Licking Urine?!

[Binkles]

Okay. So Little-Bit just peed on my bed again (dangit), but this time, she grabbed my attention because she had immediately decided to turn around and lick it up.

And not just casual licking; she was lapping it up FEVEROUSLY. And it was very noisy, hence it grabbing my attention. She’s never that noisy when she drinks her water, and she drinks from a crock.

She has plenty of fresh water all the time. I change and clean it every night. And she drinks most of it. She’s certainly not thirsty. I put her water bowl in front of her nose right after I caught her doing it and she was utterly disinterested.

I read up some on urine-sipping and apparently it’s something that some bunnies just do. It doesn’t harm them and there doesn’t appear to be any consistant particular cause for it. But my gosh, this is the first time I’ve ever caught her doing this. That’s not to say that she hasn’t done it in the past, of course, but it’s the first time I’ve heard/ seen it happen. What’s everybody’s opinion on this matter? =s

Here’s the interesting thing, though; when I google’d ‘bunny licking up urine’, the very FIRST article (and a bunch of similar ones thereafter) that is listed is this –http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/2008/9/rabbit-licked-own-urine.htm

I was floored! That- that’s almost EXACTLY what’s going on with Little-Bit-!! To the tee!!

Is there a pattern to urine licking after all..? Am I onto something here…??

Anyway, even though it doesn’t appear to be sludgey or anything, I’m leaning more and more towards wanting to have her checked out for a UTI. Though I still think it’s probably behavioural…it would be a precaution that would put me at ease a bit.

One last thing worth noting that, in general, the urine that Little-Bit leaves on my bed is considerably less orange and a LOT less smelly than the urine she leaves in her litterbox….in fact, when I lean my nose down to it, it bearly smells at all. Almost as if it were…a thought-out urination..

…

On a lighter note though, Little-Bit did actually sleep with me last night. In my bed.

Heavens, how she does love that bed. Whenever I block it off at the top, she gnaws at the bars of that door FURIOUSLY. As if she were trapped. (Of course, she isn’t. I’ve shown her that she has access to the floor.) And she will just SIT there in her ‘sintry’, waiting -expecting for me to open it back up. Staring at me. Endlessly.

[jerseygirl]

From that answer Dana gave, it sounds like the lapping up the pee isn’t something you need to worry too much about. Still, it must be weird to see. I remember someone else was seeing their buin do this but can’t recall the exact thread.

This and the pooping you mentioned in the behaviour forum really does sound like marking her space. To me anyway… With Jersey recently, I had begun to suspect a UTI with some smelly pee but it cleared up. However, her peeing on the floor did not. It too, was a clear, non smelly pee. I now think this latest behaviour of hers is a territorial issue……….so I completely understand when you say a “thought-out urination”! – lol

So Little-Bits habits are good aside from the peeing/pooping on the bed?

[luna]

Iv seen both my bunnies doing this. Before Henry was neutered he sprayed me every day and would always lick up a certain amount of it again. It became a little ritual of his.

 

When i first got Poppy she would go over to Henrys cage, and pee right beside his litter box and would turn around and lick it up. So both these cases were to do with marking behaviour. They havent exhibited this kind of behaviour since so its abit of a mystery to me!

[xParadise]

Nixon occasionally licks up his urine too, but only off carpet/towels. It’s nothing to worry about, for some reason rabbits just do it.
About the urine on your bed being less yellow/smelly, I believe it gets smellier and darker in colour the longer it sits. I’m assuming you notice pee on your bed right away, and her litterbox probably isn’t cleaned as quickly as you notice the urine on your bed.
So I think it’s just not sitting there long enough to get dark and smelly, is all.
But it’s always best to have these things checked to rule out any possibility of a health problem. I would say it’s likely more behavioural now, but it doesn’t hurt to find out for sure.

[peepi&warri]

Warri likes to lick up his urine too. He’s been better about it lately since he’s been having better litterbox habits though. I just like to think of it as him cleaning up after himself, even if it is gross!

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