I’ll admit: I knew little about rabbits before Chelsea showed up with one at our house.
I was excited for the chance to bond with a new animal (and excited for my kids to learn more about the natural world), but I did have to wonder if it would be smelly while we kept it indoors and set up its outdoor pen.
As a general rule, rabbits don’t have a smell on their bodies at all. Most of the smell associated with bunnies comes from an unclean tank, droppings, or potential illnesses. Prevent smells by keeping their home clean and fresh regularly, keeping their diet balanced and healthy, and checking for illness.
As you read on, we’ll discuss common causes of smell and how to prevent it.
Table of Contents
Do Rabbits Smell Bad?
Rabbits do not naturally smell bad; they have little to no discernible smell at all.
If you think about it for a second, this makes sense. They are prey animals, after all; a scent isn’t a good thing to have.
Most of the time, when someone “smells” a rabbit, they aren’t smelling the animal.
They’re smelling a combination of the cage and by-products of the bunny.
Fortunately, it’s easy to prevent these smells if we know what is exactly causing them.
What Causes Rabbits To Smell Bad?
If the bunny isn’t causing the smell, what is? Let’s look at the common answers below.
Poop
Poop doesn’t smell great. It’s feces, after all.
But rabbit poop doesn’t have a smell to it in its healthy form.
When a bunny’s diet is in balance, its feces are hard and odorless (it also makes great fertilizer!).
When your furry friend has too much water or fiber in their diet, the droppings may become looser or stickier.
It’s at this point it starts to smell.
This may also happen if your pet gets their droppings wet (such as when my bunny decides to flip over his water onto his litter bow, which takes some serious effort do on his part).
Pee
Urine is one of the parts of a rabbit that does smell often.
If you keep your pet outside or have a litter box, you probably won’t even notice it.
The smell is absorbed quickly when the pee is absorbed.
Pools of urine tend to smell worse, too, so keep the cage clean.
Food
I noticed a smell one day in Oreo’s (the name for our black and white mini-rex) hutch.
On inspection, it turned out the little guy must have moved some of his romaine lettuce and hid it somewhere (and then forgot about it).
The food was a little rotted and added to a smell in the hutch.
Pellets don’t smell, and hay only gives off the general hay smell (which gets stronger in humid weather), but leafy greens and treats will quickly develop an odor.
Ensure they eat the food within a day and remove it from the area if they don’t.
Marking/Spraying
If a male rabbit isn’t neutered, it will spray on occasion.
This hormone spray is scented strongly and serves as a way to attract mates in the wild.
It’s less about claiming territory as with some mammals, but there are some bunnies tending toward this as well.
Get your bunny fixed at the age recommended by your vet (ours says 6 months is good).
This will eliminate the need to spray and have other benefits as well, including:
- Less aggression with other animals
- More relaxed personality
- Extending life by 2-3 years
- Allow it to be kept with other rabbits
Body Odor
In rare cases, our furry friends will have some body odor.
This is a sign of a more serious issue.
Smells like this come from potential illness.
Check for other signs of illness or unclean parts of their body.
If they aren’t grooming themselves, something is wrong.
Take a trip to your vet for an evaluation.
Common signs of illness may include:
- Lethargy
- Lack of appetite
- Change in personality
- Unclean fur
- Bald patches on feet
- Inflamed skin
- Sores or injuries
- Rapid weight loss or gain
Warning! Though it’s logical to us, do NOT give your rabbit a bath. They should not get wet at all.
In some cases, they may even die from a bath.
If you feel the need to clean your bunny, get a bunny cleaning wipe.
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How Do I Stop My Rabbit From Smelling?
Any smells you experience are easily prevented and all wrapped into good rabbit care you’re probably already doing.
Regular Cleaning
The first step is the most obvious: clean your bunny’s area!
Do a check every day when you feed them to see if there are any puddles of urine or poop out of their litter box and clean it out.
Also, remove any leftover food such as veggies and fruit, which will smell in time.
Take your bunny out and do a deep clean as often as you need.
We usually do it every 2-3 days, but some people do it more often than this.
I’d make sure to do this at least once per week, depending on your setup.
Our new outdoor bunny hutch has a tray in its litter area we just pull out and clean.
Change out bedding, litter boxes, and even hay every few days to keep it clean and fresh.
This will stop it from absorbing too much of the dropping smell and prevent stinky bacteria from growing.
Bacteria is also bad for your rabbit’s fur and feet.
Check out if rabbits have paw pads.
Litter Train Your Rabbit
A lot of owners litter train their rabbits. This keeps the smelly droppings in one absorbent place, making it easier to keep clean.
It’s easy to do; the simplest piece of advice is simply to make the litter area very soft.
The rabbits will naturally want to go potty there.
For more details, I learned the most from this video:
Keep Food Fresh
For your leafy greens and treats, always choose fresh food.
If it’s still there in a few days, remove it, or it will start to smell.
Be sure to check for it hidden anywhere when you clean out the cage or hutch; some rabbits like to hide it.
Avoid Too Many Fiber Pellets Or Treats
Hard little pellets are natural for rabbits and a sign of healthy poop and diet.
If it’s too loose, it’ll smell more. This is also a sign your rabbit’s stomach is upset.
Too many fiber pellets make looser, stickier poop.
Be sure to follow the directions on your specific pellets, and consider lowering the amount they get if their droppings aren’t like little pebbles.
If the poop is watery, you need to cut out all treats and fruit now.
Diarrhea is a serious health problem for bunnies.
Stick with just hay and pellets for a while and consider a trip to the vet if the issues don’t resolve in a few days.
Use An Air Purifier
If these natural fixes don’t cover all the odors and there’s nothing wrong with the bunny (as confirmed by a vet), there are a couple of other tricks to attempt.
Sometimes a humid space draws out the smells of the hay even if your friend doesn’t smell himself.
This is more common with indoor rabbits.
Consider an air purifier to remove odors and humidity from the air.
Try Some Essential Oils
Another option some rabbit owners like to use is to add some essential oils through a diffuser to cover up the smells a bit.
Some even rub a bit onto their fur (though I don’t recommend it at all).
Not every oil is good for rabbits, and they really hate some smells, so be careful.
Here are some good ones:
- Eucalyptus
- Fennel
- Lavender
- Lemon
- Orange
- Peppermint
Avoid these oils as rabbits hate them:
- Anise
- Clove
- Garlic
- Oregano
- Tea tree oil
- Thyme
- Wintergreen
- Yarrow
FAQ
Do bunnies smell worse than cats? – Cats have a natural odor they develop in time, though with grooming, they will eliminate most of the scent.
Bunnies have no natural scent from their bodies, as we’ve discussed. In general, they smell better than cats and MUCH better than dogs.
What smells do rabbits hate? – Rabbits fear the smell of any predator’s urine, blood, red peppers, ammonia, vinegar, wintergreen, garlic, and some others.
Is it cruel to keep rabbits indoors? – As a general rule, rabbit owners and experts find happier and healthier rabbits if they spend at least some time outside.
But if this isn’t an option, rabbits can live long and happy lives inside. Make sure they have space to explore safely.
Can you bathe a bunny? – Do not bathe a bunny. Some vets may do something similar to a bath for a specific purpose, but you shouldn’t do this.
Rabbits don’t like getting wet and clean themselves through grooming.
They usually panic in the water and may hurt themselves trying to escape.
Why do rabbits die when they get wet? – Being wet cools down a rabbit’s body temperature quickly.
This may cause hypothermia or trigger other deadly issues.
It also weakens down their fur and skin, making them much more prone to injuries.
This is particularly true on their feet and may cause your rabbit to walk instead of run.
Never bathe a rabbit.
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