Litter trained spayed bunny had an accident

Question
Hi Dana,

My spayed bunny has always been good with her litter box use in the past 1.5 years. But this morning I found her urine right next to the litter box. I'm a little concerned. Is this normal or it could be a health problem? About two weeks ago, she got a tick from a boarding place where she's stayed for 10 days. The doctor removed the tick, and she doesn't seem to be affected.
I will keep an eye on her. I would like to hear some opinions from you based on your experiences on rabbits. Thank you very much!

Milly

Answer
Dear Milly,

If this is an isolated incident, I would not worry.  But if it continues, it could mean that she's having trouble jumping into the box because of something causing her pain.  It could be anything from arthritis (she's a little young for that, if she's less than two) to a urinary tract problem, as you can read here:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/urinary.html

If this continues, I would get her to a rabbit-savvy vet for a full wellness check, including bloodwork.  If the vet can't find anything obvious wrong, you might ask about radiographs to check for urinary tract sludge or bladder stones.

I hope all checks out well, and that this was just a one-time anomaly.

Dana