After spaying, how to protect wound and whether to use litter

Hello. Rabbit was spayed 2 days ago. I just caught her licking at her wound. I don't see any blood or anything yet, but I want to prevent her from opening up her wound. I ordered a few different sizes of this soft cone for overnight delivery. Hopefully one fits well and doesn't make her nuts.

Second issue was, I recently got some advice on this forum and prepared her litter box with fresh Yesterday's News and Hay. Was searching to see whether cones would work or were best, and this site says to not use litter and hay temporarily. What would you think is best?

While I wait for the cones, are there any homemade things you can thing of that might work? Is there some type of cloth or shirt or gauze I can put over the area that she wouldn't eat and would be safe if she would?

Did the cones ever come? Did they work? I've always used a washrag and basically tied it (NOT TIGHTLY) around the neck so they can't bend it as far down, but that requires monitoring so they don't chew on it or get it off. Rabbits always need hay and paper pellet type of litter (like Yesterday's News) is totally fine after a spay to use as a litter. They might have meant no clay litter, but you shouldn't use that with rabbits anyways. How's your bunny doing?

I've only had 3 bunnies in my life, one is current and not old enough to be spayed, but the vet has NEVER told me to keep them from hay EVER. I've also never had a vet tell me to keep any of my cats (NUMEROUS) away from litter after their surgeries so I don't see why it would apply to bunnies. I can not speak to cones though...

I think she meant hay as a litter, and not hay as something to eat. Some vets recommend to put a towel or something in the litterbox instead of regular litter to avoid particules coming into the wound - you can't compare with cats, their belly won't touch the litter, they've got higher legs...
A cone is generally not recommended because rabbits don't really have necks and that it might make it hard for them to eat. I guess it depends on the cone and the rabbit. I don't know why very few vets just bandage the rabbit's lower belly after the operation - mine did (he is one of the two best rabbits' vet in France and famous for doing crazy things like operating cataract on hamsters or spaying mice) and I thought it was the best solution : the rabbit can't touch the stitches and it doesn't bother her. After a week, you go back to the vet who will take the bandages of and check the wound.
Another technique is to do a 'dress' with a shirt's sleeve. Here, it's in French but the pictures are pretty self-explanatory:
http://3-petits-lapins.over-blog.com/article-1594363.html

Bandages can work, but there is a risk of too much drainage- it depends on the type of bandage and size of the rabbit etc. That's probably why most vets don't use it. It can technically increase the risk of infections and increase time taken to heal (usually it actually decreases healing time).

Random side note: We spay and neuter mice and rats all the time in the clinic where I work! But we are in the US.

We had our first experience with having our foster bunny spayed recently, and our vet did not change anything, other than putting her in a much smaller cage for the first couple of days (so she couldn't get too excited and jump around). She kept everything else normal, but the key is not to allow them to jump around, or get too excited (no binkies!!!). She kept the bunny because we were getting things set up to bring her home. You don't want to keep them from hay, but you may want to keep them from jumping in and out of the litter box. Depending on what kind of hay you are using, I can see how someone wouldn't want you to put it in the box, because some of it is really sharp! Maybe you can use something else as a litter pan temporarily? We once used an old cookie sheet covered in newspaper, and we also used a plastic lid covered in newspaper, so a bunny who had sore hocks wouldn't have to jump up into the litter box.

Did they send you home with pain meds? I would think that might help a little, but our vet did not keep our little one on the pain meds for more than a few days. Does your bunny have stitches on the outside, or are they internal/dis-solvable? Our bunny had the dis-solvable kind, and we never caught her licking her wound, but we kept a close eye on her while she was recovering for the first week. After the first week, we just frequently checked the wound to make sure it didn't look like it was getting infected. At one point, our little bunny went crazy and binkied everywhere, and the next day she acted like she was so grumpy and didn't move at all. The vet said she probably over did things too soon, and that she needed to be kept more calm. Hard to do with a young bunny!

Have you asked your vet about the licking? Did they make any recommendations? Personally, I would not feel comfortable using the cone if I was not going to be around and monitoring the bunny. I would be too worried that the bunny would get it caught on something, or they wouldn't be able to swallow. That's just my personal feelings, but I am a nervous bunny mom.

RavenousDragon said:

Random side note: We spay and neuter mice and rats all the time in the clinic where I work! But we are in the US.

Click to expand...

I think he was one of the first to do it (or maybe it was gerbils, I don't remember ^^). I'm pretty sure vet care is about on the same level in France and in the US, except that from what I've seen on this forum, everything a lot more expensive where you are (seriously, everytime someone mentions the cost of anything in here, I wonder how you are not all bankrupt).

The money comes from the fact that the average veterinarian graduates with $200,000 debt. Correct me if I'm wrong (I often am!) but in most European countries, graduate and upper level schooling is free. So most veterinarians are paying about $1,500/month after they graduate just in loans. And that doesn't even count interest rates! Vet care is expensive here, but keep in mind our human doctors make 3x as much for the same amount of debt. So that's my take on the money thing.

Aki said:

I think she meant hay as a litter, and not hay as something to eat. Some vets recommend to put a towel or something in the litterbox instead of regular litter to avoid particules coming into the wound - you can't compare with cats, their belly won't touch the litter, they've got higher legs...
I don't know why very few vets just bandage the rabbit's lower belly after the operation - mine did
http://3-petits-lapins.over-blog.com/article-1594363.html

Click to expand...

True cats have higher legs, but they still squat to pee putting incisions close to the litter, especially with young kitten spays. Also, with declawing (yes, sadly, still something done routinely over here) the vet I worked at would never recommend changing to a different litter. More likely to turn your cat off to the litter box. I think, unless someone is using something small grained like clumping cat litter or sand, the risk of litter causing any issues is minimal.


Also, to the idea of bandaging, just going by my crazy bunny now, she would 100% try to eat a bandage just because it is cloth.

Aki said:

I think he was one of the first to do it (or maybe it was gerbils, I don't remember ^^). I'm pretty sure vet care is about on the same level in France and in the US, except that from what I've seen on this forum, everything a lot more expensive where you are (seriously, everytime someone mentions the cost of anything in here, I wonder how you are not all bankrupt).

Click to expand...

I realize it might seem like I'm being confrontational
with you because I'm responding to two posts from you, I promise I'm not!

I have friends in Canada who are amazed at how inexpensive vet care is here in the states compared to there. Maybe it depends on which side of the pond one is on, or maybe a miscommunication in exchange rates? Could also be "large animal" vet vs "small animal" vet. I know for more rural friends of mine having their dog taken care of by a vet who usually works on farm animals is way cheaper than I can get stuff done for and since it was a farm vet familiar with 4H, he was petty rabbit knowledgeable too.

Hi...this is not really a reply to this post but I'm new here and can't find where to start a new thread. My Holland lop was neutered yesterday. He is being re-homed b/c my dog wants to eat him! He was my granddaughters but the family moved and could not take him. Anyway, he is the sweetest boy, likes to cuddle but attacks your feet and humps away every chance he gets. I found a vet who said he'd done rabbits before and told me the testes were up on the abdomen. He would gently remove the fur and make the incisions. When I looked today to check the incision, I can't find one!! The scrotal area is darker and the scrotum looks shriveled. Aside from lifting everything up to hunt for something, I don't see a thing! Also, they told me no food after 1pm the day before and no water after 7pm the day before or bunny would vomit...ok, not knowing much about rabbits, they do not vomit and their systems require food and water even before surgery! I was beside myself with worry. I brought food and water with me and he did nibble and drink as soon as I got him to the car!! I asked for pain meds or if anything was given for pain, the dr.said no, and that he wouldn't need pain neds...moron!...so my poor bun was grinding his teeth all evening. I was so mad!! I kept giving him cool water...he would only drink when I put the water bottle near his mouth. He did eat butter lettuce and a small pile of pellets around 11pm. I put a heating pad under his cage and shredded newspaper. I kept petting him and talking to him. His grinding did subside some. I read that they need to be warm. He was that, for sure, and hydrated. The next thing is he hasn't peed or pooped since b4 surgery! I did read that it can take 48 hours to get that back to normal. He is really active tonite and eating. He is not drinking. Even when I put the bottle in front of him. I am going to call the bozo Dr. tmorrow and ask him just where the incision is. When should I start to worry about fluid intake?? He ate apple and lettuce and some carrot. It's only been a little over 24 hrs.
Thanks!...sorry for the length...karen

Hi Karen, sounds like they are not too rabbit savvy at that vet! Who told you to fast your rabbit, I bet it was the receptionist right? You were smart not to listen to that one. For now I would say feed wet leafy greens and herbs. Like cilantro, carrot tops, romaine lettuce, a bit of parsley, mint maybe. Stay away from the sugary stuff like carrots and apple because they are more for treats. Make sure you are forcing a lot of hay on him too. He just needs some tlc. If you call the vet maybe they will give you something for pain? Does he drink from a bottle or a bowl? Most bunnies have an easier time with a bowl. Keep everything fresh and clean and offer it often. Hopefully he will come around soon. Neuters are supposed to be much less complicated than spays.