The Strange Lump

This. Is. SPARTA! aka the coolest rabbit ever.

I'll be the first to admit that I have my favorites when it comes to the bunnies. I try not to be too obvious about it, though; I guess I have some sort of irrational fear that the non-favorite rabbits will notice the all extra head rubs and papaya treats reserved only for the coolest bunnies, and will be overcome with jealousy... Or, most likely not, because they're rabbits and they don't care.

However, there is no subtlety when it comes down to who is my #1 bun. Sparta is the most awesome bunny ever. The coolest of the cool. She ranks right up there with the Easter Bunny, second only to my first pair of English Lops, Tris and Beau (who happen to have been her parents- obviously, awesomeness is genetic.). Sparta is my favorite bunny in the whole world, and I never miss an opportunity to remind all other other rabbits of this fact.

So, in July 2012, when I palpated a strange mass in her uterine area, I panicked just a little.

We gotta back up a little here, though. I gotta be honest- I am the worst blogger/website updated ever. I'm pretty sure the last time I update the bunny website was in early 2010. So when I added a new buck back in the spring of 2012 and decided I wanted one last litter out of Sparta, of course I didn't post about it. Duh. That would require effort. Sparta ended up kindling one single perfect little broken opal baby this past June, and she was the best momma ever- Except she didn't produce any milk, and the little kit didn't make it. Sad as that was, I found I was not-so puzzled by the lack of milk, and more confused as to why, a week after kindling, I could still feel a large baby in her. So off to the vet we went.

Back in January 2012, I started working at a local vet office as an assistant. I am very lucky to be able to work with a variety of veterinarians specialized in different fields, including two doctors who are very talented with rabbit medicine. A non-suspicious x-ray and a palpation session later, the vet was not concerned with the mass, and we decided a retained, mummified kit was the best explanation. Biggest. Sigh. Of. Relief. Ever. Until a few months later, when I could definitely that tell the "kit" was bigger, and I dragged my poor Sparta back in for more x-rays. Unlike the in previous rads, there was definitely *something* in the uterine area. Because she was still playing, eating, drinking, and pooping those giant English Lop turds, the doctor recommended bringing her in for a spay whenever I felt comfortable, and we decided waiting a month for the surgery would be ok.

Ok my x-rays skills leave much to be desired. But see that cauliflower-textured looking stuff? Much like actual cauliflower, it's not good.

Alright folks who don't believe in fate, here's the part where I change your mind. Two days later, I shit you not, an owner brought in her 5 year old, unspayed lionhead doe who was not eating, drinking or pooping, and her radiograph looked eerily similar to Sparta's. Gulp. We took a uterine tumor out of her the next morning, and I immediately scheduled Sparta for her spay to take place later that week. Double gulp.

To say I was a little nervous about the surgery is like saying Mama June from Honey Boo Boo is a little heavy. I was PETRIFIED. After all, the last time I had a rabbit spayed- Wait! I had never had a rabbit spayed before because literally every single time I had called to make an appointment for my pet house rabbits to get their baby-making devices removed, one of my rabbit friends would tell me a horror story about how their doe had bled out after surgery, or had a heart attack and died under anesthesia, or some other equally traumatizing tale, and I would freak out and cancel the appointment. And here I was, about to put my favorite bunny under the knife, and all I could picture was her guts spilling out all over the place as her abdomen erupted open, high-school-science-project-volcano style. Thanks, assholes.

Because I am totally weird, I asked to observe the surgery. Now, here's what you need to know about me: When it comes to (animal-related) disgusting things, I am not faint hearted. I have kept my cool while helping care for a puppy whose rectum has spilled out of her butthole and all over the table. I have watched with honest curiosity as the doctor sliced open and drained a fist-sized abscess on the throat of an anesthetized rabbits. I have assisted with cutting animals open, stitching them back together, and there is no end to the amount of shit, piss, vomit, blood, and anal gland fluid I've cleaned. I have assisted in many euthanasias without shedding nary a tear, leaving behind the sobbing family in the exam room without so much as a trace of sadness on my stone cold bitch face (though I do admit my eyes tend to get a little watery after these encounters, though I'm sure it's just my allergies).

Despite all this, I definitely got more than a little teary-eyed when the doctor took not one, but TWO large tumors out of my Sparta girl.

Oh come on, you would cry too.

Pictures: two uterine tumors. Ouch. :(

Sparta made it through the surgery with flying colors, and after a day of recovering in a carrier in the kitchen, she was eating on her own and acting completely normal.The doctor believes the cancer was contained in the removed tumors, and I opted not to send samples to the lab for testing. Six months later, she is still doing well and showing no signs of any more tumors.

So, in case you wanted to skip all the long windedness of this post, let me go ahead and sum up everything for you in the Moral of the Story:

• Uterine cancer is a very real and scary occurrence in rabbits.
• The House Rabbit Society likes to quote the eyebrow-raising statistic that 85% of female rabbits will develop uterine cancer by age 4. Those of us who breed are very aware that no, 85% of our does do not get cancer, and those who raise rabbits for meat can confirm this through necropsies. However, that doesn't mean reproductive cancer is non-existent in rabbits period, and we certainly see more cases of it in non-breeding animals. Which brings us to the next point...
• Spay your older, non-breeding does!
• If you value them as pets and don't want to risk an emergency spay or losing them to cancer, find yourself a rabbit savvy vet and spay your mid-age, non breeding does. Sparta was 4 when we found the tumors, and had not had a litter for 2 1/2 years. There's not enough research to tell us why does are at such a higher risk of cancer when they're not being bred, though my curious side wonders about the complications in reproductive cell growth that result when an animal that is built to reproduce does not do so. Either way, grab a good vet and spay those pet bunnies, folks.
•  Surgery is risky for bunnies.
• At the time of her spay, Sparta had an undiagnosed heart condition. Yikes. Not only that, but at 4, Sparts was considered to be old by English Lop standards. It's a known fact that rabbits don't tolerate anesthesia very well, but add in other health conditions and age, and you have the potential for disaster. Even if I had known about her heart condition, I definitely believe that despite everything, I would have still put her through surgery. The reality is, the anesthesia and stress from the surgery MIGHT have killed her, but if left in her body, the cancer certainly would have done the job. And for me, that risk outweighed the risk of surgery.
•  Find a vet you trust!
• Spays are troublesome enough in bunnies, but can be especially dangerous in complicated cases such as Sparta's. I am very lucky to have not just one, but two awesome bunny savvy vets I trust, but not everyone has that luxury. If you're thinking of spaying your doe, do some searching to make sure the vet you choose is experienced and specialized in rabbits, not just dogs and cats.
•  Don't slack on health checks.
• Probably the biggest thing to take away from this experience is how important it is to be observant and watchful for any changes in our animals. Rabbits are prey animals and hide their symptoms well, and it is so hard to detect when something is amiss with them before they become seriously ill. It was sheer luck I was able to palpate the tumor long before Sparta started showing signs of being sick; early detection led to an easier recovery time, and allowed the cancer to be removed before it spread. Always keep an eye on your bunnies and note any changes, no matter how subtle.

 
So, what's Sparta been up to since her emergency spay 6 months ago?

Oh, you know. just being adorable. And awesome.

I'd say she's still enjoying being spoiled. ;)