urination and defecation

[Cassiebunny]

I am in Oregon, USA
Little Bit is a feral bunny...8 lbs...silvery gray & white in color
5 years old
neutered

Although vet said urination and defecation seem normal, I think he has recently been leaking urine in his cage.
He uses his litter box on a regular basis, but sometimes he seems to sit in his box and hop out without having relieved himself.

I have used "Stall dry" litter for many years with my bunnies. The texture is like dry yeast.

Little Bit started getting matted with feces so I took him in to the vet. My vet put him on an antibiotic...something he did before to protect him from a skin infection, which had helped.

The stall dry keeps sticking around his anal area, making matters worse. I wash off his bottom when I need to.
My biggest problem is that I need a litter that will not stick to his fur. I believe a better litter will allow his skin to heal and help keep his peritoneal area cleaner. All suggestions are welcome.
Also, I would appreciate any ideas on why he might be having this problem.

- Medical History -- he was at the vets about a year ago for the same problem.
- Diet - he eats timothy pellets and timothy hay. He gets a vitamin bunny treat (3/day) and a bite of banana each morning. Occasionally he gets a small carrot with the top, out of the garden.

Movement is normal
Nothing harmful within reach

When outside he is in a 5' x 7' cage, in good weather and only in daytime

 

[Wabbitdad12]

I use a wood pellet litter that is very absorbent, does a good job at odor control. I think it would be good for your bunny.

I get mine at a feed store but hardware stores also carry it. Just make sure it is kiln dried, all the pine oils have been baked off so it won't harm your bunny.

A 40 pound bag cost me around 6 to 7 dollars.

I would cut back on his treats to just once a day too.

Is he overweight? I have a bun that gets a real poopy but when she gets a little chunky. When they are overweight they cannot clean themselves properly.

Also, welcome to the forum!

 

[tonyshuman]

Welcome to the forum!

I agree that the stall dry probably is part of the problem. It's diatomaceous earth and clay, so it will get muddy, I would think, when wet, plus it's probably not very good for him to ingest, as he probably is, licking it off his fur. I also use wood stove pellets from our farm/pet store, also available at some hardware stores. They're great and cheap.

Other good ones are Feline Pine, Woody Pet, Yesterday's News (cat or small animal kind), or Carefresh. These are all a bit more expensive, and I listed them by increasing price (generally).

Leaking urine/urinary incontinence can be a sign of a urinary tract problem, like infection. What was the antibiotic given, and what dose/how long did he take it? Some antibiotics can clear up urinary tract infections, but it's best to do a culture and sensitivity test on the urine to determine the appropriate antibiotic to use. Other signs of urinary tract infection are straining to pee, pain while peeing, blood in the urine (will show up as red swirls, not an overall red color--that is normal), and irritation of the skin due to the urine. It seems sometimes the urine that is produced when there's a urinary tract problem is more irritating to the skin.

About the feces, are they normal feces (dry pellets, coco-puffs, little smell), night feces (cecotropes, mushy, shiny, grape-like clusters, smelly like bad onions), or diarrhea/soft stool (liquid or mushy poops, not a very well defined shape, or even cylindrical)? That will be important in determining what's going on. I knew of a bunny that was very fat and could not clean his perianal region, or eat his cecotropes (which they are supposed to do), and the cecotropes would mush into his fur in that area. It would keep all other waste he eliminated during the day in the area, which caused a lot of skin irritation. I had to give him a butt bath daily. If your bunny is very overweight, that may be a cause.

If he isn't eating cecotropes but is not overweight, he may be getting too much protein in his diet. It sounds like you have a good diet, although there may be too many treats, and I'm not sure what the vitamin things are--most bunnies don't need vitamins if they're on a good quality pellet. Adult bunnies should get around 1/4c pellets per 5lbs of bunny, at a maximum. Too many pellets can lead to uneaten cecotropes.

If it's diarrhea, there are things we can look at. There could be an imbalance in the gut microbes, which can lead to overgrowth of bad ones, and smelly diarrhea. This needs to be seen by a vet.

Also, how confident are you about your vet's rabbit-savvy-ness? We often encounter vets whose knowledge of rabbits is very poor and at least 10 years old (when it was thought that rabbits should be treated exactly like cats), although they call themselves exotics vets. Is he found in our vet listings? Most of those vets are good.

edit: also, does he live outside or inside?

 

[Cassiebunny]

Thank you. I live in an area where I also have a feed store. I will check there...it sounds quite reasonable in price.

I appreciate the welcome, but actually I have been a member since 1999. My Delta Society Pet Therapy bunny (also a feral bunny) passed away so I have not logged in for awhile. It is going to take me some time to figure things out because the format is very different now.

Thanks for your input...I will take it to heart.
Anne