Tilly: Post Spay Updates

[Cottontail]

Tilly went in for her bloodwork, check-up and spay today.

We got to the vet about 9:30 this morning, and Tilly got her bloodwork and check up while they got Peter ready for his x-rays.  Pete took about 2 hours to get wrapped up, and it wasn’t until almost 4pm that we got the call that Tilly’s surgery had gone well, and that they had her under observation.  I was told that I could pick her up at 6, which I did.  She weighed in at 5.13lbs before her spay.. not sure how much after.

She was in and out of it on the car ride home; and once we got back to her enclosure she made a b-line for her favorite corner of her cage and layed down…  And that’s where she’s been for 2 hours now.  She was not too receptive of the metacam, and only at one cranberry so far… I called the vet back and asked about time-lines again, and at what point to worry about her not wanting to do anything but sleep.  They said that if she wasn’t getting active and eating by 8am to bring her back in, but also gave me an emergency vet number in case I felt that she needed attention before then. 

So that’s about where we’re at.  She’s stood up and then wobbled and settled back down a couple times, but seems mostly sleepy.  I’ve been rubbing her head and her ears… and she has plenty of water, hay, pellets and salad all within stretching distance.  She had 2 poops when she got into her cage, but nothing else yet.  Her only food/water intake has been a dried cranberry. 

I’m going to keep trying to offer her food throughout the evening (and tonight if necessary), but at this point I’m just sitting, watching, and hoping that she gets back to being her happy lick-happy self soon.

[MoxieMeadows]

((((VIBES)))) for quick healing!!

[JackRabbit]

Sometimes you have to hand feed some some wet greens and/or fragrant herbs — you can even annoyingly keep sticking a bite in front of her nose until she (hopefully) realizes it tastes good.

[JackRabbit]

I think metacam actually tastes good, but even if she’d not crazy about it, get it in her whenever its dose time.

[JackRabbit]

Oops! Almost forgot! {{{{{Tilly}}}}}

[LBJ10]

My poor sweet Tilly! It isn’t unusual for them to be out of it after surgery. I would do as JR suggested and try sticking some greens under her nose to see if that entices her.

[Cottontail]

So I’ve let her have her rest for a bit, but have done a good bit of pestering her as well.
I’ve managed to get her to eat 3-4 pieces of arugula and a very tiny piece of red lettuce (about the size of 2 quarters). The only water she’s got in her so far is off the leaves and off my fingers; as she is at least starting to get back into her normal ‘lick anything within 3 inches of my head’ mode. Her little tongue seems a little dry to me, and she only ate the leaves after getting her mouth wet, so I’m thinking maybe she’s got a bit of cotton-mouth from the meds and anesthesia?

I’m going to try again in a bit to get her to eat some more wet leaves and maybe drink some water… if she won’t I might try to syringe a little water into the side of her mouth to see if it helps. She got up once and moved around in a circle in about a 2 and a half foot area before settling back into her spot. She still seems like she’s really uncomfy despite the metacam, and when she starts to melt into sleep and stretch her legs a bit she shutters a bit and gets back into a loaf position (not her preferred sleeping style).

So food count is now: 1 dried cranberry, 4-5 small wet leaves, no pellets, no hay
Poops are now at 4 normal and one about the size of one of her “cecal-berries”

She’s my first bunny-spay, so I’m probably worried more than I should be… but I just hope she feels better quickly. She hasn’t even cleaned her face yet.

[JackRabbit]

I wish I could help. I didn’t know much about bunnies when each of my girls were spayed. I mainly kept the room semi-dark and quiet, kept peeking in on them, and hand fed them once they weren’t too groggy — more because they seemed so pitiful than knowing to try to get them to eat. I did the same with Moshi.

[Cottontail]

Still up with the bunnies:

I syringed some water to her, and she was very happy to suck it down. Apparently she’s just too uncomfy to use her water bottle or bowl right now. After several syringes of water she finally decided to clean her face and sniff her belly. She also ate another leaf and finally peed! Yay! Still not many poops, but the vet wasn’t concerned about there being lots of them, just as long as there was something tonight.

I’m going to give her some more water in a minute, and a little more before I go to sleep tonight; just glad to see some real signs of life from her, even if it is in very short bursts.

[Cottontail]

JR – I appreciate it anyway.

[LBJ10]

It isn’t uncommon for their poops to be disrupted a bit and smaller in size.

[LongEaredLions]

(((Vibes)))
Glad she ate, pooped, and drank, albeit only a little. She should catch up soon enough.

[JackRabbit]

Glad she drank from the syringe. I just held everything up to their faces at first so they didn’t have to move — lettuce bites, water bottle, hay, etc. — anesthesia combined with pain meds makes me dizzy and not want to move around so I assumed they would feel the same way! Pretty sure mine were up and about the next day. I was told to keep the girls confined for 10 days and Moshi for 3 days so they couldn’t run and jump. All three were trying to do bunny 500’s in there cages and throwing bunny tantrums well before the time was up.

[Cottontail]

I ended up staying up half the night sitting with her… I found I had dozed off somewhere around 3 am, so at that point I figured that I should let myself go to bed and hope for the best.  At that point she had had some more syringe water, and made one attempt at her water bottle (but not sure she got more than a drop), and had eaten a couple more wet leave pieces. 

8am rolls around and Zoey wakes me up for breakfast.

After feeding Zoey and Pete I brought a small wet salad in for Tilly.  She’s still in the corner of her cage, but apparently got up and pooped and peed in her litter box (which is about 1 foot away from her) and at least attempted a couple pieces of hay (though looks like not more than a piece or two).  She hasn’t touched her pellets from, and they are normally inhaled within about a minute of her seeing them. 

She ate about half a handful of wet salad and licked my fingers for a moment before backing into the corner and drooping her head to the floor in loaf-type position.  I’m going to call the vet and see what they think so far.  I’m just still worried about how uncomfy/depressed she seems.

 Originally they stated that she should be confined for 14 days, but only gave 3 days of metacam.  :\  I know she has a higher dose since she’s twice his weight, but they gave Pete a low-dose for 5 days on his procedure (and I could tell he needed it for at least 4 of that)… so I’m just still worrying a bit.

[JackRabbit]

My girls were each sent home with 10 days worth of pain meds, Moshi with 3 days worth (same as their confinement time). I gave Moshi all three days worth, and I think I gave the girls at least 7 days. The pain meds seemed to calm them down some too. Always good to check with the vet when you’re worried.

[Cottontail]

I was concerned that there was so little pain killer that she was sent home with, but they were confident that most of their bunny patients didn’t need it after the 3rd day after spay. They know that I was already concerned about that yesterday, and it was brought up again this morning.

Well, I called the vet but her doctor was with a patient, so I had to explain my situation to the receptionist (at least I know she knows about bunnies) so that she can have him call me back. I let her know everything so far, including my concerns about her still being in pain, as she’s been shifting, not actually moving around except to go to her box, and trembling a bit when you pet her back. I let her know I only got 3 doses of the metacam, and that she got her first dose last night, and that I’m low on Critical Care. She said that since Tilly is pooping/peeing in her box, and that she has eaten something (albeit small) that I can wait a bit and try the CC while she talks to the doctor, and not rush immediately down to them just yet.

I mixed up some of the last of the critical care I had left over from Pete, and gave it to her. She gobbled up a good portion of it, since she didn’t have to get up to eat.. and I am happy to see that she was bothered enough by the dribble on her dewlap to take a bit of a bath after. She still seems very uncomfortable and tired, but I’m going to wait and hear back from her doctor, and probably head back into town for some more CC a little later.

[Roberta]

My vet gives a slow release pain med, antibiotic and motility combo that lasts 3 days… I have never had a single problem. They ate and pooped within 12 hrs and were fine by the 3 rd day.

[JackRabbit]

She’s probably going to be sore, and will likely sleep more than usual. The important thing is eating, pooping, drinking (although wet veggies provide some hydration). It’s a good sign that she gobbled up the CC. Have you been able to get a look at the incision? Does she seem hot or cold?

[Cottontail]

Thank you for the replies.
I haven’t heard back from her vet yet… but she does seem a little more alert now (sore but alert). She’s still in her spot but she’s washing a bit.

She hasn’t let me look at the incision yet. I saw it was a little pink when she first came home, but that was to be expected. So far she’s not let me look at it since, but I’ll look at it a little later whether she really approves or not. She’s been a bit cool to the touch, but I think that’s a lot to do with the fact that she’s not moving around. Also, I noticed that her ears feel a bit dry this morning.

 

EDIT TO ADD:
Talked to the vet and feel a bit better.  Tilly has gotten up a couple times to look around her little enclosure.  She’s eaten a little more salad, taken a bite or two of hay, and a couple bites of her pellets.  She’s not really drinking on her own right now, so she’s getting wet salad and critical care, with a little water offered in syringe  to help wash it down.  She seems to have no trouble taking everything offered in syringes. 

 So far it appears that she’s on the road to recovery, just moving a bit slow on it. 

[JackRabbit]

Good to hear she’s definitely on the mend. Wow! A syringe bunny and snuggle bunny all in one!

[Little Lion Head]

Just getting to this vibes for ((((((((Tilly))))))))). Pumpkin was already spayed when we got her and like JR, I didn’t know much about bunnies when we got Boston spayed years ago. I don’t remember much. Sounds like she’s coming around though! You certainly have your hands full this week!

[Deleted User]

Sending (((((VIBES))))) to you ALL and for you to know I have been thinking of you with everything going on – sad face.
And a special HUG just for you when you feel you need it – a hug does help a lot when it’s at just the right time. BIG smile.

[Cottontail]

Thank you everyone for the vibes; and especially AH for the hug! You have no idea how many I’ve needed the last couple days and not gotten.

Tilly seems to be recovering nicely from her spay. She got her last dose of medicine last night, but to my surprise she didn’t seem like she needed it. She happy took it though and it seemed to make her happy and sleepy. This morning she is being destructo-bunny. She’s been throwing her stuffy; tossing rugs, blankets and pillow cases; and digging furiously. She also appears to be slightly gassy, though the vet mentioned that she might be as a result of the medicine. Every time you hear a little “poot” sound she drops a poo and then stomps her feet. She was somewhat gassy before since she was on a full-pellet-diet and has been getting hay and veggies daily now. At least todays little lady-farts are not as smelly as they normally are! (previously they had a smell similar to spoiled bananas and broccoli, now there’s little scent at all) She also doesn’t seem to be physically bothered by her gassiness.. and I’m already noticing a drastic decrease in the smell from her urine.

I’ve checked her incision, and there is no redness, excess heat or swelling; and she seems to be leaving it alone pretty well (unlike everything else she can get her little teeth on!). She’s flipped her litter box 4 times since we brought her home, and utterly destroyed her sisal-timothy ball.

[MoxieMeadows]

That’s great that Tilly is doing well.

Sending more ((((vibes)))) and (((hugs))) you and Tilly’s way!

[JackRabbit]

I’ve never heard of a bunny thumping (way too funny!) after a bunnyfart, but then again, I’ve never had any evidence of bunnyfarts in my house. I guess bunnyfarts and feeling well enough to throw a bunny tantrums are good signs!

BTW, we did the heavy duty velcro thing to get Moshi to stop flipping/relocating the litterboxes and to get him to stop taking Marlee for “rides” in them.

[Little Lion Head]

You know I was thinking after seeing the pic of Pete’s new cast how much money you must have invested into your babies just this week! What time for Pete to break his leg! On the one hand I want you know that I’m thinking about you and the stress that alone must cause. On the other hand, I showed the pic of Pete to hubby and said “look I bet their vet bill is higher than ours…”

But so glad Tilly is doing well–really well it sounds like!

[Cottontail]

Thanks, MM.  I could always use more vibes and hugs.

JR – The hubby was the first one to discover the Tilly-farts.  They started shortly after she had hay and veggies introduced to her daily diet.  Everything would be perfectly fine, and then out of nowhere you get this sour, cecal-type smell as Tilly stretched out on the floor.

 

LLH – Glad I could make your hubby feel better about your vet bills!   This has been a rather stressful week, between 2 recovering bunnies, people-medical visits, and family surprises, I’m ready for the next 4 weeks to be done now so we don’t have to mess with cast repairs and hormone rages. The worst part is over, though! (at least in my mind)   Thank you for your thoughts.

 

Tilly is happy and hyper as ever again… although she does have a very cute little grey and pink belly.  I’ve tried a couple times to take a picture of her shaved belly while she’s flopped out, but she seems to have a sixth sense for the camera and immediately rolls back onto her tummy.  She got a new toy today, since she completely obliterated her last one;  a big timothy toss-carrot… which translates into Tilly chew-toy.

[JackRabbit]

Since she likes to toss things, she might like baby keys (if you have a Kroger near you, they sometimes have the original all plastic ones for like $1.50) or baby stacking cups. When Kieko is out for playtime, I always put one of the cups blocking the tunnel exit just so I can see her pick it up and toss it out of the way. Moshi tossed one back over his head one time and couldn’t figure out where it went!

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m glad to hear she is doing well It’s so sad how pitiful they seem after a spay. It is pretty major surgery after all.

[Cottontail]

Sorry I haven’t updated this thread in a while; I’m afraid we got a little caught up in Peter’s drama.

Tilly is back to being Tilly. The only evidence that she had surgery is the fact that you can see her gray and white “dalmation spotting” on her skin from where they shaved her belly. The incision is not immediately evident, and has had no pinkness or swelling for a while. If anything she seems a lot more relaxed than before spay and it’s only 5 days in. She’s done tons of digging, short binkies, beating up her plushie, and generally making happy messes of her rugs and blankets. I’ve also lost track of the number of bunny flops! She will be digging furiously at something and then out of nowhere she tucks her head and falls over, like she’s playing dead, belly exposed and ears back.

She’s still got some stray poops here and there, but most of it is going into her box (until she digs it out like she’s going to build a burrow!)
We’re very happy that she had an easy spay. It looks as if the vet was right that she would not need her pain medicine after the 3rd day, despite our fears.

[JackRabbit]

Apparently, some bunnies are convinced that there is buried treasure in their litterboxes. Moshi is one of those. I’ve learned to never get too close to Moshi’s rear end when he’s on a buried treasure mission — its amazing how far he can sling litter between his back legs!

[LBJ10]

Glad to hear Tilly is doing well. She should get better with the litter box as time goes by.

[MoxieMeadows]

I’m happy to hear Tilly is doing good!

[Cottontail]

Besides wanting to get out her enclosure, Tilly has been very well.
We’ve had binkies, destroyed rugs, flipped bowls, and beaten-up stuffies. Here’s her using her pellet bowl as a pillow.

[Little Lion Head]

Lookin’ good Tilly!

[Cottontail]

Tilly Update:

Her litter box skills have not improved.  At least not yet… and I think her box being too small may be a bit to blame, so we’re getting her a larger one that will take up half of her cage (which is now always open) and will be velcroed down!

In other news, her belly fur is coming back in nicely.  I think I’ve seen a slight decrease in size of her dewlap, but I’m hoping it doesn’t completely disappear because I think it’s adorable on her.  She’s now starting to blow her coat directly on the underside of the dewlap only.. so I’m not sure if that’s got to do with the hormone shift or if it’s just more shedding.  She blew the rest of her coat over the course of about 3 days when we first brought her in, and she went from a soft/cottony light grey girl to a silky plush medium grey girl.  It seems that when she does shed, the shed fur looks about 6-8 shades lighter than the rest of her coat… so maybe it’s still just getting rid of her winter coat.

 

She’s also learning how to manipulate my husband.

She has made him pity her cuteness so much that he insisted that she be given access to the whole room again today, under the logic of, “She’s got fur now, and she seems fine.  I doubt she’ll hurt herself now.”  So now I’m back to making sure she doesn’t find a way to eat the internet, while I keep an eye on my little 3-legged dufus in the other room.

Zoey had a bit of a play-date with her this morning.  Tilly was still a bit too forward with her demands for love, so Zoey kept her distance; but there was no aggression.  At one point Tilly ran full-in to Zoey and attempted to lick her and Zoey just about fell over herself backward.  She already figured out from “raising” Pete that stomping her feet gets the bunny’s attention so she stomped her back feet, Tilly paused, and then Zoey got to high ground where she felt a little more secure about being sniffed. 

[JackRabbit]

Cottontail — living with your furbabies must be hilarious! That’s interesting about the coat color when she sheds — Marlee does the opposite and her coat gets black tips when she’s shedding and then turns back to orange with the new fur!

[Cottontail]

JR – I love my furbabies. They definitely keep me on my toes! I also noticed that her feet were apparently stained when we got her. I though at first she had a beige/brown tint to her toe fur, but they’ve become nice and silvery!
*SOMEONE* with a blue coat (i’m looking at you, Tilly!) ATE THE INTERNET in the 2 seconds that I had things pulled back so I could reinforce them to protect the wires. She is lucky that i have stuff to repair wires, or the hubby wouldn’t be so happy with her… We love her though.. and she is learning to be pitiful when she does things that she knows she’s not supposed to. I fussed at her and she laid her ears back and they drooped slightly to either side like she was trying really hard to be a lop! How can you stay mad at that?

[JackRabbit]

Cottontail – I think that someone with a blue coat has been learning from someone with a cast how to get pity and forgiveness!

[JackRabbit]

Hmmmm……wondering if someone if the feline variety has been passing secret messages back and forth…..

[Cottontail]

lol I wouldn’t put it past them, JR! It’s a 4-legged conspiracy!

[JackRabbit]

You are doomed to forever be at their mercy!

[Little Lion Head]

Omgosh the bunnies taught Zoey how to thump!!! I love her even more now!

[Cottontail]

LLH: “Omgosh the bunnies taught Zoey how to thump!!! I love her even more now!”

That didn’t take long, actually.  She tried bopping Pete on the head and teaching him like he was a kitten when he was tiny (no claws or damage, just kitten-training), but when he thumped a couple times when she freaked him out by doing her zoomies, she seemed to figure that out pretty quickly.  I don’t think she fully understands that they’re not some kind of kitten, and they don’t fully understand she’s not the old-mama bunny.   Pete still gets himself bopped on his white blaze sometimes when he’s acting too big for his britches. lol

 

Tilly is doing wonderfully, and I think she’s well healed.  Most of her belly now how a nice short shiny coat of fur.  There is one patch that hasn’t grown back in yet, but the skin doesn’t look irritated, the the fur next to it is long and covers it unless she’s really sprawled out.  She got a piece of radicchio in her salad this morning that was much larger than how I tend to serve it, and she thought she hit the jackpot!  She took the leaf and ran in a circle before huddling down in the corner to munch on her prize.  

We’ve come to a compromise on the box situation: since her cage is always open now, and she flings her box everywhere inside, I just took out the box and let her cage BE her box.  So far, everything is in the box and no new accidents. YAY Tilly!  

We also discovered that she goes NUTS for bananas!  I sat down with my cereal, which had a banana cut up on top, and she was being nosey so I gave her a slice.  Her eyes bulged and she slurped it down… next thing I know I have a bunny IN MY LAP, climbing my chest to see if I had any more banana in my mouth!  She was up and down from my lap the rest of breakfast.  I could get used to a lap bunny.

[Little Lion Head]

CT that is how Pumpkin is with Banana and those little tangerine cuties. I swear she can hear me unpeeling them! She is incessant about getting more until it’s all gone!!

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