stained bunny…Please Help!!

[Kerisa]

Hi all,
   
    I am so glad that I found this site, we have lots of issues.  I have a little Holland Lop boy named Merlin that just turned 1 in June.  I’ve already read some of the info provided.  We will be starting over with the potty training.  He uses his pan, his house, my front door, in front of my bookcase,etc.. He’s decided that it’s going to be PottyFest everywhere.

What I was wondering first is:  How do you clean pee stains on fur?  He used to be white, but now his butt and underside are stained.  I’ve tried using bunny shampoo and water, but it didn’t work.  I also tried washing with a cloth, no luck. 

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

[ea hurse]

good question, i have no answer myself but am interested in the reply to this – Blue has the same issue, her bum fur is yellowy. i guess it must be quite common?

[Elena Niznik]

Hiya kerisa i’m not too sure of the answer but whenever my Boo gets pee pee stained hocks i usually fill a bath/tub with about an inch of water. Put a towel in the bottom of the bath so she has some grip. I use some gentle shampoo or soap in the water. If you do this try and hold the front half of your bunny out of the water. This may stop him struggling. Gently massage the hind leg/tail area with your fingers and remove any poops. Tip the water out and then replace it with clean water to rinse the bunny.

Generally bunnies hate being wet and will lick themselves for hours afterwards. Hope that helps

[Gravehearted]

Hi Kerisa,

Welcome! Is Merlin neutered yet? Bunnys that haven’t been neutered generally have a harder time with litterbox training.

Spot cleaning is generally the best method, but it doesn’t sound like that’s working so well. Did you try gentle scrubbing with the washcloth? Honestly – the stains aren’t hurting the rabbit and bathing can be high stress. I’d be inclined to try spot cleaning again and then just let it be if it’s not working.

[BinkyBunny]

WELCOME KERISA!!  Glad you found us!

Well, unless there is some real miracle stuff, even if the pee is cleaned off, fur can still be stained. Which means it will need to wear off.  Though bunnies have several big molts throughout the year, they do shed and it should wear off. 

Many bunnies pull their bum up to pee and usually are able to keep themselves fairly stain free. 
So I wonder what’s going on with messy Merlin .    I mean why is his rear and underside so stained?  I do understand why bunny feet can be this way, since they are stepping into their litterbox.  But as far as his rear and underside goes.  Is his fur longer? Does he spray?  Does he hang out on his pee? (meaning if he pees on something, will he run over it later, hang out on it)  Or does he hang out in his litterbox?  Have I bombarded you with enough questions yet?

Does he have any spine issues? I have a lop with a crooked spine, and she has a stained rear  as she can’t fully lift her tail up.  So i am usually spot cleaning to keep her bum from getting urine scald.    

[Kerisa]

Wow, thanks for the very quick responses everyone! Let me try to answer your ?s.

I have not neutered him. I figured that since he is sweet and an only child that he didn’t need to be. I didn’t really know how to litter train and I now see that I gave way too much freedom way too soon. We’re starting over at square one now, so hopefully that will help with pebble land.

I was watching him today and I did notice that he peed a little over the edge of his pan. Maybe he’s laying down on it later? And yes he does kinda just hang out in his pan. He just sits there munchin on hay. He has a basic kitty litter pan. Should he have a different kind?

He doesn’t have any health issues. I take him to a rabbit savvy vet and she says that he’s healthy.

I’m a worry wart and am so afraid that I’m doing him wrong. I just want him to be healthy and happy. My boyfriend got him from his coworker who kept him locked up “because he was bad”. The guy was going to sell him to someone else for something unspeakable. He had to save him. We don’t believe he’s bad, he just does bunny things ( eating baseboards, books, shoes,etc.).

Anyways, I’m learning alot from all of the info here and will be making many changes. Thank you all so much, we will consider you our extended family. Merlin is our first baby, so I’ll be needing lots of advice. Thanks again

[Elena Niznik]

Hiya Kerisa im so glad you have found this site helpful, i am new to rabbits too and it has helped me alot everyone is so nice.
I still think you should consider having merlin neutered it will reduce the urge for him to scent mark and will also help with potty training. It will also help prolong his life and keep him a much happier bun rather than a hormonal monster.

As for litter pans it’s really up to yourself but I personally would recommend a high corner pan it reduces the amount of over spill. But it’s best if you watch Merlin for a while and see where he likes to poo. If its a corner then a corner pan is recommened but really the type of pan is more or less determined by your bunnies toilet habits.

I’m still new to bunnies so that’s about all I can offer. Hope it all goes well, oh yeah dnt worry about not doing merlin well by the sounds of things you saved his life and he will be much happier you just need more confidence. x

[ea hurse]

Blue has an extra large cat-tray, i found the corner pans too small for her, she needs to be totally ‘in’ the tray. she sits in it and watches the world go by, she’ll even try to meatloaf in there and will just rearrange herself until she fits! i guess thats partly why she’s stained. but she is neutered, she doesnt spray and she hasnt got any back problems that have been identified. and she doesnt smell of urine so i guess with her it is just the staining. i thought i imagined that it was looking less yellow today but the moulting thing makes sense, that’ll be why!

[BinkyBunny]

It sounds like you have a happy healthy bun, and no it doesn’t sound like you are doing anything wrong.   Sorry if my million and one questions may have made you feel that way.

You have a big heart and I am so glad you saved him from the "unspeakable". 

Usually cat litter pans work just fine, but some are too short.   I actually use a taller edged one, as well as another one that has a lip on it (it was meant to keep one of my bunnies from throwing her litter everywhere, but it worked well at keeping urine in.

LItter training a unaltered bunny can be more challenging as their hormones are telling them to mark their territory and they can also add a little extra pungent odor to their droppings and urine as they mark.  As well as they can be more destructive for longer  – doesn’t mean a altered bunny will become an angel.  EGADS NO! But it can many times curb this behavior.   Did you know there actually a higher risk of cancer in unaltered males?  Though it’s not as nearly as high as unaltered females.  

Ultimately, of course, the choice to neuter a bunny is up to the owner, and there are many bunnies that live happy healthy wonderful lives without the surgery.  I just wanted to throw out there some of the reason why neutering is encouraged.   So, okay, I’m off my soap box!

BTW:  I love the term Pebble Land.  I call it the Poopfest, but Pebble Land is one I haven’t heard before.  Maybe we should all put our terms together and make up a new bunny dictionary.

[Kerisa]

I love the idea of a bunny dictionary. I think it would be neat to see all of the terms that everyone else uses. I call it Pebble Land because when you step on one barefooted it feels like a little pebble.

I live in an apartment and have no idea if the previous tenants had a pet that may have had its own carpet accidents. What I wanted to know is if you all know how I can clean my whole carpet. Maybe Merlin can smell someone else’s marking, or maybe just his own previous spots?

I’ve also been looking at those cube condo pictures. Are there instructions somewhere that I’m not seeing? Merlin’s house is a very large dog carrier, but I would like to give him an upgrade. He’s very spoiled.:-)

Also, thanks for the neutering info. I had no idea about the cancer risks. I’m going to call his vets office on monday for more info.

[Kerisa]

one more thing, thats my Merlin in the picture. He’s got chinchilla colored spots on his eyes, back and tail. His left eye is blue and his right one is both blue and brown. He weighs 4lbs now, he’s doubled in size since i got him.

[BinkyBunny]

Well, i am pretty lucky that my bunnies don’t make many urine mistakes, but Bailey used to be a challenge, and this is what I did:

I first pre-treat spots with white vinegar and club soda together work well as spot cleaners.  I use a spray bottle with a 50/50 mix of regular water and  vinegar, and then use the club soda, and then I blot with paper towels.    I also have a steam cleaner and that works really well! On top of the vinegar pre-treatment.   There are steam cleaner soaps that are meant for pet stains and odors.   If you don’t have one, you can probably fine one to rent.

Even with that though, pets can really sniff out the most micro remnant of smell.   But either way, I think your bunny may be marking due to his hormonal need to mark.  So you will have to claim the terrtory as  your own,  and as soon as he marks, put him back into his pen as soon as you catch him.   You will have to be diligent about it.   It can take days or even weeks for him to get it.

IF, he still is marking and you’ve tried training for a long time, then that may be another reason to consider neutering.   (again, sooo not meaning to push it on you. I just know that the hormones  that drive their instinct to mark can be stubborn when they are unaltered)

The cubes – I don’t have instructions on my site, (but it is on the "to do" list.)
However, here is a link to another site that does have instructions:  http://members.aol.com/bunrabtoo/neatcubs.html

When you get it done, share pics of it!  I can even add them to the "Cool Habitats" section.

[minilop111]

talking of staining, if its really bad you could shave a little hair if it bothers you that much. I’d like to mention that there are bunny "bleaching" products that work like bleach although don’t contain bleach. I’d also like to say if its any consolation, my dog has a stain from a pen he got into on his tongue it hasn’t faded but I’ve learned to look at it as an attribute rather than a flaw maybe if you posted pix people would better understand the extent.

Also my mini lop Lenny has elongated ears and the get into his litter box if you wet them and let them soak with the shampoo it usually goes away

[minilop111]

really does being neutered really make a difference, i had no problem teaching My Lenny potty training

[Hedi]

My Carrera used to have a mess on her bottom. It was always dirty and I had to clean it. It seemed once I got her fixed it magically went away. Shes perfect now with no yucky spots. She has two extra large cat littler pans in one corner of her house. She jumps back and forth between them and i add extra clean hay everyday. I think fixing her was the biggest help though.

My Pookie has a big little box in her house and then right outside her house there is a spot she likes to poo/pee in so i put a small her littler box there. They both use that one and it cuts down on "stray poos" i used to find.

[MooBunnay]

I had a very stained foster bunny, he had been livign next to an unneutered boy in the shelter that had sprayed pee all over him then we he moved into my house he was very scared for a couple days and he peed in a corner and then sat in it because he was too afraid to come out from that corner. 

To fix his stains my boyfriend and I had to do some clipping with scissors, this was because he was sooooo stained that his fur was matted with pee.  I wouldn’t recommend this because it scared me to death and I couldn’t even watch when my BF clipped because I was SO scared that his skin would get cut. It has been approximately 4 months since then, and now all of his stains have grown out (except my girl bun peed a bit on the kitchen floor yesterday, and he stepped right into it and now has an orange feetie).  I would recommend letting it grow out on its own.  I also have a pebble land in my house and it is due to my two boys having a "poop war" over the territory, so I would assume that it is a territorial thing. 

[skunklionshow]

I wasn’t sure if this post was about bunny fur stains or bunnies peeing all over the house….sorry maybe I’m a little slow after work today!  Here’s my thoughts/recommendations:

1.  I use the dollar store dish pans for litterboxes w/ our therapy bunnies.  They are nice and deep and generally a good size for med.-sm bunns.  Plus they are only $1, so if it gets really nasty, I don’t feel so bad dumping it in the trash!

2.  Trigger, our white rex bunny, often gets very dirty paws.  Our classrooms are not really the cleanest of places.  We have a staff member that takes him home and gives him a bath w/ bunny shampoo.  He seems to be ok in the tub, atleast from what she tells us.

3. Trigger is also unneutered (I’m still trying to raise the funds).  He sprays everywhere!  At night, we cover the tops of the cage w/ a blanket/sheet, depending on the weather.  He has even sprayed the top of cage…I don’t know how he did that…you know the ceiling of his cage!  He also never fit in the corner litterboxes.  He would also knock it over, so the dishpan works great!

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By motherfish2000 on 03/05/2007 6:05 PM
really does being neutered really make a difference, i had no problem teaching My Lenny potty training

Absolutely!!  Even though bunnies do naturally go in one corner and therefore litterbox training is not that difficult, USUALLY rabbits that are not neutered still feel the need to mark because their hormones drive them to be territorial, and marking by poo, pee marks and spraying is all part of that game. Not only that the smell of an nonneutered bunny is usually much more pungent (especially in males)   But of course there are exceptions and it sounds like you really got lucky with Lenny.  He sounds perfect!

Also, could you tell me about what bleaching products you are talking about?  I’ve never heard of any for bunnies. Usually, even if the area is clean, just stained, it is almost impossible to get the stain out and has to grow out, so I would be interested in learning about any safe products that can do this.

[minilop111]

i found the product in my local pet store though i haven’t seen it for a while maybe it doesn’t work, but i assume it does

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