Rabiit with posssible live/kidney issues

Question
We have a 3 year old sprayed female mini lop rabbit (3 lbs.) named Katie.  She has a history of GI issues where she her intestines would not push food through.  We have her on upper and lower GI drugs which have seemed to control that issue.  About 8 weeks ago, she started having little "accidents" where she would urinate in her hay bowl instead of using her litter box.  It originally happened once or twice a week - now it is happening several times a day.  Her thirst and appetite have also seemed to increase in the last week.  She is drinking approx. 2 cups of water a day, and eating unlimited Timothy hay.  I fill her hay bin 3 or 4 times a day.  (he also gets a small amount of greens - Kale,dandelion greens, parsley and cilantro - each day.  I took her in t our Vet on Monday and he did a work up on her and stated her a liver enzyme were up and a kidney enzyme was low - he didn't go into specifics.  He put her on .03 cc C-Enrofloxacin 22.75mg/ml 2X a day - in addition to the GI med (C-Cisapride and Metoclopramide) that she is taking.  He seems t think it may be some type of infection.........do you have any further insight into what might be causing her enzymes to be off and her urination accidents.  Other than the increase in thirst, and appetite, and her "accidents", she is still very alert, loves to get attention and enjoys doing all the things she normally does.  Basically - if it wasn't for her urinating on the floor - I would never know she was sick............Any thoughts or guidelines would be appreciated.  THANKS

Answer
Dear Judy,

Chronic infection can cause an elevation in liver enzymes, so the vet was wise to try antibiotics, even if there was no obvious infection.  The urination outside the box and other behaviors suggest that there could be a urinary tract infection (or other urinary tract problem) that could be related to the liver problem, or might be something separate.  But you can read about the possibilities here:

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

You might want to ask about the possibility of treating for E. cuniculi, since this can contribute to kidney damage.  Most of our vets are using Panacur (fenbendazole) for this, though a few are now trying the new, expensive drug, Ponazuril.

Excessive thirst is not a good sign, and indicative of kidney problems.  But I hope that your vet has this under control, and that the antibiotics will do the trick.

Good luck,

Dana