Blood? Pee? Or Both?

[mocha200]

So before I go into this I should give you a back story on what has happened these past few weeks. A little over a week ago I looked down at Mocha and Lulu chowing away on their veggies and notice that Mocha looked smaller then normal and almost looked smaller then Lulu (he has always been fatter then Lulu)! So the next morning I made an appointment for both of the bunnies to have a checkup since Mocha hasn’t ever had one (except for being weighed for medication and stuff). The vet weighed both of them and Mocha had lost quite a bit of weight. He lost 9 oz (If I am remembering right) since July! Nothing in his diet had changed except from going to a pellet free diet to a tablespoon a week, which realistically would make him gain weight. We took x-rays and everything looked normal except his teeth (molars and incisors) were getting a tad bit long, but not long enough to put him under and file them down. I got a bad batch of hay this year so I though maybe he wasn’t eating as much hay so I bought some Oxbow Orchard grass which they are both nomming away on. The vet said to bring him back in if he continues to loose weight and we will file his teeth down.

Now for the current problem. I just walked into my room and found these two spots on my carpet:

Then when I soaked it up with vinegar and water it looked like this:

I know rabbits can have very dark pee but both my parents and my sister thought it looked like blood. Also the dribbling pee concerns me. Lulu had a URI about 1 or 2 years ago which is why my vet recommended we do a pellet free diet. I just started introducing pellets once a week about a month ago. I never though (if pellets is the problem) it would effect so soon. Now, it could be mocha because he was laying where the spot was all day yesterday and he is the one who has lost weight. I’m not really sure what I am asking but maybe just some advice? Does it look like blood to you? I know it is extremely rare to find blood in urine. I plan to call the vet tomorrow, but since its Christmas I don’t think anyone would be working.

Thanks for reading! I know it was long!

[RabbitPam]

Hi, Mocha,
I’m afraid it does look like blood to me as well. You could take a warm, damp cloth or paper towel and gently wipe his bum to see if any comes off directly from him, and if he flinches (like with a wound) or not. (If it was internal in his pee or poo.)
It’s a hard call because it’s xmas day, but I would plan to take him to the vet first thing tomorrow morning and get it checked no matter what.
Call today in case they have phone access for emergencies, and either make an appt. for the morning or ask to speak to the vet if you can. If your vet has email (mine does) you can email these pix to her and ask if you need to bring Mocha in, and is tomorrow soon enough. What I love about my own vet is that she’ll check her emails discreetly, even on a day off, when she’s not in the office or unavailable to answer calls because she’s with a patient. It’s a great way to communicate when you’re not sure it’s urgent. Worth a try. I think it could be related to the weight loss.

[mocha200]

RabbitPam; Thanks! I will try that! The hard thing is that I don’t know if it is Mocha or Lulu who is doing it. I looked at both of them and neither had blood on them so I am thinking they peed it out.

[mocha200]

My vet has 24 hour on call emergency service but I feel a little bad bothering them on Christmas.. I looked for an email they don’t give you an address, its just a built in email thing to their website and they say they reply within 3-5 days… Should I call?

[mocha200]

I called the vet this morning and she said to separate them and see which one is having pee dribbles. They have been separated for 8 hrs and no pee dribbles yet and there hasn’t been any since Tues. nigh. How long should I keep them separated for? A day? Two? Or until I find pee? I don’t really wanna wait until I find pee because if they really aren’t sick they may never dribble any. What do you think would be a good amount of time? Or would you suggest I call the vet tomorrow and ask.

[Sarita]

To me that looks like pee – did you try the hydrogen peroxide trick?

[Author]

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