Spays/Neuters: To leave overnight or not? Opinions needed

[f_j]

As many of you know, we lost our baby Lolarecently when she was put under anesthetic to be spayed. Wenow realize that we can't put off getting Penelope spayed and Rupertneutered much longer. We are, needless to say, very nervousabout it and want to take every precaution we can. Our vetlikes to keep them overnight the night before they spay because he saidthat the initial adrenaline rush they get when they arrive isn't a goodstate for them to be put under anesthetic...however, I remember readingthat many of you insist on not leaving your bunnies over night before aspay or neuter. Please share your experiences and opinions onthis, as this is a decision that we are finding very difficult tomake. We just want to do what is right for Penelope andRupert. Thank you in advance!

Lindsay

 

[JadeIcing]

Ok well I know most don't like leaveing them but I do not have another option.

Teresa was left over night the day before and the day after. I couldn'tmake drop off in the morning and the require them to stay that night.Also at the time Ringo was pretty ill as was I. So I couldn't handle ifshe needed extra care.

With Connor he is going to have to stay the night before. Again can'tmake early morning drop off. We have spoken alot about Connor stayingthat second night. If he is doing well she will let me take him home.Since he was ill so long she would prefer he stay just in case. I saidthat if he was eating he was coming home.

I guess it depends on how you feel about all of this.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

My vet doesn't require an overnight stay thenight before. I have never heard of then being too adrenalinerushed to be put under either. My vet just wants them checkedin first thing in the morning so they can do the pre-op bloodwork.

Is this vet rabbit-savvy? Just curious. If there isanother that may be on the list of vets that are rabbit-savvy in yourarea, you could call and ask them what their procedure is and see whatyou feel more comfortable doing.

 

[HoneyPot]

My ver didn't require Charlie to stay overnightBEFORE the neuter, just overnight AFTER the neuter - but maybe it'sdifferent with a spay?...

They wanted to kep Charlie overnight to 'monitor' him, give him astress free recovery period and give him a shot of pain meds in themorning before sending him home.

I had a bit of an issue with it.. mainly because even thoughthey wanted to keep Charlie to monitor him, everyone left the office by6pm to go home and no one came in till 8 the next morning.Also they wanted to keep Charlie is a stress free area, but they hadhim in the same room with all the dogs. I insisted that ifthey HAD to keep him, then he needed to be put in an isolation roomaway from their dogs and I called every couple hours to check on him.

Just ask some questions, like can you provide your own food for them,will they be in a room apart from all the noisy dogs, what time thespay/neuter is the next morning, do they have to keep them a 2ndnight... do they fast them before they spay or are they going to givethem all teh food and water they need all night long....

_________
Nadia

 

[Michaela]

Lindsay, I can't give any advice, I just wantedto say that I will be praying for your babiesray:, and I hope bothops go well, I'm sure they will be fine:hug2:

 

[JadeIcing]

Yea I should add there is someone there 24hours.

 

[naturestee]

I think one of the big questions is, do theyhave rabbit-savvy staff there over night? Many vet officesare not staffed at night at all, or if they are staffed they might notknow what to do if the rabbit has problems.

Also, does the vet have a separate recovery room for cats, and can yourrabbits be in there? Dogs might stress them outmore. At least cats aren't as loud.

My vet does not keep them overnight beforehand or after thesurgery. He says they are more likely to eat if they are athome, which I think is true. I know when Fey had to stayovernight at the emergency vet, nobody could tell if she ate anythingor just moved the hay around. First thing she did when shegot home, just over an hour after she woke up from anesthesia to getstitches, she literally lunged for her hay rack and gobbled upeverything in sight.

Personally I'm not comfortable with leaving rabbits at the vet'sovernight unless it's really necessary. I can understand ifthey are really ill, or if you can't make the necessary drop-offtime. But I'd rather not.

 

[pumpkinandwhiskersmom]

When our buns were spayed/neutered, we had tohave them at the vet early in the morning, and we picked them up laterin the afternoon. They both did well with that, and there wasno question about them staying overnight as long as the surgery wentwell. Both vets said that if there were any problems thatthey'd keep the little ones over night, but we were lucky.Let us know when the surgery will be....we'll be prayiing for theirsafe and speedy recovery!

 

[Krissa]

pumpkinandwhiskersmomwrote:

When our buns were spayed/neutered, we had to havethem at the vet early in the morning, and we picked them up later inthe afternoon. They both did well with that, and there was noquestion about them staying overnight as long as the surgery wentwell. Both vets said that if there were any problems thatthey'd keep the little ones over night, but we were lucky.Let us know when the surgery will be....we'll be prayiing for theirsafe and speedy recovery!

I also did it early in the morning, I suggest that. I didn't like theidea of them staying over night, so I drove there at 7am todrop them off. I felt much better having my bunnies at home becausethey also treat dogs and did not have a separate area. No barking formy bunnies.

 

[Leslie102]

Ialso dropped my boy off early in themorning to be neutered. I think it was arround 8am thesurgery took place arround 12 so i would suspect although i'm not sure,that the inital adrenaline rush that your vet spoke of would wear offby then. Maybe you could ask him what time of the day heanticipates to do the surgery. Also, oscar wasn't eatingafter his surgery. When i called to find out how things andthey told me about is lack of appetite i asked if i couldtake him home early, as soon as he got home he ate. (my baby is such asucker for our home.)

My poor little guy had swollen balls and had to be taken to the vetevry day for a week for apain reliver shot.

but the vet didn't charge for it:bunnydance:

Anyway hope that helped a little

good luck with your buns

 

[Mikoli]

Ollie didn't stay overnight before or after hisneuter. We dropped him off at around 8:00 AM in the morning, and he hadhis surgery not long after that, probably around 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM.I had to go to school that day, so we picked him up at around 3:30 PMafter school. He was a bit tired, a bit confused, but otherwise he cameout of it very well.

I know it is hard to leave your rabbit when they are at risk (I wascrying when I left Ollie in the morning) but if the vets arerabbit-savvy, and would take good care of your rabbit, it might bebetter to have them monitor your rabbit's condition overnight. BUT ifyour vet would be keeping cats and dogs and such in the same room asyour rabbits, it might be better to have them at home overnight, astheir presence may scare your buns.

Good luck with whatever you choose, and sorry that I couldn't be of more help,
Rachel.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

What I don't get is they don't have that muchstaff on at night (or any?), so wouldn't my bunny be better off cominghome with me where I can watch them better? I know them better so Iknow what is odd behaviour.

A lot of vets around here require over night stays and I refuse to doit. Especially with high strung rabbits that are easily scared.

 

[Eve]

I personally prefer not to leave my bunnies overnight at the vets. I think it would be more stressful for them to beaway from home and in a strange environment, and if they are at thevets the night before an operation they might not eat properly beforeit too. I also think I can keep a better eye on them and make them feelmore relaxed when at home after a procedure.

 

[Blyre]

My Vet's never required me to leave my bunsovernight for any reason. All I've ever had to do was to make sure thatthey ate beforehand and to bring extra food with me as well as anythingelse that might make them feel more comfortable after the procedure.

Wallace

 

[JadeIcing]

I wish I didn't have to leave Connor the nightbefore. No way I can make it in the morning. My Dh's job is in theother direction from the vet. When he needs to be on the way to work(30min drive) is the same time that morning drop off. We have one carand I don't drive.

 

[f_j]

Thanks to everyone for your help.Although our old vet was rabbit-savvy, we have decided to used a newrabbit-savvy vet for the spay and neuter. I just couldn'tleave my babies at the old place again after what happened with Lola,it is more psychological than anything. We have found a greatrabbity-savvy vet and took Rupert and Penelope in for a check-upyesterday so that we could ask all of the important questions and checkthe place out. They had all the right answers so we havebooked them for their surgeries next Thursday. Please keepthem in your thoughts, it is going to be tough to do this after whathas happened.

 

[Eve]

I will be thinking of Rupert and Penelope. ray:

Sending lots of love and hugs your way. :hug2:

 

[ahri22]

I, too, will be thinking of you and your buns! Ilost a rabbit a few years ago during surgery to be neutered, and I wasSOOO nervous the next time I had to take a bun in... I almost didn'tget Little Hoppy Hoppy done, but his behaviour was too aggressive attimes, and I knew that it would be better for him to be neutered.

The only problem was that the receptionist I spoke to when I booked himin said that he wasn't supposed to eat before the surgery...I didn'tknow enough about rabbits at the time to know how wrong that was!!However, when I took him in the next morning the girl there asked me ifhe'd eaten and I said no, and she was surprised and said that rabbitsshould always eat, and knowing that they gave him some food. He onlyhad to stay the day, and they were happy to send him home with me. Ofcourse, at the time I was still VERY ignorant about rabbit'sneeds...fortunately, he got home and ate. I kept him in mybedroom for a couple of days (my husband was away), and the morningafter the op I found him sleeping on the bed next to me!!

Fiona

 

[f_j]

Thank you for keeping our babies in yourthoughts. I forgot to mention, the vet we are using does NOTrequire them to stay overnight the night before the surgery, whichmakes us very happy. They also told us to be sure to keepthem eating up until the surgery