Gritty urine on the tile

[Spring]

Hi everyone!

I noticed a week or so ago that Poppy's urine looked like it had littlecrystals in it. When I wiped some with my fingers, it seemed a bitgritty as well. It almost looked like there's a tiny bit of sugar inher pee.

Her pee is a dark orange/yellow colour. It is not thick at the leastand if I blow on it it has a rippled wave effect. She is drinking afair amount and getting a lot of green leafy vegetables. She's notstraining to pee at all nor does she seem in pain while she isurinating. Her appetite and fecesare perfectly normal. Shehas horrible litter habits, but she's never been good at her litter box.

She gets a small handful of Little Martins Less Active Rabbit food inthe morning and evening, unlimited timothy hay, and approx. 2 cups ofvegetables in the evening. As an occasional treat she gets alfalfacubes, but that's onlymaybe a few small cubesaweek. Her appetite is wonderful!

I managed to collect some urine on a paper towel in case it was justthe texture of the tile giving it a crystal gritty look. I let theurine dry on the paper towel for a little over a day and that didn'tfeel gritty. I didn't see any crystals either, but it may have absorbedinto the paper towel. I managed to get a bit in a plastic container twodays agoto see, but it's pretty much just dried. It didn'tdry to a chalky colour.

The urine looks normal on newspaper, paper towel and coroplast. Justwhen she pees on the tile that it dries and has a gritty texture andhas a few sugar looking crystals.

I'm probably just over reacting, but wanted your opinions. I am lookinginto getting her spayed asap, and wanted to be sure that if there is aproblem with her kidneys or if she is getting too much calcium, that Iget that dealt with before the spay so that it doesn't put her at risk.

Thanks, and sorry for the length.

 

[Georgie]

She may have a bladder stone that has managed tobreak itself up enough for her to pass. I'd probably try and getbloodwork done and check her kidneys and liver function before the spay(just to be safe) and make sure that everything is normal.

ETA: do you clean the tile a lot? It could be dust or other urine stains that are making it feel gritty.

 

[Pipp]

I've been waiting to closely examine Pipp's urine to compare, but she's decided to start peeing on the rug.

I really don't think there's a problem, but if you want a good look,try getting some bubble wrap to put in the pee corner of her litter boxso when she urinates, it's in the clear plastic indentation.You can get a really good look at it, and even take a sample to thevet.

If her pee is looking dense, smellyand/or a dark yellow, I'dreally make sure she's drinking more water by spiking it with a littlejuice, that's a sign of dehydration. (Probably a good idea,anyway).



sas

 

[pamnock]

Rabbits excrete a large amount of calcium intheir urine and it can sometimes feel very chalky. This isnormal and only a problem if the urinary system is not functioningproperly.

Pam

 

[naturestee]

:yeahthat

Like Pam said, it's normal to see some calcium in the urine as long asshe's not straining to pee. Encouraging her to drink morewater never hurts though. It'll just help make sureeverything gets flushed out properly.

 

[Spring]

Oh ok thanks!

I probably will do the pre-spay blood workjust in case forPoppy. I'm still thinking about it, but especially since she's 3, Iwould feel better just to make sure that everything is working like itshould.

She getsa bowl of water, but I'll try to give her a anotherdish with a bit of apple juice in it. She drinks a bit when I first putthe water in, then I usually see her take a few sips through out theday. She's never been a huge water drinker though.

I'll try to see if I can get some urine on bubble wrap.

Thanks again!

 

[Spring]

A bit of an update. I found some dried urine onher coroplast with crystals in it. She's still peeing up a storm andisn't straining at all. I felt some fresh urine and it didn't feelgritty (Major hand washing after! :yuck). I'm worriedthatshemight be having kidney issues.

I've never seen crystals form in Pebbles dried urine, so I'm a bitworried especially with the upcoming spay. I think I might have to takeher in for a urinalysis and blood work just to make sure?

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

I definitely would take allprecautions. This would just be another test. Bestto make sure, seems strange, but I haven't had to touch pee ontile. Hope all is okray:. Keep is posted.

 

[Spring]

Ok, so I finally got some pure apple juice. Atiny puddle spilt while I was pouring it in her water and she slurpedit right up, so here's hoping that she'll drink a bit more. I gavePebbles a tiny bit in her veggie bowl too. She loved it as well! Justto be sure, I'll still probably take her in Friday or Saturday for athorough check up.

The place that does the spays doesn't do blood work (at least not forpre anesthetic). I'm wondering if you cantell enough from aurinalysis? If it is something to do with her kidneys, is a blood cellcount the only option to see?

I'm just trying to figure this out by what I've read. She's probably fine, but just want to make sure.