|
|
*Veterinarians serving Clayton, Garner, and surrounding areas since 1986* |
I have a four year old, female rabbit named "Cinnamon" that has been my house pet since she was two months old. She is litter trained, and rules the roost at our place. She has never had any problems and never been to the veterinarian, but recently I've noticed that her urine seems to have a reddish color to it. What do you think is going on? If she has a problem we definitely want to help her, but we aren't sure what to do. |
Your questions are good ones, and judging by the number of calls about pet rabbits I've been receiving recently, there are lots of people who will benefit from hearing the answers. There are several possible explanations for red urine in a female rabbit. The reddish appearance of the urine may be due to blood. Another possibility is that you are seeing the excretion of a plant pigment called porphyrin, usually related to diet. These two very different problems can look very similar to the pet owner. The way to determine if your pets red urine is due to blood is to take your rabbit to a veterinarian who is experienced in working with rabbits, and ask them to analyze the urine for evidence of red blood cells. Because your rabbit is four years old and there have been no drastic changes in how you care for your pet, it is likely that this is a case of blood and not porphyrin in the urine. Your veterinarian will help you to determine the source of the bleeding. Cinnamon's age coupled with the fact that she has never been spayed makes me suspicious that the source of her bleeding is the uterus. I don't mean that I think she is in heat. Rabbits are induced ovulators, and don't experience heat cycles the way dogs do. The most likely cause of uterine bleeding in your rabbit is uterine adenocarcinoma. This is the most common cancer in female rabbits; occurring in up to 80% of some breeds of intact female rabbits over four years old. In many cases these rabbits will also have hard swellings in the mammary glands and may have clear red fluid discharge from the nipples. Because uterine adenocarcinoma is a malignant tumor, you must expect it to spread (metastasize) if not removed quickly. The treatment of choice for most reproductive conditions in rabbits is to spay the rabbit as soon as possible. However, before spaying Cinnamon will require radiographs to make sure the cancer has not already spread to her lungs, and bloodwork to make sure she has the best chances under anesthesia. Most rabbits do very well after this surgery, and any mammary problems usually resolve in 3-4 weeks. Preventative medicine always pays for itself. I recommend that my rabbit patients be spayed between 6-12 months of age, and have yearly physical exams. Unspayed rabbits should have physical exams every six months when over three years old. Owners following these rules will avoid this common problem in their pets, and catch problems early. Costs of surgery should be roughly equivalent to the same surgery in a cat or small dog. |