Bunny suddenly pooping everywhere, but still only peeing in litterbox

[Cranberry the Bunny]

Hi there!

My bunny Cranberry is a 6 month old Holland Lop, and she has been litter trained since about 3 months. Obviously there’s always an occasional poop here or there, but this week she suddenly has started pooping constantly on the couch and the rug in front of it. She is a pretty high strung bunny and used to not let us pick her up, and liked pets but wasn’t very affectionate. Also as of this week, she suddenly has become insanely affectionate, running around our feet when she sees us and begging for pets (even thumping for attention when we haven’t noticed her) and she suddenly will let me pick her up. We had taken her to the vet a month ago because she had been destructive and we were wondering if she needed to be spayed. The vet was honestly not much help at all and basically said we didn’t need to spay her and she wasn’t sure if spaying her would improve her behavior anyway. She gave us a quote for the procedure and it was $300 which we can’t afford at the moment (I got laid off recently.)

So I have two questions.

First of all, is $300 a normal price for spaying? I had looked up general rates before and that seems expensive to me.

Second (and most important), is this pooping her marking her territory/does she need to be spayed? We’re really hoping we can avoid that at the moment, as it’s so expensive and we didn’t trust the vet we met with anyway. Is there some other reason that she might suddenly poop everywhere?

Thanks in advance!

[Asriel and Bombur]

To be honest, I would go to a more bunny-savvy vet. This vet doesn’t sound all that great if they’re saying they aren’t sure if a spay will fix hormonal behaviors or if they don’t think its necessary to spay a female.

Her hormones sound like they have decided to finally peep through, and yes spaying will fix this behavior. It won’t fix it right away, but within a month you should notice a positive behavior change. She might get worse before she gets better (known as a post-spay craze when hormones are all over the place). Overall it will help. In the mean time you can just continue with the foundation you’ve been setting all along.

A spay is essential for the health and well being of a female bunny, as unspayed females over the age of 3 years old have a high risk of reproductive cancers. These cancers make it necessary to perform an emergency spay, which can sometimes be fatal. So it’s absolutely needed.

Spays are always going to be more expensive than a neuter because the surgery is more invasive. My boys were neutered for $350 each. It depends on the vet you go to. ASPCA vets and vets in large cities tend to charge in the $200-$300 range. There are low cost spay programs available, but at least in my area, $300 is around the norm depending on the level of care they give. If it’s only the surgery and then sending you home with pain meds… look for cheaper. The $350 I paid for each boy included 36 hours worth of after care at the vet, a 2 week follow up, and any pain meds or antibiotics they needed, so it was well worth it.

[DanaNM]

Hi there, welcome

Spaying should help, as all the behaviors you described sound hormone related. $300 actually sounds like a bargain!

But I agree with A&B, I would seek out a more rabbit savvy vet. Since spays are important to prevent reproductive cancers (studies have found 60- 75% occurrence of these cancers over the age of 4 in female rabbits), I’m surprised the vet didn’t encourage it (or think it would help with her behavior).

Rabbit vets are often listed as “exotics” vets. Sometimes even bird vets are experienced with rabbits. Best to find a trustworthy vet and save up until you can afford it. You can ask them how many spays they do per year, and what their pre- and post- op care would be. A good test is to make sure they give you pain meds for afterward, and they should NOT tell you to fast the bunny before the procedure.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Cranberry the Bunny]

Thanks so much! It’s hard to find a vet that specializes in rabbits/exotics around me but I’m definitely going to keep looking. That’s good to know that that’s about average price, I don’t know where the numbers I was looking at before came from.

[Asriel and Bombur]

She still has time. It’s not a rush to do it kinda thing. Yes, it’s obviously annoying. I have two unbonded bunnies (neutered) but they poop everywhere from not being bonded, so I feel you. But as long as it’s before she’s 2-3 you’ll be fine

[Kiki]

yep, definitely hormones. I just paid 300 for Indie’s spay

[Author]

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