Bunny urinating on himself inside cage only

[Bun]

I moved into a new apartment 1 month ago. Since the move, my rabbit keeps peeing on himself in his cage and gets soaking wet. I don’t think it’s UTI because he only pees in his cage, never when running around the apartment..so he can control it. Normally he would only pee in his litter box which is inside his cage but now he also pees in the cage itself, and then is stuck sitting in it. he also seems to be urinating more. My vet said his blood tests from a couple months ago came back negative so the rabbit is probably healthy and the peeing is behavioral, but this behavior is not slowing down. I’m now having to bath him and clean his cage daily. Any ideas on what’s going on with my rabbit and what I can do?

[Asriel and Bombur]

Honestly it sounds like it could be E-Cuniculi, This requires a special blood test, but that often comes up as a false negative, so it’s a very unreliable test. A positive is only shown in bunnies in the top tiers of the infection. Kidney issues are common with EC as it tends to affects the kidneys and brain/neurological functions. My bunny Bombur has chronic EC and kidney issues related to it, and peeing himself and his cage was the only sign we really had that something was wrong. We assumed at first it was behavioral because, like you, he didn’t pee outside the box when he had play time. He also had been urinating and drinking excessively, and still does during a really bad flare up.

You can ask the vet to treat with a standard 28 day course Panacur or Oxibendazole if EC is a possibility. The drug won’t do any harm and will only help him if he does have EC. The drug takes a week or two to fully take affect, so you wouldn’t see immediate results. The drugs can also cause low white blood cell levels, so you’d need to have a blood test at 2 and 4 weeks of treatment to make sure everything is in order.

[Wick & Fable]

It could still be that he cannot control it, so when he feels it coming, he’s simply going back to the cage instead.

Have you noticed an increase in water intake? I would also consider the flooring of the cage, and seeing if you can expand the litterbox and/or put more absorbent things in the cage so it’s not as wet.

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.

[Bun]

I read up on EC.. it sounds so scary! I’ve had my rabbit for 5 months and he doesn’t go outside and hasn’t been around others animals. Did your rabbit eventually develop other signs of the illness other than peeing his cage? I’ll do whatever I need to for my little bun since I love him so much, I’m just trying to avoid going to the vet and accumulating a large bill unless absolutely necessary 😮

[Bun]

He seems to be drinking a lot, but I hear that rabbits usually do? I wouldn’t say he’s peeing like crazy but he’s peeing noticably more.I’ve been putting down dog pee pads in his cage because they’re more absorbant. It’s not perfect but it helps. He wet himself 2 nights ago but then didn’t wet himself yesterday or this morning. Does that determine anything?

[Asriel and Bombur]

Bombur only has the urinary symptoms and some mild eye sight issues. Other than that you’d never know he had it. He tested positive for it mainly because his counters were so high. Once he’s on treatment for a month he’s good to go until his next 3 months. Bombur has a chronic case of it though, whereas most buns will likely just have one or two flare ups in their life. You could still ask to test for a UTI or treat with antibiotics, but if those don’t work I suggest asking for a 28 day course of panacur to be safe. When it’s just urinary symptoms sometimes vets won’t catch it or notice it because EC is usually associated with head tilt and things like that. Peeing and excessive drinking does seems like there is something going on.

[Bun]

Because of what you say i’ll take him in. Thank you so much for your help! Really appreciate it.

[Author]

Messages