Well, the rabbit was neutered on Thursday. It was a tough call, because I know neutering rabbits is risky, but I’ve read some horror stories about male rabbits becoming aggressive as hormones kick in. And then there’s the marking. Milk Bone had been completely litterbox trained up until a few weeks ago, when he decided the living room sofa was an appropriate place to go. Overall, I decided it would be best to neuter him now, before the marking and other bad behaviors really kick in, and while he’s still young and can bounce back easily.
The vet was great – everyone loves him there – and the surgery went well. He came home within an hour or two of waking up as they wanted to reduce the stress on him as much as possible. He was prescribed a steady dose of two pain meds to keep him feeling good and sleepy, along with some bitter-tasting antibiotics that are mixed into a paste and applied to the wound to keep him from licking at it (in lieu of a bunny-sized “cone of shame”).
I was really worried about him those first few days. I couldn’t get him to eat anything besides fruit (grapes, apples, bananas) dried cherries, and yogurt-covered raisins, and he was barely drinking. I was able to get some water in him by mixing sugar, water, and grape juice, and giving it to him with an eyedropper. He started eating some cereal and pretzels on Saturday – I think the salt made him thirsty and got him drinking a bit more. By Sunday, he really started to perk up and began eating some hay and lettuces. He’s still not interested in eating his pellets (or carrots, if you can believe that) but he’s doing really well other than that.
He can’t be on any type of shavings or particulate bedding for two weeks, so I’m using puppy training pads and towels in his cage. I picked up a scatter-free litterbox with a grate on the top so he can’t get into the shavings and that’s working out pretty well. He’s on cage rest until the end of the week, but so far he doesn’t seem to care too much about being locked up. I’m sure that will all change tomorrow when he’s off the pain meds and feeling feisty.
Peabody barely left his side all weekend. It’s so amazing how animals know when their friends are not feeling well – even when they’re different species. It was really sweet to see, and I think Milk Bone felt better knowing his dog was by his side, guarding him while he was down.
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