My rabbit choked on kale, now lethargic. Why is his pee brown?

Hello. What you are seeing are porphyrin pigments in the urine. This is perfectly normal & may come & go. Make sure his pelleted diet is fresh & appropriate for rabbits. Rabbits absolutely need hay & grasses to live well & should be available to Snow all day long. You can feed other green leafy plants such as broccoli, cabbage, chard, parsley, celery leaves, watercress, kale, endive & carrot & beet tops. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Usually orange or red urine in rabbits is due to plant pigment dicolouring it, especially beta carotene from carrots, so this is likely why the urine is orange. This is not so concerning but not drinking is. The bunny may be anxious following the death of its friend or could be sick with gut stasis or something else. Considering what happened to the other rabbit I would have this one checked over by the vet asap. Not drinking could quickly lead to dehydration and is a sign something serious is going on.

Normal rabbit urine often reflects their diet and comes in many colors of red-orange-yellow and is not of major concern unless there are obvious blood clots, discomfort when urinating or altered thirst/fever.

It could be that Lusi is experiencing bladder infection, and that the brown color of his urine is due to blood. I would have him seen by a vet first thing in the morning for a physical exam and urinalysis to diagnose what is causing his urine to be brown so he can be treated.

I have not seen urine change this color due to eating banana skin but it is possible, since the pigments in different foods can affect the color of urine and fecal pellets. I would watch him carefully and if this urine color continues have a rabbit vet examine him, take abdominal xrays, and do a urine test to make sure he doesn't have bladder stones, a tumor, or some other condition causing bloody urine. Hope that helps!

Hello, and thank you for your question. It's amazing to hear Rusty is almost 15! If all the foods you mentioned are regular items in his diet, it is unlikely that any of them are a cause for the orange urine. Sometimes if urine is left out to oxidize in air (i.e. he peed on the floor instead of in the litter box), it can turn a reddish-orange colour. If Rusty is otherwise acting, eating, and pooping normally, I would keep an eye on him for now. If any of these behaviours change, I would recommend taking him to the vet. They can test his urine sample for any evidence of abnormal crystals or bacteria, and also assess the concentration of his urine to ensure his kidneys are functioning normally. His diet seems just fine. The only thing I would be cautious of is not to feed spinach too often, which it doesn't seem like you are doing since it is in rotation with other veggies. Spinach in large quantities can cause calcium crystals to form in the urine. I hope this helps, and that Rusty is happy and healthy!

Rabbit urine can be naturally more of an orange color than other mammals. This is partly due to their diet and partly their biology. If Olaf's urine is normally more yellowish than this and remains this color when you stop giving him medication and extra fruit (which is high in sugar so generally only given as a special treat), I would discuss this with your veterinarian. One way you can monitor urine color in rabbits who are litter box trained is to switch to white CareFresh litter, which will allow you to see the urine color more clearly than most other litter types. I hope this was helpful!