Very worried about the complications of spaying

[BrownieDaisyandJasmine<3]

Hello everyone,
I have 3 bunnies, 2 girls, who are 3yrs old (unspayed) and 1 boi 2 yrs old, he's neutered. They're all pretty well bonded( which Im so surprised, because I know that unspayed females usually fight a lot, but mine absolutely love each other!)

The problem started end of last month, when 1 of the females started leaving very small amounts of red drops/streaks after peeing. I think it could be early stage of uterine cancer. She has no other symptoms, except that sometimes, her poos get small and dark, but she starts producing normal ones after sometime. Her behaviour is also as normal as can be.

I tested the urine with hydrogen peroxide, and it did turn whitish instantly. I did not see foam though, but Im guessing its because the blood was a very small amount.


So I have no rabbit savvy vet in my city, but there is one in a different city, it will be an overnight journey by train, and I have absolutely no hesitation in taking her there for a spay if its required.

But Im just so scared of post operative complications that Im unable to make up my mind on when to take her. On one hand, if I dont take her soon, the condition might develop into an actually serious one, and on the other, if I take her right now, and something happens because of the spay...

Does anybody have any advice? What should I do?

Plz help me out guys...

Thanks

 

[Jumilli]

Hello everyone,
I have 3 bunnies, 2 girls, who are 3yrs old (unspayed) and 1 boi 2 yrs old, he's neutered. They're all pretty well bonded( which Im so surprised, because I know that unspayed females usually fight a lot, but mine absolutely love each other!)

The problem started end of last month, when 1 of the females started leaving very small amounts of red drops/streaks after peeing. I think it could be early stage of uterine cancer. She has no other symptoms, except that sometimes, her poos get small and dark, but she starts producing normal ones after sometime. Her behaviour is also as normal as can be.

I tested the urine with hydrogen peroxide, and it did turn whitish instantly. I did not see foam though, but Im guessing its because the blood was a very small amount.


So I have no rabbit savvy vet in my city, but there is one in a different city, it will be an overnight journey by train, and I have absolutely no hesitation in taking her there for a spay if its required.

But Im just so scared of post operative complications that Im unable to make up my mind on when to take her. On one hand, if I dont take her soon, the condition might develop into an actually serious one, and on the other, if I take her right now, and something happens because of the spay...

Does anybody have any advice? What should I do?

Plz help me out guys...

Thanks

Take her if you can...a behaviour issue can be worked through but having cancer can't if it's left.

 

[BrownieDaisyandJasmine<3]

Take her if you can...a behaviour issue can be worked through but having cancer can't if it's left.

Yeah I am taking her.

But Im scared of complications due to the spay, as Ive red about lots of people losing their bunnies due to a spay.

Is it a 100% safe proceedure?

 

[Jumilli]

Yeah I am taking her.

But Im scared of complications due to the spay, as Ive red about lots of people losing their bunnies due to a spay.

Is it a 100% safe proceedure?

Nothing is 100% I think you know that.If she's in good shape, a healthy weight and otherwise well the vet will do their utmost to keep her well. Mizla was spayed at 4 months as she lives with her brother...she was fine. If she was human she'd have a choice but we have to make those choices for them ...with advice.
You'll do the right thing once you've seen the vet and had their advice....that's all any of us do I think.
Just know that a lot of us have been there with our bunnies so you're not alone.

 

[BrownieDaisyandJasmine<3]

Nothing is 100% I think you know that.If she's in good shape, a healthy weight and otherwise well the vet will do their utmost to keep her well. Mizla was spayed at 4 months as she lives with her brother...she was fine. If she was human she'd have a choice but we have to make those choices for them ...with advice.
You'll do the right thing once you've seen the vet and had their advice....that's all any of us do I think.
Just know that a lot of us have been there with our bunnies so you're not alone.

Yeah, i know, every surgery has some complications.

I think shes pretty healthy, and has a good weight too. And my vet is pretty good too.

Guess I'll just have to go through with it.

Thanks!

 

[JBun]

If you have a vet experienced with rabbits and can be trusted to spay your rabbit, it's certainly an adviseable thing for female rabbits to have done. But blood in the urine can also just be from a urinary tract infection. So if this why you're seeing blood in the urine, she'll need to be treated for the urinary tract infection with the appropriate rabbit safe antibiotic(eg. enrofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim).

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Urine
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Urinary_tract_infection
Medirabbit: drugs dangerous to rabbits

If you need help finding the best rabbit vet possible in your country, this fb group may be able to help. Also, for older rabbits especially, it's a good idea to have presurgical blood work done, to ensure a rabbits liver and kidneys are functioning normally, before undergoing anesthesia.

https://www.facebook.com/nomnomindia/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Spaying_and_neutering_rabbits

 

[BrownieDaisyandJasmine<3]

If you have a vet experienced with rabbits and can be trusted to spay your rabbit, it's certainly an adviseable thing for female rabbits to have done. But blood in the urine can also just be from a urinary tract infection. So if this why you're seeing blood in the urine, she'll need to be treated for the urinary tract infection with the appropriate rabbit safe antibiotic(eg. enrofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim).

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Urine
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Urinary_tract_infection
Medirabbit: drugs dangerous to rabbits

If you need help finding the best rabbit vet possible in your country, this fb group may be able to help. Also, for older rabbits especially, it's a good idea to have presurgical blood work done, to ensure a rabbits liver and kidneys are functioning normally, before undergoing anesthesia.

https://www.facebook.com/nomnomindia/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Spaying_and_neutering_rabbits

Yeah Ive been in touch with that group since the last 3 years, they helped me find the vet.


Yeah i will get all tests done before getting her spayed.

Also, now that you mention it, what are some other symptoms of a urinary tract infection? Cause she is behaving pretty normally, and her urine levels and all arw also as usual

 

[lovetheworld16]

Hello everyone,
I have 3 bunnies, 2 girls, who are 3yrs old (unspayed) and 1 boi 2 yrs old, he's neutered. They're all pretty well bonded( which Im so surprised, because I know that unspayed females usually fight a lot, but mine absolutely love each other!)

The problem started end of last month, when 1 of the females started leaving very small amounts of red drops/streaks after peeing. I think it could be early stage of uterine cancer. She has no other symptoms, except that sometimes, her poos get small and dark, but she starts producing normal ones after sometime. Her behaviour is also as normal as can be.

I tested the urine with hydrogen peroxide, and it did turn whitish instantly. I did not see foam though, but Im guessing its because the blood was a very small amount.


So I have no rabbit savvy vet in my city, but there is one in a different city, it will be an overnight journey by train, and I have absolutely no hesitation in taking her there for a spay if its required.

But Im just so scared of post operative complications that Im unable to make up my mind on when to take her. On one hand, if I dont take her soon, the condition might develop into an actually serious one, and on the other, if I take her right now, and something happens because of the spay...

Does anybody have any advice? What should I do?

Plz help me out guys...

Thanks

I have a similar issue with not having a rabbit savvy vet near me. If you feel she is sick, id take her in. However if she is diagnosed with cancer, and a spay wouldn't cure the issue, I wouldn't personally put her through that. Some rabbits die under anesthesia and while distressed. And it's not an easy procedure for females. Different buns undergo surgery differently. Now, if a spay will help remove the cancer, then it's a judgement call on your end. Like if you think she's strong enough to go through surgery it doesn't hurt to try. Trust your intuition. I thought I was gonna lose my bun recently, and am so glad I did what I thought was best. Praying all goes well, and please post an update

 

[BrownieDaisyandJasmine<3]

I have a similar issue with not having a rabbit savvy vet near me. If you feel she is sick, id take her in. However if she is diagnosed with cancer, and a spay wouldn't cure the issue, I wouldn't personally put her through that. Some rabbits die under anesthesia and while distressed. And it's not an easy procedure for females. Different buns undergo surgery differently. Now, if a spay will help remove the cancer, then it's a judgement call on your end. Like if you think she's strong enough to go through surgery it doesn't hurt to try. Trust your intuition. I thought I was gonna lose my bun recently, and am so glad I did what I thought was best. Praying all goes well, and please post an update

Thank you so much for your prayers

The cancer is not diagnosed yet, I will have to take her to the rabbit savvy vet (12 hr journey) to confirm the issue.

I took her to a vet in my city, hes not quite rabbit savvy, he just looked at her yahoo and said its a UTI, and handed me a syrup of some kind, i dont think its appropriate for rabbits, so I havent given her any of that. He did not even consider a kidney stone or a cancer!

Also, what problem did you face with your bunny? Im kinda weighing everything to find out my options and then go with the best one, and inputs from someone who has gone through the same thing will be quite helpful...

Thanks in advance!

 

[lovetheworld16]

Thank you so much for your prayers

The cancer is not diagnosed yet, I will have to take her to the rabbit savvy vet (12 hr journey) to confirm the issue.

I took her to a vet in my city, hes not quite rabbit savvy, he just looked at her yahoo and said its a UTI, and handed me a syrup of some kind, i dont think its appropriate for rabbits, so I havent given her any of that. He did not even consider a kidney stone or a cancer!

Also, what problem did you face with your bunny? Im kinda weighing everything to find out my options and then go with the best one, and inputs from someone who has gone through the same thing will be quite helpful...

Thanks in advance!

My issue was very different. My bunny had a mass that I originally thought was a botfly but traditional treatment wasn't healing it. And there wasn't a vet to take him to. My bun ended up losing a lot of weight and becoming sickly, I worried it was cancer etc. My bun is usually around 8 lbs and became 4.5 lbs. I took him to a rabbit rescue and they didn't know how to help. I finally got him an appt with a vet that knew something about rabbits but he was very far and the appt was over a month out even after saying it was an emergency. I ended up researching the heck out of anything rabbit related and continued self treatment. And I healed him. By the time his appt came around he was better and the mass was gone. The vet said had I not treated him, I wouldve lost him, as he was getting sicker by the day. Also the vet had no clue what caused the mass. He ran traditional tests afterwards, but I kinda only have my theory of what I think was the cause etc. It was a stressful few months and I understand the difficulty of not having a vet who knows rabbits.

 

[JBun]

Thank you so much for your prayers

The cancer is not diagnosed yet, I will have to take her to the rabbit savvy vet (12 hr journey) to confirm the issue.

I took her to a vet in my city, hes not quite rabbit savvy, he just looked at her yahoo and said its a UTI, and handed me a syrup of some kind, i dont think its appropriate for rabbits, so I havent given her any of that. He did not even consider a kidney stone or a cancer!

Also, what problem did you face with your bunny? Im kinda weighing everything to find out my options and then go with the best one, and inputs from someone who has gone through the same thing will be quite helpful...

Thanks in advance!

What medication did he give you? You're right to be careful, as some antibiotics can be fatal if given to a rabbit.

 

[BrownieDaisyandJasmine<3]

What medication did he give you? You're right to be careful, as some antibiotics can be fatal if given to a rabbit.

Its a urinary support syrup. I looked up online and its used for dogs and cats, so it cant be good for a bunny...

I know, so many bunny parents have lost their baby here just due to a wrong medication...So Im always checking and rechecking before giving them any kind of medicine

 

[BrownieDaisyandJasmine<3]

My issue was very different. My bunny had a mass that I originally thought was a botfly but traditional treatment wasn't healing it. And there wasn't a vet to take him to. My bun ended up losing a lot of weight and becoming sickly, I worried it was cancer etc. My bun is usually around 8 lbs and became 4.5 lbs. I took him to a rabbit rescue and they didn't know how to help. I finally got him an appt with a vet that knew something about rabbits but he was very far and the appt was over a month out even after saying it was an emergency. I ended up researching the heck out of anything rabbit related and continued self treatment. And I healed him. By the time his appt came around he was better and the mass was gone. The vet said had I not treated him, I wouldve lost him, as he was getting sicker by the day. Also the vet had no clue what caused the mass. He ran traditional tests afterwards, but I kinda only have my theory of what I think was the cause etc. It was a stressful few months and I understand the difficulty of not having a vet who knows rabbits.

Its wonderful to hear your bun's back to health!

Did you get USG reports or something to confirm if the mass had completely vanished?

I think it could have been an abscess or some other kind of infection, because cancer lumps dont just ho away...

One of my other bunnies also had a very big lump in her belly, I was so concerned that it was cancer, but it turned out to be a swollen kidney. I gave her only natural stuff, like fruits with Vitamin C and increased her water intake, and her kidney's fine now.

Its so frustrating to not have a good vet nearby, I cant even get my buns checked out in case of some small thing that concerns me, and it will keep causing anxiety till it goes away!

 

[JBun]

Its a urinary support syrup. I looked up online and its used for dogs and cats, so it cant be good for a bunny...

I know, so many bunny parents have lost their baby here just due to a wrong medication...So Im always checking and rechecking before giving them any kind of medicine

If the syrup doesn't contain an antibiotic, it wouldn't help much anyways if your rabbit does happen to have a UTI. A urinary tract infection has to be treated with the proper rabbit safe antibiotic or it won't get better.

Usually enrofloxacin or trimethoprim/sulfa is used, like I mentioned previously. Any other antibiotics you do have to make sure it's an appropriate antibiotic for a UTI and be absolutely sure it's a rabbit safe one. Penicillin and some others should NEVER be given orally to rabbits.

Hopefully you can get the proper help you need to get this sorted out for your bunny.

 

[lovetheworld16]

Its wonderful to hear your bun's back to health!

Did you get USG reports or something to confirm if the mass had completely vanished?

I think it could have been an abscess or some other kind of infection, because cancer lumps dont just ho away...

One of my other bunnies also had a very big lump in her belly, I was so concerned that it was cancer, but it turned out to be a swollen kidney. I gave her only natural stuff, like fruits with Vitamin C and increased her water intake, and her kidney's fine now.

Its so frustrating to not have a good vet nearby, I cant even get my buns checked out in case of some small thing that concerns me, and it will keep causing anxiety

Its wonderful to hear your bun's back to health!

Did you get USG reports or something to confirm if the mass had completely vanished?

I think it could have been an abscess or some other kind of infection, because cancer lumps dont just ho away...

One of my other bunnies also had a very big lump in her belly, I was so concerned that it was cancer, but it turned out to be a swollen kidney. I gave her only natural stuff, like fruits with Vitamin C and increased her water intake, and her kidney's fine now.

Its so frustrating to not have a good vet nearby, I cant even get my buns checked out in case of some small thing that concerns me, and it will keep causing anxiety till it goes away!

I actually made a post about his mass and updated with pictures. I can try and tag you to the post if you'd like to read the whole story and look at the pictures. I included what we ended up doing and how I removed it. It was definitely a stressful few months, and the vet agreed that had we not taken action during the waiting period to see him, my bun would've died.

 

[Jumilli]

I just can't understand why a vet wouldn't understand about bunnies and their care?Don't they train with domestic animals or are they considered exotic pets where you live? It is such a shame that you have to be so careful of your local vet.
I know I have to travel 20 mins for my reptile specialist but all my local vets are knowledgeable about bunnies.
I am sorry to hear you have those problems.

 

[BrownieDaisyandJasmine<3]

I just can't understand why a vet wouldn't understand about bunnies and their care?Don't they train with domestic animals or are they considered exotic pets where you live? It is such a shame that you have to be so careful of your local vet.
I know I have to travel 20 mins for my reptile specialist but all my local vets are knowledgeable about bunnies.
I am sorry to hear you have those problems.

I dont understand the whole exotic/general pet situation here. Rabbits have been kept as pets for a while now, but trusty rabbit savvy vets are still scarce here...

I think its because not many people here get their pet rabbits treated in my area that's why not many vets bother to get specific training...

 

[BrownieDaisyandJasmine<3]

UPDATE (kinda)

Hey guys, so I said previously that the vet I have is a 12 hour journey away, in another city.

Though recently, I found another vet nearer to my place and a lot of my family lives in that area so it will be much easier. Also, several people I know have taken their bunnies there for major treatments like dental and spay.

Now, the vet who is 12 hours away is considered best vet for rabbits. She has headed several rabbit health/spay&neuter camps n he past few years and has an excellent track record. But the problem with going to this vet is that I will have to travel to a new city all alone, with 3 bunnies (i figured if Im going, might as well take all of them for a routine check up), and nobody I know lives there. Not to mention the mind blowing expenses

Everything I know about both vets is solely through reviews and experiences of other bun parents in my community.

So what I wanted to ask is that will it make a huge difference if i take her to the one nearer to my place?

As for the buns, I have not seen any blood whatsoever in the past 2 weeks, and she is showing no other symptoms.

Sorry for the long post...

Really need your inputs guys!

 

[lovetheworld16]

UPDATE (kinda)

Hey guys, so I said previously that the vet I have is a 12 hour journey away, in another city.

Though recently, I found another vet nearer to my place and a lot of my family lives in that area so it will be much easier. Also, several people I know have taken their bunnies there for major treatments like dental and spay.

Now, the vet who is 12 hours away is considered best vet for rabbits. She has headed several rabbit health/spay&neuter camps n he past few years and has an excellent track record. But the problem with going to this vet is that I will have to travel to a new city all alone, with 3 bunnies (i figured if Im going, might as well take all of them for a routine check up), and nobody I know lives there. Not to mention the mind blowing expenses

Everything I know about both vets is solely through reviews and experiences of other bun parents in my community.

So what I wanted to ask is that will it make a huge difference if i take her to the one nearer to my place?

As for the buns, I have not seen any blood whatsoever in the past 2 weeks, and she is showing no other symptoms.

Sorry for the long post...

Really need your inputs guys!

I'd go closer. That way u can stay with family, and have that support there. If your family members have experience with this vet, I'm sure they are fine

 

[JBun]

If the closer one has other rabbit owners that go there, and has good reviews from them and a good track record with surgeries on rabbits, going there to the closer vet, would be much less stressful on your rabbits and seems like the best option. But you have to go with what feels best to you also.