Has anyone had a rabbit die while being spayed/neutered?

[zoelsmith95]

Thank you all for your kind words and advice he was a lovely boy and I miss him so much already but I shall be taking it further if i have to

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We have had over 30 rescues neutered without losing one. I was very selective about the vet--extensive knowledge of bunnies and she did neuter at least 7 every week so very familiar with the female bunnies even though it was over an hours drive, felt it was worth it. Same with the males--vet did several a week and it was only a few minutes drive and they gave me a break on the price as all our bunnies were rescues.

 

[SimbaAndFlora]

My rabbit died a couple of days ago when being neutered. He didn’t die during the neutering process, he died afterwards.
We took him in at 9am and he was checked over to make sure he was fit and healthy first (which he was) and was told to ring them back about 2:30pm so see how the procedure went. So we got home and waited and rang them at said time and was told everything went well and was asked if it was ok for us to collect him ASAP because of how “busy” they were, so we did.
We took him home for us to notice he has been bleeding (no blood there when we collected him) so I rang the vets back straight away and told them about the blood so they asked us to come straight back to the vets with him because the bleeding wasn’t normal.
When we got there we saw the same vet that had operated on him and told us sometimes this can happen when the wound re opens itself or there’s a nerve that won’t stop bleeding but wasn’t very common and so he suggested putting him back to sleep to try and stop the bleeding but an hour later he told us his heart stopped during the second op and they didn’t know why as it’s not common for this sorta thing to happen but even I know rabbits are very sensitive and surely wouldn’t of been able to cope with that amount of anaesthetic in one day!?
I’m still so angry as they seemed to clueless and rushed about the whole thing that maybe it could of been prevented if they kept him in longer to keep an eye out on him instead of rushing him home
Never will I be using vets4pets ever again!!!

I am so sorry to hear this. That vet was obviously not qualified to handle rabbits but I doubt it was Vets4Pets fault. If the practice was inside Pets at home then they should have a specialist rabbit surgeon as all of the bunnies they sell are neutered there. If it was inside a Pets at Home o would definitely Make a complaint as a mistake like that is completely unacceptable and the vet will face consequences.

 

[WildThumper2010]

That’s so awful!! I’m so sorry for your loss and I’m sorry your rabbit had to go through that...definitely follow up with a complaint because it sounds like something went wrong. Small mammals like that are sensitive to anesthesia but still. At the very least you could get money back if you paid anything.

 

[Elenaw]

Hello everyone
Was just wondering wjat the causes could be for the death of my female rabbit after being spayed.
We took her in this morning , picked her up this evening , she seemed quiet ,which I presume is normal after anasthetic . We kept an eye on her about 3 hours later we saw she was dead. I am completely in shocked, if I would have known I would have never gotten her done. I feel terrible
Any ideas?

 

[Mei]

It's always a possibility with any surgery, I was so terrified about getting my rabbits fixed, but I knew the good outweighed the bad. It doesn't happen often but it can. Just make sure you go to a really good rabbit savvy vet, ask all the questions you need to, and what I always did was ask how many procedure's they have done and how many were successful. In the end it is your choice, but my personal opinion, definitely go for it as long as your bun is healthy and he is getting the proper work from a great vet

 

[AVIE]

Wiser below me will have insight... But just want to say, I can't imagine your horror right now. Wishing you all the peace I can.

 

[Mei]

Oops sorry just saw the post was from January this year

 

[Mei]

Hello everyone
Was just wondering wjat the causes could be for the death of my female rabbit after being spayed.
We took her in this morning , picked her up this evening , she seemed quiet ,which I presume is normal after anasthetic . We kept an eye on her about 3 hours later we saw she was dead. I am completely in shocked, if I would have known I would have never gotten her done. I feel terrible
Any ideas?

Im so sorry for your loss

 

[Elenaw]

Thanks everyone!the worst thing is I asked them , they had done quite a few procedures and everything had gone fine! The vet says he just doesnt know what could have happened. I miss her so much. I feel like if i hadnt of gotten her done , she would still be here. Its the last thing I would have expected.

 

[NYAngela]

Our baby died Thursday. On Wednesday our vet (exotic specialist HRS recommended) attempted to neuter him but after going under anesthesia his heartbeat became erratic so she immediately removed him and canceled the surgery. His heart rate returned to normal right away we picked him up and brought him home a few hours later. He seemed groggy but still explored his normal areas, hopped (and marked) my couch, ate & drank. The next morning I saw he had peed & pooped smaller than normal. He didn’t come out of his pen right away and when he did he had diarrhea everywhere. I put him back in his pen he ate and drank. The vet said diarrhea was common post anesthesia keep pushing the hay. At 1:30 he hid under his bed (normal for him) at 2 I went to pick up my son and my husband called that he was dying, he heard the bed banging picked it up and found him struggling to breathe (he looked like a human would look gagging that was the sound his body jerking up at hitting the bottom of the bed), I ran home got him in the car to the vet. He stopped breathing I tried CPR but he was dead by the time we got there. She did a necropsy and said she had never seen anything like it he had an aneurysm totally bled out. She sent his organs to be studied by a specialist. She doesn’t know for sure but is thinking perhaps he had a week vessel or something.
We are devastated and feel so guilty we played a part in this, he was just with us 3 months but already such a big part of our family. He brought so much joy and laughter with his adorable antics. My kids don’t understand my son thinks the vet will save him and he’ll come home.

 

[NYAngela]

Thanks everyone!the worst thing is I asked them , they had done quite a few procedures and everything had gone fine! The vet says he just doesnt know what could have happened. I miss her so much. I feel like if i hadnt of gotten her done , she would still be here. Its the last thing I would have expected.

Unfortunately I know exactly how you feel I’m so sorry. I haven’t slept & I can’t stop crying.

 

[Elenaw]

Our baby died Thursday. On Wednesday our vet (exotic specialist HRS recommended) attempted to neuter him but after going under anesthesia his heartbeat became erratic so she immediately removed him and canceled the surgery. His heart rate returned to normal right away we picked him up and brought him home a few hours later. He seemed groggy but still explored his normal areas, hopped (and marked) my couch, ate & drank. The next morning I saw he had peed & pooped smaller than normal. He didn’t come out of his pen right away and when he did he had diarrhea everywhere. I put him back in his pen he ate and drank. The vet said diarrhea was common post anesthesia keep pushing the hay. At 1:30 he hid under his bed (normal for him) at 2 I went to pick up my son and my husband called that he was dying, he heard the bed banging picked it up and found him struggling to breathe (he looked like a human would look gagging that was the sound his body jerking up at hitting the bottom of the bed), I ran home got him in the car to the vet. He stopped breathing I tried CPR but he was dead by the time we got there. She did a necropsy and said she had never seen anything like it he had an aneurysm totally bled out. She sent his organs to be studied by a specialist. She doesn’t know for sure but is thinking perhaps he had a week vessel or something.
We are devastated and feel so guilty we played a part in this, he was just with us 3 months but already such a big part of our family. He brought so much joy and laughter with his adorable antics. My kids don’t understand my son thinks the vet will save him and he’ll come home.

That is terrible, poor thing. It seems they are quite fragile.

 

[Elenaw]

Unfortunately I know exactly how you feel I’m so sorry. I haven’t slept & I can’t stop crying.

I never thought i would feel the love we did for a rabbit in such a short time. She was part of the family! I cant imagine life without her!
Everythung reminds me of her. Keep well!

 

[Firered]

Thanks everyone!the worst thing is I asked them , they had done quite a few procedures and everything had gone fine! The vet says he just doesnt know what could have happened. I miss her so much. I feel like if i hadnt of gotten her done , she would still be here. Its the last thing I would have expected.

I’m so sorry! This makes me sad and my bunny has a procedure scheduled for 12/18. I’m considering cancelling.

 

[JBun]

I had a rabbit die right after his neuter surgery, while still at the vets. They did a necropsy and found he had asymptomatic e. cuniculi. The results showed that it had affected his heart, brain, lungs, liver, and kidneys. So though prior to his surgery he never showed any signs of being sick, the EC had affected his organs enough that he couldn't recover from the anesthesia.

I also had another rabbit that went into cardiac arrest when they were putting him under for his neuter surgery, but luckily they managed to revive him and he was fine after. I was terrified to try and get him neutered after this, but he had to be kept alone from his family bunny group who were already all fixed and together, which made me feel bad for him to be kept separate. It took me a year to get the courage up to try again, but this time I went to the best rabbit vet around, who was also much more expensive. I made sure they did presurgical blood tests to confirm his organs were functioning well and that he was intubated and had an IV for the surgery, and the procedure went off without issue. This was about 5 or 6 years ago, he's 8 now and has happily lived with his bun family for several years.

Rabbits can sometimes have underlying health conditions that don't show up prior to surgery. Something like a heart defect or kidney/liver issues, and this can make them susceptible to a negative reaction to the anesthesia. And sometimes it can be due to an inexperienced vet, which I feel was the case with the rabbit that had the cardiac arrest and was revived.

But whatever the reason for your rabbit, I'm very sorry you lost your bun. I understand the heartbreak, guilt, and pain that is felt when something like this happens. And though I sometimes wish I had never tried to have the neuter done for the rabbit I lost because he was just the sweetest little bun, I also know that I was just trying to give him a better life by doing it.

 

[Toffee and Valentina]

Big hugs
So sorry for your loss and the pain you are experiencing.

 

[vonniemay]

Hello everyone
Was just wondering wjat the causes could be for the death of my female rabbit after being spayed.
We took her in this morning , picked her up this evening , she seemed quiet ,which I presume is normal after anasthetic . We kept an eye on her about 3 hours later we saw she was dead. I am completely in shocked, if I would have known I would have never gotten her done. I feel terrible
Any ideas?

I am so sorry for your loss, I just had Basil spayed the 3rd of December and when she got home she drank a lot of water but refused food, I even tried a banana and she would only lick it..I was extremely worried that first night but each day was a little better, they are very sensitive creatures my kitten also got spayed on the buddy system and was playing within 2 hours of being home. I am so sorry for you.

 

[Howard cordingley]

I had two girls speyed a few months ago and both survived the operation but one died about 8 weeks later and I often feel guilty in case the vets did something wrong.

 

[NYAngela]

I never thought i would feel the love we did for a rabbit in such a short time. She was part of the family! I cant imagine life without her!
Everythung reminds me of her. Keep well!

Me neither, Silver was just with us for 3 months but he became part of the family so quickly. Our house feels so empty, my husband can’t even sit in the living room alone.