Red & Swollen Hocks

Question
i have took a female rabbit in who is 4 months old, she kept getting away from the people who owned her & into my garden after the 4th time of coming back to me they asked me to keep her, it is the first time i have ever had a rabbit, she had fox fleas & she has only 1 toe on her back foot all the other feet are fine, i took her to the vets & has she had no fur on her back legs & her hocks was very red & scabbed, also she was very sore & mattered up on her genitals, the vet treated her with cream & i washed her with salt water every morning,she is in a hutch every night but is in the house all day, she started to clear up lovely but now she is in season & is wet all the time on her genitals & her back legs, now her hocks have started again which are again red & swollen & she is losing her fur again, i took her back to the vets & they give her an injection of antibiotics plus some for me to give her each day she still has 2 days left of it, but it is not getting any better her hocks look bad & she is smelling of strong urine but i do wash her back legs & genitals in the afternoon to stop the urine burning, in the hutch i use hay for her to sleep on & pellets to soak up the urine,
is there any thing you can advice me to do to make her feel better in her self has she must be uncomfortable has she is always licking her self, apart from that she is so loving & running around & eating.
Thank you for any help you can give us, i will try any thing if it make her better.Many thanks  

Answer
Dear Teresa,

Thank you for your kindness in taking in this poor bunny.  I'm sure she'll do well under your care.  However, please be sure the vet treating her is familiar with rabbit medicine, as dog/cat vets who are terrific with those species often don't know enough about rabbits to really help with a special problem such as this one.  You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

It sounds as if your bunny has a urinary tract problem, and most likely an infection from the sound of it (strong-smelling urine).  The best way to know for sure is to have a sample of urine sent off for culture and sensitivity testing:

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

The best way to collect urine is via cystocentesis, since that will avoid contamination with outside bacteria.  But if you would rather avoid that (it involves sticking a needle into the bladder from the outside), you can simple wash her vent very gently and thoroughly with povidone iodine, rinse very well, and then collect a sample by gently expressing the bladder. The vet can show you how to do this, or will do it himself/herself.

The test will tell you what species of bacteria are causing the problem and--more importantly--what type of rabbit-safe antibiotics will be most effective at killing them.

Other urinary tract problems also can cause the urine leakage resulting in the "urine burn" you're seeing:

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

so the vet might need to check for bladder sludge or stones if there is no infection.  These can be treated, but since infection is more common, it's wise to check for that first.

To keep her comfortable while the problem is being treated, here are instructions for a safe "butt bath" and proper salves to protect her burned skin:

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

If you are seeing blood in the urine, it is also possible that she has uterine cancer or pre-cancer, which is very common in unspayed, unbred female rabbits.  This isn't as bad as it sounds, usually.  Spaying her will almost always solve the problem, but it should be done as soon as possible if the vet determines she is a good surgical candidate (once she's been on the right antibiotics for a while, and can withstand the stress of surgery).

You might also be interested in bringing her inside for litterbox training and being an indoor bunny, which is much safer and more fun for her (and for you!).  You can find instructions here:

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

and here:

www.rabbit.org

I hope this helps get you started.  She'll be fine with proper treatment, but culture and sensitivity testing are really a must in a case like this.  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana