"Don't bathe a rabbit!" Huh?

If a rabbit gets truly filthy (e.g., doe is sprayed repeatedly by buck, rabbit of either sex decides to "play" with poo in a litter box--eats, smears on its shoulders, belly, etc.), the advice I've seen so far says: "Don't bathe a rabbit!"

But there are videos showing seemingly happy, or at least cooperative, lagomorphs undergoing "water therapy":

-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... tAU#at=140 Rabbit being bathed in a small dishpan (?) in the bathtub; owner also towel- and blow-dries her (for an hour); rabbit's body language is alert, relaxed.
-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuX7C4yflhQ A Lop being bathed with a personalized showerhead-hose (not sure what to call them); the color of the water coming off of the Lop tells me that this bath was needed. The drying "technique" at the end, though, is awful....
-- This Spanish-language site provides a checklist telling an owner the circumstances under which it's permissible to bathe a rabbit and the supplies, methods, etc., for doing so: http://www.conejitosenanos.com/index.ph ... ne-conejo/ (e.g., no more than twice a year, only during temperate or even warm weather, pH-neutral shampoo made specifically for rabbits or, if such isn't available, a baby shampoo, towel or blow rabbit completely dry).

Some pet- and rescue-rabbit sites lay down a dictum that one should "never" bathe a rabbit, since they clean themselves "like cats, and no one bathes cats." Well...uh...I bathed my own cats for years when my flea-combing just couldn't keep up with the fleas (winters without freezing weather allow the fleas to keep building up in the environment) or when one particularly graceless cat kept peeing himself. I've also had cats with oily coats. When I worked at the grooming shops and at the humane societies, we bathed cats all the time! So if cats are the benchmark for rabbits, I'd say that a rabbit, like a cat, needs a bath when it needs a bath.

Classic advice for bathing a cat at home--I just can't remember where I read it: "If you're thinking about bathing your cat, think again, lie down, rest, take some deep breaths, and take another look at the cat. If you still think the cat needs a bath, prepare yourself. And pick up the cat LAST." Maybe the same for bunnies?

the problem with folks is that sometimes rabbits FREAK out when getting a bath, and being prey animals sometimes get sick or dead as a result.

I've bathed many a rabbit without there being any issues.

and making rabbits swim in warm water is part of my "sick tummy" routine that helps get them going again.

So I just chalk it up to hysterics... the worry of "what if" my rabbit is one who freaks and gets sick or dies.

When I got Meatloaf he was a mess smelled like pee:

I used a damp wash cloth and brush this is the next day:

I was tempted to give him a bath but the wash cloth and slicker brush had him clean. I just got him and didn't want to stress him out anymore then he already was.

This made me think.. I've accepted the no-bathing rule as a truth without questioning it. Figuring they're gonna die if they get wet. However I just remembered that I used to take Zplit with me to the lake and swim and he did fine (untill his coat got soaked, then he sank. And I had to help him if he had been swimming too far out). But he liked it and followed me out despite the obvious risk of drowning..

Its strange how one can just accept a truth even though the own experience has shown it to be wrong...

I bathe cats. Regularly. I have a pair of cats who NEED it...one is a Persian, and has a mountain of coat...the other is an arthritic Munchkin who can't reach half of her body. She keeps her front half pristine, but the back half...well, bath time! Not poop or anything, just she gets greasy and dingy. I know it is time for a bath when I see her straining to reach her butt, tongue stuck out as faaaar as it'll go...she hates to be yucky, LOL.

I also bathe other people's cats! I have a client who has a raging cat allergy. Cat needs bathing to strip all the dander and saliva proteins off. If the cat didn't get baths, the cat would have to GO, because his allergies border on "life threatening." He can never physically touch her, either.

But yes, I bathe cats. The idea that you can't bathe a cat--or a rabbit--is silly.

No, I don't RECOMMEND bathing a rabbit if you can achieve the desired result with a baby-wipe and a brush...but sometimes that just doesn't cut the mustard. When I first came to this forum it was for desperate help...I was new to rabbits and had a rabbit I'd just bought go downhill fast with coccidiosis. She had diarrhea all over her back legs and I didn't want her covered in filth...so I bathed her.

She did pass away, but it was four days later and due to coccidiosis, not the bath.

I bathed another rabbit recently, too. I had a BEW doe for sale...arranged to meet the gal in another city...two days before I left, my dad did some gardening and pulled out ALL my rabbit trays to use the poop, and of course, OF COURSE the white sale-doe got peed on. Not just any pee, but thick orange buck pee. :roll: I bathed her to get her clean...only part still yellowy was a spot on her face I couldn't adequately wash.

I don't think rabbits need a bath as a routine maitenance thing unless they have a grooming issue, but I see no problem with bathing them if they have an issue. My buck, Boss? The doe next door sprayed him. The DOE...sprayed HIM. So now he has an awful pee stain...if I take him to a show next month, you can be sure he gets a bath beforehand!!!!!<br /><br />__________ Fri Aug 16, 2013 8:34 am __________<br /><br />I think part of the problem is that the House Rabbit Society people look at everything in black-and-white terms. This is good but that is bad. This is how to do this, and it is the ONLY way to do this. That's their mentality. It doesn't take individual needs into account.

I just expressed this not long ago on another site where someone was on about feed amounts. I have two bucks who are the same weight...one gets a little more daily pellets than the other, since he doesn't hold condition as well. I have two does who are IDENTICAL in weight...one gets almost a quarter of a cup more than the other, because the one doe is a "pacer" and she runs off all her condition if she isn't fed enough. I don't say "I will feed x amount of pellets per pound", I look at the rabbit. I let the rabbit tell me the story. Did the rabbit leave food in his or her crock? Feed less next time. Is the rabbit getting too lean? Feed more.

By House Rabbit rules, I am overfeeding some, underfeeding others. Yet they are all in good weight, good flesh and with great coats.

So their "never bathe a rabbit EVER" doesn't take into account individual circumstances.