Winter fat or Feline Pine or…?

[mia]

Do bunnies get winter fat (fatten up when it’s cold)? It’s been colder than usual here and one of my buns looks really fat. Is this something to be concerned about?

If not winter fat, then is it eating Feline Pine? Previously I was using paper based pellet litter but I decided to try Feline Pine. Anyways, the little fatty has taken to eating the pellets, reaching in to grab one pellet, nibble-nibble, reaching in to grab another, nibble-nibble. It’s been happening almost everyday. Is this what’s making her fat?

 Or…

Last year around this time, I had a scare with the other bun and had to take him to an emergency checkup / get IV and force feed CC which he loved =). He had gotten extremely thin losing 1/3 of his weight. I was told not to skimp on pellets. Maybe too much pellets? Though pellet amount has been the same for a year. Last year, I had given more veges and very little, if any, pellets. I’ve practically switched it around (and always with unlimited hay) because I don’t want him looking like he’s in bunny death camp and he looks fine but the other one is fat…

[LoveChaCha]

Uh oh! Well, I’m not so sure with the feline pine as I use Wood Stove Pellets and Chacha doesn’t eat her litter.

I have noticed that Chacha does get a bit more rounder in the winter time! Hehe! It is kind of cute. She loses the weight during spring – summer. They are bulking up for the cold winter.

[tobyluv]

If a rabbit was housed outside in the cold, it probably would eat more food (if extra food was provided) and therefore bulk up. But a house rabbit is usually in pretty steady temperatures and would not necessarily eat more food in the winter, although the seasonal changes may cause the house rabbit to bulk up a little bit too.

If a rabbit ingests a few pieces of Feline Pine on occasion, that probably wouldn’t cause a problem, but you do not want your rabbit to be eating it on a steady basis. You may want to buy a litter box screen to keep her away from the litter. The screens are sold here in the BB store.

If your rabbits are housed together, it may be that one of them is eating the majority of the pellets, which is making her gain weight. If so, you would need to find a way to feed them separately.

[mia]

Is there a point where it’s considered TOO fat? She’s only 2lbs and she looks like her boytoy who’s 3lbs, so that’d be 50% more!

[peppypoo]

Keep in mind also that a lot of rabbits also get extra fluffy during the winter (so fuzzy!), so she might not have gained as much weight as you think.

[Monkeybun]

Only way to tell really if she’s too overweight is to get a vets opinion. They would know more than our eyes would

[Sarita]

I agree about the vet’s opinion or actually weighing her as well. I don’t think our indoor rabbits get “winter” fat since they are indoors.

[Elrohwen]

I would get an opinion from a vet.

One of my rabbits looks much larger in the winter because he gets a fluffy winter coat. I always think he’s getting fat, but his body condition and weight under all that fur don’t change.

[Author]

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