Bladder infection? Urine problems?

[cmerfalen]

Hello Fellow Bunny Lovers,

I'm not sure if I'm over-reacting, but The past two days Dopey's butt has had traces of urine around it. Specifically, he has some matted fur around his butt and that has traces of urine in it. This has never happened to him before (the urine part). Usually I take him to the vet for a trim every 6-8 weeks, but I haven't had a chance to lately (I just moved to a new town and the move has been hectic). I have however made an appointment for this weekend for a trim. But my question is should I be concerned with the urine? Is this a sign of problem that I should have a vet take a look at him? Or could the urine be there because of the matted fur? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Chrissy

FYI...
Dopey is a mini lop, about 3.6lbs, and is 5 years old. His appetite, water consumption, poop, and energy level is normal... He's acting fine. He eats about 1/4 cup of dry food every other day, 1/4 cup of fresh veggies everyday.

 

[LakeCondo]

I hope it's the mats, so keep him as clean as you can.

However, I'd give pellets every day [at least 2 tablespoons] & not necessarily the veggies every day. And I'm assuming he's eating plenty of hay daily.

 

[missyscove]

I don't understand why he needs to be trimmed. Yes, wool breeds might need that sort of maintenance but a mini rex shouldn't need his fur trimmed. It could be a sign of incontinence, or he could be peeing outside his litterbox and sitting in it? Either way it's not a good thing and I'd be concerned about urine scald.

 

[cmerfalen]

Thank you LakeCondo and MissyCove.

He has plenty of access to hay and pellets, I will cut out his veggies for a while (he's not going to like that, lol).

His hair tends to mat around his butt and I've always taken him to the vet for a trim... they've never mentioned anything about it being a concern. I haven't seen any pee outside of the litter box. But could it be perhaps of stress? We did just move into a new place about 3 weeks ago and he's still getting used to it. There is also a lot of construction going on during the day, so I'm not sure if that could be causing him anxiety? Either way, I will bring it up this weekend when I take him in for a trim.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Is he drinking extra than normal?

 

[tonyshuman]

I'm not sure why it was recommended to stop with the veggies? Veggies are a good source of water and entertainment for bunnies. They probably don't have anything to do with urination, unless they are high in calcium or oxalates or are diuretic. The pellet amount is a bit on the high side, but not unreasonable.

I agree that it is unusual for a rabbit to need to be trimmed to keep clean, especially if neutered (is he?). There are a number of things that could cause a bunny to let urine sit on its fur, like incontinence due to age (not likely here since he is only 5) or bladder/urinary tract problems (infection, stones, sludge), inability to reach the fur to clean it due to obesity (again not likely given his weight and breed) or immobility (arthritis, trauma), or other pain. Sometimes a bunny with pain (even from gas, for instance) will let urine sit on their fur because they can't pay attention to anything other than the pain. It doesn't sound like that's happening here either. This breed also usually won't get matted fur unless something is wrong--maybe he is a fuzzy lop instead?

In any case, I'd get the bunny looked at and the matted fur trimmed off. If he gets mats due to not caring about cleanliness or not being able to reach his bum to clean it, something is wrong. The typical mini or holland lop can clean their butts and isn't fluffy enough to need trimming usually. If he is not neutered, he may want to marinate in his own scent to attract females (yuck I know).

 

[cmerfalen]

His water consumption is normal. Like I said, nothing has changed with him... he's still a happy active bunny that loves to run around and lay with me. He goes through a 1/4 of pellets every other day, so I'm not overloading him with pellets.

Maybe they got his breed mixed up? I did get him from the county fair. Attached is a picture of Dopey. The full body picture was taken when he I just got him (he was about 3 month old in that picture). He is neutered.

I feel horrible, I just realized that last time we took him in for a trim was around Thanksgiving. Our house closed in mid December and we've been busy moving and settling since Christmas. So perhaps it could be because he hasn't been trimmed in a while? I noticed that he does try to pull out the mats, but he's not successful at getting them out. But sometimes his poop sticks to his butt, so he's reach it and pull it off.

It doesn't seem like he's in any pain. When he's out of the cage, he loves to run around and check things out. He hops and skips around too.

 

[tonyshuman]

He is very cute. I can't tell if he is a mini lop or a Holland lop, though. The weight is more like what you'd see with a Holland, but in his baby pic his ears look a bit longer, like a mini. He doesn't look like any of the fluffier breeds that might normally have trouble with mats. If he can reach at the mats and clean his bum with regards to poo, then he's not obese or limited in his mobility to clean the area. I'm not sure why he wouldn't since he can, though. I have a Holland, and she gets a little matted near the tail during molts, and sometimes a few mats on the bottom of her back feet. They are a bit fluffier back there than other bunnies but not so bad as to need trimming usually. It just doesn't make sense that a healthy neutered bunny wouldn't keep clean and unmatted if he could. :shrug:

In any case, it would be best to have him trimmed. Do you ever brush his fur on the back end? That might help prevent mats. When you go for the trimming, maybe the vet will have some ideas on why he doesn't seem to care.