very concerned!!!!!!!

Question
Samatha-I was just reading one of your answers to a question that someone had and your answer left me a little puzzled and alarmed. The person said that they had a 4 yr. old rabbit and should she get her female rabbit fixed. She heard that if you don't, they have a high rate of getting cancer. You told her that she didn't have to get her fixed and that it's not common that rabbits can get cancer due to not being spayed or nutered. That is NOT TRUE. I don't mean any disrespect but I'm a rabbit owner and YES, THEY SHOULD be fixed if your not breeding them. Females have a very high chance of developing ovarian cancer or mammory tumors, not only that but females are MORE aggressive if not fixed. You told her the opposite :-0 The more heat cycles a female rabbit goes through, the higher chance of cancer. I know that the bunnies you breed didn't have this problem but I just believe that you got lucky. It concerns me that this girl is out there thinking that she doesn't have to spay her rabbit and I feel worse for the rabbit it self. She needs to know the right info. Her name was Natalie I believe. Like I said, no disrespect but the info. you gave her was very incorrect and now her rabbit might pay for it. :-(






this is what I read.........




Expert: Samantha Sharp
Date: 11/2/2006
Subject: life expectancy of my rabbits

Question
Hi,
I have a 4 year old female french lop and a 5 year old male mini lop, the male has been spayed. Could you tell me the life expectancies due to sex, breed and whether spayed or not please. I have tried searching for these answers but i seem to be getting results that vary dramatically. Whilst searching i have also read that females have a high rate of cancer of the uterus which can be prevented by getting them spayed at an early age, is this true and at 4 years is she too old to go through the op now?

Also my 2 rabbits don't get along and have to live separately,I have tried to gradually introduce them and they are friendly to each other through the mesh of the hutches but once let out together they fight continuously, is there anything i can do to encourage them to get along? If i could let them out together they'd get twice the amount of time running free in the garden!

Many thanks

Natalie

Get the answer below





This is what your response was. If I misunderstood, I apologize.....




Answer
Hello,
I am not sure myself on the ages. I have heard anywhere from 6 years and up. I don't fix my rabbits, and I have not had any to get cancer. I have never known anyone to have a rabbit with cancer. Not saying that it doesn't happen, but it isn't as common as they say it is. I would not alter her. Sometimes altering them affects thier moods, and they tend to be more grouchy.
Rabbits are generally loners so getting them to get along is sometimes hard. In the wild they live a lone all the time except when breeding. If they continually fight when together then chances are they will not get along.
Samantha



YES cancer is common, ESPECIALLY IN FEMALES, IF NOT FIXED!! They are also MORE aggressive. It's not right and it's mean to put rabbits through all that aggression and heat cycles if your not breeding them. I get that your a breeder though so that is why you never experianced problems but this girl Natalie is not a breeder so the info. you gave her was not correct. Could you e-mail her back? I would hate for her rabbit to one day suffer through problems for no reason.  

Answer
I am sorry to say, but I still stand by my answer. I have had experience with house rabbits, and sorry to say even bred rabbits can develop tumors, but tumors are not all nessially cancer. Your rabbit got the unlucky end of the deal if it were cancer she had. This website is the knowlege and opinions of the experts, and it is up to the owner alone to decide their true course of action. I state in my profile that I am against the spaying and neutering of rabbits so readers do need to know this before asking questions of me.
As for rabbits getting cancer, Rabbits should be inspected everytime they are handled, both in their pen and outside their pens for abnormals or changes in behavior. It is part of owning one. An abcess can be detected at a very small size if the owner take the time daily to inspect for such problems. It is the responsiblity of the rabbit owner to keep and eye out for this stuff, and not do it for so long that once you do find a tumor or something that it had a chance to grow.
Not to be rude or anything, but after all I have been raising rabbits for both  pet, breeding and showing for 13 years now, and I have never had this problem. I did state that. ANd I also stated that It was not uncommon, but not nearly as common as House rabbit society people say... THese are the ones who push spaying/neutering so much, and also want to prevent rabbit breeding all together. If there weren't people breeding rabbits where would people like you get your beloved pets???
If she cares for her rabbit properly, chances such problems occuring should be near zip
Samantha