

honestly, that makes me a little mad (not at you, at the vets). I would personally advise you to seek out another vet.....considering they've shoved a cone on with no good reason (imo) and given you no medication for her.

yes cones are sometimes given in cases where a medical vest doesn't suit...or there is a serious need. but I don't think they should be handed out just like that without a clear reason that they are chewing their stitches or doing serious damage. cones are awful for rabbits.

bucks its becoming more "normal" to not have any medication since theres is a less invasive process but they also seem to just remove the contents of the testicles(not sure how else to explain!!), whereas when I had Snoopy neutered they removed everything so he had a bigger op in that sense.

but does, its very invasive and painful. they of course have to make a hole and remove the uterus, its a pretty invasive operation. while humification of animals never usually does them any good, I wouldn't want to have my uterus taken out as a human and be given zero pain killers after.... I can only imagine it must hurt.

usually they are given painkillers for 3 day - 1 week after, with a post op check within a week of the spay.

I wouldn't be comfortable continuing with the vets you currently have, in my respectful opinion. it doesn't sound too good to me.

They’re not the one I usually use and I won’t be using them again. I have given her some metacam for now and I will speak to my usual vet in the morning.

I had to use a MPS vest (aka 'gown of shame' as my vet called it) on Lunar after her spay, they're really good. Though I did come out one morning to find her three-legged as she'd managed to pull one leg inside the vest :roll:
But it stopped her licking/chewing at it. Your vet should be able to get you one (though they can be expensive), but you can also use a modified baby vest. I've seen that done several times so if you're any good at sewing that might be a quicker/cheaper option.
I wish I knew where Lunar's one was now, I may not be too far from you (depending on where in Surrey you are). I'll have a look around in case but I'm pretty sure I've packed it
But I'd definitely suggest either a MPS or a modified baby vest (someone on here might even be able to tell you how to do it) rather than a cone.
I know Companion Care in Farnborough definitely have the vests if you're anywhere near there as that's where I got Lunar's. They also have a very rabbit savvy vet (Karolina)

Most bunny savvy vets will do the stitches buried within the skin so there's no stitches exposed for them to chew on - so that, coupled with good pain relief, usually means that bunnies won't need a cone after a spay. It's certainly not something I've ever come across in my own experience of many spays, although I have heard of it every now and then from elsewhere. If she's leaving the wound alone, personally I would take the cone off...I think the stress and difficulties eating it gives outweigh the benefits..but that's just my opinion of course! If a bun is really going for the wound, then that would normally suggest to me that it is irritating in some way and further pain relief etc may be of benefit. Hope you have a speedy rest of recovery x

When Beatrice got spayed she didn't have a cone and she was totally fine. I've never heard of putting a cone on a rabbit before, I can imagine it really freaking them out! Hope your girl has a speedy recovery <3

Thank you she’s had some metacam and seems well. She’s been in a small dog crate because I didn’t want her running around everywhere and hurting herself, but today she had a bit of time with the door open and she was exploring the hallway. She seems very well, a lot more alert than she was. She needs to be vaccinated so she’s going to see my regular vet on Wednesday for that and I’m going to speak to him about her spay. She’s got a check up appointment at the vet that did the operation at the weekend but I’m wondering whether I can cancel that and get her checked by my vet instead, I don’t really trust the other one now

Has she been vaccinated previously or is this her first vaccination? Personally I'd hold off a bit longer before vaccinating (although how long would depend on whether she's got any existing cover at all). Her body will still be repairing from the spay for a couple of weeks, so there's a risk that by adding a vaccine now, it might not develop a proper immune response because the body is busy doing something else and may not be able to cope with doing both. It's not really known whether it's a real risk or not - I guess none of us would know unless the bun came down with something the vaccine was meant to prevent - but if there's enough wriggle room with dates, I would opt to leave it a bit longer before vaccinating.