Bloody urine
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Bloody urine is also known as hematuria. It is important to differentiate from red or red/brown colored urine cause by the excretion of dietary pigments in urine or blood originating from the reproductive tract in females.
Symptoms
- Red-tinged urine with or without extreme urinary frequency (pollakiuria)
- Blood clots expelled during urination (micturition)
Causes
The most common causes of hematuria are in the lower urinary tract:[1]
- bladder sludge and stones
- urinary tract infection
- cancer
- trauma
The upper urinary tract is a rare cause of bloody urine:[1]
- kidney stones (nephrolithiasis)
- cancer
- bacterial infection
- kidney inflammation (glomerulonephritis)
- trauma
Genitalia are the most common cause of hematuria in females:[1]
- uterine cancer
- uterine infection (pyometra)
- trauma
Lastly, there can also be systemic causes such as a low blood platelet count (thromboctyopenia) and an impaired ability for the blood to clot (coagulopathy), especially due to anticoagulant rodenticides.[1]
Sedentary, obese rabbits on diets consisting mainly of commercial pellets or high alfalfa hay content are at high risk for bladder sludge and stones, while middle-aged to older intact females at risk for uterine cancer or pyometra.[1]
Further reading
- House Rabbit Society, Red Urine: Blood or Plant Pigment?
- PetMD, Blood in the Urine in Rabbits
- Rebecca Saint, Causes of red urine in rabbits
- MediRabbit, Hematuria or the presence of blood in the urine
- BA Garibaldi, JG Fox, G Otto, JC Murphy, and ME Pecquet-Goad, Hematuria in rabbits.
- SmallAnimalChannel.com, Leticia Materi, PhD, DVM, What To Do When You See Red In Your Rabbit’s Urine
- PetEducation.com, Red Urine in Rabbits