Post-Spaying Rabbit Not Eating

[TripleD]

This is kind of a long story.

Coles Notes:
My 4 1/2 month old rabbit was just spayed this morning, and she is refusing to eat. I managed to give her about 15-20mL of a very thin water/pellet mixture just an hour ago, but I'm worried that it won't be enough to sustain her and that her digestive system will stall.

Long Version:
I've never owned rabbits in my life. Growing up in Canada my family always owned dogs. Now I live and teach in China. One day I was walking down downtown Nanning when my girlfriend and I found a baby rabbit walking around. Despite our best efforts we couldn't find the owner, so we brought him home with us. The next three months with Fufu were certainly a learning experience, but I slowly learned what a rabbit needs to be happy. After visiting home a for a month, I came back to China and found out that my girlfriend had bought a friend for my rabbit, Snowball.

They got along beautifully. But as a male-female pair I knew they would have to be fixed. However good rabbit vets (or good vets period) are very hard to come by in China, especially if you don't live in a big city. Luckily I work at a University, and a student of mine put me in contact with the head of veterinary studies at the campus animal hospital. He had sterilized rabbits before, so I figured that this guy was probably my best bet for a safe procedure.

Big mistake. Like I said, I'm a rookie. I asked all of the wrong questions. My first tip off should have been when he advised me to fast my rabbits. I ignored his advice, as per the recommendation of every single university article I could find in English. After the surgery I found that he had used external stitches, which I'm constantly fighting with my male rabbit not to tug at.

But the worst was my female rabbit, Snowball. After the surgery I asked for pain medication, only to find out, after someone read the Chinese label, that it was only safe for cats and dogs. I haven't stopped slapping myself for not having that double checked before the surgery. I brought her home and I've tried to make her as comfortable as possible, but I can't even begin to imagine the pain she's in.

Does anyone have any strategies or advice for feeding a rabbit that has no appetite? Like I said, I live in a secondary city in China, so my access to resources is extremely limited. I can order things online, but time is a factor.

 

[agnesthelion]

Aww poor bun dont blame yourself though. Not your fault.

First of all, you said she was just spayed this morning. How many hours has it been? Its not that uncommon for them to not eat initially. Also, was she the one you fasted? If so, how many hours for that too?

The pain medicine we are given for our buns here in the states is metacam. Can you call your vet and see if they have Metacam?

Can you get ahold of some canned pumpkin? I would try to syringe some of that. I would even offer some favorite treats just to see if she will eat something to get things moving. Do you feed her hay? Make sure she has access to hay.

Lastly, if she does eat but things have stopped up in there you might want to get simethecone which is a drug for gas and bloating. In the states we can get it liquid form It's used to help treat the beginnings of GI stasis.

I'd it's been 24 hours since eating, imwould be concerned and here in the states I would be taking her to the vet but doesn't sound like you have that option in china. I hope someone else can chime in with more info too because I don't have any experience in not eating. My girl was spayed and things went fine.

Best of luck to your sweet bun!

 

[TripleD]

Thanks a lot.

Due to the time difference "this morning" is actually about 12 hours ago. I didn't fast them, but I also didn't feed them breakfast this morning, so I'd say her last solid meal was about 24 hours ago.

I've offered her favourite foods (apple and banana) with no interest. Hay and pellets are also available. But I'm looking at her right now; she's just staring over them, disinterested. She has been drinking water regularly though, which is why I think she went for the water/pellet mixture.

Not sure about canned pumpkin, but I could get some fresh stuff an puree it. One of the benefits of living in Southern China is that your rarely more than ten minute walk from an open air produce market.

Metacam is what a lot of people recommended on the internet. I have to take my rabbits in for a follow up visit and an antibiotic shot. I'm going to make a list of all the medication I can find and see if they have anything. If worse comes to worse, I'll have to get some aspirin and calculate the dosage myself (very risky I know, but I'm running out of options).

Thanks for your help and support!

 

[agnesthelion]

Fresh pumpkin pureed would be even better! Just make sure there is no stringy parts in it. Pretty much at this point anything you can syringe down her is gonna be better than nothing because you want to keep the digestion moving. Is she pooping and peeing?

Let us know how she does. I'm keeping my fingers and bunny ears crossed for you

 

[TripleD]

She was pooping and peeing this afternoon, but nothing since about 6pm (it's 11:16pm now).

All the stores are closed, I'll try feeding her during the night in small doses. But right now I'm going to try and grab a couple hours of sleep.

 

[JBun]

If you have baby aspirin you could try some of that. I'm just guessing on the dosage here but the site I looked at said one baby aspirin is ok for an average size rabbit.

You really want to keep her eating too, even if you have to soak and mash up some pellets and syringe feed them to her. Often rabbitss will start to eat leafy greens or even hay, before they will start eating their pellets again. By the way, what is the pain med they gave you?

 

[TripleD]

Honestly, I cannot remember the name of the medicine they gave me before they took it away. I think it started with a C, but that's all I remember.

She didn't wan't to eat at all overnight. I decided to stop harassing her and let her and her mate spend the night together. I hoped some mutual grooming (thankfully not near the stitches) might relax her a bit.

It's 7am now, so hopefully the market is open. I'm going to go pick up some leafy greens and she if she goes for them. If not, it's back to the mush.

 

[TripleD]

SHE'S EATING!!!

Granted it was only a few mouthfuls. But she sniffed, nibbled, chewed and swallowed. I'm going to try and keep this mixture of bok choi, hay, and some green chinese plant who's name I've never learned (it's safe for human consumption and my rabbits have never had complications).

I'll keep you updated on how this progresses.

 

[missyscove]

If she wasn't on any pain meds that might explain her reluctance to eat. There aren't many meds that are labeled for use in rabbits, but (at least in the US) a veterinarian can prescribe drugs for extra-label usage. The metacam that everyone love so much, for example, is labeled for use in dogs and cats. That doesn't mean it's not safe to use, it just means the money wasn't spent on the trials it would take to have it labeled that way.

 

[JBun]

That's great!!! It's so nerve racking when they won't eat and such a relief when they do. I hope your bun is back to her normal self soon.

 

[Imbrium]

it does take 24-36h for the anesthesia to completely wear off and sometimes it can make them nauseated and not want to eat - I had to syringe feed my bunnies after their spays because they weren't eating on their own.

I'm so glad she's getting her appetite back!

baby aspirin, low dose aspirin or baby ibuprofen are ok for rabbits - here's a site with dosing info: http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

 

[TripleD]

Imbrium, thanks for the information, but I got lucky today. My cousin's sister-in-law is a vet. She sent me a list of pain medication that's safe for rabbits and the dosages to use. I brought it with me today when the rabbits went for their follow up anti-biotic,

The vets actually had Metacam, but only in injectable form. I paid the twenty yuan (about $3.00 US) for it and both my rabbits got a dose. They seem to be perking up. Snowball has been nibbling on things all morning, and in general seems a lot more alert to what is going on around her. I think we're through the worst of it; I'll just have to monitor their bowel movements.

I really want to say thank you, not just to the people on the forum, but to all of you that take the time to write and post articles about proper rabbit care. For those of us in countries where veterinary care is less developed, or where we cannot speak the same language as our vet, you literally are life savers.

One last question: does anyone know if my rabbits will need a new dose of Metacam each day? I've found instructions for the oral medicine, but the only guidelines for injections were for cats, and they advised a one-time-only dose.

 

[Imbrium]

my girls got a pain shot (though it wasn't metacam) that lasted 24h and the oral metacam was a "once every 24h" thing... I would keep an eye on her around 24h after the shot was given and if she seems to not be eating much or is hunched up a bit, etc. then it's time for another dose of pain meds. I gave metacam to my girls for three days, but they probably would've been just fine with 1-2 days of it.

 

[missyscove]

Metacam is typically dosed once every 24 hours in rabbits. Often here they will get an IM injection at the vet and then continue with an oral dose every 24 hours. Because of the side effects in cats it is recommended to give them only one dose. If she's eating on her own you probably don't have to be too concerned. I personally wouldn't recommend aspirin right after a spay since it also acts as a blood thinner. I haven't personally used ibuprofen, but I would choose it over aspirin right after a surgery.

 

[TripleD]

Not sure if I can get Ibuprofen; all they seemed to have on hand was Metacam.

She still eating the greens at a steady rate. Nibbling on the hay from time to time. Hasn't touched pellets, but I'm not too worried.

I'll keep a close eye on her. If she really nosedives then I will ask for a second dose of Metacam.

 

[Imbrium]

pellets are the last thing they start eating again. if she's eating some hay and greens, that's an excellent sign.

 

[TripleD]

Hey guys: new problem.

Like I said, the vet used external stitches. Fufu (my male rabbit) has already picked out one set of stitches. Luckily the incision was relatively small; Vet says that as long as I keep putting anti-bacterial on it he should be fine.

It's Snowball I'm worried about. She starting to hop around and groom herself. Just now as I was cleaning her stitches, I noticed that she has managed to sever one. The abdomen wound is long, and I'm worried what will happen if she takes more out.

Any home remedies for stopping bunnies from scratching. I'll check the pet store in the morning for small dog cones that could work ad-hoc on a rabbit.

 

[Imbrium]

cone of shame is pretty rough on a rabbit... any chance you could get some no-chew vet wrap from a pet store or from the vet? (something like this: http://www.leithpetwerks.com/prodpage.cfm?prod_code=GR541 )

just place a gauze pad over the incision to cushion it against the vet wrap and wrap it around her a couple times (it's tricky with a wiggly bunny, but doable - I had to do that when one of mine kept licking her incision).

if you do go with an e-collar, you'll need to hand-feed her cecals (night poops) because she won't be able to bend down to ingest them the way she normally would.

 

[TripleD]

The animal hospital does have a small "store" where you can buy supplies. I'll see what I can find in the morning.

 

[missyscove]

Ibuprofen is a common human medication. Metacam is really your best choice though.
A belly band might be an option. if they do take the sutures out, super glue is also an option.