Rabbit has no interest in eating after spay surgery.

[gelliebean]

I tried to syringe feed her with critical care but she absolutely hates it. She's actually quite fond of the taste (I had to feed it to her when I first rescued her) but last night and this morning was just so hard. She'll do anything in her power to escape as soon as the syringe even goes near her face, then I end up missing her mouth and just getting it everywhere. I'm probably wasting 80% of it trying to feed it to her. I don't want to be rough because of her incision but I kind of have to if I want to get any in her mouth at all. It will usually take me 20 minutes just to feed 5 mL successfully.

Last night she ate her entire bowl of veggies and I caught her drinking a little bit of water. This morning she still has no interest in pellets (she will usually fight me over them) but a slight interest in hay. I'm more concerned about her hay intake. She ate maybe 5 pieces this morning and had a couple of oat sprays (her favourite treat).

I just want any advice for buns who won't really eat after a surgery. Her poops are totally normal. I noticed she doesn't want to go into her litter box, so I attached her hay holder beside her bed where she's fond of and moved her water and some pellets onto there as well.

 

[AVIE]

I can relate! Ruby isn't eating a ton of hay either, but she is eating some, she's back to normal consumption of pellets, vegs and water. At this point I assume if she's voiding then she's doing well. Here's the horrid point ... Her first dose of meloxicam ended up on the floor, oops!

 

[JBun]

You don't necessarily need to be doing syringe feeds yet. If she ate veggies last night and is nibbling on hay this morning, there is no reason to be stressing her with forced syringe feeds. She's eating something, and that's what you are shooting for at this point. If she is eating an adequate amount to keep her gut moving, that's what you want.

Pellets are usually the last thing that they get back to eating. If she will eat veggies well, keep offering them to her through out the day. They will also help keep her hydrated. I had one bun that all he would eat for the first 48 hours, was a little bit of veggies at each offering, so I just kept offering them to him every half hour to an hour, and it kept his gut moving and him hydrated until he got back to eating normally.

Again, don't do forced syringe feeds unless it becomes necessary, because the rabbit is barely eating anything or nothing at all 24 hours since they last ate and and went to the vet, Syringe feeds are stressful for them and best avoided if not needed.

 

[gelliebean]

I can relate! Ruby isn't eating a ton of hay either, but she is eating some, she's back to normal consumption of pellets, vegs and water. At this point I assume if she's voiding then she's doing well. Here's the horrid point ... Her first dose of meloxicam ended up on the floor, oops!

I'm glad Momo's metacam (same thing as meloxicam) was actually administered effectively. She seems to like the smaller syringes better, so I tried to use a couple with her critical care but I could not get any inside! I have a two small sizes because my dogs have metacam for their arthritis from time to time. Couldn't get any inside for the life of me. My mom is working from home to watch over her and I am driving all the way back on my lunch break to try and feed her again.

 

[gelliebean]

You don't necessarily need to be doing syringe feeds yet. If she ate veggies last night and is nibbling on hay this morning, there is no reason to be stressing her with forced syringe feeds she's eating something, and that's what you are shooting for at this point. If she is eating an adequate amount to keep her gut moving, that's what you want.

Pellets are usually the last thing that they get back to eating. If she will eat veggies well, keep offering them to her through out the day. They will also help keep her hydrated. I had one bun that all he would eat for the first 48 hours, was a little bit of veggies at each offering, so I just kept offering them to him every half hour to an hour, and it kept his gut moving and him hydrated until he got back to eating normally.

Again, don't do forced syringe feeds unless it becomes necessary, because the rabbit is barely eating anything or nothing at all 24 hours since they last ate and and went to the vet, Syringe feeds are stressful for them and best avoided if not needed.

So if she is eating barely any hay, but willing to eat veggies that will prevent GI Stasis from occurring? I was under the impression that hay was the thing that actually prevented it. My plan was to not give any veggies until this afternoon to try and encourage hay intake, but I'll give her some veggies at lunch time.

 

[AVIE]

@JBun Do you know wonderful you are?

 

[JBun]

Post spay, you just want them to eat. Doesn't matter what they choose to eat, as long as it's something and an adequate amount to prevent the gut from stopping. It's only for a day, two at the most usually, so exactly what they are eating isn't going to usually be an issue for those two days. As long as enough is going in and poop is coming out. You of course don't want to overload them with sugars and carbs as that can cause it's own issues, but veggies and greens can tide them over until they pick up with their hay eating again. Like I mentioned, that one rabbit, that's all he ate for two days was greens, a little bit every hour, and it added up to be enough to tide him over.

Syringe feeding can just be too stressful of an event for both rabbit and owner, and best avoided unless necessary. And the rabbit has just had a major surgery, so you really don't want to have them struggling while you are attempting syringe feeds unless there's no other choice, as struggling could risk them pulling or tearing something from the surgery. I generally save the syringe feeding for the next day following surgery, though I may syringe some water/electrolytes the day of surgery if they haven't eaten hardly anything or had a drink by night, provided they don't fight too much for me to do it.

I'll start syringe feeds if the rabbit is still not eating or barely eating, by the morning or early afternoon following the day of surgery(depending on when the rabbit was dropped off the day before). If I feel the rabbit isn't eating enough on their own to keep the gut moving 24 hours after I dropped them off at the vet, then I will syringe feed(per vet instructions).

 

[JBun]

If syringe feeding does become necessary, I will burrito wrap the bun if they are too resistant, as to prevent excess struggling and possible risk of injury. And this is all best done after first informing your vet of your rabbits lack of appetite, and at the vets instruction. That is if a knowledgeable rabbit vet is involved.