Excessive peeing

[Jas]

Hi everyone,

I am concerned about my bun Qiviut. She is a little over a year and is spayed. About a week and a half ago she started peeing little amounts everywhere which is very weird because she is litter trained. She also seemed very uncomfortable. I live in Inuvik NT Canada so I had to send her to Whitehorse to have her checked by a vet. They did blood and urine analyses but nothing really conclusive came of it. She definitely has some sludge in her urine, but they couldnt see any crystals, also the bacterial cultures were sporadic ( maybe contaminated).SHe also is in the clear for diabetes or kidney disease. When I got her back she seemed fine again but she is still having little accidents at least twice a day in her cage. The pee is quite thick in the mornings. The vet gave my Baytril if the symptoms didnt go away and she has been on this for 1.5 weeks but still no improvement. She is still playing, drinking water and eating a lot ( A LOT). 

Does anyone have any suggestions or comments on how to help?

[Deleted User]

If tests came back inconclusive for a UTI, you might want to have your vet test for E. Cuniculi. I actually brought Bombur to the vet yesterday with a very similar issue, and this was her number one concern. They would do a completely different type of blood panel then they did for other urinary issues. It could be worth a shot.

Note: Bombur is only having urinary symptoms. I know EC is mostly associated with the neurological issues it can cause, but my vet told me the urinary and GI tract can show symptoms too.

[Wick & Fable]

Did they take a look at her teeth perchance or other items that could give her discomfort, like sounds/feelings of gassiness? Small pees are Wick’s symptom for his molar spurs are bothering him. He still eats and keeps all other health behaviors normal; he just pees more. It’s easy to rule out teeth issues when told the rabbit is still eating like normal, but I think it’s best to check, because Wick always eat, no matter what his teeth look like. Generally, can you think of anything that would be making her feel uncomfortable?

Did you try giving simethicone to relieve gasiness? Potentially a new food may have upset her stomach.

Also, were you given a probiotic to go along with Baytril? It’s an antibiotic, so it may upset her stomach. If you find it does, ask for a probiotic. Antibiotics ruin the gut flora in rabbits which help digest food, but taking a probiotic an hour or two hours after antibiotic administration helps replenish that flora.

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.

[Deleted User]

Wick: that’s interesting you say that. The vet told us that three of Bombur’s back teeth look like the might need some fixing in the future. She said something about him being a lop makes him prone to back teeth issues.

[Wick & Fable]

@ A&B: Correct. Small rabbit breeds have smooshed, small faces so the teeth, cheeks, etc.. are more prone to becoming proximal and causing problems, or grow and develop in a way that’s abnormal and cause problems. Ergo, Wick – a runt Netherland dwarf with such bad teeth problems. I took a look at his teeth again since BN posted about her rabbit’s teeth and my goodness Wick’s teeth just look terrible… I’ll post a pic later, haha.

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.

[Jas]

Hi everyone, sorry it took so long for me to respond. So the vet gets back tomorrow so I am hoping that he can see Qiviut this week. She is still having tones of accidents.

i will ask them to look at blood, and teeth when he is here. This has been a month now I feel so bad for her!

[DanaNM]

Agree about teeth. When Moose had a rotten tooth, his main symptom was drinking lots of water and peeing all over the place.

. . . 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.  

[Jas]

It might be the teeth, but I don’t know. Its weird she almost doesn’t know it is coming. She is having most of the accidents in her cage ( about 95% of the time), and it is when she is eating. She also doesn’t respond right away , until she is sitting in a puddle of her pee. She also starts stomping when she has an accident. Great for me because I can clean it up right away but I feel like she is doing this due to discomfort. I really am thinking it is a UTI, but maybe an anaerobic bacteria, which would explain why the bacteria culture was inconclusive.

But then again I am not a vet, and have been obsessing over this for a month now/going crazy.

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Sorry to hear about her condition I’ve got nothing else to add except for possible changes in diet? Have you made any changes to her diet lately? Rabbits can react strongly to certain vegetables and herbs. Parsley is a common culprit for pee-issues, and carrot and celery are known for causing mushy poops.

Our Breintje developed excessive pee issues after we introduced parsley to his diet. We’ve been to the vet with him several times, and they couldn’t find any signs of a UTI or diabetes. We found the culprit by pure accident: my father mentioned that parsley was called “piskroed” in his local Limburgisch dialect, this literally translates to “pissweed”. Subtle… but Breintjes problems soon disappeared after we cut out parsley.

I hope you’ll find a solution soon!

[Wick & Fable]

Oh parsley… what a trouble maker.

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.

[Jas]

Sorry for the late reply everyone, No diet changes at all. The vets started her on estrogen treatments. I thought it was working…but its worse again. I was away for a week and my cousin was taking care of her. I got this great message saying i think she is getting better. I came back and her cage was dry and so were her feet. I was so happy. However two days later she has been have 5 large accidents a day. they are no longer little pees but big ones… Not sure what to do next.

[Deleted User]

Did you test for E Cuniculi?

[Wick & Fable]

What tests did your vet do to decide to use estrogen? I did a cursory search and it seems estrogen promotes blood vessel growth in the bladder, so was the suspicion there was something physically wrong with the bladder, rather than a UTI?

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.

[Jas]

So I have to start by saying out vet service is limited where I am. No blood tests were don’t. The vet checked the urine and did an ultrasound. everything was inconclusive in February. The vet is coming again this week. I am hoping he can check her urine again for any since of a infection. If that isn’t conclusive again i am wondering if anti-inflammatories or checking for EC is the next step. This is so frustrating but the worst part is how soaked she is everyday. no matter how much i clean her.

What do you mean by physically wrong with the bladder?

[DanaNM]

To keep her clean while you keep trying to figure out the problem, you can use puppy pee pads in her cage.

. . . 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.  

[Wick & Fable]

I’m just wondering why estrogen, because I haven’t heard of using this to treat UTIs or other more common bladder issues!

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.

[Jas]

Oh, well my rabbit was spayed. The vet suspected since no conclusive UTI symptoms were found, then maybe spaying the rabbit dropped estrogen levels too low. I guess estrogen plays a role in urinary control and estrogen supplementation has been used in dogs cats and rabbits.
Unfortunately doesn’t seem to work for mine

[Jas]

Ok so update. Blood came back with a little decrease In White blood cell count which may mean her immune system is comprised. We are going to try treating for EC next. Urine came back normal . If that doesn’t work then test for diabetes incipitis … I’m running out of ideas

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