Senior dwarf rabbit with incontinence

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Joined
Sep 11, 2021
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Frankfort, IL
Noticed our 11 year old dwarf rabbit Lola has had incontinence for the past 6 months or so. Took her to the vet a few weeks after we noticed it happening. They did tests for bladder stones, bladder infection, and kidney stones. All came back negative. Her urine is usually clear although once in a while it is a yellow color. We tried Tinkle Tonic for about a month and did not notice any improvement. Wondering if there is anything else we can try?

From the x-ray they did notice she has arthritis in her back. We have been giving both rabbits Oxbow joint supplements. She still hops up into the 2nd level of her house and runs around when out for exercise.

I have noticed both of them are drinking more water now because they are shedding.

The diet of both the rabbits consists of lettuce (romaine, red leaf, and green leaf), cilantro, and usually a couple small pieces of pepper. Both rabbits get the same feeding frequency of salad and pellets in the morning, salad for dinner, and then pellets before bedtime. They both have plenty of hay throughout the day.

Wondering if she is getting too much calcium from the salad (cilantro)? Or is the arthritis part of the problem?
 
I had rabbits with motility issues, and peeing outside the box was a problem because they didn't bother to go there, or it was difficult to get in. I would consider pain medication, it helped with mine. Rabbits are good at hiding pain, imho not bothering to go to the litter box is one of the first signs that they hurt.
 
I can try giving her Meloxicam for a few weeks nd see if it improves. Vet told us to hold off giving it to her until you know it is needed. She honestly seems 100% normal other than the urinating. But it is worth a try.
 
Were any blood tests done to check kidney and liver function? Is the incontinence just accidents outside the litter box, or is she dribbling drops of urine around? And is she getting urine soaked fur on her bottom?

If this is due to her arthritis, like Preitler mentions, the anti inflammatory meloxicam, dosed at a high enough dose to be effective for rabbits (0.3-0.6mg/kg), is usually very helpful. But only if your rabbits incontinence and increased thirst isn't due to kidney disease. There's also the possibility of incontinence from kidney disease caused by e cuniculi, in which treatment with fenbendazole may help, but not always.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Encephalitozoon_cuniculi
There are other supplements and medications that can sometimes be helpful for arthritis as well. A member on here had good results with adequan injections helping his bun. Changing your rabbits set up and having a low sided litter box, are other things that can help buns with arthritis

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Arthritis
http://www.disabledrabbits.com/arthritis.html
https://www.vgr1.com/metacam/
 
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