Feed or dont feed the night before getting spayed?

[Serenity]

I have heard both things. Thevet just called and said dont feed the evening or morning before we take Zoie to get spayed Monday. Online I read ALWAYS feed them. Which one is it? Thanks so much.

 

[Spring]

Is your vet rabbit savvy?

Rabbits shouldn't be fasted prior to a surgery. Rabbits cannot vomit, so unlike cats and dogs they don't need to be fasted. It can be quite dangerous with a rabbits delicate digestive system to with hold food. A rabbit should have access to food until the time of the surgery.

 

[undergunfire]

Your rabbit must ALWAYS have access to food and water. Do NOT starve them before a spay or neuter.

Give your bunny it's normal pellets at it's normal time and always have hay & water available.


Vets will say "do not feed the evening or morning before surgery", this pertains to dogs and cats because if they have a full stomach on the table, they can puke and suffocate. Rabbits, however, CAN'T puke...so there are no worries there.

Is your vet rabbit savvy? A rabbit savvy vet will never tell you to "starve" your rabbit before it's spay or neuter.


Hope that helps you!

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

They need to maintain their normal eating activities, nothing more, nothing less, in a nut shell. So, therefore, don't change a thing in their eating habits while a spay/neuter are scheduled and performed. Afterwards, you may have trouble getting a doe to eat versus a buck. More on this if you need it.

 

[JimD]

They should have access to food and water, as the others have stated.

Our vet even requests that you bring food, hay, treats, and even their water bottle with water from home.
I love my vet:biggrin2:

Now....some of the assistants aren't overly knowledgeable about rabbits. Sometimes you have to kind of educate them a bit.

~Jim

 

[rabb1tmad]

Yep, yep and yep to everyone above. Rabbits must have food before and after. Animals capable of vomiting aren't fed before an operation because it is dangerous for them to be sick while under anaesthetic. Rabbits can't vomit so they can be fed right up until the operation and straight afterwards. Take along your own food, hay anda nice little treat so that the vets can entice your rabbit to eat after the operation.

Good luck x

 

[Serenity]

Okay thank you so much!!! Thats what I was thinking. I told my husband I was pretty sure we should just keep feeding her, but I thought I would check on here first. The girl that called sounded young like she just worked at the counter it wasnt the vet herself that said dont feed them.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

:yeahthat: lol, i had the same thing happen to me.



Now....some of the assistants aren't overly knowledgeable about rabbits. Sometimes you have to kind of educate them a bit.

:yeahthat:



Yes and remember to pack your baby a "lunch" of some of her favorite foods to help entice her to keep eating. I came to the vet office with bunny in one hand and a baggie with goodies in another, lol, my friend is a vet tech there and she scrubbed in on the surgery and took great care of her while she was there. And the Vet went home and got some fresh veggies from his garden for my baby, because i wasnt anticipating them keeping her overnight. Good luck

 

[pla725]

What they said above. I've had to educate a few vet techs. Some don't know that rabbits don't vomit. Bring some greens, pellets and hay for your rabbit to eat.

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

You should never remove food from a rabbit. The concern is that if an animal should throw up that it would be aspirated into the lungs. That is not a concern with rabbits. It is much more important to protect the gut.

Now...as far as what they vet told you. If the doctor himself/herself told you that....I would immediately cancel the appointment and find a real rabbit vet. A much more likely cause is an education issue at the front desk. If that be the case, a mention to your doctor about the issue should result in a staff meeting to rectify the misinformation. It might have been said out of habit....but none the less, I consider it vitally important the vet staff be communicating correct information.

And a side note....insist on appropriate pain meds to take home. We offer a complete buffet of any rabbit safe food....even some treats.....to encourage them to start eating as soon as possible.

Randy

 

[pla725]

I agree with Randy about the pain meds. I've even had a discussion about this with someone in the rescue group. They didn't think it was necessary. I did. I think she was concerned that the pain meds would suppress the appetite. I said if anything it was the opposite.

 

[Maureen Las]

I've had front desk people tell me to fast a rabbit at places I know that the vets are OK..I always call them on it and they just don't know...makes a bad impression for the clinci and I'm sure some people follow the instructions and fast them.

 

[Gordon]

I just assumed my vet knew what he was doing when I was told to take away my bunnies' food and hay the night before their neuters, and thankfully Peter and Bugs came out ok, but it really freaked me out after the fact when I learned later that was a definite no-no!

 

[ra7751]

One more slightly off topic comment regarding the use of pain meds after surgery. Some drugs will slow the GI transit time so it might curb the appetite a bit. However, my feeling is that I would not want any surgery performed on myself without pain meds and I don't think anyone out there would...so why would our rabbits be any different? Like any medical treatment, the key is to make an informed decision since every treatment has a side effect....so does the benefit outweigh the risk? In the case of pain meds after surgery, I am not shy about popping the drugs.

And back on topic.....some vets do request that pellets be removed at least 2 hours prior to sedation and there does seem to be a good case for that....but do not remove hay and/or water. We have actually had rabbits eating hay as they prepped them for sedation.

Randy

 

[doodle]

ra7751 wrote:

.....some vets do request that pellets be removed at least 2 hours prior to sedation and there does seem to be a good case for that....but do not remove hay and/or water.

That's what my vet told me to do — remove pellets the night before but keep feeding hay and water. (The assistant had told me to fast them completely, so I asked to speak to the vet.)

 

[Gordon]

There seems to be a common theme here about front desk people at the vet's office not having good rabbit info. I think that really may have been the case at the vet who did my two guys' neuters, because otherwise, he seemed very knowledgable, and I didn't know any better at the time to question the fasting thing. I would have thought that the incoming staff would be briefed on the needs of whatever animals they might see.

 

[Hare comes Trouble]

Serienty:

When I had all five of my rabbits spayed or neutered, the vet said not to feed after 7:00 pm the night before. They were spayed early in the morning (around 9:00 am). I felt awful, but the vet knew better. I didn't want anything to go wrong. They all recovered quickly. Good luck. I will keep Zoie in my prayers.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Hare comes Trouble wrote:

Serienty:

When I had all five of my rabbits spayed or neutered, the vet said not to feed after 7:00 pm the night before. They were spayed early in the morning (around 9:00 am). I felt awful, but the vet knew better. I didn't want anything to go wrong. They all recovered quickly. Good luck. I will keep Zoie in my prayers.

This is false, false, false. I'm sorry, but your vet is 100% wrong, wrong, wrong. Rabbits don't have the ability to vomit, so they are not ever to be fasted. Cats and dogs can vomit from the anesthesia, so they are to be fasted.

 

[Roxie]

FEED

 

[TreasuredFriend]

Intubated? Isoflurane cup over the mouth? Our rabbit-savvy vet suggested no food or water after midnight whenour cast of 19 rescueswere to be spayed and neutered in the early a.m, next day. Being uncomfortable with that, I took away their water bottle and hay approximately 4-6 hours prior to their air tube insertion for surgery. Everyone did okay...

I also packed a veggie/fave greens lunchfor the girls who stayed overnight at the clinic (along with their fave hay), and the newly neutered boys came home late that afternoon.