Both male and female rabbits can urine spray. But it is most common in unneutered rabbits, especially males, from puberty onwards. Rabbits will spray urine around their territory as a way of communicating their boundaries to other nearby rabbits.
The best way to avoid dealing with unwanted urination behaviors is to have your rabbit spayed or neutered.
Altered rabbits are healthier and live longer than unaltered rabbits. One study showed that 85% of female rabbits will contract uterine cancer if not spayed before age 3. These painful and terminal diseases (ovarian, uterine and mammarian cancer) are virtually eliminated by spaying a female rabbit.
Also, there is no chance of uterine infections (pyometra) if there is NO uterus. Spayed rabbits are much less likely to display undesirable hormone-induced behaviors such as mounting, urine spraying (or territorial marking), and aggression. Litter box habits are more predictable in spayed rabbits.
Both male and female unaltered rabbits will sometimes spray pee as a way of claiming territory. As you can imagine, this can leave you with a pretty smelly house, not to mention a lot of messes to clean up. This is another behavior that can really only be fixed by getting your rabbit altered.
Rabbits will spray urine around their territory as a way of communicating their boundaries to other nearby rabbits. This is why urine that is sprayed has a distinct and strong odour, and why rabbits spray extensively around their home environment.
Spraying involves the deliberate release of urine, usually onto a vertical surface. It should not be confused with normal urination (where urine is usually released onto a horizontal surface), or abnormal urination due to a medical or psychological cause.
3 - 6 months old: Adolescence
Male rabbits will often spray urine as a sign of courtship, circle your feet and mount them. Female rabbits tend to become very territorial over their personal space and may growl or lunge at you.
One of the main reasons that owners decide to spay their rabbits is to prevent them from developing the most common rabbit cancer, uterine adenocarcinoma. This is a cancer that solely affects female rabbits that have not been spayed. Rabbits have an increased risk of developing this cancer as they get older.
Rabbit pee can be many different colors and still be healthy pee. Usually rabbits will pee anywhere from 2-8 times a day and it will be a golden yellow or amber orange color. The color will get a little darker and more concentrated if your rabbit is dehydrated.
And some hormone-related phenomena are simply dangerous to your bunny: unspayed, unbred female rabbits have a very high risk of uterine cancer. Although not all rabbits exhibit objectionable behaviors upon reaching sexual maturity, many (if not most) do.
They may hump other animals, people, or even objects such as furniture. If this occurs, try to engage your rabbit in another activity, such as some exploration time, a food puzzle, or some rewards-based training. Spaying will resolve this behaviour.
Rabbits who are fixed tend to have much less of an issue with spraying urine around the house than intact rabbits do. Intact rabbits are more difficult to housetrain. If not, talk to a vet with rabbit experience about having your rabbit spayed or neutered.
By gently talking to your rabbit and petting them, you can let them know there is nothing to be afraid of. If that doesn't work, you can also use treats and toys to distract your rabbit. Even the most anxious rabbit can be comforted when you give them time and patience.
A rabbit who is angry will quickly twitch their tail up and down. Beware the rabbit holding their tail up, it is frequently followed by spraying. Rabbits who are not spayed and neutered will spread their scent by spraying everything in sight. They may also do this when they are upset or simply dislike a person.
1% mortality due to anesthesia. A knowledgeable rabbit veterinarian can spay or neuter your rabbit with very little risk to a healthy rabbit. Don't allow a veterinarian with little or no experience with rabbits to spay or neuter your rabbit.
Unspayed females are at very high risk of two potentially fatal conditions. uterine cancer and pyometra (infection of the uterus/womb). These can both be fatal. Some unspayed females are aggressive and territorial.
Eliminating risk of ovarian/uterine cancers and other uterine diseases such as pyometra (infection in the uterus) in females. The risk of developing cancers of the uterus increases as the rabbit ages. It is best to spay before the rabbit is 2 years of age to greatly reduce the risk.
If your bunny starts peeing on your carpet the first thing to do is go back to some basic litter training principles. Make sure your bunnies food and water bowl or feeder are right next to their litter tray and avoid giving your bunny food, especially treats away from this area.
It is not uncommon to find that during the early part of the year a normally manageable female suddenly becomes grumpy and aggressive. This is a result of the lengthening daylight and possibly a general increase in temperature, which is a trigger in wild rabbits to mark the start of the breeding season.
The signs of a rabbit in heat include: Territoriality. While in heat, your pet will guard her space even more jealously. She will become uncharacteristically aggressive if you try to clean her hutch, for example.
Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent withstands up to one inch of rain per week and only needs to be applied once per month. If you experience more than 4 inches of rain/watering in less than 4 weeks, you will need to reapply the product. Make sure all vegetation is dry before reapplying.
Whether your rabbit is spraying urine, misses the litter box, or just decides to use a new corner as their bathroom, you may find that you need to clean urine stains every once in a while. Rabbit urine can be removed from most surfaces using pure white vinegar or a diluted white vinegar solution.
They are marking their territory. Unneutered males will mark female rabbits and their territory by spraying them with urine. Unspayed females can also indulge in this behavior.