To spay or not to spay?

[Revverress]

This is kinda long, but I've been thinking about this a lot, and I need some bunny savvy people advice....

I originally planned to spay my bonded house pet does whenthey were a year old, but at the time, we didn't have a rabbit savvy vet, and the one guy who would do it charges $150. The guy is amazing with my cat and dog, but I really didn't feel comfortable paying that amount for someone who does not specialize in rabbits to perform such a risky operation. Plus, there really didn't seem any reason to get them spayed at the time- They get along just fine with each other, and I didn't have any other rabbits at the time, so no worrying about fighting/breeding with other bunnies.

Fast forward a bit. The girls will be 4 in May, and I now have two other rabbits, and am planning onadding two more additions by July. We nowsee a fabulous rabbit vet who works at the same office as the man who my dog and cat see, but I don't think she does spaying/neutering [need to double check], so it would still be the same guy doing the operation for $150. My two house bunnies have been getting more and more irritable, especially since I've brought a new doe into the family. Noel, my usually loving mini rex, will actually lunge at me if I'm wearing a jacket that smells like Tris, my other English Lop doe- this is completely uncharacteristic of her. I used to do some volunteering with Noel, but I'm thinking about stopping with her because she's become so unpredictable. My mini lop, Pepper isn’t as bad, but both girls have gotten into a nasty habit of leaving little territorial pee marks on the carpet. As much as they hate my doe, the girls are absolutely in love with my ELop buck, Beau. He’s never tried to spray or hump them through the cage, so I think he honestly wants a friend. [He’s a show boy, so I can’t neuter him.] It would be awesome if the three could hang out without my worrying about them breeding.

I know the health issues with keeping rabbits unaltered, plus I have those other reasons to get them spayed- But quite frankly, I’m scared to go through with it. The girls areolder than I'd want them to be for surgery,and we really don’t have a great rabbit surgeon around here [which is why I have nightmares about my bunnies getting suddenly ill :?]. I know of one other place that neuters rabbits where my ELops’ breeder gets her retired rabbits fixed, but I’ve taken my cat there before on emergency, and they’re really not very professional, IMO. Plus, -and I know this shouldn’t even be an issue, but…- there’s the cost problem. $300 to spay two rabbits is a lot, considering I’m a high school student who pays for everything by baby-sitting, and my mother, who's usually pretty helpful with rabbit bills,won’t loan me the money because she thinks it’s a waste.

So… what do you guys think? Would it be worth the risks to get my girls spayed? I’m all for getting rid of any possibility for uterine cancer, but not if it’s going to put my girls in any immediate danger from the surgery. If I do decide to get them spayed, however, I’ll need to wait until I raise the money. I don’t want to pull out of my emergency vet fund for this. >.<

ETA: I hope this is the right forum for this!

 

[Spring]

Hi .

We have a list of rabbit savvy vets in our Vets By Location section, possibly one close to you that is a bit more affordable?

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11636&forum_id=9

I had my three year old, Poppy, spayed in May and she did fine. She took a tiny bit more time to recover, but other than that she was her normal self in no. I've heard of older does going through spays and coming out just fine. I think generally if they are in good health, it's usually nota problem.

That's just my personal experience with spaying an oldish (she'd flick me off for calling her old ) doe. I'm sure others have more experiences and advice to add!

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

There are some precautions you can take to ensure your girls are in good enough medical condition to undergo surgery. Do a blood panel...very simple. Of course, there is always risk in any medical procedure but you already know of the behavioral and medical reasons for a spay.

I live in NC. Virginia has a high number of rabbit savvy vets all over the state. If you could let me know what part of VA you are in....I can probably point you in the right direction.

Randy

 

[Revverress]

Thanks for the link, Spring! I don't know how I missed that page.

Randy- what's a blood panel? I've heard of them before, but I don't remember what exactly they are. >< I live about 30 mins outside of downtown Richmond, in a little no-one-has-ever-heard-of-this-place town. I saw a Richmond vet on the page Spring posted, so I guess I'm going to do some calling around next week.

I brought up the spaying issue with my mom today, and she's not happy about it. I guess she just doesn't understand tha health and behavior benefits, plus there's the cost issue. I'll try to talk about with her later, I guess. ><

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

I hope your mom will come around and get your bun spayed. Unspayed females can become very aggressive. They also will suffer these wild hormonal imbalances that will result in them going thru a pseudo-pregnancy...aka false pregnancy. It is very stressful to them. Females can also develop something many human females have...it's a reproductive system issue called endometriosis. And that can lead to uterine cancer.

A blood panel is nothing more than a series of tests performed on the blood. A vial will be pulled from the vein in a front leg. With a rabbit, the liver and kidney values are very important in determining overall health.

Here is a vet contact in the Richmond area. I am very familiar with Richmond....especially Midlothian, Mechanicsville and Goochland. We also try to make it up to the State Fair every year.

Brook Run Animal Clinic, Inc.
Dr. Mike Zucarro
7412 Brook Road
Richmond, VA 23227
(804) 262-89621
e-mail: [email protected]

I have never used him personally but I have seen his work with rabbits...excellent. And he is highly regarded by the Richmond Ferret League too. So I would be comfortable with him working on my rabbits.

Hope this helps.

Randy

 

[Revverress]

I had another talk with my mom today, and we're going to do some calling around next week to find a place to getthem spayed!:biggrin2:We were reminiscing about our old pet store bunny, Misty, who died a few months before we got our current pair, and how she started peeing blood a few months before she died.... We thought it was ink from the newspaper we used as bedding at the time, and we always thought she haddied from a seizure [she picked up something at the pet stores that would make her seizure 1-2 times a month], since we found her dead one morning and never knew... But is it possible she died from uterine cancer? Poor bunny.

Randy- I live in the general area of those place [Glen Allen, to be exact, but it's more near Richmond]; I'm putting that place on my list of places to call. Thanks so much. ^^

Another quick spaying question- Since I'm getting the paired spayed, and they live in the same cage, would I have to separate them after the surgery? I've read that separation of a pair would add to the stress and they would recover more slowly, but I'm scared they would pull each other's stitches out. They already get so enthusiastic about grooming each other, they chew the other's whiskers; I'm scared to see what they would do to stitches.

 

[ra7751]

I know the area where you are. You're only about two hours from me.

What happened with your previous bun could well have been uterine cancer.

I think with two girls....I might let them recover together. They should be so sedated that they shouldn't bother each other....and as you already know will probably comfort each other. Most of the "up to date" vets don't use external sutures. In all the numerous rabbit surgeries we have done....only one had stitches...a single stitch on her foot. All the spays are performed using laser surgery with no external sutures. All sutures are internal and self-dissolving. Final close is by surgical glue. We have never had any problem with this at all.

I think you will be pleased with Dr. Z. I have seen his work...both some of his surgeries and drug protocols. He is very forward thinking and know that sometimes you have to go outside the box in some of these treatments. Keep us posted.

Randy

 

[Revverress]

"I know the area where you are. You're only about two hours from me."

Yay! Someone who knows where Glen Allen is!

Wow, I didn't even know about the stitches alternative. That's good, then- My girls get upset if they're separated for too long. I'll make sure to ask about that when vet searching.

Thanks again for the info, and I'll update when I find find a vet and get an appointment. ^^

 

[maherwoman]

I opened this thread to respond and give my own advice, but Randy did such a superb job answering everything, I have only one thing to add, and that's my own personal experience.

My Maisie (who's just over 2yrs of age) was bleeding from her uterus, and we got her an emergency spay, and the vet did confirm that her uterus had precancerous cells in it. It sounds so similar to what you're describing with Misty...that could've been what happened. But don't beat yourself up...you didn't know at the time, and this is now, and you're doing what needs to be done for your babies now. :hug:

Your girls might take a bit longer to heal (though I can't confirm that...Maisie healed in EXCELLENT timing), due to them being a bit older...but they should come out of this just fine.

Like Randy said, just be sure to have them tested and such, and they should be fine.

Hugs!

Rosie*

 

[Revverress]

I called around to vet's offices on Monday, and the place Randy gave me will do it for $80- I think I'm going to go with them. The pricing on the spay isn't too bad; it's the blood work that's going to kill me [nearly $50 for each blood panel test]. I know this sounds awful... But is it completely necessary to do the blood panel tests? If it is, then that's fine; I'll just have to save up a little longer.

Rosie- Thanks so much for your kind words. I used to think a lot on Misty, and what I did wrong, and how I could've fixed things... But I don't any more. I learned from my mistakes, and I'm trying my best to take care of my current rabbits because of it- I figure that's what really matters right now.

 

[TreasuredFriend]

A 5 y.o. rabbit in our neighborhood transitioned to an indoor environment. She was spotting blood in the drop pan. Endometriosis was confirmed during her spay. She is binkying in her owner's bedroom now. Your mom must know how much you care for them and want them to reach their senior years; provide you with companionship.

 

[TinysMom]

My very favorite doe (mostly) - Miss Bea - turns four years old this August. After I visit my mom in April and have more money - I'm hoping to get her spayed.

I'm terrified of the risk to her - but I'm more terrified of not getting her spayed...

Peg

 

[Leaf]

Revverress wrote:

But is it completely necessary to do the blood panel tests?

I do consider it necessary. The benefits outweigh the risk. The panel will test variables of the individual animals health and can quickly foresee any problems that should put a spay on hold - a spay that could have complications that are costly or worse if they had not been found sooner.

 

[naturestee]

Wow, your bloodwork is much more expensive than my vet's! But yes, I think it is necessary to at least check for liver and kidney function before doing surgery in older rabbits. I've done this with my rabbits. I know a lot of rescues don't check before spaying due to the cost and the vast majority of rabbits are fine, but what if your bun is one of the few who isn't ok? I would rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Revverress]

Ok then; I'll make sure to get the blood work done.