Urine burn & Losing weight?

Question
Dear Dana,
I suspect that my bunny has urine burn. Her rear end and some parts of her feet is losing fur. How do I confirm that it is urine burn? Also, she lost a lot of weight since she started having problems. She still has a good appetite. She still eats and drinks normally. Does losing weight have anything to do with the "urine burn" ? How do I get her to gain more weight? If she DOES have urine burn, does the Dry Bath Procedure with Baby Cornstarch Powder just take away the pain, or does it cure the whole problem completely?  

Answer
Dear Rachel,

If your bunny has urine on her skin, then she will need the wet butt bath to get rid of the caustic substances burning her.  This can be done with the techniques here:

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

and getting as little else of her wet as possible.  Blow dry well, and then put a *very* thin film of triple-antibiotic ointment (NO topical anesthetics added!) to any very raw areas.  The bath won't cure the urine burn, but will keep her comfortable until a good rabbit vet can determine the reason for the problem and treat it.  You can find a vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

and read more about possible culprits here:

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

Note that renal disease can cause wasting and weight loss, so blood work will be recommended.  And if she has molar spurs, her weight loss could be due to that, and not directly to the urine burn. Please see:

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

Sometimes a bunny with bladder sludge will also have dental problems due to the metabolic bone loss causing the sludge, and this can contribute to the loose teeth of dental problems. So the two things could be distantly related, if she has both.

I hope this helps.

Dana