stronger smell

[jerseygirl]

What would make my 9 month old female’s urine smell more lately?  It’s not overpowering, but more noticeable.  Before, I hardly noticed any smell.  Also, droppings a little smellier – I think it’s that coating that covers them. Thought that could be a territorial thing but the urine has me perplexed.  Would this indicate an infection? Would it be hormonal? She was spayed at 4 months.

Would like to read any other post on this but haven’t been able to find any so far.

[BinkyBunny]

We haven’t turned our “search” back on yet. So anything you search right now will come back empty. We are working on that.

Regarding the urine: Most likely it is due to hormones as she has reached sexual maturity. Not only do they put a that little coating on their droppings, but their urine also sends a STRONG message too. This gets much better after spaying. At the shelter, we can ALWAYS tell which bunny hasn’t been spayed and is in the peak of sexual maturity. The urine is VERY strong.

Some things in a bunny’s diet can also make a bunny’s urine smell funky – like I’ve heard basil can do this.

[Beka27]

so she IS spayed? have their been any changes in her diet or are you using a different litter that might not be masking the smell as well? are their any new animals in the house? i’m stumped. a visit to the vet might be in order to rule out any kind of infection.

[jerseygirl]

Yes, she’s definately spayed.  So she’d could be reaching sexual maturity now and still affected by hormones but not as much as she would if not spayed?  At 4 months, i thought she was entering ‘puberty’ due to some behaviours and had the op then. Wonder how long  puberty lasts for???

As for diet etc, everything the same.  Mainly variety of lettuces, bok choy, pellets and hay.  I use a paper litter too.  She does spend a lot of time outside grazing so maybe she’s sampling something new.  Her litter habits are unchanged also, she even comes in from outdoors to use her box – must be a prude!

[skunklionshow]

I know that Jessi’s pee really stinks after cilantro and sometimes other herbs.  Also when some veggies are more in season than others that impacts her pee.

I would still likely have the vet rule medical issues out.  But if she is indeed spayed, hormones would not be the likely cause.  When pets are spayed their uterus and ovaries are completely removed, therefore they no longer produce the hormones that are attributed to pee smell & breast tumors.  Anyone else?

[BinkyBunny]

OH! She’s spayed. Well, skunklion is right, hormones won’t be the cause for this.

Must be something in her diet. What is she eating exactly?

[jerseygirl]

oh yeah, my vet told me they remove the ovaries etc…I’d forgotten!

Jersey has 60g alfalfa pellets daily, oaten hay, and 1 small cup greens – this week red velvet, coral, tatsoi, cascade & mitzuna lettuce varieties.  Sometimes bok choy, baby spinach, celery leaf ( & broccoli stems thou not recently) . Treats (not every day and limited) are rolled oats, sultana, carrot, apple, pepita and sunflower seeds. 

Outside she eats grass, dandelion, young thistle leaf – i think – bit of bark and clover.  I’m wondering about the clover???  There’s alot of it about now since we’ve had bit of rain.  I remember growing up it used to make the cow’s milk taste different when they grazed on clover. 

 

[Beka27]

i don’t know what half that stuff is… must be an Australian thing… lol. in the US Cascade is a kind of soap… are you positive that the stuff she’s eating outside hasn’t been sprayed with anything. i’m very weary about letting buns graze outside b/c you never know what they might eat.

[jerseygirl]

Ha! Well, when BB ask what she was eating exactly, I might have taken it a bit to literally! They’re just lettuces names, mostly dark green and brown colour. Oh yeah – Cascade is also a beer here in OZ – Typical!  Nothing outside is sprayed – guess that’s why I have sooo many weeds.

Update: I took Jersey to Vet today as she wasn’t herself this morning. She wasn’t interested in food and keeps hunching down to sleep and seemed a bit unsteady. She even let me examine her tummy which she wouldn’t normally allow. Anyway, she got injection of antibiotics as vet thought she may have infection – just unsure what type exactly.

They fitted me in straight after closing time so I was glad she was seen as they close down now until Tuesday as it’s holiday weekend in SA. She’s slowly on the improve, has had a little to eat and used her litter box. Maybe it’s an infection that’s caused the change in her pee…thou vet didn’t think it was urinary infection. Guess it’s time to just wait and see.

[Beka27]

oh i’m glad you were able to get her in. these things seem to only happen over the weekend… that’s great that you noticed she wasn’t herself. that’s why it’s so important to KNOW your bunny. they really can take a turn for the worse very quickly.

[BinkyBunny]

yes, what is with that…always seems to happen over a weekend! I ditto Beka – the fact you noticed a change is great, and it what can save a bunny’s life. How is her poop? Also, is her urine any particular color? Do you notice any white stuff in it?

[jerseygirl]

Yes! At home she definately was acting odd but of course, at the vet she didn’t display this! I’ve just fin 5 days of antibiotics and she’s still civil to me so that’s promising. Her poop seems same as always. Colour of urine is hard to tell as quickly soaked up by litter. I sometimes see a little bit of white sediment on the paper litter when scooping it out. Would that be excess calcium in her diet? There’s always been a scale build up in her tray that I have to scrap at to get it out. I’m thinking I may have to get her off alfalfa based pellets but she’s not 1 yr old yet so I thought I had a bit more time. Non-alfalfa pellets are difficult to get in Australia and expensive!

[Beka27]

typically the alfalfa is phased out at about 7 months, but i understand it mght be harder to come by there. what does the vet recommend as far as teh diet?

[jerseygirl]

We didn’t talk much on diet…previously they’ve mainly advocated hay. I’ve recently found the local animal hospital is now stocking Oxbow products so I think I’ll get Jersey onto eating adult pellets now. Suppose it’s better to pay bit extra for the right foods than have health complications down the track and the ensuing vet bills! Thanks for the insight.

[BinkyBunny]

It’s not uncommon to wean bunnies alfalfa earlier than a year. It is higher in calcium, and some bunnies are extra sensitive, so you might find that weaning off of alfalfa may help.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I just foundt his-how is she doing now?

[jerseygirl]

HI K&K. Thanks, she’s doing well. Pee still smells a bit, but not too bad. She doesn’t demolish her morning serve of pellets any more but appetite is healthy by arvo. I wasn’t able to get those pellets after all…Grrrr. My brother is on a farm so I am fortunate to get Oaten hay easily.   I once heard there was a pelllet mill near by….. Maybe I should develop an Oaten hay pellet for Australia..(just jokin’…the lengths you go to……….!)

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