Rabbit urine can be removed from most surfaces using pure white vinegar or a diluted white vinegar solution. Tough or dried stains may need some time to soak, or they will require the use of stronger chemical cleaners.
All urine, whether it's from your pet rabbit, any animal or even a toddler is likely to leave a stain. That's thanks to urochrome or urobilin, the chemical pigment that makes wee yellow. The intensity of the stain may get better or worse over time and it depends on what was in the wee or how hydrated the animal was.
Rabbits produce urine that is thick, concentrated, and difficult to clean; they produce large volumes of feces; and they shed fur. Airborne contaminants that can be generated by rabbits include particulate, endotoxin, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and rabbit salivary secretions, which contain high levels of rabbit allergen.
Cleaning rabbit urine stains from the carpet
Using a towel or cloth, try to soak up as much urine as you can. This will stop the stain from getting worse. Always lightly wipe the stain rather than rubbing it into the leather or cloth interior to avoid the odour spreading or being further impregnated into the fibres.
Normal rabbit urine will vary from a pale yellow or clear colour, through various orange and brown colours, right up to a deep red colour. Rabbit urine may also look cloudy due to the presence of calcium carbonate being excreted within the urine.
Healthy rabbits excrete excess calcium salts via the renal system, and this can give the urine a chalky or opaque appearance. The urine will often dry to a white, chalky residue. Unless the residue is thick, pasty, and the color of mustard powder, this is normal, and should not be considered “sludge.”
The beauty of it is that rabbit urine has no expiry date as long as it is kept covered after harvesting to preserve ammonia.
Make a solution of white vinegar and water. Pour the solution onto the affected area or use a rag to dab it on. Allow the carpet or rug to sit for 2 to 5 minutes to allow the acids in the vinegar to break down the alkaline rabbit pee stain. Place a clean dry rag over the wet area.
Sludge will make the urine look cloudy and murky. When dried, it will have a rough, grey, chalky residue and may even have the consistency of sand. The sludge will often leave traces on the rabbits fur around their hindquarters.
Rabbit pee can have a strong smell, and unaltered rabbits (especially males) will sometimes emit a skunk-like smell during mating season. A sick or disabled rabbit will also need a little extra care to keep them clean and smelling good.
This is because buns like to mark their territory, and if a space smells unfamiliar, they claim this space by 'marking' it - i.e. leaving their scent in the form of their pee and poop.
Asymptomatic urinary tract infections were recovered from the urine of 40 of 100 rabbits, and identical bacteria were isolated when the rabbits were retested. Urine samples which yielded significant growths of bacteria also had pus cells.
This is their way of marking territory. In order to stop this behaviour, you may consider spaying or neutering them. There are other benefits for this, rabbits can live longer and healthier as the risk of cancer and UTI(Urinary Tract Infections) are greatly reduced.
Both male and female rabbits can urine spray. But it is most common in unneutered rabbits, especially males, from puberty onwards. Rabbits will spray urine around their territory as a way of communicating their boundaries to other nearby rabbits.
Bunnies like most pets want to establish their place in our homes, they are territorial when it comes to competing for the things they want and one of the ways they will establish their place on the couch is by marking it with their scent.
White vinegar has special properties that keep it from lifting color out of carpets and fabrics, but has enough acidity to neutralize the urine smell. The greatest thing about vinegar is that it is all natural and completely safe for pets and humans. If there is a lot of urine still present, blot up as much as you can.
No they don't! Rabbits themselves are very clean animals with odourless fur and they fastidiously groom themselves all day. Only their urine smells so as long as you keep their living area clean (spot clean every few days and a full clean-out once a week) you shouldn't have a problem.
Rabbit urine has several merits when it is used as a fertilizer and pesticide—it can be cheaply sourced in sufficient volumes, it contains a high level of nitrates, phosphorus and potassium, which are needed by the plant to grow, and it is environmentally friendly and non-toxic [26].
Is Rabbit Poop Harmful? While rabbits can carry parasites like tapeworm and roundworm, their waste is not known to transmit any diseases to humans.
Other causes of unwanted urination
Rabbits may urinate when picked up as a result of fear or stress. Rabbits are prey animals, and getting picked up can stimulate the feeling of being caught by a predator.
According to [65], the colour of rabbit semen is white with the intensity dependent on the concentration of the sperm.
Normal rabbit urine can range greatly in color. It can be pale yellow, dark yellow, a range of oranges, browns, and even rusty red. There are many factors including genetics and diet. Even though it ranges in color, normal urine is always watery and not thick.
Pasteurella (Snuffles)
In its respiratory form, it is often known as 'snuffles', as the rabbits have a milky nasal discharge which hinders nose breathing. They often have a similar condition in the eyes causing conjunctivitis and may have pneumonia as well.
In fact, there are no confirmed cases of transmission from a rabbit to a human. This is because rabies is spread through saliva transferred through bites and scratches from an infected animal. Most of the time a rabbit would be killed outright and not have the chance to pass on the disease.