Five Benefits Of Having Your Rabbit Spayed Or Neutered
If you're thinking of adopting a pet rabbit, you may wonder if it's really necessary to have him or her spayed or neutered. After all, what if you decide you want a litter of babies in the future? And while it's true that rabbit kits are very cute, you'll want to consider the differences between an intact rabbit and an altered rabbit before making your decision. Here are five benefits of choosing to have your rabbit altered.
1. You'll be able to keep your pets together without having them breed like rabbits
Sure, one litter of babies sounds nice, but how about twelve per year? (And that's assuming you rehome the babies before they can start reproducing themselves; otherwise you'll have exponential number growth going on.) Rabbits can breed again the exact same day they give birth, and their pregnancies are about a month long. So if you're considering getting two bunnies, you'd better either be very, very sure they're both females or else get them fixed.
2. Your pet rabbits will be less likely to develop reproductive cancers
In fact, not only can rabbits get cancer more easily if they're unaltered, but there are other health problems they can develop as well. For example, unaltered female rabbits can develop pregnancy complications, ovarian cysts, or an infection of the uterus.
3. Male rabbits don't spray everywhere if neutered
If you end up with a male rabbit, whether intentionally or accidentally, you'll need to make sure he's neutered whether or not there are other rabbits at your home. Unaltered male rabbits tend to spray urine everywhere, which kind of precludes them from living in your house and makes them less fun to spend time with.
4. Your rabbit will be less likely to destroy the living area if neutered or spayed
Rabbits who are unaltered have a lot of hormones dictating their behavior, and this often results in nesting behavior (such as shredding stuff up) or other undesirable destructive tendencies, such as trying to chew through everything in sight (including electrical cords) or dig a hole in your floor.
5. Rabbits get along better with people and other pets if altered
If you're hoping to eventually get a little bunny friend for your rabbit, you need to consider the territorial and aggressive behaviors that they can develop. Fights will break out if you have two unaltered male rabbits, but even two unaltered female rabbits can tear into each other under the influence of aggressive hormones. So getting them fixed helps them get along better and reduces the chance they'll turn aggressive.
These five benefits show how important it is to have your pet rabbit altered, especially if he or she will be a house pet. Contact a vet clinic, like Countryside Animal Hospital, for more help.
Share