Hello! I am new to this site and desperately need some advice. My 2 year old dwarf lop Luna has become urine incontinent. This has been going on for about 6 weeks now and she has horrible urine scalding. The vet started off by giving her anti biotics incase it was a urine infection but they did nothing. On the second visit he have her stronger antibiotics -still no improvement. Over the last two weeks she has had blood and urine tests and a full MRI scan. (£300!!!). The vet says they can find nothing at all wrong with her and it may be something she just has to live with. Surely something must have caused it? We are bathing her daily and she is on anti inflammatory and pain relief medications but she is in such a state. She is loosing weight. She and her partner are indoors at the moment and I am keeping their space ultra clean. Anyone had a similar experience? Any suggestions as to what may have caused it would be really welcome also any ideas on how else to treat her scalding - we have tried a dry bath using cornflour. Thank you for reading this . Sonya M
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Urine Incontinence - Help!
- Thread starter SonyaM
- Start date
MightyMax
Banned
Sonya, welcome to the Forum :wave:
I am sorry to hear about Luna. What a shame she has this, and she's so young too.
I'm glad your vet has done all the appropriate tests and ruled out infection. Also, I guess the blood tests have showed her kidneys functioning normally?
The other suggestion I can make is concerning E.C. (encephalitozoon cuniculi). I don't know whether you've heard of this? It's a parasite that can be caught and transferred from rabbit to rabbit via spores in urine. Lots of rabbits are carriers and have no symptoms throughout their lives. Sometimes when immune systems are low (due to stress or illness) the EC becomes prolific and can cause the symptoms Luna is experiencing. Sometimes we never know what has caused it to flare up.
Whatever the reason, it may be worth you discussing with your vet a 28 day course of Panacur (fenbendazole) for her and her partner. You will need to treat them both at the same time.
More info here:
http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/ecuniculi.htm
https://www.vets-now.com/pet-owners/rabbit-care-advice/e-cuniculi-in-rabbits/
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-2/e-cuniculi.html
Luna doesn't have all the symptoms, just the urinary one but it may still be worth considering treating as I suggested. Alongside Panacur anti inflammatories are usually given to prevent any further damage by the parasite. So it would be a good idea to keep her on the Metacam (if that's what you are giving her).
Common wisdom also suggests that bleaching litter trays/steaming or cleaning the environment on days 21 and 28 of treatment will interrupt the lifecycle of the parasite. I don't know how valid this is, but certainly cleaning litter trays with a 10% bleach solution and thoroughly rinsing will be a good idea.
Keeping her clean - I usually do a butt bath in 1 inch of water and dry thoroughly and gently with a hair dryer. You can also apply some gentle cream to the area - discuss this with your vet. I know one member here had success with Natalia baby bottom butter - she recommended it worked very well for her rabbit
Let me know what you think and how things go with Luna.
MightyMax
Banned
Just another thought Sonya - when you next go to the vet, get him to shave the area so that it's much easier for you to clean and for Luna to try and clean herself ...
And until you get the problem sorted, vet bed is great for wicking moisture away from a bunny and leaving them dry
Hope something here helps her a little, poor love!
And until you get the problem sorted, vet bed is great for wicking moisture away from a bunny and leaving them dry
Hope something here helps her a little, poor love!
Sonya, welcome to the Forum :wave:
I am sorry to hear about Luna. What a shame she has this, and she's so young too.
I'm glad your vet has done all the appropriate tests and ruled out infection. Also, I guess the blood tests have showed her kidneys functioning normally?
The other suggestion I can make is concerning E.C. (encephalitozoon cuniculi). I don't know whether you've heard of this? It's a parasite that can be caught and transferred from rabbit to rabbit via spores in urine. Lots of rabbits are carriers and have no symptoms throughout their lives. Sometimes when immune systems are low (due to stress or illness) the EC becomes prolific and can cause the symptoms Luna is experiencing. Sometimes we never know what has caused it to flare up.
Whatever the reason, it may be worth you discussing with your vet a 28 day course of Panacur (fenbendazole) for her and her partner. You will need to treat them both at the same time.
More info here:
http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/ecuniculi.htm
https://www.vets-now.com/pet-owners/rabbit-care-advice/e-cuniculi-in-rabbits/
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-2/e-cuniculi.html
Luna doesn't have all the symptoms, just the urinary one but it may still be worth considering treating as I suggested. Alongside Panacur anti inflammatories are usually given to prevent any further damage by the parasite. So it would be a good idea to keep her on the Metacam (if that's what you are giving her).
Common wisdom also suggests that bleaching litter trays/steaming or cleaning the environment on days 21 and 28 of treatment will interrupt the lifecycle of the parasite. I don't know how valid this is, but certainly cleaning litter trays with a 10% bleach solution and thoroughly rinsing will be a good idea.
Keeping her clean - I usually do a butt bath in 1 inch of water and dry thoroughly and gently with a hair dryer. You can also apply some gentle cream to the area - discuss this with your vet. I know one member here had success with Natalia baby bottom butter - she recommended it worked very well for her rabbit
Let me know what you think and how things go with Luna.[/QUOTE
]
Thank you very much for all your helpful suggestions. I had not thought of Vet Bed so will get hold of some. We are back to the Vets again tomorrow and I will ask him about the possibility of it being E C.
She is looking very sorry for herself and has lost more weight so I need to find an answer soon. I will let you know how we get on. Thank you for your time and help. SonyaM and Luna
MightyMax
Banned
Hi Sonya :wave:
I'm glad you found the suggestions helpful and you're very welcome
Good luck at the vet tomorrow. I would be very interested to know what he says.
Love to you and Luna xx
