I found this gal by the side of the road about a month or so ago, maybe a little more. She was very dehydrated and hungry. She had the snuffles so I got her checked out by the vet. After some meds she ended up fine. The vet confirmed that she's female but was unable to confirm if she's spayed; I'd suspected not since she has a 4h tattoo in her ear and usually those rabbits are kept for breeding purposes, not only that but I had doubted that whoever abandoned her had spent 300 bucks on her beforehand for that procedure. It's hard to tell because she isn't aggressive at all, is very affectionate towards me specifically, and I don't see a dewlap which is supposed to be very prominent if I'm right about this being a Californian rabbit(?)
On the other hand she's been nesting quite a bit and I'm finding it difficult to litter train her. She did better today and I just got her new litter box that you see in the picture so maybe she just didn't like the old box. When I introduced her to a new room she went right to work marking it.
The vet quoted me a good price on spaying get but I don't want to put her through that if she's already spayed anyway. The vet himself wasn't sure if she had been or not but said he could definitely tell based on whether or not her ovaries are there if he tries to spay her.
Also no clue how old she is but the tattoo in her ear from 4h is faded so at least a couple years supposedly. Any thoughts on these things would be appreciated. Also haven't really thought of a name for her yet, I've just been calling her Rabbit (yes, I'm a guy and live alone) so any suggestions are welcome!
by deleeted_user
10 Comments
Responsible pet owners that get their rabbits spayed aren’t going to let them end up on the side of the road. The nesting alone hints that she likely isn’t spayed either.
If you don’t want to open her up to check, ask the vet if they can do an ultrasound or a hormone blood test to check. However, note that it may cost as much as the spay to begin with.
What a gorgeous bun! Thank you for saving her. She definitely looks like a Californian. Unspayed females are basically guaranteed to get cancer, so I would personally go through the spay – as someone else said, responsible pet owners aren’t goingto dump their buns. I seriously doubt she’s spayed.
Thank you so much for rescuing this beautiful girl! Yup, she definitely looks like a Californian.
Agree with the other commentors that she probably isn’t spayed, given her likely history and the nesting behavior. If you have the funds, I’d say get the spay surgery.
If she’s nesting and you found her only a month ago she could be pregnant
I’ve had 2 rabbits with the black noses, both smart and had attitude, you are going to have fun with this lucky bunny. FWIW I would start with choice of litterboxes everywhere, and if she pees in a spot, move the nearest litterbox to that spot so hopefully the next pee is in the box.
Do you know what the ear tattoos mean?
I adopted my bunny Nardole from a shelter and he has ear tattoos that they gave him.
Kalashnikov
Does she get daily free-roam time? Also I like Louise for a name
She looks like a Minnie to me
Maybe Rosemary or Rosie for short? She’s so cute!! 😀