dirty fee!

[lilmizzsnickerz]

my bunny domino has the run of the small room with a box and cat carryer making up a area he can get away from everyone i clean out the room everyday and hes litter trained hes got white feet and the bottoms are really dirty now and i tried rubbing them with a damp cloth but nothing happened any sugestions on how i can clean them?

[BinkyBunny]

WELCOME lilmisssnickerz.  There’s not much you can due about stained feet after the fact.  There are bunny shampoos, that may clean, but it will not whiten up stained feet that much.  Over time the feet on his fur will grow out the stained fur will fade out (like how our skin can deal with stained permanent markers etc)

So really the best solution is preventing stained feet.  My question is how does his feet get so stained?  Does he hang out in his litterbox alot, does he dig in it? What’s in his litterbox?  What kind of litter do you use?  You might try putting a little pile of hay over the litter as his urine can seep down to below the hay better, and his feet can stay dry.     I am not sure what kind of litter it is, but you may need to scoop out just the urine soaked portion more often, and replace with fresh litter – just that part, not the whole box.  I keep little grocery bags nearby just for a quick scoop up. 

I also have a tight netted screen that goes over the litter, so that the urine goes through and I can shopvac or dump the poo easily.   It’s tight netted enough that it doesn’t cause sore hocks, and they also don’t hang out in there all day.

Hope that helps.

[lilmizzsnickerz]

he has carpeted floor his litter box has hay over it i think he gets it from the garden where he goes out to everyday

[BinkyBunny]

OOOHHHH….He actually has dirty feet and or dirt stained feet, not urine stained feet. (much more common and I didn’t know he played outside), so in that case, you can prevent further dirt staining by taking a damp wash cloth and wiping his feet after he plays. Use a dry paper towel, or cloth to dry.   Of course be careful to have him secured as a bunny’s feet can be sensitive, and a rabbit can kick out and injure themselves (even break their own back from kicking)   

For now, if his feet are really dirty, you can do some spot cleaning with mild bunny shampoo, and it may help get rid of the brown, but dirt can stain too.   Doesn’t mean that your rabbit is dirty of course, just that it will need to fade out on it’s own.   Be sure when you use shampoo to thoroughly rinse so your rabbit doesn’t digest it.

As far as what kind of shampoo, rabbit skin is extremely sensitive.  Even shampoo meant for human babies can be too harsh.  So you need to find one that is mild enough. I have to spot clean my bunny Bailey often, and so the vet gave me one specifically her problem.   (she has a crooked spine, so I have to help keep her bum clean of urine & poo.)   

There are shampoos that are meant for bunnies. You can call and see if your vet recommends one for rabbits   I’ve read that Hy-Lyte is good.  I use a similar product from that same brand but it is meant for poop cleaning.  You don’t need that. 

I wouldn’t recommend using shampoo on his feet every single time, just to get out the really dirty stuff, but if you can just wipe it off with a damp cloth that would be better for his skin.

Anyone else have some safe cleaning tips to offer? 

This has sort of been an ongoing question over the years, and since bathing is not recommended in general, it’s not a subject that has tons of information. I will ask my vet and other rabbit savvy people what they also recommend for spot cleaning dirt.  

[CaptJackRabbit]

Is there a problem with dirty feet? I am asking b/c I have the same problem, but he is purely an indoor bunny. He just likes to dig in his litter (Yesterday’s News) and bunch of newspaper, so his feet are gotten pretty dirty. We’re just starting litter box training, so it’s not that much pee to be soaking or anything.

[x liddo bunny x]

try the netting liek binkly bunny said. i am going to go home and try that. my bunny recently isnt moving too much out of the litterbox because that is her “safe” place so lately she has been sitting there so her feet are stained but before then, her feet were slowly getting pretty white. eventually ur bun should if she doesnt sit in her pee often. but try spot cleaning. if she is sitting in her box too long, take a damp cloth and clean them.

[Gravehearted]

CaptJackRabbit – it won’t hurt your bun to have newspaper paws 🙂

[CaptJackRabbit]

Thanks, good to know! He just has so much fun digging and bunching up newspaper that I didn’t want to take that away unless there’s a reason beyond dirty feet (not to belittle, I wish they were bright white, of course). So far, it’s not like when he cleans himself he’s getting messy on his face, too.

[x liddo bunny x]

mine had news paper paws right before the spaying and i thought it was pretty funny, apparently she didnt though…. she keeped on licking them. =P silly bun. well now that its been about a week, they no longer look like news paper paws but she has pee on the heals of her hind paws. poor baby. she managed to clean the tips though. ever since the surgery she has gotten tidier. all she does is clean herself. except for the hard to reach areas like her bottom. sometimes poo gets stuck but she counts on me to get them out. =)

[lilmizzsnickerz]

thanks i just tried to spot clean his feet but it didnt really help.. boys will be boys lol he cleans him self 24/7 so i dont think i am doing much good lol

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