# Male rabbit pees and doesn't seem to realize it?



## thetwobunnies (Mar 5, 2013)

So I have had my male rabbit since 2012 (january) and he was neutered mid december of 2011 so he has been neutered for a while. I adopted him from a rescue so I am unaware of his previous home, but anyway I have noticed this problem with him shortly after he became accustomed to his new house. He would often sit and "leak" urine, thus creating a huge mess and his bottom area/ feet are SOAKED in urine. It is so disgusting, and dirty. He flicks it when he moves - splattering urine on the hardwood floor and/ or walls. Not to mention the entire floor of his cage is covered in little droplets and small puddles of urine. 

I thought he had a UTI at first, so I took him to the vet like mid last year - everything was normal and the vet told me to maybe change his living area up a bit - which did help, but only for a short period of time. It's been a little over a year now, and he is very fearful of his carrier because that means he is getting a butt bath and/ or nails trimmed (depending on the situation) so he usually runs away, and I put food in there but he will stretch his little body out so he never has to put his hind legs in the carrier - which was kind of cute and quirky the first time, but after a while when all you want is a clean rabbit; it gets VERY tiring and annoying (I usually end up pushing him in when at least half of his body is in the carrier). I also put a towel down so he can sit on it and at least dry his feet off, but his bum/ tail area is also SOAKED, so when I try to gently pat it dry he flips and scurries off.

So I just got to thinking, is this just something that male rabbits do? It doesn't even seem like he has any control over his bladder usually. He literally just sits and when he moves to change position or go downstairs you can hear him flick his feet and tiny droplets of urine hitting the hard surface. And sure enough - there's a puddle of urine right where he was sitting.


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## LakeCondo (Mar 5, 2013)

This doesn't sound normal. How did the vet determine it wasn't a UTI?


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## jamesedwardwaller (Mar 5, 2013)

thetwobunnies said:


> So I have had my male rabbit since 2012 (january) and he was neutered mid december of 2011 so he has been neutered for a while. I adopted him from a rescue so I am unaware of his previous home, but anyway I have noticed this problem with him shortly after he became accustomed to his new house. He would often sit and "leak" urine, thus creating a huge mess and his bottom area/ feet are SOAKED in urine. It is so disgusting, and dirty. He flicks it when he moves - splattering urine on the hardwood floor and/ or walls. Not to mention the entire floor of his cage is covered in little droplets and small puddles of urine.
> 
> I thought he had a UTI at first, so I took him to the vet like mid last year - everything was normal and the vet told me to maybe change his living area up a bit - which did help, but only for a short period of time. It's been a little over a year now, and he is very fearful of his carrier because that means he is getting a butt bath and/ or nails trimmed (depending on the situation) so he usually runs away, and I put food in there but he will stretch his little body out so he never has to put his hind legs in the carrier - which was kind of cute and quirky the first time, but after a while when all you want is a clean rabbit; it gets VERY tiring and annoying (I usually end up pushing him in when at least half of his body is in the carrier). I also put a towel down so he can sit on it and at least dry his feet off, but his bum/ tail area is also SOAKED, so when I try to gently pat it dry he flips and scurries off.
> 
> So I just got to thinking, is this just something that male rabbits do? It doesn't even seem like he has any control over his bladder usually. He literally just sits and when he moves to change position or go downstairs you can hear him flick his feet and tiny droplets of urine hitting the hard surface. And sure enough - there's a puddle of urine right where he was sitting.


---we can rule out -neuter,-uti--how about carrier??--maybe try just a shortfence- fenced off area with a throw rug,water bowl,pellet dish,poop box with timothy (grasses)-we could be looking at fear factor??---let us know if this helps,--i,m sure you are a good mom.!-sincerely james waller--ray::shock2::bunny16


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## woahlookitsme (Mar 5, 2013)

How old is he? Are you sure he doesn't realize it? I know buns sometimes will just slightly push their hind end back and pee and it can be very subtle when they do it. Buns usually dont go in large quantities or none of mine do at least. It's always a squirt here and there but none of my boys are neutered. Even my frenchie that was neutered didnt pee alot in one place. 

Also are you sure he is not spraying? Spraying is used to mark territory in new places. Even neutered buns can acquire this behavior. If he is just laying down and urine starts leaking from him then there is a problem. 

Another question is he litter boxed trained or does he have a specific area for him to urinate into or on that is a good place?


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## JBun (Mar 5, 2013)

Leaking urine like that isn't really normal, and I would still be inclined to think it is health related. Did the vet check for bladder sludge issues? That can also cause urinary problems with rabbits. Did the vet take any x rays? That would help you know if there are any stones that are causing the problem.

If cleaning him off continues to be a problem, you may want to consider keeping the area shaved short so that he doesn't always have urine soaked fur, and it will also make it easier to clean off any urine that is there.


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## BunnyWabbit (Mar 5, 2013)

I agree with everyone else this sounds like a medical issue. I would definitely take extra care to keep him clean and dry to avoid other issues (you don't want flystrike). 

I would consult your vet again and have them run some more extensive tests. Good luck!


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## Kipcha (Mar 5, 2013)

Ty does the same thing, it's related to kidney damage and a stroke he suffered. Do you have medical history on him?

He sounds exactly like Ty. Ty doesn't even realize he's doing it, he just kind of leaks everywhere.


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## thetwobunnies (Mar 5, 2013)

Thanks for the replies, well I took him to the vet (great vet, she is on the list of approved rabbit vets as well, and even did his neuter while he was still in the rescue) and she kind of felt around in his stomach/ bladder area, and then got a urine sample and ran a test. Everything came back normal. 
Actually, I haven't been watching him too intently to see if he is actually lifting his tail up barely or not. But most of the time he is literally just napping (or at least resting) while meat loafing, and before you know it he's flicking his feet trying to get the urine off. Other times, he's napping peacefully and occasionally I will give the buns a little pat on the head even though they are napping and sometimes they will get up and run around a little bit, and when my male gets up there's like a puddle of pee where he was sitting. 

So my guess is that he's leaking, since he doesn't make any intentions of moving/ changing positions/ trying to get away from his urine when he's "meat loafing" most of the time. I don't think he's spraying, but I'm not sure. He doesn't actually "spray" it's more like peeing? And also sometimes there will be drops of pee upstairs also. Like random drops - as in he peed while walking or sitting and it didn't touch his fur or something cause he's dry. He is litter trained for the most part - I mean besides this problem he's perfect. There are 3 litter boxes in the entire cage. He seems perfectly normal besides this problem. He is arouuund a year and a half now.

Also, @ Kipcha, I am sorry about Ty, and that worries me greatly. I have no history on him whatsoever, besides that I know who his foster mom was (no idea for how long he was living there or anything), wouldn't the vet have figured this out when he went in for his neuter? Or even when I took him because of his persistent urination problem?


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## woahlookitsme (Mar 5, 2013)

If they ran a Urinalysis they should be able to properly rule out a UTI. I agree that I dont think it sounds like anything behavioral. . .I hope someone can help :/ I would suggest an ultrasound but even after having one done on my bunny it was hard to see anything really. If anything could it just be that he can't properly hold it?


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## thetwobunnies (Mar 5, 2013)

That can be the problem, but could it really be something as simple as that? Or does that mean there's some other underlying medical problem? I wish I could ask the rescue center for his medical history, but it's been so long so it seems pretty pointless to ask? Plus, when I move out in a couple of years I have a feeling his problem is going to cause lots of problems.


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## missyscove (Mar 5, 2013)

Is he leaking urine in his cage too or just when he's out? 

Was any bloodwork done, or just the urinalysis?

Other than the fact that he's peeing in the wrng spot, do you feel like he's peeing more than he should be (and drinking more than he should be?) 

I recently lost a bun after only having him for 2 months and then realized it had been only him and not his bondmate that had the habit of peeing on the rug and that he had clearly been drinking more than normal. Sadly he died rather suddenly before I got the chance to have any diagnostics done.


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## thetwobunnies (Mar 5, 2013)

He seems to be only doing it in his cage - it's not all the time. It really depends - sometimes he does it very often and other times there is a long break. 

He is my first rabbit (well I have 2 now, but I just got the other one in November last year so not really that long) and I think he's pretty normal? My rabbits drink TONS of water as it is, but I think that's normal because they eat so much hay! I'm so sorry about your rabbit, it's always hard losing a beloved pet.


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## Azerane (Mar 6, 2013)

Do your rabbits have a shared water bowl? Is it possible to compare or measure how much they drink as individuals, if so it might be worth comparing the two. Pour a measured amount of water in and a set time later re-measure it.

It doesn't sound normal to me either, I suppose it's possible that he could just have a weak bladder, but there's so many other alternatives too.


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