Rabbit loosing his coat

Question
Dr. Stephen Roush,
I have noticed in the past few days that my outdoor rabbit is loosing the fur around his neck. The most recent change is that I have put a tray under his cage to catch his droppings; in this tray I have kitty litter. He does not actually come in contact with the litter, but that is the only change I have made. As I said he is an outdoor rabbit (in shade), and we live in Florida. Any help would be great!
Thank You
Have a good day
Christy.

Answer
Christy, It may be that you adding the kitty litter has only a coincidental timing on your rabbits fur loss. Much of what I have encountered about fur loss comes from either a mange type element (that is a microscopic mite that burrows under the skin an causes irritation to the animal, and it scratches to stop the itching and therefore removes the fur), or it is some type of a dietary deficiency that comes from the feed.

I cannot imagine the connection between litter and the fur loss, unless there is a lot of dust in the litter and it is irritating the rabbit. (Could be some mites were in the litter, but I doubt it.) Lets first of all assume the fur loss is coming from the rabbit scratching. Fur just dropping off the rabbit would probably occur all over rather than isolated at the neck. As you know, the rabbit can scratch in that area easily with hind feet. (Look for fine scratch marks from the rabbits nails to confirm that this is happening.)

Here is a plan, as you want to get the fur back, stop the loss, and decide what is doing it. First, if it is a mange type irritation, as I suspect, there are treatments that are often oil based. A call to your vet will tell you what is best. I understand Ivomec has had some excellent results with mange in rabbits. (I am not a vet, but think they are great. You may want to also post this mesage to Dana Krempels, on the Allexperts Rabbits Panel, as Dana specializes in health issues.) Next, remove the litter and see if that makes a difference. I doubt it, but it may have a a causal relationship.

Lastly, keep an eye on this and don't let it linger. If it is caused by the mite that causes mange, it can eventually kill your rabbit if untreated. (Also, it is highly contagious to other rabbits.) If the rabbit starts losing fur elsewhere, it may be that your feed store has made some changes recently to their formulation and that has an effect on your particular rabbit. You may ask them of any changes. Wish I could help more. As always, there is no substitute for seeing the animal in person but that just isn't possible.    Best wishes, and also, contact Dana. regards, Steve