change in litter habits

Question
Our bunny is six years old and has been litter trained for many years. She typically spends little time in her cage and has full run of the house. During the past few weeks she has started to urinate on the floor. Because of this, I have been keeping her in the cage. Any ideas as to why the new BAD behavior?  Thanks

Answer
Dear Beth,

A change in litterbox habits like this is often a sign of a medical problem that needs to be addressed.  Common causes include urinary tract disorders such as bladder stone, bladder sludge, or urinary tract infection.  Please read:

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

In some older rabbits, arthritis or other skeletal degeneration can make it uncomfortable to hop into the box.  If this is the case, a twofold solution can be had:

1.  Pain management from your rabbit-savvy vet and
2.  cutting down one side of the litterbox for easy entry and exit.

Finally, urinary incontinence in a rabbit this age *sometimes* is an early sign of clinical symptoms of Encephalitozoon cuniculi, a microsporidian parasite that infects the central nervous and renal systems.  This can be treated with Panacur (fenbendazole) and/or ponazuril from your rabbit vet, but if this is suspected it's important to get treatment started ASAP for best chance at full recovery and prevention of deteriorating condition.  Please see:

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-2/e-cuniculi.html

and find a good rabbit vet to help you here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Hope this helps!

Dana