in heat? bleeding...

Question
QUESTION: I had an unspayed, female dwarf-mix bunny, aged 2-3 years old. I saw some blood in her urine. It was not much but it turned the pee pink. Later I saw red blood mixed in with the pee. Later I saw puddles of fresh, red blood. It was as though she was peeing only blood or at least vast amounts of blood. There was so much it looked like someone stabbed the rabbit or something. I checked her over, looked for a broken toenail or other wound but there was none. I am wondering if it could have been just that the rabbit was in heat? I thought it might also be uterine cancer or kidney problems or a bladder infection. What is your opinion? Sadly I felt it best to have her put to sleep so that's what I did. I felt it was best for her as cancer and kidney problems are uncurable and bladder problems are chronic. I have had cats and a dog with kidney/bladder trouble so I made that decision from those experiences. I am very sad and I hope it was not just a case of the rabbit being in heat.

ANSWER: Dear Regina,

It's unfortunate that you had your rabbit euthanized for a condition that might well have been treatable.  The signs you describe were most likely due to uterine cancer, and a spay surgery usually solves this problem with minimal chance of recurrence, as long as chest radiographs reveal no metastasis.  This particular type of cancer appears to be very slow to spread, and is rarely a death sentence if spay surgery is done in time.

If you were wondering whether this was merely due to your bunny being in heat, I wonder why you didn't try to find this out before having her euthanized.  What's done is done.  But the condition was not likely terminal.

I am sorry for your loss.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Do rabbits go into heat? What are the signs?

Answer
Dear Regina,

No, rabbits do not go into heat or have a menstrual cycle.  They are induced ovulators, which means that they ovulate upon mating.  This makes pregnancy pretty much a sure thing when a rabbit mates.

Rabbits do not bleed or come into a mating season.  They are pretty much sexually receptive all the time, and there are no outward signs of receptivity or cyclical fertility.

I hope this helps.

Dana