My rabbits pee smells extremely bad

Question
Hi,

How're you :)
My rabbit, Ronaldo, has really bad smelling pee and it's been stinking up the house.
Clearly that's a problem for my family and I.
Ronaldo is about a year old now so i assume it's hormones, and he
hasn't been neutered or anything like that.
Could that help?
I usually leave the window open and fan on, but i can't leave it open at night because it gets extremely cold & i don't want Ronaldo to get sick, you know.
Is there anyway to reduce the strong smell through diet or anything like that?

Answer
Dear Asha,

If it is actually the urine itself that smells, especially if it's fresh out of the bunny, then this could be a sign of a urinary tract infection.  The bun should be examined by a rabbit-savvy veterinarian, and a urine sample taken for culture and sensitivity testing, if the vet thinks an infection is likely.  If it's just musk you're smelling then yes...neutering will help.

But if the smell is so bad that you're having to open the windows, it's more likely that the urine is collecting somewhere and decomposing.  If this is the case, then a little primer on effective litterbox set-up could solve the problem.

If you follow these steps, you will be on your way to an odor free
bunny area:

1.  When you change the litter, be sure to rinse the box *thoroughly*
with water.  Occasionally giving it a white vinegar rinse will help
keep calcium residues (and unpleasant odors trapped in them) down.

2.  Be sure there is no urine *under* the box or around the boxes in areas
that are not wiped up.  These get to smelling foul very quickly. If you do
have a spot where the urine tends to seep in (for example, an open crack
under the baseboard), remove the box, scrub the area thoroughly with white
vinegar and rinse well with water.  If the urine-soaked area is in a
crack, use a long-bristled brush to reach in and douse it with vinegar.  
A final rinse with a weak bleach solution should help eliminate any
residual odor.  Be sure to let it dry thoroughly before you continue.

If the litterbox is on a carpeted area that has become smelly due to
urine buildupo, it is best to steam-clean the area with vinegar
and detergent and steam-rinse with plain water and/or mild detergent
before continuing to the next step.
  
3.  Once the floor under the litterbox is clean and deodorized, place a
100% cotton bathmat (preferably with rubber backing to prevent seepage) on
the spot and put the litterbox on top of it.  Cotton is composed of
cellulose, and there's something about the composition of the fibers that
helps control odors.  Buy a couple of matching mats, and change them as
the urine spots accumulate, or when you begin to notice a smell.

If the floor is linoleum, tile or hardwood, mop with very dilute (5%)
bleach solution whenever you change the mat.  If it's on carpet,
*definitely* use a rubber-backed mat to prevent urine from touching the
carpet, and perhaps add a cut-to-size section of water-repellent material,
such as the flannel-like fabric used to make water-resistant mattress
covers.  That will keep all underlying flooring protected from urine and
odor.

4.  Fill your litterboxes with Feline Pine or other pelleted sawdust
litter.  This type of litter is absolutely the *best* product for
controlling odor.  Components of the wood itself contain agents that kill
bacteria, which are the reason decaying urine gets to smelling bad.

Sawdust pellets, unlike wood shavings, have no significant pine aroma, and
appear not to release harmful aromatics.  We have used Feline Pine for
more than 10 years, and have seen no health problems associated with it.  
The sawdust of which the pellets are composed completely absorb and
deodorize the urine, and they can be used as compost when saturated.

5.  Note that rabbits, like many herbivores, usually drink more and
produce more urine than carnivores.  The litterbox needs to be changed
more often than for a cat--usually once every three days or so.

6.  Un-neutered/unspayed rabbits usually have stronger-smelling urine than
their neutered/spayed counterparts.  Spay/neuter is highly recommended for
this reason, and to prevent cancers of the reproductive systems,
especially in females.

You can read more about this and other rabbit health and care issues here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/rabbithealth.html

Good luck!

Dana

Dana Krempels, Ph.D.
Department of Biology
University of Miami
House Rabbit Society of Miami, FL
dana@miami.edu