Small pee spots

[fonziegirl]

I’ve noticed very small markings on the towel in my rabbit’s exercise pen. I took him to the vet three weeks ago, because I was concerned about a urinary tract infection or stones. The vet checked his bladder and felt around for stones and said everything seemed normal, but she put him on an antibiotic for precautionary reasons. He was on the antibiotic (Baytril) for two weeks, and everything seemed to be getting better. His pee is yellow, no signs of blood, and he is pooping the regular amount. He eats all of his vegetables (cilantro and romaine lettuce) on a daily basis and is very active; showing no signs of lethargy. I give him very few pellets and a lot of hay.  Today I went to clean his litter box, and I noticed small spots of pee again on his towel. Is it possible that he’s stepping in his pee in his litter box and tracking it on his paws? I try to clean his litter box at least once every other day. I use carefresh litter, so it is pretty absorptive. I’m very concerned about this! I’m not sure how old he is… I adopted him a couple of months ago and they said between 2-3 years because of his activity level…. but that’s not certain. Thoughts????

[BinkyBunny]

I think that if he was stepping in it and then causing urine spots from his feet, you would have seen that even while he was on antibiotics. Many times you can’t see any blood actually in the urine, but you can test out if there is actually blood. Put hydrogen peroxide on the spots and if it bubbles up like crazy, then it there most likely is blood in it.  Either way though this may be something that you will need to see the vet for again.  Did he vet do a urine test last time?  

[fonziegirl]

True! Well this morning I checked, and there were no spots… and I haven’t seen any spots since 2pm yesterday. He has urinated in his litter box which is a good sign. I grabbed the towel from yesterday morning and poured hydrogen peroxide on it… and it didn’t bubble at all. I am planning on taking him to the vet again… problem is, I’m a college student and what I had saved up for those “emergency instances”, I used a couple weeks ago. And no, we did not get a urine sample done. The vet tried for about 10 minutes, and he just would not pee. He showed no signs of discomfort or pain though, and she said typically when rabbits have something going on, they’ll react to the squeezing of their bladder… either by peeing or showing discomfort.

[tobyluv]

You could try to get a urine sample yourself to take to the vet. If you have a small cage to put him in for a short while, one with a wire floor, that you could slip a clean disposible pie plate underneath it and hopefully get a sample. I know that no one likes to have their rabbit on a wire floor, but that is one way to get a sample. Make sure that you have a clean jar to pour the sample into. That way, you wouldn’t have to take your bunny to the vet again (unless you think he needs to be seen) and maybe just the urinalysis wouldn’t be too costly.

[fonziegirl]

That’s a great idea! Thank you  

[jerseygirl]

Are you sure he’s not just marking (territorial) the towel? Some rabbits cannot resist peeing on absorbant things like towels, blankets, paper and cardboard.

[fonziegirl]

He is neutered! They neutered him back in November when I adopted him. I do have a male cat though… so it is possible he is being territorial. Is it even possible for a fixed rabbit to mark?

[jerseygirl]

Definitely possible. Well, it is the norm at my house! Usually neutered pets won’t do this as much though.
It’s always a good idea to get things checked out health wise as you have done. But changes in litter habits can be behavioural also.

[fonziegirl]

That has to be it then! It would make sense too because I find those spots near the edges of his pen… and today I looked in his cottage/box and there’s also a few tiny marks. How are you handling your bunnies? Obviously I don’t want him free roaming now that he might be marking.

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