Pees on himself

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 9sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 8 months ago by Beans.

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- 06/23/2010 at 5:28 AM
  Beans
  Participant
  8 posts
  Hi guys,
  
  I have had Beans for a month now and he is 3 months old. To start with he was fantastic with his litter training and only very occasionally had accidents outside of his trays.
  
  However recently this is not the case. He pees and poops all over his pen at night and outside when I move his litter tray to his new ‘pee spot’ he picks another. I have tried buying a new litter tray in case he just didnt like the old one, but it hasnt made a difference. I also use the litter to soak up the pee and then put it back in the box so that his smell is there.
  
  My favourite new habit however is when he sits in his pee! At first I was worried because I thought that he was getting wet tail but after a careful bottom inspection he was wet in an odd pattern (he is also not subdued at all, in fact right now he is on the sofa with me playing lets binky backwards and forwards over mum’s lap). Then I saw him do it. He pees, backs up, takes a seat and overlooks his kingdom for a while. I have even seen him wash his face while sat in his own pee! I am getting a bit worried about it now as although I wipe his bottom off with a wet cloth and groom his back end im not always around to see it, so at night or if im out of the house its staying on his fur and it has even started to bleach it.
  
  Im pretty sure its because his little life has been a bit unsettled recently and this is a reaction too it, but im not sure how to stop it. Just under 2 weeks ago he had a seizure. Although he is fine now he had to spend the night at the vets and now has medication every night, which he hates. We also make trips down to the Algarve from Lisbon about once a month but in the month we have had him we have been 3 times including right after getting him back from the vet because my partners grandmother passed and great grandmother has been ill.
  
  Sorry this is so long but if you guys have any ideas it would be much appreciated because I am completely at a loss. My sofa and clothes would also appreciate not having pee footprints on them anymore!
  
  Thank you!
- 06/23/2010 at 6:18 AM
  Karla
  Participant
  1624 posts
  First of all, scary about his seizures! Do you know why he gets them and should he be on medication every day for the rest of his life?
  
  Second of all, he won’t stop marking his territory until he has been neutered. Has his testicles descended? Have you talked to the vet about his neuter combined with his seizures?
  
  It is very difficult to litter train a bunny that has not been neutered, especially when he feels strongly about marking his territory. Some bunnies are 100% litter trained although they are not neutered, while others need that op before they stop marking.
  
  I’m not entirely sure I understand the problem with his wet feet. To me it sounds like, you need to change his litter more often or change it to something else, but perhaps I’m misunderstanding what you are writing. Please correct me, if you refer to a medical issue.
- 06/23/2010 at 6:53 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Can you do fleece or something else absorbent in his area, at least until after he’s neutered? It won’t make his litter habits better unfortunately, but you might not have an option until after the neuter. What does the vet say about surgery considering his recent medical history?
- 06/23/2010 at 2:48 PM
  Beans
  Participant
  8 posts
  Thank you for the advice.
  I have cleaned his litter. It wasnt too dirty but just in case. I have tried putting a towel down in his pen before but he is very playful and when I came back in the morning it was ‘dead’ in the corner, but I will buy something at the weekend that is bigger so that I can pin it down somehow.
  
  There are no signs of any testicles yet (I do wonder if my little man is infact a girl). We have a check up with the vet on monday so I will ask if he can still be neutered then. He is on a liquid medication for 28 days as the vet believed that it was E.cuniculi that caused the seizure. However she has said that its not a definate diagnosis and the medication is a process of elimination, for example he tried his first piece carrot that day and it happened slightly after so it could have been an allergy. He seems to be fine now though and hopefully that was his first and last seizure.
  
  The sitting in pee thing is simply just that. When he goes to the toilet he backs up and sits in the puddle for a while so it soaks into his fur. Its a really odd habit and I didnt know that rabbits did that. So I was just wondering if anyone knew how to stop him.
- 06/23/2010 at 10:11 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  That can be a pretty standard course to take. Something like Panacur for a month.
  
  It may be a combination of things causing the loss of litterhabits. i.e. Medication and possible illness, stress, possible urinary tract infection, possible dislike of litter tray or litter. All this would be exacerbated by arrival of hormones be it boy or girl. Boy buns can hide their testicles by pulling them up into where they descend from. Keep us updated on what the vet says Monday.
- 06/24/2010 at 7:26 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  It’s very common for vets to provide medication before fully knowing the cause, in order to make a “therapeutic diagnosis”. If the meds work, great… problem solved! If not, it’s on to plan B… which will usually include cultures and sensitivity tests to determine what is causing the problem.
  
  Can you tell us what his cage is like, size, any bedding material?
  What kind of litterbox he has, size, shape, and what type of litter material?
- 06/25/2010 at 6:52 AM
  Beans
  Participant
  8 posts
  Yep its Panacur that he is on. It seems to have done the trick as he hasnt had any more seizures thankfully. He also had a short course of bactrim in case it was his stomach.
  Beka27 his cage is a puppy pen which is 2square metres. He is straight on our tile floor as its easy to clean and his bed is a cat bed with a towel (and teddy) in it. His litter tray is a simple plastic rectangle, is probably a foot wide and he has natural, organic, non clumping cat litter.
  
  I think that my little buns days of being complete are numbered as he has started spraying more and I am going around like I have severe OCD scrubbing the walls and cabinets. Thank goodness our walls are tiled half way up too! If I clean with a strong smelling product to replace the smell am I going to make the problem worse or better? Thank you again for the help.
- 06/25/2010 at 7:29 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  You don’t want to use a strong cleaning product in the same space the bunny is in. Try a 50/50 mix of water and white vinegar.
  
  How soon can you get him in to be neutered?
- 07/03/2010 at 4:57 PM
  Beans
  Participant
  8 posts
  So my baby boy is now my baby girl!
  Our vet is pleased with how she is doing post seizure and said that she looks very healthy. We asked about spaying and she said that she would like to wait a while longer so that beanie can get through her medication and vaccinations (they were delayed because of the seizure) before we start adding more things.
  She said that it might help if she is spayed but it can also be behavioural as she had another fully adult spayed female bunny patient that started spraying when her partner was ill and had to stay at the vets for a few days. So I think it will be a case of wait and see now.
  She has actually been really good over the last couple of days so maybe we are onto something. Although I think she is just love sick…she has fallen for my teenage brother who is staying with me for the week and keeps presenting her bottom to him much to his horror! We have too many hormones in this house!
- 07/03/2010 at 4:57 PM
  Beans
  Participant
  8 posts
  So my baby boy is now my baby girl!
  Our vet is pleased with how she is doing post seizure and said that she looks very healthy. We asked about spaying and she said that she would like to wait a while longer so that beanie can get through her medication and vaccinations (they were delayed because of the seizure) before we start adding more things.
  She said that it might help if she is spayed but it can also be behavioural as she had another fully adult spayed female bunny patient that started spraying when her partner was ill and had to stay at the vets for a few days. So I think it will be a case of wait and see now.
  She has actually been really good over the last couple of days so maybe we are onto something. Although I think she is just love sick…she has fallen for my teenage brother who is staying with me for the week and keeps presenting her bottom to him much to his horror! We have too many hormones in this house!
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