english angora female rabbit

Question
she is about 4 months old.  everytime you pick her up to hold and groom she starts to pee.  she will do it more than once and a lot.  is that a sign of a health problem or is there a way to control that.  Thank you.

Answer
Dear Luanne,

It's very unusual for a bunny to pee every time she's picked up, but this bunny is a baby, so it could be that she's learned that she gets put back down if she pees.  She's a smartie!

Try this:  Whenever you want to hold her, first take her to the litterbox and place her gently inside.  Stroke and praise her until she pees, and THEN pick her up.  Eventually, she will make the connection.

It's not likely that she has a urinary tract problem at this age, but please also read:

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

and find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Hope that helps.

Dana