Does you bunny smell? Does her pee smell like amonia? Do you notice a musky aroma to either her or her pee?

Has her belly been shaved?  The fur MUST be shaved on the belly in order for a spay to be done- that is the only way to get a sterile surgical site and for an incision to heal cleanly.  And I have noticed the hair is much, much slower to grow back on rabbits than it is on cats or dogs- it took at least 6 months for my bunnies fur to grow back in the area that was shaved- it seemed to grow in at the next shedding time.  The incision itself healed normally and regrew hair- but there was a large rectangle on the belly that did not seem stimulated by the body to regrow hair until it was normal time to regrow.  My theory is the body recognized the incision as a wound and healed the incision and regrew hair- but did shaving did not trigger hair regrowth immediately.

I would contact the shelter and ask if they did the spay there- or is the rabbit was reported by the previous owner to be spayed.  Sometimesin cats or dogs by shaving the belly in the spay incision area there can be a visible scar- and the owner monitors for the signs of a cat going into heat (behavior change) or a dog going into heat (discharge) and the lack of those signs for a year in addition to the scar are a good indication the dog or cat is spayed- but I am not sure how reliable that would be for a bunny.

It sounds as though it may be a dominance issue- and that the couch may need to be off limits at least until the bunny settles in more and does not feel the need to claim (although that might take weeks, months or never be able to happen- depending on the bunny).

How long has she been reported to have been spayed?  it takes hormones quite awhile to settle- and any changes like adding another pet, moving, etc can trigger bunnies to mark.

Not in all cases, but a lot of the time, a spay/neutered bun will not have stinky urine at all. Like Katnip said, I’d contact them again and try to get a certificate saying she’s been spayed, or the contact info for the vet.

Are you using the litter they used also? Sometimes they can refuse the box if they don’t like the litter. I hope her habits return and that she is spayed. It would be such a pity if they are letting people adopt and misinforming them!

Posted By Sasha on 06/17/2009 03:59 AM
There’s no sign of a shaved belly. I tend to think that she isn’t spayed. I guess I should take her to a vet to get checked out.

Her urine does have a strong smell, but just the normal bunny urine smell – kinda musky.

She is a very confident bunny, so hopefully we’ll be able to keep her off the sofa and she will settle down. we’ve only had her 2 weeks, so I guess she is just finding her place in the household.

I’m not an expert but I do have 4 bunnies LOL I have found that the litterboxes smell only of amonia (pee)  if the rabbit is altered. If the box smells musky too, I would suspect that it hasn’t been altered or, that it was so recent that the hormons are still active but, then you would have a shaved spot. I have also found that unalterd bunnies have the musky smell on their fur. Altered bunnies fur doesn’t smell at all. As I said I’m not an expert.My experience – female baby from pet store spayed as soon as she was old enough – smelled very musky for about a month before spaying & a week maybe 2 after – rescue 4 to 5 year old male stunk to high heaven, smell again dissappeared a week or 2 after neutering – rescue 3 year old neutered male had no smell what so ever – adopted unspayed female 3 years old, she has the musky smell but not nearly as strong as I remember it being with the other 2 before they were altered. I have to actually pick her up to smell it where I just had to be somewhat near the first 2. OK, that male was pretty strong, the whole apartment smelled. LOL Barring poopy butt or some other outside aroma, altered rabbits do not smell at all. IMO Their litter box of course has to be clean or it smells. LOL