Shampoo question--regarding giving a butt bath...

[Jenk]

I have a shampoo that's marketed for cats and am wondering if its ingredient list would actually be safe for rabbits (for giving a diluted butt bath). The list is as follows:

purified water
alkyl sulfates
coconut oil amide
PEG 150 (a conditioning ingredient)
aloe vera
methyl paraben
propyl paraben
natural cherry essence

All ingredients are listed as being organic and biodegradable.

Do you think this product could be used--i.e., greatly diluted--for giving my bun a butt bath?

Thank you,

Jenk

 

[Kizza]

It isn't advisable to use any soaps on buns even if they are organic as their skin is way too sensitive. The parabens (preservatives) in it aren't organic anyway. It is recomended that you just use a soft towel with luke warm water.

Bunnies clean themselves pretty well the same as cats so you don't really need to clean them. Although I will give my Rocky a quick wipe down with a wet cloth to get rid of any sleep in his eyes, and occasionally a little bum wipe.

Is your bunny a bit smelly or dirty in that area? does he/she have any poop stuck to his fur or anything?

If not I would only use water to give a bit of a wipe. I did use Aloveen soap on Rocky once when he was sick and had gooey poop stuck to his fur before I knew you shouldnt use it. I made sure I rinsed him completely of soap afterwards so the residue wouldn't cause any skin irritations.

In short, I wouldn't use soap unless you absolutely has to (a lot of poop stuck to his fur or whatnot). Perhaps ask your vet what would and wouldn't be safe to use on bunnies. If it is safe for other animals doesn't mean it would be safe for your bun.

Hope that helps

Oh and also, bunnies are afraid of water so I wouldn't put him in a bath they get too stressed.

 

[Jenk]

The issue was that my bun experienced bad incontinence after a particularly thorough vet visit. (She was palpated three different times by two vets.) Sometime during all that palpation, her urinary tract (possibly one or both ureters) got very irritated. She wound up peeing all over herself for half a day; then she couldn't urinate for most of the next.

I wound up waiting to do anything in terms of bathing her. The evening of the day after all the gut palpation, she began urinating again, though it was clearly hard for her at first. I can only imagine how sore/irritated her urinary tract had to have been.

Of course, this all occurred over the weekend; I couldn't ask a vet about what possible shampoo to use to remove the urine. Right or wrong, I allowed all the urine to dry on her and have her clean it off.

Thankfully, the irritation subsided, and our girl is once again peeing normally and not wetting herself, the poor babe.

Jenk

 

[pla725]

I use hylyt shampoo which was recommended by a vet. I did dilute it with some water and put it a spray bottle. My holland lop foster has a spinal issue which cause his incontience. I don't bathe every day. I also use silver sulfadiazine (therazene) on his skin to protect it. I got thatfrom my vet as well.

 

[Jenk]

pla725 wrote:

I use hylyt shampoo which was recommended by a vet. I did dilute it with some water and put it a spray bottle. My holland lop foster has a spinal issue which cause his incontience. I don't bathe every day. I also use silver sulfadiazine (therazene) on his skin to protect it. I got thatfrom my vet as well.

I saw HyLyt recommended by Dana Krempels (http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/buttbath.html) and did look it up tonight; I see that it's been discontinued--at least for now. It would be unfortunate if it becomes permanently unavailable for so many dog, cat, and bun owners.

 

[Evey]

I used to just use Johnson's baby shampoo for my elderly bunny who needed butt baths. It was gentle yet effective.


Kathy