Also I should have added, she is spayed.

mods – would it be at all possible to modify or delete this thread? I hoped to edit it, but can’t find the option any longer.

On a side note – after posting this I thought, and realized maybe the odor issue could be because i’m using too much vinegar actually (using it every time i change her pan). i just changed her pan again and just used warm water to wipe off the urine, hoping that will help. but any other advice – i’ll definitely take it!

Hey guys, thanks for the response. I’ve really been struggling with this today. The only thing I’d changed about her diet recently, is I’d been giving her more treats 🙁 I was giving her those Oxbow simple rewards treats shaped like little hearts. I was giving 2-3 a day because i am a total pushover 🙁 🙁 It’s made me realize I should not be giving her so many treats, even if it’s not the reason for this issue. I just don’t think it’s healthy for her. I’m cutting off her treat supply as of now. It’ll be just a once in a while thing until I can get this under control.

For hay, she can only really have oxbow stacks right now as i am allergic to regular hay. She hasn’t been eating it much 🙁 But I’ve decided I’m going to reduce her pellet supply, I think this will sort of force her to go to the stacks. It’s not that she dislikes the stacks, i think she just likes pellets more, so if she doesn’t have them to rely on i think she’ll get used to eating the hay. I’m sorry to say she does not have any veggies. I do not have any access to fresh produce at the moment, I’m sorry for her about this.

For pellets – I feed her something called Sweet Meadow Farms Timothy pellets adult rabbit food. I looked at the nutrition info and it seems OK – calcium and protein is low. It seemed to be a good, perhaps better? alternative to the oxbow pellets i’d been feeding her. But take that with a grain of salt because i’m uncertain. If you have personal experience with those pellets i’d sure be happy to hear about it. It says Crude Protein: 14% min. Maybe this is too much? Fiber is 29% max, calcium is 0.39% min – 0.85% max, fat 1.4% min. These seemed like OK values, and comparable to oxbow.

Indeed, my pee pads don’t really have any odor soaking abilities, but i’ve been using them about 6 months and until now really hadn’t had a problem.

After a bit of searching it seems there’s a chance this actually might be related to myself rather than my rabbit, and having a temporarily heightened sense of smell due to another issue, as this has happened to me previously . I have called the vet to be safe and she is planning to call me back today, so I will ask about UTI possibilities. Thank you.

oh yeah about the oxbow urinary support supplement – i read about those! i was thinking of giving them a try. Just wasn’t sure if it’s something that’ll truly be useful for her. I sure hope so.

And Dana – I’m sorry, I only read your reply thoroughly. About the setup – yes I just have a single pee pad beneath the grate. I can’t say about her peeing on a hard surface because that hasn’t happened. But I know with this pee situation – the moment she pees in the pan (and on the grate), i am smelling it all the way in another room with the door closed, it is that strong and overbearing. I actually thought of washable ones, but to be honest, i am just not sure i’m equipped to properly clean them. i’d have to do some real research in to how to properly sanitize them before i could feel real comfortable using them and washing them in the washing machine. i can’t easily use bleach because i’m too sensitize to the smell.

yeah, that’s what i was thinking too. i am going to be getting her some. thank you for the reminder of those things

I think it’s my fault that she doesn’t jump for the stacks. I think she just grew so accustomed to pellets it’s a transition for her as she goes for pellets. She’s always like that with food where it’s always just a little transition, then when she figures it out she’s all for it. about the pellets btw – i made the switch probably 4 months ago so i don’t think it’s related, but maybe it could be. i switched from the oxbow essentials adult rabbit pellets to the sweet meadow timothy pellets. i’m thinking of buying another bag of that just to see.

Hey about the timothy pellets for horses that you’re talking about – for example there’s something called Standlee timothy grass pellets for horses (i think someone on this forum, perhaps you even, told me about these before, but i could be misremembering). What is the benefit of these over say the Sweet Meadow timothy pellets i feed her? Is it just because the fiber/protein content is a bit better? (i noticed in the standlee fiber is about 35% compared to the max 29% in the sweet meadow, and protein is lower at 8% vs. 14% min in the sweet meadow). i’m just curious if there’s some other major difference between the two? guess i’m just confused why they aren’t making rabbit pellets this way, if it’s healthier for them! about teeth  btw – she does have timothy hay cubes (those rectangular cubes of compressed hay) and she enjoys chewing on those. i checked with the company and they are pure timothy hay (except hey use some alfalfa hay for binding them i guess).

Thanks guys so much. Just as an update – wanted to let you know, I contacted the vet. She ordered some Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim Suspension antibiotics in case my bunny happens to have a UTI. Seems like a good thing to be better safe than sorry! Thank you for mentioning about a possible UTI

Thanks guys for these responses. Things have gotten a little better. Hotot – I’m sorry to hear about your health experience, and I hope you’ve fully recovered. I think you might be spot on with your suggestion. Over the last few days I’ve realized this might be an olfactory issue, related to some GI issues I deal with, as I was smelling other things too. This happened once before, where my smell got heightened to the point i was getting sick. It seems to be related to under-eating for an extended period of time (I noticed when I ate, the smell would get better). I’ve started forcing myself to eat a little bit more the past few days and things with the smell have improved (still not normal but definitely better). However, I also stopped giving her treats at the same time – so maybe this has had an impact too? It’s difficult to tell where the change is coming from.

I’m a little uncertain now if I should give the antibiotics. I’d welcome opinions here. Her urine has a really milky discharge, and it has been worrying me, as it’s been getting progressively more noticeable over the past month or so (it’s one reason I thought this was related to her). I read this is normal with rabbits, that they normally have some discharge, but it’s been happening much more frequently. (I used to notice it only once every few days, but recently it’s become every time I change her pan which is 2x daily min). No blood, no dark brown or sludge, just an off white very milky discharge when she urinates. I had been giving her treats daily, 2-3 per day (i never used to give her treats before because i thought they were unhealthy 🙁 don’t know why i started doing this..), and this seemed to coincide with that milky discharge increase. For the past 3 days I have stopped giving her treats, and this morning when I changed her pan there was no discharge, I was so happy to see that. I’m not sure if it’s coincidence. The vet said even if there’s no infection, it wouldn’t hurt the bunny to take the antibiotics, so maybe just better safe than sorry? I do feel her urine smells worse than usual but now i guess i can’t be sure if it’s just me.

@Ellie – thanks for the suggestion about the scent glands. I had read about this. The idea of cleaning them, seems overwhelming to me because my rabbit really, really does not like to be handled, and I live alone. I hope this is not it because I think tihs experience would really traumatize her. Thank you for the tips on how to do this inc ase I need to do it. Oh man… I had no clue the smell would be so overbearing! Sounds like an awful experience for the bun and the person!!

@PinkieMarie – this is actually a very good idea, thank you. I used to give this to her when she had a regular litter pan and i really liked it. I have her in a grated litter pan now, because my rabbit has a habit of sitting/sleeping in her litter pan all the time, so without the grate she gets lots of problems with urine soaked fur. I”m not sure if there’s a lot of room for that litter under the grate. But it is worth a shot and i might get some of this litter. Thank you.

Hey sorry to keep bugging you guys about this issue, but I wanted to update this thread in case anyone with a similar problem ever stumbles upon it. The consistency of my rabbit’s pee has really changed – i changed her pan again today and her urine was normal again, i can’t believe it. none of that milkiness to it that had been so bad. i have not given her any treats in the past 5 days at this point, and i really believe this has to be why her urine is changing. i believe this also because her urine only started getting that texture after i started giving her treats regularly (i just did not put two and two together until this smell issue). nothing else has changed in her diet or environment (Except that i also started cutting down on her pellets to try and encourage her to eat more of the hay stacks.) i felt bad at first that she’s not getting treats but she already seems to have forgotten about them. i remember the vet telling me they really just aren’t good to give her …

she never had treats until recently so her gut is just not used to them as well i guess so maybe that’s why. anyway… maybe this could be helpful for someone else having issues. i do believe it was probably my own health issues that were causing me to smell things so strongly, but there definetely was an issue with her urine. i’ve got her some of those oxbow urinary support supplements as well. won’t hurt.

The smell is getting so much better, thank you. Though I think this is a combination of both her urine health improving, as well as my own physical health. I do think I was dealing with some olfactory issues that was effecting my sense of smell. That is getting better.

I have ordered her those Oxbow urinary supplements, and she still has her antibiotics on the way – debating still if I’ll give them to her but I believe I will just because the vet said there’s no harm, and I can’t be sure if she had/has? some lingering infection.

Hopefully this thread will give a little hope to someone in the future who is dealing with smelly bun issues 🙂

I sure hope so, Hotot! Her urine has been back to normal for days now. I’m so happy for her. This was a real learning experience for me – i never had any clue treats could have such an impact on her. I remember mentioning to the vet that i’d bought her a few small packages of treats, and she said, really she wouldn’t advice giving any treats at all. For the life of me I don’t know why I didn’t take this advice to heart. I guess it just sounded very extreme to me, and I interpreted it as something like, there’s no real benefit to them so there’s no point in giving them, rather than, it could actually have a physical impact on her. I started out just giving them to her every once in a while, but she started begging me for them, and i was such a sucker i just kept giving in until she was getting two per day. I will not be giving her edible treats going forward, and will stick to chews/toys/hay stuff to treat her. She has already forgotten about treats.

I checked with the vet today as well – she told me not to give the anti-biotics if she is feeling better. So Dana thank you for the feedback there. I was going to give them. But I will hold off now. And I’ll have some set aside in case it’s ever needed.