In the first couple of weeks Buttons was becoming quite horny, after all he was a 12 week old male bunny. We had to separate them from each other. Luckily, the cage was large enough to be able to put a wire sheet between them. That way they could still be together, but his activities were very limited.
I knew that he could still get to her through the mesh, but I doubted that there was enough room because it was quite crampy with the mesh on such a crazy angle.
I thought it was important that they stay with each other as much as they could.
Luckily, the vet was able to book in an appointment for their neutering and spay quite quickly – on the 16th – so the poor bunnies were only locked in their small areas, at night, for a week before their operations.
Just in case this sounds cruel, they were outside all day in separate pens, where they could run and play. They were only in this tiny arrangement at night, because that’s all I had. Sometimes you just have to make do.
During the day I set up their play pen so that Buttons had an area that was separated from Cotton. Because they are a bonded pair they can’t be away from each other for long. But being able to sniff each other’s noses through the wire was good enough for them.
The day of their vet trip arrived and I put them in separate carry boxes and traveled an hour (one way) to the vet. The vet said they dealt with a lot of small animals, which is a requirement when it comes to getting the correct advice.
The vet said that it’s dangerous putting bunnies under sedation, their little bodies may not be able to cope with it. She also said that Buttons’ operation will end in a superficial cut on his belly, while Cotton’s operation is a lot more serious. She will need to be under sedation longer, the vet said that she may not come out of sedation, and pass away. However, she said that it’s a good idea to get Cotton spayed because she has seen a lot of female bunnies with prolapses and uterine cancers which are far more dangerous and shorten the bunny’s lifespan. I agreed to get her spayed, but it made me feel incredibly scared.
I picked Buttons and Cotton up that afternoon. They looked ok. We got home and I left them in their carry boxes. I faced the doors together so the bunnies could look at each other. The vet said to leave them in a quiet, warm, dark place, so their carry boxes were the best place.
Buttons was a little sore but quite normal.
Cotton went down hill that night. She was panting and had sunken in eyes. She was slow and sweaty. She didn’t want to eat – the vet had said that they have to eat that night to get their intestinal tract working again – if they don’t eat, they will pass away due to GI stasis. I stayed with Cotton all night. I didn’t want to leave her. The poor tiny bunny who I made suffer. I was guilty and so very sad.
She pulled through. She made it through the night!
The vet said that I had to give them their anti-inflammatory medicine in the morning. Buttons was easy, he ate the honey medicine out of the syringe like it was the best food he’d ever had. Cotton was another story. I didn’t want to pick her up, so I tried to feed her the medicine laying next to her on the floor. Her mouth suddenly disappeared. She didn’t want it. There was no way I could force that syringe in her mouth. She looked at me with sunken, pained eyes and wanted me to get it all to stop.
I came up with a brilliant idea. Put the medicine in a little container with a few pellets, that way when she eats the nibbles she will be getting the meds. I just had to make sure she ate all of the medicine-pellets. That worked a treat! She started eating and getting back to her normal self.
The vet said that I had to keep them still and in the dark for 7-10 days. That’s nearly impossible with kits. But I tried.
Update, August 2023
It is recommended to keep the kits quiet for about 2-3, maybe 4 days, then they are OK to gently hop around under supervision for another few days after that. Bunnies need to move their bodies around so the digestion, muscles and ligaments don’t cease up, which can happen if bunnies are kept in confinement without movement for a long time (like 10 days). Keep an eye on their behaviour, if they look like they want to do more than they are, let them. They will quickly figure out what they can and cannot do. Bunnies do not need to wear clothes after the operation or have their wounds protected from licking. If they lick it, they are in pain. So if the meds are working, they will leave it alone. The vet should cover the wound with quick-healing gel that helps the outer incision to heal within a couple of days. If you are concerned about that, have a chat with your vet before the operation. If you do put clothes on your rabbit, the wound will stay wet and may even cause an infection that the antibiotics cannot fix. It may even cause your rabbit to overheat and get heatstroke.
After the Operation
Online, it says that bunnies should be separated for 6 weeks after their operations. That’s because it’s best to wait until the hormones die down. It also gives time for the wounds to heal.
It also says that you can put them back together sooner if the male stops showing those behaviours.
It was about 9 days after Buttons’ and Cotton’s operation that they wanted to be together.
I put them outside for the first time in their pen together for the day. They were so happy to be with each other again. They snuggled and leap-frogged over each other. Binkies and zoomies galore!
I also removed the wire in the middle of their night-time cage.
All I’ll say, is that we stopped Buttons at the right time, and he has never showed those tendencies again.
