How To Minimise Risks When Having Your Rabbit Neutered
By Mairwen Guard MBE
[Neutering is important for all rabbits]
Deciding to neuter your rabbit can be a very daunting prospect. Ultimately, however, it will be one of the best decisions you can make for your pet’s future health. Not only will neutering prevent unwanted litters, but it also reduces aggression and territorial behaviour, stops spraying of urine, and prevents uterine cancer – a major killer of female rabbits. It is also very important to neuter rabbits if you intend to keep them in pairs or groups to ensure long-term compatibility.
The low percentage of pet rabbits that are neutered compared to the majority that aren’t is due not just to owner apathy or the relatively high cost, but also to the worry of how much suffering and risk is involved.
Risks associated with neutering can be minimised in several ways. The rabbit must be in good healthy condition to undergo any procedure involving an anaesthetic, and should be fed as usual right up until the time of the operation to prevent digestive problems. Make sure that the vet carrying out the procedure is experienced and has a good success rate with both sexes. Ensure pain relief is given post-operatively, and that heat pads are used. Skin adhesive should be used instead of external stitches to prevent the rabbit re-opening the incision (especially important in females). If the rabbit is still showing signs of being affected by the anaesthetic once at home, it is advisable to keep him inside overnight to prevent chilling, but otherwise returning the rabbit to his normal environment as soon as possible is beneficial to reduce stress. Small treats such as pieces of celery and other vegetables will help prevent gut stasis (constipation), a very serious condition in rabbits that often has fatal results. This is especially important in females as they will often refuse to eat dried food for a couple of days post-spay but will nibble hay or fresh goodies quite readily.
Both male and female rabbits are neutered as a routine prior to re-homing here at CottonTails® so the experience of putting hundreds of rabbits a year “through the system” has taught me a great deal about what factors are important in the recovery of a newly castrated or spayed rabbit once he/she has returned home.
Using body weight changes and length of time taken to return of normal eating again as factors to determine post-operative recovery, I undertook a study of 264 rabbits to discover the effects of painkillers, gut stimulants, change of environment, and companionship upon recovery time. It became clear that factors such as being overweight, underweight, selective feeders (picking out selected bits from dried food and leaving the rest), personality type, in a compatible paired relationship or single, actively growing, ill-health or old can all have influence on the length of time taken to recover from the neutering operation.
Male rabbits recovered on average in less than 2 days. A quarter of the males studied showed a small beneficial effect of being kept indoors overnight for the first night post-castration, a similar number also benefiting from pain relief or administration of a gut stimulant. Interestingly, giving both pain relief and a gut stimulant together appeared not to be so effective in males and females as giving one or the other, but further study would be needed to find out why. Whether the males were single or in compatible pairs appeared to make little difference, as recovery was so rapid anyway.
Female rabbits took on average just under 5 days to recover. It must be remembered, however, that whilst post-neutering recovery rate for both sexes is relatively rapid, the female operation is a major procedure and care must be taken not to incur any internal damage by rough handling or strenuous exercise for some time afterwards. Keeping female rabbits inside overnight appeared to have no beneficial effect, although it must be taken into consideration possible chilling if the rabbit is still under the effects of the anaesthetic before placing back outside (assuming that the rabbit is not a house rabbit anyway). Pain relief or gut stimulant administration appeared to speed up recovery, and females kept in compatible bonded pairs recovered quicker that those kept on their own. Perhaps this reflects their need for support and stimulation during this stressful time.
The results of this study should reassure owners of rabbits about to be neutered that the large majority of rabbits recover quickly from their operations, and the many benefits far outweigh any short-term discomfort. Asking your vet to provide pain relief such as Metacam and/or a gut stimulant such as Prepulsid for the first 48 hours post-operation would seem to be a good idea, and both substances can easily be given orally by syringe. It is also very important for rabbits that are normally kept in compatible bonded pairs to be reunited at the first possible opportunity, usually upon their return home, as this will aid recovery, especially in females.
For information about matching your rabbit or a full report of the neutering study, contact tel. no. 01373 864222.
