Bunny just urinated on the couch.

Question
Hi. My bun is almost four years old and completely intact/not spayed. She has always been healthy, lively, and (for the most part) well behaved. Until now. She just urinated on our couch.

I'm not sure why she did this. Is she ill? Is she being territorial? She does really like this particular area of the couch, but she usually 'digs' on it, sometimes licks it, but never urinates on it. She has never urinated outside of her cage (since she was a baby bun.)

Recently, she has gone just outside of her litterbox (which was not overly full/disgusting at the time) inside of her cage at least twice in the past month.

I'm not sure if I should be concerned that she has a UTI/infection, or if this is just a random act of aggression/territorial behaviour.

Also, after she went on the couch (and we yelled at her) she stood on the floor and allowed me to pick her up and place her in her cage, which is something she never does. Usually she will run to her cage or box (her 'safe' zones) when she knows she is in trouble.

Thank you for your help!

Answer
Dear Tama,

Her submissive behavior in the face of your reprimand suggests that she might be trying to ask you for help with her unusual behavior.  I would get her to a good rabbit vet who can examine her, take a urine sample, check her blood, and do a good, general wellness check to be sure all is okay.

I'm concerned that she's not spayed at her age.  Unspayed female rabbits have an extremely high risk of uterine cancer, and a tumor in the uterus could cause both her unusual litterbox habits and enough pain for her to act out.  I would definitely ask the vet to check her uterus, and to have all the preliminary tests done to have her spayed.  Even if there is a tumor, it might not be too late to spay her and save her life, as this type of cancer does not always readily metastasize, especially if caught early.

Please read:

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

and find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope you will be able to get her to a good vet ASAP to be sure she gets proper treatment.  From what you describe, I think she may be telling you, in her own way, that she's in trouble.

Dana