Bunny peed on herself??

[babybella]

Yesterday I was holding my bunny when I realized I needed to water the garden, so I carried her outside with me. She doesn’t love being carried around while I’m doing other things like that, but I’ve done it a few times before and she doesn’t seem to hate it either. Anyway, this time I felt something wet on my arm and realized she had peed on me. Unusual for her, but I thought maybe I had just been holding her for too long without giving her a potty break. She got some pee on her tail, too, but I assumed that was because I was holding her in an awkward position. But then today when I got home from work, I noticed that her tail was wet again, and there was a small puddle of pee in the middle of her pen. She’s still been using the litterbox just fine, and although it seems to smell worse than usual, there have been no significant changes as far as the color, consistency, and amount of pee. So I’m hoping it’s not a big deal, but I am definitely concerned. It just seems odd that it would happen two days in a row. Am I overreacting, or should I be worried? And if it is a real issue, what should I do about it?

[LongEaredLions]

She probably got wet because she peed on the non-absorbent floor instead of in the litterbox.
How old is she? The changes you described in the odor, and the not-peeing-in-the-box could be caused by teenager bunny hormones, which means its time for her spay.

[babybella]

That makes a lot of sense! I’ve been debating whether or not to get her spayed, since there aren’t a lot of rabbit-friendly vets in my area (and they’re absurdly expensive), plus it makes me cringe just to think about putting her through surgery but I know it would help with a lot of potential health/behavior issues so I’ll probably do it anyway. She’s about 5 months old now… how long do you think I should wait?

[JackRabbit]

As part of your decision on spaying, please consider the health issue . . . 80% chance of uterine cancer in unspayed females.

[Stickerbunny]

The risk to females is very high, due to the high rate of reproductive cancer in them. So, most vets recommend a spay before they are two years old. At five months, she’s starting to enter teenager territory and you may notice some negative behavior – marking, spraying, scenting, aggression, chewing, digging and over time perhaps even a false pregnancy, which can turn them highly destructive as their nesting instinct has them shredding everything they can to build a nest (even your walls).

Most vets will spay around 6 months of age. House rabbit society has a list of questions to ask a vet to make sure they know what they are doing with bunnies.

[babybella]

Ok I’m really starting to freak out a little now. When I got home from work today there was just one tiny puddle next to the litterbox, but now there’s like a little trail of pee that follows her everywhere she goes! I cleaned up the puddle and dried off her tail with cornstarch when I first got home, so I know she’s not just hopping through it and trailing it around. It seems like it’s just leaking out and she doesn’t even seem to notice. She’s still acting like her normal happy self, but I’m worried. Could it be a uti or something? How can I help her?

-Thanks for the advice about having her spayed, by the way. To be honest I did not intend to do it when I first got her, but I have never been this attached to a pet before… I would do just about anything to keep her safe and healthy. So it’s worth the cost and temporary trauma she might experience, especially if the risk is that high!!

[manic_muncher]

Yes, it could be a sign that she has a UTI. Sounds like a trip to the vet maybe be in order.

[babybella]

Thanks. I made an appointment for her for tuesday afternoon (that was the earliest I could get), I just hope she doesn’t get worse in the meantime.

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