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Bunny peeing everywhere!!!!!

treacletrim

Young Bun
Hello lovely bunny people,

I'm just looking for any thoughts on my little boy bun who is peeing everywhere and driving me potty (pardon the pun!).

Conker is a 3 year old boy, neutered for over a year. He has been bonded to my girl Patsy since mid-March, and they are free range house rabbits. They are based in the living room, and whereas Patsy never really strays from that room, Conker goes all over, upstairs, every room, into the cellar etc.

Conker has always been good with the litter tray generally, although is known to wee on particularly soft blankets; us when he's having snuggles, and occasionally on the living room carpet when he's been particularly adventurous with his wanderings. Patsy is the boss of the two, so I have taken this as a territory marking behaviour from him, but correct me if I'm wrong. He never sprays wee, just does proper puddles.

Anyway, Conker's weeing has escalated somewhat recently and is starting to drive me round the bend, and I'm constantly scrubbing the carpet and it's making a right mess :( Has anyone experienced anything similar? He has been weeing on the living room carpet 2-5 times a day :(

First thing that came to mind after googling it was a health issue; bladder / urinary infection. I will of course get him checked over whenever necessary, although I would be surprised if this was the cause. Conker is eating, drinking and acting normally, he urine looks normal and he doesn't strain. He also never wees in any other rooms; so if he had trouble holding it in surely he would? He will literally wander everywhere and is always up and down the stairs. He does have very slight head tilt and a hint of hind leg weakness which we assume is EC related, but it doesn't hinder him and again I would expect him to wee in other rooms if there was a physical issue?

I've also noticed he only really does it when we are around too. I go downstairs on a morning, or come home from work and rarely find a drop on the carpet. He is very people orientated and gets very happy and lively when people are around. We love him to bits!

The main change there has been recently is us having to move our living room around, so the position of the furniture and their crate has changed. I expect this to be the main culprit, but am interest to hear other people's thoughts. The bunnies have a large dog crate which is always open, and inside is a large litter tray they share, hay rack and vet bed on the base. The litter tray is lined with newspaper, then has a layer of fitch and hay.

Has anyone any thoughts on how I can discourage Conker from weeing on the carpet, or any ideas to the cause?

Thanks! Joanne :)
 
Could you scatter a few more litter trays around in the living room to encourage him to jump in if one is nearby so he has a few options rather than going back to his crate. Moving the furniture may have unsettled him and changing the crate. Does he wee in all different places of the carpet or is it a similar area? I would put hay in the new litter trays with the newspaper to encourage him to jump in there to eat and then once he's not peeing on the carpet, may reduce the trays.
 
Sounds like a uti. My boy gets these a few times a year as he is a sludge bun. He does spot more in the kitchen a nd one bedroom but will not spot in the other bedroom though he visits that less. Your vet will probably express a fresh pee sample and test it for infection. A long course of baytril usually clears it up . My carpet has to be cleaned for the 2nd time in 8 months !! But he loves his room and I won't evict him !
 
Hello lovely bunny people,

I'm just looking for any thoughts on my little boy bun who is peeing everywhere and driving me potty (pardon the pun!).

Conker is a 3 year old boy, neutered for over a year. He has been bonded to my girl Patsy since mid-March, and they are free range house rabbits. They are based in the living room, and whereas Patsy never really strays from that room, Conker goes all over, upstairs, every room, into the cellar etc.

Conker has always been good with the litter tray generally, although is known to wee on particularly soft blankets; us when he's having snuggles, and occasionally on the living room carpet when he's been particularly adventurous with his wanderings. Patsy is the boss of the two, so I have taken this as a territory marking behaviour from him, but correct me if I'm wrong. He never sprays wee, just does proper puddles.

Anyway, Conker's weeing has escalated somewhat recently and is starting to drive me round the bend, and I'm constantly scrubbing the carpet and it's making a right mess :( Has anyone experienced anything similar? He has been weeing on the living room carpet 2-5 times a day :(

First thing that came to mind after googling it was a health issue; bladder / urinary infection. I will of course get him checked over whenever necessary, although I would be surprised if this was the cause. Conker is eating, drinking and acting normally, he urine looks normal and he doesn't strain. He also never wees in any other rooms; so if he had trouble holding it in surely he would? He will literally wander everywhere and is always up and down the stairs. He does have very slight head tilt and a hint of hind leg weakness which we assume is EC related, but it doesn't hinder him and again I would expect him to wee in other rooms if there was a physical issue?

I've also noticed he only really does it when we are around too. I go downstairs on a morning, or come home from work and rarely find a drop on the carpet. He is very people orientated and gets very happy and lively when people are around. We love him to bits!

The main change there has been recently is us having to move our living room around, so the position of the furniture and their crate has changed. I expect this to be the main culprit, but am interest to hear other people's thoughts. The bunnies have a large dog crate which is always open, and inside is a large litter tray they share, hay rack and vet bed on the base. The litter tray is lined with newspaper, then has a layer of fitch and hay.

Has anyone any thoughts on how I can discourage Conker from weeing on the carpet, or any ideas to the cause?

Thanks! Joanne :)


Hi Joanne :D

You are getting him checked out at the vet, and as Nicky says, the vet can express his bladder and test a fresh sample of wee. To be doubly sure I always get a sample sent to the lab for extensive testing, just so that if anything's going on, you know what you're dealing with.

It could well be, as you say, behavioural and it could also be connected to the change around in the living room. So he only wees in the living room, which is where the change occurred?

A bit of training could be needed here. Some suggestions:

http://articles.extension.org/pages/33013/rabbit-behavioral-problems:-inappropriate-urination

http://www.therabbithouse.com/behaviour/problem-litter-training.asp

http://rabbit.org/faq-litter-training-2/

It's a difficult one, I grant you, and not an enviable situation especially if there's carpet around (though rabbit urine can damage most floors :shock:)

I would add in another litter tray and see what happens. Make it really inviting and try and neutralise the odour from the other spots. I think rabbits are sensitive to change, and bonded rabbits seem moreso sometimes.

Good luck xx
 
Thank you all for your fab replies xx

Well I managed to get a small urine sample from Conker last night, and an appointment to see the good rabbit vet this morning. Managed to test it ok and thankfully no anomalies showed re: glucose/diabetes, protein/kidneys, blood or inflammation. His bladder felt nicely empty with no stones or pain evident when examined. So the vet thinks it is behavioural. We went on holiday a couple of weeks ago (the bunnies stayed at home and my mum visited twice daily) and this followed by the furniture change around may have caused some stress/upset/unsettling. There's no way I'd evict the bunnies from the living room, so it looks like some training is in order! And yes this weeing has only happens in the living room. The bunnies like it behind the TV cabinet, so I am going to pop an extra litter tray behind there, and read up on the links on behaviour.

Wish I'd got shares in carpet cleaner atm 😂

Hopefully we can get the little guy sorted & settled soon! Thanks all xx
 
Thank you all for your fab replies xx

Well I managed to get a small urine sample from Conker last night, and an appointment to see the good rabbit vet this morning. Managed to test it ok and thankfully no anomalies showed re: glucose/diabetes, protein/kidneys, blood or inflammation. His bladder felt nicely empty with no stones or pain evident when examined. So the vet thinks it is behavioural. We went on holiday a couple of weeks ago (the bunnies stayed at home and my mum visited twice daily) and this followed by the furniture change around may have caused some stress/upset/unsettling. There's no way I'd evict the bunnies from the living room, so it looks like some training is in order! And yes this weeing has only happens in the living room. The bunnies like it behind the TV cabinet, so I am going to pop an extra litter tray behind there, and read up on the links on behaviour.

Wish I'd got shares in carpet cleaner atm 😂

Hopefully we can get the little guy sorted & settled soon! Thanks all xx


You're very welcome :)

Yes, it did sound behavioural to me. Good in one sense, but a little more difficult to master :)

I think your idea of the litter tray there is a good idea, for starters.

Could you invest in a steam cleaner? They are really good, use no chemicals, and your carpet comes up like new :D
 
Hi Mighty Max, thank you for your reply.

Yes I do feel better that physical causes have been ruled out now as he has had a few niggles while we've had him. There's always a reason for the things they do though, and he is a bright little bun so hopefully we can crack it. Thank you for the article links you sent, I will have a good read.

I've been looking at carpet cleaners for the purpose, but didn't think of steam cleaners for carpets (thought more for hard surfaces). I'd definitely rather use one of those than constantly bombarding the carpet with chemicals though. Will definitely have a look, thank you!

Joanne x
 
Hi Mighty Max, thank you for your reply.

Yes I do feel better that physical causes have been ruled out now as he has had a few niggles while we've had him. There's always a reason for the things they do though, and he is a bright little bun so hopefully we can crack it. Thank you for the article links you sent, I will have a good read.

I've been looking at carpet cleaners for the purpose, but didn't think of steam cleaners for carpets (thought more for hard surfaces). I'd definitely rather use one of those than constantly bombarding the carpet with chemicals though. Will definitely have a look, thank you!

Joanne x


You're welcome :)

I also found with the chemical carpet cleaners that they seemed to lighten the spot, and so it still stood out for the wrong reasons!

Hope you manage to find a few gems that will help. If not, post back and we'll think again.

Post back anyway :wave:
 
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