Spaying my bunny.

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Buncake

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I want to talk about today's expirence and how stressful it was for both me and my poor little baby. So as some of you know, my bunny matured recently and she's been quite different, she chews more, she digs more, she grunts and growls and marks a lot and I knew I wouldn't be getting her a mate and if I did, I don't want litters because it's only me who takes care of her and I have to start university soon and I didn't want to be unjustful to poor things as rabbits can put a lot of kits at once and then my family would most likely throw them out. So I searched for the best vet I could find and then took Claudia and went to them. I don't know how to put it in words but I've never been so afraid before. When the doctor approached her to take her out of her carrier, he didn't open the side door but the top one and the loud pop scared Claudia so much she jumped away and fell into the sink which terrified me because the door was open and there were dogs around so I hurried to hold her and calm her and the doctor scolded me and told me to let them 'handle' her. Now their way of 'handling' her was something so cruel to me. The pulled on her fur and held her down by her ears to do a full check up and I refused to go away and kept watching with regret filling my heart. I was so scared and sorry and regretful for putting her through that. After checking her, he decided she was fine for the surgery then gave her a shot for anthesia .. Seeing her slowly drift asleep melted my heart and that they started shaving her and everything.. Then they took her to the surgery room where I could no longer see.. Few minutes later and I heard her scream.. She started screaming so loud and it seemed so painful that I just couldn't hold back from crying but soon the noises were put down. Dad and I waited for 40 minutes.. And they were the longest 40 minutes in my life. We were sitting in a dark waiting room, patients left and the clinic got so quiet.. Dad kept talking to me to keep my mind from drifting to the worst case scenario but I couldn't understand a thing he said.. 40 minutes later and the doctor came out with a frown and just said he was sorry. My. God. I wanted to jump at that man so bad but then he laughed and said I worry too much and that the surgery has been a success. Then I started tearing again and asked about what happened. He said that he doesn't have a 'machine' that puts the animals to sleep and rather he gives them shots and that he has to give less better than more because a bit more and the rabbit might die. So when he thought she was asleep and before doing anything, he said he pinched her foot and she started screaming and so he gave her more but she still was awake then more and she was still awake until he decided to just do local numbing then do the procedure. His way of sewing her close is neat so that there are no visible strings and they are self-dissolved but I asked him to wrap her up with a bandage because we couldn't find an E-collar and so he did then handed her over to me... She was asleep like a baby in my arms and I could feel her heart beat and how she was breathing.. The doctor then told me that he and the other doctor have studied rabbits overseas and that his experiments and studies were all about rabbits before becoming more advanced in other animals and such then asked me to bring her back for 3 days for medication shots to make sure the incision doesn't hurt her and that it isn't infected.. I came home and placed her in her cage gently and she started trying to get up but kept falling and seeing that really broke my heart but I was just so happy that she was alive. It's nearly midnight now and she currently can stand but she's still not entirely awake and hasn't eaten or drunk anything yet, her surgery was done by 7 PM and I'm glad I made her eat before going to the vet. Although half of me regretted taking her there and felt like it was selfish for me to decide for her and put her through such pain but I know that I want her to just be healthy and live as long as possible with me and I hope she can forgive me for it. What were your experiences with your rabbits getting fixed?
 
That is not what happens in the UK during a spay, or any procedure on a rabbit. I’m so sorry you had to go through such stress, that must have been so scary. It isn’t an abnormal way of performing anaesthesia, particularly on larger animals like horses, but is much riskier on rabbits. I’m glad she came out of it okay and at least we know it was the right decision now. Make sure you get her eating - offer her favourite herbs/greens if she won’t eat at all. The best would be to syringe feed her critical care, but I guess you don’t have that there, so you can mush her pellets up with warm water and feed that if she won’t eat.
 
That is not what happens in the UK during a spay, or any procedure on a rabbit. I’m so sorry you had to go through such stress, that must have been so scary. It isn’t an abnormal way of performing anaesthesia, particularly on larger animals like horses, but is much riskier on rabbits. I’m glad she came out of it okay and at least we know it was the right decision now. Make sure you get her eating - offer her favourite herbs/greens if she won’t eat at all. The best would be to syringe feed her critical care, but I guess you don’t have that there, so you can mush her pellets up with warm water and feed that if she won’t eat.

We also don't have pellets here but she's still not fully out of it. Earlier she kinda woke up and started chewing on the material I lined her cage with quite aggressively I think she's in pain or something and then grabbed her water bowl -thank god it was empty- and shoved it around so I gave her a strand of grass and she chewed on it but I'm just waiting for her to waken up fully so I can try with her. Thank you for your comment and yeah, it was quite scary for me but I'm glad she's alright, the cute thing was cleaning herself a few minutes ago. ~
 
You can offer food straight away, you don’t need to wait for her to be any more awake. I thought you fed her pellets, what does she eat then?
Awh bless, she sounds like she is doing fine, keep her warm and offer yummy food (and water)
 
You can offer food straight away, you don’t need to wait for her to be any more awake. I thought you fed her pellets, what does she eat then?
Awh bless, she sounds like she is doing fine, keep her warm and offer yummy food (and water)

Grass. I cut grass from the garden, wash it thoroughly -and still sometimes get those way too tiny stupid bugs in her cage- then dry it and and offer it to her. And well, I'm trying to feed her but somehow she's too focused on biting the hell out of the sheet.. She's particularly destroying it.. xD. I put her favorite greens and pieces of fruits in a bowl for her but she doesn't want to eat yet. I mean normally she kind of doesn't eat at this time either, she eats more when it's morning or dawn, right now it's past midnight, she's usually asleep around this time but I'll keep an eye on her. Though to be honest, I am so tired I'm this close to passing out, haven't slept in two days now because of her.. But she's my baby so it's fine, as long as she's alright.
 
She's likely in severe pain as this is an invasive surgery, and that might be what the aggressive chewing is about. Did the vet send pain meds home with you to be given daily?
 
She's likely in severe pain as this is an invasive surgery, and that might be what the aggressive chewing is about. Did the vet send pain meds home with you to be given daily?

No but he prescribed her three other shots to be given for 3 days, I'll take her today to have one but I don't know if the shots are pain relievers or to keep the incision from getting infected.
I'm honestly getting worried because it's 6 in the morning and she still hasn't eaten or drunk anything, it's been about 12 hours since she last did and she's just sitting in the corner along a stuffed bear and warmer. I offered her grass, her favorite greens and fruits and water but she wouldn't eat.. I read in other websites that their spayed rabbits didn't do much in the first 24 hours but I can't help not worry.. And I can't force feed her either because 1)I don't know how to, 2) there's nothing to put in a syringe..

Suggestions?
 
Do you have the names for the shots? If you have paperwork from the vet it could be written down there, but it sounds like the shots probably are pain meds.

I've had rabbits not want to eat for 24 hours after the surgery. If she's not eating after that you might need to learn how to syringe feed. But right now you'll want to continue keeping her warm and try and get her to take some water. I would use a dropper or small syringe. It's important to do it very carefully and slowly giving her time to swallow so she doesn't accidentally breath it into her lungs. There are youtube videos showing how to syringe food/water to rabbits, or I can post a link if you need me to.
 
Do you have the names for the shots? If you have paperwork from the vet it could be written down there, but it sounds like the shots probably are pain meds.

I've had rabbits not want to eat for 24 hours after the surgery. If she's not eating after that you might need to learn how to syringe feed. But right now you'll want to continue keeping her warm and try and get her to take some water. I would use a dropper or small syringe. It's important to do it very carefully and slowly giving her time to swallow so she doesn't accidentally breath it into her lungs. There are youtube videos showing how to syringe food/water to rabbits, or I can post a link if you need me to.

No unfortunately I don't, the vet kept her shots with him kind of as a way to force me to go back to him and not someone else I guess but I don't think he gave her any pain relievers because he didn't tell us so and because he stressed that the surgery is clean but he just doesn't want to take any risks of getting her infected. I just wish she eats or drinks sometime soon, all she did was urinate a bit after the anthesia wore off and chewed a bit until she was fully awake then cleaned her fur up a few times, now she's just in the corner.. Should be worried now or is it normal for at least 24 hours then I should be cornered? I'll contact the vet today and ask him whether or not he prescribed her pain relievers and ask for some if he didn't.
 
It is pretty normal for them to be like that the first 24 hours. They will be very sedate and won't want to move around because of the anesthesia wearing off can make them nauseous sometimes, but also she will be hurting from the surgery. If she is wanting to groom herself, that is actually a good sign that she may be starting to feel at least a little bit better. If the vet will give her some pain meds today, that could help, though that will also depend on which pain meds are used.
 
It is pretty normal for them to be like that the first 24 hours. They will be very sedate and won't want to move around because of the anesthesia wearing off can make them nauseous sometimes, but also she will be hurting from the surgery. If she is wanting to groom herself, that is actually a good sign that she may be starting to feel at least a little bit better. If the vet will give her some pain meds today, that could help, though that will also depend on which pain meds are used.

Yeah that's why I'm worried, although he seems to be a very well known high educated vet and claim he's savvy with rabbits for working on many white New Zealands while he was abroad, I just don't feel very comfortable giving her more shots and meds .. This whole experience is traumatizing to me to be honest. How nice would it be that when you get a pet it stays well behaved like you always taught it even after maturing without any issues or complications or diseases or anything.. I dozed off a few times since coming back home and all I could see in my sleep is her and hear her screams. Maybe it's just me but I sincerely wish she gets better soon and live as long as possible .. But this also might be the last time I get such a delicate poor thing.. God bless all your pets..
 

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