Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR Dressing (pee?) on the side

Viewing 16 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • RabbitPam
      Moderator
      11002 posts Send Private Message

        I decided to consult with my Binky Bunner friends about my own, dear Sammykins. Often I advise on this issue, but am kind of at a loss with my own right now.

        Sammy uses her litter pan very, very well daily for pee and poo. She is very clean, and rarely makes messes. 

        Except one day she squeezed back into this little spot between her water dish and litter pan and peed. I think she was a bit scared of a visitor that time. Got a pee smell there, didn’t dry or blot up fast, but eventually her cage bottom was changed and it was fresh and clean.

        Then she did it again on her new floor mattes. She goes into her litter pan in the morning, at night, during the day, but just once in a while she stops eating pellets and backs up to pee there again. I got fed up with the dampness and odor so just resignedly put some litter on the spot, which I know tells her to go there even more. A mistake, I know.

        She also has been digging in her litter pan lately, like it’s a fun diggy box, though it stays inside. Just seems to be bored and plays in it. Not a problem, just another change in behavior. (I can’t get her to walk out onto tile so she does need more exercise somewhere.)

        Here’s a pix of the pan with the pee spot site next to her pink Diva water dish.

        Any suggestions? (Clean it with vinegar? It probably has a permanent pee smell now.)

        Thanks.


      • Sarita
        Participant
        18851 posts Send Private Message

          Well, that’s a pretty high litter box so perhaps she’s just decided it’s easier to pee on the side rather than hop in.

          What about a shorter litter box?

          Toffee would always have a pee spot by her litter box as well – recently changed her litter box to a big potting soil box and recently noticed her lifting her tail in the corner and peeing in the box now (this is not on purpose I’m sure but it’s her preferred area to pee).


        • Stickerbunny
          Participant
          4128 posts Send Private Message

            Stickers does this too and so does Powder to some extent. What I ended up doing to help it is I poured vinegar (pure no water mix) onto the spots by their litter boxes and let it sit for a few minutes. Then I dabbed it up with toilet paper (I didn’t have paper towels lol), leaving a little of the vinegar on the floor to keep it damp. They didn’t reuse it for a few days, but I think they ended up kicking some litter out of the box and then using the spots the dirty stuff landed.


          • jerseygirl
            Moderator
            22338 posts Send Private Message

              Uh-oh, a Jersey in the making. You definitely want to get I top of this behaviour now.

              If you can’t remove the smell I’d flip the mat over so the soiled part sits under where the litter box is.

              I know you’re up with clicker training so what about some positive reinforcement when she is using her box? Also some of the other exercises for general play? I don’t know if you already do this so apologies if so.

              With her aversion to tile, do you think more of those mats she has extending out into area around her pen would help?


            • MoveDiagonally
              Participant
              2361 posts Send Private Message

                Maybe vinegar/baking soda mix to try to get out the smell? That’s what I used to win a pee war with one of my cats.

                My little Ben used to like flipping her entire litter box… -_- So glad that was just a hormonal phase before spaying and went away.


              • Monkeybun
                Participant
                10479 posts Send Private Message

                  Would moving the litterbox help? Maybe even turning it so that the opening is at a 90 degree angle to what it is now? Maybe with a larger space between it and the water bowl, it wont seem as cozy to her to pee in that spot.


                • RabbitPam
                  Moderator
                  11002 posts Send Private Message

                    Good suggestions. MB, I thought of that, and saw her eyeing another tight spot, so was afraid I was reading a mischievous bunny mind. It would be the simplest to cover it (after cleaning with the good suggestions) and see if that helps or if she finds a different spot. I think it’s nicely protected in that spot so she may feel safe there, too.

                    I took a pix of her in her litter pan so you could see her using it. Also cropped a close up so you could see how cute she is.  

                     


                  • LittlePuffyTail
                    Moderator
                    18092 posts Send Private Message

                      The little stinker. I’m actually having a similar problem with my little Diva. She insists on peeing in her hay area.

                      I LOVE her little “Diva” dish. Where did you get that?


                    • Elrohwen
                      Participant
                      7318 posts Send Private Message

                        Hannah does this too. What is it with the girl-buns? I keep my litter boxes in a pet store cage though so it’s easy to wipe up when she decides to go right next to the box. She does it in that same sort of spot too.

                        Hopefully moving it around helps. It might throw her off enough so that her habit is broken.


                      • LBJ10
                        Moderator
                        16870 posts Send Private Message

                          What about putting something in the tight spot so she can’t get her little rear in there?


                        • jerseygirl
                          Moderator
                          22338 posts Send Private Message

                            Sammy! Pretty bunbun.

                            I was just thinking similar LBJ. Maybe trying something that also acts as a step to her litter box?

                            It’s funny how many of our girl-buns do this. We should conduct a survey.


                          • RabbitPam
                            Moderator
                            11002 posts Send Private Message

                              My mother suggested moving her water dish over also, after cleaning up that spot, and you know, maybe it’s just that simple. And I’m an idiot! I have a spare water dish (the Diva is too shallow so she finishes the water sometimes) and I could put it There instead of on the other end. DUH!

                              I also wondered if it had started before or after I got fed up with Petco’s Aspen litter shavings and bought Kaytee’s from Pet Supermarket instead. It seems that Petco was phasing out the pure aspen in favor of a “wood shavings” type, and we all know that means a mix of pine shavings and whatever mystery wood. So if she doesn’t like the Kaytee, I may need to find another aspen shavings brand.

                              But I think it’s more a need for exercise that is making her dig in her litter pan that starts a mess. The outside peeing is separate.
                              All our girls do this? It does seem like there is a little bunny reason in their little diva brains then.

                              LPT – I got the Diva dish at Petsmart 4 years ago. In the food dishes aisle. It was with the smaller cat food ones.


                            • mocha200
                              Participant
                              4486 posts Send Private Message

                                Lulu does this sometimes too! So annoying! Have you thought of a litter screen for the digging problem? Mocha has been obsessed about digging his litter box lately and I am going to make him a litter screen. I also wonder if more exercise would help him.


                              • RabbitPam
                                Moderator
                                11002 posts Send Private Message

                                  So I took her out for a run in the dining room while I cleaned out the area. She stayed in my arms for quite a few minutes before I put her down and was very cuddly – so unusual for her. The she didn’t run. She stayed on the rug and watched me cleaning her space in the next room.

                                  I washed the spot with vinegar, blotted it to surface dry and then sprinkled corn starch on it to soak it up completely over time. I moved a piece of clean matte on top of it and set the purple water dish on that. No more spot to pee on. I cleaned the rest of the floor and aired out one blankie. She hasn’t tried to pee out of the litter pan since.

                                  However, she is avoiding her lettuce in her dish. I think it’s possible that she is getting a whiff of the vinegar and it puts her off. I gave her a couple of lettuce leaves from her dish while she was lounging in her basket and she gobbled them up. So I think the change to her eating area is not making her happy. I hope the smell (I can’t smell it) will dissipate soon and she’ll go back to her food dishes. Meanwhile, she ate carrots and a treat, so she can chew OK.

                                  I am getting kale tomorrow. Will empty litter pan again and see if it all does the trick and pleases Herself.


                                • mocha200
                                  Participant
                                  4486 posts Send Private Message

                                    RP: Hope she the peeing has stopped for good! I know how annoying it is! Also hope she starts eating out of her dish again! If all else fails you will just have to hand feed her highness grapes and fan her with a palm branch in her royal bed!


                                  • LittlePuffyTail
                                    Moderator
                                    18092 posts Send Private Message

                                      She is a Diva! “How dare you change my eating area? Well, I’m not eating then, so enjoy worrying about me.”

                                      We just got a Petsmart here in December. Gonna have to check out the food dishes. I must say, I was superbly disappointed with the rabbit selection. Not one treat in the store I would feed my buns….


                                    • LBJ10
                                      Moderator
                                      16870 posts Send Private Message

                                        They don’t have the Oxbow treats there LPT? They have them at my local Petsmart. Otherwise, the “treats” are no different than other pet stores unfortunately. They have some pretty cool toys though. Lots of willow and grass toys to choose from.

                                    Viewing 16 reply threads
                                    • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                                    Forum BEHAVIOR Dressing (pee?) on the side