Rabbit urine

Question
Hi Dana,
Our 2 rabbits have been getting along nicely and are litter trained and enjoying life - however today when cleaning them out I noticed some urine outside the litter boxes and remembering what was said about UTIs and change in litter training habits I did a dipstick of it and it was strongly positive for nitrites but all others were normal; no blood, leukocytes, protein or glucose - do you think I should be concerned, the only thing is I have no idea which rabbit it would be as they live together.  Otherwise both are fine eating well etc.
Thanks
Anita

Answer
Dear Anita,

A urine dipstick will not usually be able to indicate infection, and if the urine has been sitting for a while, the concentration of solutes could change as the liquid evaporates.

I wouldn't worry about a UTI if the behavior and appetites are normal.  If you suspect trouble, the signs to look for would be straining to urinate, urinating in many little spots, little sounds of pain during urination, etc.  Please see:

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

If you think the buns need a checkup, then you can find a rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

But if all else is normal, I doubt there's a life-threatening emergency.

Hope that helps.

Dana