rabbit urine odor

Question
i recently bought a rabbit from a local pet and garden store. he is black with one white paw. i already owned a Male rabbit but the rabbits are kept in separate cages but the cages are right next to each other. the black rabbit, tuxedo, his urine is very strong and he sprays it all over the room. we tried buying a pet odor control formula that we put in his water every time we fill it but it doesn't seem to work. i was told that the only way to fix this is to have him neutered but at the moment we don't have the money for it. is there anything else that we could do to control the odor? he also drinks about 5 or 6 bottles of water everyday and when he is out of food or water he will pick up his food bowl and toss it around his cage or nibble at the wiring of the cage and try to pull is bottle off of he cage. it seems as though he is throwing a temper tantrum. can you please help me????

Answer
Hi Meagan,

the best thing to do is save up and get him neutered.  Not only are you smelling his urine, which probably alone is not that bad, but because he is probably sexually mature due to his spraying behavior, his scent glands are probably what you are smelling more of.  If it's kind of a musky smell it's his scent glands.  The only thing that will reduce this is getting him neutered.

In the meantime if you give him a small amount (a couple stalks) of italian parsley in the morning and at night, it may help cut the urine odor a bit.  Wash it well before giving it to him.  Start the first week just giving him one stalk in the morning and at night, and see how well he tolerates it.  Make sure his poops are normal.  If they get runny or he stops eating don't give him any more.  If he is okay and enjoys it, the second week you can give him 2 stalks in the morning and two at night.  Keep it at this level and make sure he tolerates it okay.  Rabbits' gi tracts are very sensitive to changes in diet and need time to adjust bacteria to deal with different/new foods.  You always introduce new things to them one at a time gradually over a long period.

It may help urine odor.  The other thing is to change his litterboxes frequently and when you clean his cage areas use a 50/50 vinegar/water mix.  When cleaning carpet stains, use Nature's Miracle or Simple Solution (both pet friendly) cleaners.

Lee