Spay – not eating

[Archer]

So I know this question has been asked before, and I’ve read the responses.  It’s making me worry less that my Sweetie isn’t eating.  And she technically wasn’t drinking either (they gave her an IV of fluids during the surgery, so hydration wasn’t an issue yet) until just a short while ago when she took some water from a syringe.  

I’m still terrified.  My baby is clearly not happy, she’s refusing even her favorite treats.  Rings, strawberry, banana… she turns her nose up at all of it (okay, so she licked the banana once, but she didn’t eat it).  She won’t eat lettuce or hay. 

And it took until just now with a syringe to get her to drink anything. She won’t come out of her carrier either, and I can’t check her incision (though it’s only been 6 hours since we left the vet’s office, and it was perfect there, so I doubt it’s gotten bad in that short time).  

I guess I’m looking for reassurance that this is normal-ish, or if it’s not .. .what can I do?

[Mel94]

Hi Archer, I’m sorry Sweetie isn’t doing too well.

My Angel was the same after her spay, surgery can be quite stressful on a rabbit’s body, so sometimes they need help recovering. Do you have any Critical Care? If not, then pellets mushed up with water will do to syringe feed in order to keep her digestive system moving. If she hasn’t began to eat on her own by the next day then please take her back to your vets for more pain killers and a medication that keeps her gut active.

Keep her favourite veggies nearby for her in case she decides she wants to eat. I was told that parsley was good for getting bunnies to resume eating. Also place a bowl of water near her carrier too, because she may not want to get up to go get to her normal water bottle. If she doesn’t seem to want to go for it, then dip your finger in and put some water on her lips, just so she can see it’s for drinking. Another thing to be aware of is that bunnies have trouble regulating their body temperatures and anesthetic makes that worse, check if she’s shivering at all and place her cage or carrier nearby a heater.

The first day is horrible after surgery, but she will perk up soon. Try and syringe feed her (if you need to lift her then use a blanket/towel to burrito her) and have someone hold down her shoulders if she struggles (Angel didn’t like Critical Care very much!)

I hope all goes well with her recovery.

 

Edited to add: With Angel, we were told by the vets that crowding a bunny can put them off eating because they’ll be feeling vulnerable and insecure, it’s hard to do, but try giving her a bit of space while she’s resting and check on her every now and then? 

[Vienna Blue in France]

Mine ate nothing but rose petals the first 48 hrs. Go steal if necessary. Hope that helps.

[Bam]

Mel and Vienna has great tips for you. If she won’t eat, you will need to syringe her food. Critical Care with extra water is good. I’m glad she took some water from the syringe.
Keep her warm, that’s extra important. Even if the room is warm, a poorly bun can become hypothermic after surgery. That’s very dangerous.
If she hasn’t eaten anything before bedtime, you need to take her back in. Don’t leave her over night with no food in her tummy.

Whatever she wants to eat, even if it’s treats, is good. But for some reason buns just out of surgery tend to prefer greens over treats. Freshly rinsed fragrant herbs like cilantro or, as Mel says, parsley, could perhaps work. Water in a bowl near her is important too.

I’m assuming you got a painkiller for her. Do you know the dosage? The most commonly used painkiller is meloxicam (Metacam) and it’s sometimes prescribed at a much lower dose than what a bun actually needs. Buns metabolize meloxicam much faster than cats and dogs, so they need a higher dose. Pain often makes a bun lose its appetite.
Keep us posted.

[Archer]

So an update. She tried to refuse her meds, which is stressful on both of us. She refused water this morning, but seems like she took a few nibbles of banana overnight. I got the metacam in her, which should help.

She’s pooping, though her poops are smaller than usual. I’m going to try critical care with her in a short bit – giving her a 30 minute break after the meds so 1) less stressed and 2) time for the metacam to kick in and hopefully get her in a place where she might be willing to eat.

[Archer]

Her incision is clean though – nice and neat still!

[Bam]

Good to hear! Even the smallest nibble of anything at all is great Fruit has glucose and while not good in large quantities, a little bit of it can help perk a poorly bunny up.

I’m glad you’ve been able to give her the Metacam. Pain relief is important for appetite and healing after a spay, it’s been shown in a study.
Go slow when you feed her the CC. Make sure she swallows.

[Gina.Jenny]

porridge oats can be a good food to tempt a poorly bun to nibble on, might be worth trying?

[Archer]

She’s refusing the Critical care. But she drank from her water bottle without a fuss. She’s an odd little bun. I’ll try the oats if none of the other things work. Right now, high sugar or not, I just want her nibbling on things. Anything. The vet said once they start, usually they’ll venture to more healthy things too. So getting her to eat *something* is far better than nothing.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Yes. Something. Anything. Caviar !! Pringles…
!!
((( sweetie )))

[Archer]

Alfalfa has done the magic trick. Sweetie is eating it and not just nibbling! So if that gets her eating, then that’s what she’ll get.

She’s looking kinda upset with me because of the critical care (I got some on her cheek fur and she hasn’t been able to clean it all off, poor girl). But she’s EATING. YAY!!! 24 hours after the surgery was over.

[Bam]

Great news!! So happy to hear it! And without caviar, even!

They tend to get upset by CC, but sometimes there’s just no way around it. She will of course forgive you.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Glad to hear the good update.

[Author]

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