Urinary issues wet bottom

[Cocothelop]

We have a female holland lop rabbit around 6 years old, free roam, she has always been litter trained, and still uses her litter box. She always has kept herself very clean, just recently she has started peeing on herself.. took her to the vet and they prescribed an antibiotic (baytril) to clear up any infection or possible uti, as well as a pain med. (melaxodin? I think) which didn’t help. We’ve been washing her daily and applying sudocream but she is still having some hair loss, after another trip to the vet we were prescribed another week of the pain medication and told to just keep washing her daily and applying cream to avoid any infection. Has anyone had this issue with their bunny? And what was the cause? she does have quite a bit of loose skin and what looks like a “skirt” around her bottom, but has had that for a while and never had urinary issues. Could it be just that her skin folds are getting in the way? And the daily cleaning is now a forever thing? She must be uncomfortable.. have another appointment at the vet this week for them to do a recheck but just want to know if anybody else has experienced this and how it was handled/ did it stop happening. It’s been about a month of this now. Thank you

[GlennTheLionhead]

Given her age it could be some arthritis developing and preventing her from squatting properly, resulting in her peeing on herself. There are possibly several other explanations such as UTIs but in my personal experience with an older bun that had started to pee on herself, the cause was arthritis. Although arthritis in itself can cause UTIs and cystitis due to the bunny not being able to squat to empty their bladder properly.

Just a side note, are you going to an exotics vet? Sometimes vets that arent familiar with rabbits will just prescribe bytril for any urinary related problems rather than properly exploring the issue and underlying cause.

Are there any other symptoms such as increased drinking, increased urination, straining/pain when peeing, decreased movement, hesitation to jump? Any other symptoms however small are worth mentioning to your vet to help them pinpoint the issue

[Cocothelop]

Thanks for your reply! The vet I am going to says they do exotics/ avian/ cats and dogs. The only thing I have really noticed is that she seems to be sitting in the litter box for longer periods of time, and yes hesitation to jump on some higher objects like a chair, which she used to hang out on all the time, and started to do again while she was on the pain medication.  She jumps in and out of the litter box fine. Arthritis is a thing I’ve started to worry about upon doing some google searching and seems like a possibility so definitely will mention these things to the vet.

[Wick & Fable]

How is her movement in general? Is her area, including that around the litterbox, floored appropriately (i.e., not slippy)?

How is her eating and have you introduced anything new to her diet? Urinating on herself could be a result of producing more urine than usual, so any chance she is seemingly drinking a lot more water? This can stem from organ failure problems or dental problems, for example. Considering her age, it may be wise to do a blood panel at the next visit — even if not related, it’d be good to have a baseline for her.

You can find treatment information on UTI’s here: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Urinary_tract_infection#Treatment

I will also throw in that incontinence is a less-known symptom of EC infection — not saying your rabbit has it, but just throwing things on your radar: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Encephalitozoon_cuniculi

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.

[Cocothelop]

In general movement seems pretty good, she still runs around as usual, gets excited for her food and runs circles around me. The flooring is not slippery, and she has lots of rugs around for her as well. No change in diet and she is still eating very well. She is not drinking more than usual, she drinks about a bowl and a half a day. Definitely will be asking for some further investigation at this visit. Thank you for sharing these links and I will ask my vet about checking for EC !

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Hi, I’m sorry that I don’t have anything to add about the issue itself, but it sounds like she might benefit from rabbit massage to keep her more mobile. That’s what I started to do as our bridge bunny Breintje aged.

Rabbit massage uses 2 techniques: long strokes with the flat hand or thumb, and making circular movements with the hand or thumb.

Strokes with the flat hand are for relaxation: I always started and ended the massage with long nose to tail strokes, and alternating hands to always have a hand on the rabbit.

Strokes with the thumb are to relax large muscles like the muscles of the back. I gently (!) ran a thumb on both sides of his spine, both downwards and upwards against the fur

Circles with the hand are to relax a whole joint: put a hand on a shoulder or hip and make large circles with light pressure. The warmth of your hand is an extra bonus.

Circles with the thumb are for getting nasty knots out of muscles. Breintje had shoulder issues, so I often relaxed them with a hand first, and then I followed the edge of the shoulder blade while making small circles with my thumb. Often I felt small muscle knots pop out, followed by a lot of happy purring.

 

More general info about rabbit massage: they’re frail, so keep pressure light at all times. Avoid massaging the neck and be very gentle with the muscles around the spine.

The rabbit should always be free to walk away or change their posture if they feel uncomfortable, so do it on the floor or on the sofa. Some bunnies get so relaxed that they dribble a bit of pee, so having a towel or a puppy pad under them will help.

It’s important that the rabbit can relax fully, so I put my phone on silent, remove jewelry, roll up my sleeves and tie my hair. This way they won’t be startled by sudden movements of loose hair or clothes, or sounds. Massage is a great thing to do before bed, because it’s quiet outside and rabbits love to socialise late in the evening. It’s very relaxing for both bunny and human too.

I always start and end the massage with long nose to tail strokes. When one hand is at the tail, the other starts on the nose so there’s constant stroking. This may be enough for the first couple of times: rabbits need some time to get used to being massaged. Follow your bunny’s cues to see how far you can take it. It took Breintje a couple of months before I could help him with his hips. The legs of a rabbit can be a very private area for them.

The rabbit will tell you if something is painful by tensing their muscles. Sometimes they grind their teeth too. Closing your eyes and feeling their tension is a good way of finding the problem areas. Keep the touch very light for the first couple of sessions, so the rabbit enjoys it. Then it won’t startle as much if a muscle knot pops. That hurts a bit, but the rabbit will feel the relief too.

Once they know you’re helping them with the pain with the massages, you may be in high demand. Breintje sometimes really demanded one, even if I was just about to leave the house. When he was so adamant he always had a knot in the same spot in his left shoulder.

Breintje had a special way of telling me he needed one: he jumped onto the sofa and thumped if I wasn’t on it. He always sat at an angle so I could reach everywhere, and he learned that that angle meant massage. So he parked himself in the right angle, walked a step backwards and pressed his butt against my leg with a little wiggle: you may proceed! 😆

[Cocothelop]

Oh that’s wonderful!! I’ll have to try that. Thank you

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