Rabbit starting urinating frequently

Question
Dana,

Thank you for your reply.  It is appreciated.  

So this is not unusual that she was perfect with her litter habits, was very comfortable around us and now suddenly urinates all the time?

Thanks,

Maria

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Followup To
Question -
Hello,

We have a mini-lop that we have had for 3 weeks.  She was 6 weeks old when we got her.  She would always urinate in her cage (which is a bottomless wire cage)and pebble mostly in the cage with an occasional pebble out of her cage.  We were not actively litter training her as she was doing this so well on her own.

She was perfect up until a few days ago when she starting pebbling all over when taken out of her cage and then started urinating out of her cage also.

She did it once the one day, then twice the other and then 3-4 times today in less than half an hour while out of her cage.  She has not been neutered and I was hoping I could avoid having to do that.  I have read over a number of posts with urine and see that it may be hormonal related.  She is only 9 weeks.  I thought that rabbits gain sexual maturity at around 4 months.  In addition to the increased urination she is landing a lot of pebbles also.

What would be causing this and how do we prevent her or lessen her from doing this.  I have seen litterbox training articles but I don't think that is the problem.  I could be wrong.  What or why is causing this?

Help!
Answer -
Dear Maria,

The problem is that she is a baby, and isn't yet potty trained.  :)  At the tender age of 9 weeks, she's equivalent to about a one-year old child, so don't expect miracles just yet.  

She *will* need to be spayed once her hormones kick in, but the poor litterbox habits you describe now are not due to that.  They're just due to her exploring a new territory and marking it as any provident bunny should!  This behavior should subside as she becomes accustomed to her new surroundings, but be careful about letting her have too much free run too soon. This may confuse her, and make it harder for her to connect a specific area to "litterbox."

You can find some good tips on litterbox training here:

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

and also here:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=00062824-sp00000000&sp-q=litterbox+training.

I think that will get you started, but be patient with the little one, as she's just learning her territory and is likely to mark a bit until she's used to the home.

Hope this helps!  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana

Answer
Hi, Maria

It's not all that unusual for the behavior to change as the baby becomes more confident about her surroundings and begins to feel "ownership" of the larger areas of the house.  

Is she urinating in random places, or in corners?  If in random spots, and frequently, then it's *possible* (though not likely in a wee baby) that she might have a urinary tract infection.  You can read more about this here:

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

and find a good vet to help you here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Most likely, this is a behavioral "glitch" related to her growing a bit more adventurous and possessive.  But if you suspect there could be a medical problem, it's never a bad idea to have it checked.

Hope that helps!
Dana