Castrating your Rabbit
Please bring your rabbit to the surgery, the night before the operation
between 4pm – 7pm
Please bring a small bag of your rabbit’s normal diet, including vegetables or
hay.
General
Castration is the removal of the testicles. The operation is a one off procedure and is not
reversible. Once your cat has been castrated he will never be able to father kittens. The
normal rabbit has two testicles situated in the scrotum
When should I castrate my rabbit?
We feel that the ideal time to castrate a rabbit is at six months old, although adult rabbits can
be castrated at any time. Some rabbits can be neutered from as early as 4 months old, if they
housed with entire females.
What are the advantages?
The main advantage is that your rabbit will not be able to get female rabbits pregnant. Rabbits
become sexually mature around five or six months old.
Reduction of smell and spraying behaviour. Most un- neutered rabbits by one year of age
have the characteristic, pungent smell and spray strong smelling urine around the home and
garden.
Reduction in fighting. All rabbits are inclined to squabble over territory but the entire buck is
the main culprit. It is not uncommon for bucks to need treatment for bite wounds on a frequent
basis.
Neutering can also have a marked effect on the behaviour of male rabbits. Normally does are
the more dominant sex, but male rabbits can also become stroppy and neutering them can
calm them and prevent, reduce or stop unwanted behaviour.
What are the disadvantages?
Castrating, although a routine procedure for small animal veterinary surgeons, is a major
operation for small furries. A small number of animals have problems with anaesthetics, the
operation itself and with post operative haemorrhage. This can result from too much activity,
dislodging one of the internal blood vessel ties. Surgical experience, good nursing help and
careful supervision does reduce the risk but that risk cannot be totally eliminated.
Rabbits also like to chew their sutures out, so you must be able to check the wound daily,
after the operation. We do not routinely give out buster collars for rabbits, as this can cause
problems when it comes to eating their caecatrophs.
There are a higher proportion of overweight castrated rabbits compared to their entire
counterparts. There is no doubt that a neutered rabbit requires less food for a given weight
and activity level.
Rabbits which are overweight can develop a dewlap under their chin and develop a dirty
bottom, as they cannot get round to clean it or eat their caecatrophs, this can become the
prefect area for flystrike or urine scald.
We encourage weight checking and will weigh your rabbit at each vaccination so that fine
tuning of food intake can be made. With proper management, there is no reason for any
weight gain as a result of spaying.
Booking your rabbit in for spaying.
We perform routine surgery each day except, Wednesday and given a little notice we can
accommodate a specific day to suit your schedule.
Rabbits should not be starved prior to surgery and with-holding food can be detrimental to
their health. Therefore we would ask you to treat your rabbit as normal, regarding food and
water.
We normally admit rabbits the evening prior to the operation, as this gives rabbits the chance
to settle into the practice, getting used to the smells & sounds and reducing their stress levels.
It is very important that rabbits are not too stressed prior to operations, as this can increase
the risks of the anaesthetic. Bringing their own diet also reduces stress and ensures the
rabbit has something familiar to eat after the operation.
If your rabbit has a favourite toy, please feel free to bring it in as this will also help familiarise
them.
The consent form
We shall ask you, or an authorised adult, for written permission to perform the castration
operation on your pet. We make time to guide you through the consent form so that we can
explain any terms that you do not understand or are worried about.
The operation
All pets undergoing surgery at A+G Vets have an analgesic (painkiller), antibiotic and gut
motility drug as part of their premedication, so that they are more comfortable and therefore
less frightened when they wake up.
We allocate each pet an individual kennel, although siblings may share a kennel, if preferred.
We try to keep rabbits away from other animals, to reduce the stress that they will be feeling.
The kennels are warm and sound insulated and each has a lightweight polyester fleece and a
heat pad for warmth and comfort. All animals are within sight of the nursing team, allowing
prompt intervention, if required.
Fluid Therapy
With all our rabbits operations, we give fluid therapy within our anaesthetic protocol. This
allows the rabbits to have a smoother recovery and keeps the guts from becoming
dehydrated, which could lead to gut stasis and a potentially unhappy bunny!
Care of surgical wounds
Wounds do not normally require any attention except for you preventing your pet licking
excessively at the wound, or removing the stitches. We have to make a charge for re suturing
wounds, often involving another anaesthetic, if stitches have been lost as a result of a lack of
supervision.
Stitches out
We normally remove stitches after ten days, although we may use dissolving sutures for
particularly jumpy or nervous bunnies, which do not require removal.
Contacting us if you are worried.
When your rabbit is discharged you will receive instruction as to how to receive advice during
the evening. We have 24 hour out-of-hour emergency care, which you are able to contact by
calling the surgery for the relevant emergency mobile number.
Tel – 01324 815888