# No Pain Meds After Neuter?



## MarisaAndToby (Nov 9, 2011)

The vet I just called said that they don't usually send pain meds home with the bun after a neuter... This seems a bit odd to me. Is this normal?


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## Watermelons (Nov 9, 2011)

Its actually quite common for vets to not send pain meds home for any animal after the procedure. Boys dont really need it, and girls usually stay the night and get their metacam in the morning.
On the forum we recomend you ask to go home with some, and your vet will most likely charge you, but if you think it will help, all the better, but most boys dont need any, its the girls we worry about a bit more.


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## Nancy McClelland (Nov 9, 2011)

We got pain meds with the females, usually, but really didn't need them as all of ours bounced right back. You'd never have known Serena had surgery if it wasn't for the bare patch on her belly.


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## tonyshuman (Nov 10, 2011)

It depends on the bunny. Personally, I'd want to have the meds because bunnies can stop eating if they are in pain, and not eating or pooping is much more dangerous in rabbits than in dogs or cats. It's not at all abnormal for a vet to not send home pain meds for a rabbit neuter.


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## rachaelkind (Nov 10, 2011)

I'd also askto go home with some painmeds. You can't necessarily tell ahead of time who will/won't have problems after surgery. One of our boys had aterrible time with the neuter. The vet said he's never had a bun so difficult to sedate (this is an extremely stubborn/tough little boy so I wasn't too surprised) I'm not sure if it was the extra sedatives or pain or just psychological upset from the car ride/away from home& bun friends/etc but I was terrified he was going to go into stasis. He wouldn't eat for almost a day and I was freaking out. Lol, except for the metacam- he LOVED the metacam  Awhile after the meds he started perking up and and decided to sample the large array of fruits and greens I'd put out to try and tempt him with. 

On the other hand, I've also had a boy who we forgot to dose with metacam because we were too busy trying to keep him from climbing/hopping on things. We caged him to keep him still but he was still hopping on his little box home, hopping on his food dispenser, bouncing around...

Our vet always offers/suggests meds but leaves it up to the parents.


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## CCWelch (Nov 10, 2011)

85% of neuters do not need any further meds, it is up to father time and mother nature to do their thing. Of the other 15% about 2% need a night or more in the vets office and the other 13% 1 dose of pain med fixes it.(Of that 2% there is that 1/2% that never make it out of surgery  )


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## MarisaAndToby (Nov 10, 2011)

Augh... that .5% has my stomach in knots. I've made the appointment for Nov. 22... It's about an hour away from me and will be $95. VERY nervous.


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## tonyshuman (Nov 11, 2011)

Don't worry. I am not sure it's really that high. I've seen thousands of cats spayed and neutered, with very few complications. These are also not the most healthy animals, many are in various stages of heat/pregnancy, many are feral, and none get anything other than a brief check-over before we do the surgery. I know bunnies are a bit harder than cats and dogs simply because vets have less experience with them, and other things, but in my experience the rate of fatality in cat spay/neuters under less than optimal circumstances is 0.001%. Literally--I just sat here and did the math. If something does go wrong, there is no way for you to have known about it beforehand, and the vets and staff will move heaven and earth to help him. He'll be fine.


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## MiniLopHop (Nov 11, 2011)

My girl really needed the meds when she was spayed. I had a hard time getting her to eat, but she tends to be very sensitive to fear issues. She's my snuggler and I think it just scared her into not wanting to eat.

My new boy is getting neutered on Tuesday and I don't antissipate any issues. I will bring some metacam home just in case, but I'm sure the hard part will be keeping him in a cage (currently free-roam and loves to get in-to/on-to/over/under everything!)


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## Watermelons (Nov 11, 2011)

Dont worry about it Marisa  The hardest part will be keeping Toby QUIET!!!! They dont even realise somethings missing... and when they do... its sometimes a little funny.

My guys went through fine and they were 3 or 3.5 months old when they got theirs ripped out. The only problem I had was with lily not eating a whole lot but it wasnt because of the surgery... it was because she was seperated from Loki.


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## Sweetie (Nov 11, 2011)

I agree with Watermelons. Don't worry Marisa. Prince was neutered and didn't have pain meds to come home with, he did fine. When Sweetie was spayed, she came home with pain meds and I had trouble getting her to drink on the way home, but half way home she started to drink and when she got home she ate and drank. Keep your bunny warm and make sure they drink after the surgery. Very important that they drink afterwards because they can dehydrate with the anesthetic(sp), which is very dangerous for a bunny. The bunny will eat when he/she is hungry.


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## MiniLopHop (Nov 11, 2011)

While we are on the subject of neutering, I have a question for thoes with bonded buns. Should I send Becky to the vet with him for support? They always travel together and he tends to bury his head under her tummy if something frightens him. I would think it would also help keep him warm and less stressed? She is very mellow and bun loafish. If I was having surgury I would find it much less frightning if my husband were there. Thoughts?


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## Watermelons (Nov 11, 2011)

Short answer, no. While they like to be together, they should be seperated for2-3days orso while the one whos had surgery has a chance to heal up. And if you choose to put them back together, you need to follow the same rules as if they both had the surgery. It wont be fair for a bonded pair of 1 is cooped up and the other gets free run.
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12040&forum_id=10
Read the 3rd post of this topic.


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## MarisaAndToby (Nov 11, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the support and calming words! I have a couple of weeks to figure out how to stop him from jumping in his cage... question, is jumping into and out of his litterbox too much? 

Also how long do I have to limit his mobility after the surgery? So worried


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## Watermelons (Nov 11, 2011)

Marisa, Check out the link I posted
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12040&forum_id=10
3rd post is my write up, it gives a good break down on how long you should keep him confined for and for how long and to what extent. 

As to the litterbox it depends on how high but hes a boy so I wouldnt worry about it. Its more or less girls who would stretch their tummys out while trying to jump into their litter box.


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## aurora369 (Nov 12, 2011)

My personal experience on surgery with bunnies is to provide pain medication (metacam normally) for 3 days for males and 5 days for females. Unless they have kidney problems or are very dehydrated, the risk of stasis and pain is greater than any side effects of the pain meds. I have argued with vets before and refused to leave until pain meds were provided. Personally, I would not want to have any surgery with out some sort of pain medication. Just because rabbits hide the pain well and act like normal, doesn't mean it's not sore.

As for neutering and spaying with bonded pairs, I tend to leave them together. The partner goes to the vet's office for moral support and they stay together during recovery. I have yet to have a problem with the partner antagonizing the recovering bunny. If the bunny goes alone to the vet, their partner may reject them because they will smell funny. 

Most of my bonded pairs that have required surgery find comfort in their bonded mates and spend most of their recovery time snuggling. 

I've had whole groups of rabbits go together for surgery (foster family from a rescue). And they all stayed together during recovery. 

-Dawn


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## Sweetie (Nov 13, 2011)

The bonded pair will miss each other if they are separated but if it is only for a day, I don't see how they will not recognize their mate.

Prince and Sweetie were a bonded pair and when they were fixed they went alone to the vet's office. When they came back to each other they recognized each other.

Just bring something that smells like you and the other rabbit. I gave Sweetie a shirt with my scent on it and she did okay.


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## thevanguard6 (Mar 17, 2020)

Over 40 years of rabbit care here and I can say -- from observing post-op rabbits (including males) -- that they certainly do require at-home pain meds for at least a few days. In fact, the standard for the animal shelter in my city is 7 days of Metacam delivered orally for male/neuter procedures -- let alone for the procedure for females. Any vet that tries to send you home without pain meds for your post-op rabbit is bordering on questionable ethics. The meds aren't even expensive. I'd ask them if you can purchase at least a two or three days worth before leaving the vet office.


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