Editing Rabbit (section)

===Diet and digestion===
{{Main|Cecotrope}}

Rabbits are strict [[herbivore]]s<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" /> and are suited to a diet high in fiber, mostly in the form of [[cellulose]]. They will typically [[grazing (behaviour)|graze]] grass upon waking up and emerging from a burrow, and will move on to consume vegetation and other plants throughout the waking period; rabbits have been known to eat a wide variety of plants, including tree leaves and fruits, though consumption of fruit and lower fiber foods is common for pet rabbits where natural vegetation is scarce.{{sfn|Varga|2013|pages=13-33}}

Easily digestible food is processed in the [[gastrointestinal tract]] and expelled as regular feces. To get nutrients out of hard to digest fiber, rabbits ferment fiber in the cecum (part of the gastrointestinal tract) and then expel the contents as [[cecotrope]]s, which are reingested (cecotrophy or refection). The cecotropes are then absorbed in the small intestine to use the nutrients.<ref>{{Cite book|editor-first1=Katherine |editor-last1=Quesenberry |editor-first2=Connie J. |editor-last2=Orcutt |editor-first3=Christoph |editor-last3=Mans |editor-first4=James W. |editor-last4=Carpenter |first1=Susan M. |last1=Smith |title=Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery |edition=4th |date=2020 |chapter=Gastrointestinal Physiology and Nutrition of Rabbits |doi=10.1016/B978-0-323-48435-0.00013-7 |pages=162–173|isbn=978-0-323-48435-0 }}</ref> Soft cecotropes are usually consumed during periods of rest in underground burrows.{{sfn|Varga|2013|pages=13-33}}

[[File:Male rabbit genitalia.pdf|thumb|left|Dissected image of the male rabbit reproductive system with key structures labeled]]
Rabbits cannot vomit;<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bqz9-IUUwdcC&pg=PA359|page=359|title=The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research: Care, Husbandry, and Well-Being-An Overview by Species, Volume 2|author=Bernard E. Rollin|publisher=CRC Press|date= 13 Mar 1995|isbn=978-0-8493-4982-9}}</ref> and therefore if buildup occurs within the intestines (due often to a diet with insufficient fibre),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.extension.org/pages/61402/the-digestive-system-of-the-rabbit|title=The Digestive System of the Rabbit|last=Karr-Lilienthal, Phd (University of Nebraska – Lincoln)|first=Lisa|date=4 November 2011|website=eXtension (a Part of the Cooperative Extension Service)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106120117/http://articles.extension.org/pages/61402/the-digestive-system-of-the-rabbit|archive-date=6 January 2018|url-status=live|access-date=5 January 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref> intestinal blockage can occur.<ref>{{cite web |title=Living with a House Rabbit |url=http://rabbitsinthehouse.org/?page_id=60 |access-date=21 September 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921095830/http://rabbitsinthehouse.org/?page_id=60 |archive-date=21 September 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>