Potty habits in new house

[mia]

My buns and I have been in our new residence for about 3 weeks. Since I’m still unpacking because I’m a slacker, for the past week I have been carrying them from their condo upstairs to the living room downstairs so they can play and exercise. There is a litter box in the living room and they know where it is. However, they don’t seem to want to use it. I keep scooping the poo and putting it in the litter box and spraying with vinegar… no use.

Previously, I lived in a studio apartment so when I let them free roam, they would just go back into their condo to potty. Any suggestions? Do I need to give them / confine them to a home base in the living room to train them? Or…?

[MayaConsuelo]

I moved three months ago and it started problems too. My bun did the opposite of yours, he went from a very large space to a studio. In the past when he had too much freedom he started peeing all over the place. Now since we moved here he decided the second floor of his condo (which I can’t reach to clean) is another litterbox and has been peeing there constantly. Once they pee in a place, I don’t know how to break their habit of peeing there. I was thinking about breaking apart the condo for a thorough cleaning and then putting a plastic sheet over the carpeting in that spot. If anyone has ideas I’d love to hear them.

Why do you have to carry them downstairs, are you trying to keep them out of certain rooms or something? It might be more familiar if they know the route back to their condo by foot. Also they might just be trying to mark new territory (which may have animal smells from the previous tenants).

[mia]

If it’s the same place you need to rid of the smell.
Mine are not marking as it’s more than stray poo; there’s mounts sometimes. I have to proof and clean areas between the condo and the living room so that’s why I carry them. Figured it’d also help them a bit in recognizing that being held isn’t always to “bad” places.

[Author]

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