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Forum BEHAVIOR Rabbit doesn’t use litter box anymore

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    • Jennifer H.
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        Hello, everyone!

        My pet rabbit, Zagato, will be a year old in May.  He’s neutered.

        Lately, for the past three times I’ve cleaned his litter box, he has neglected to use it after the cleaning.  He’ll pee and poop just outside of it and even outside of his hutch in his exercise pen area.  A couple days later after the cleanings, he’ll start using the litter box again, but that’s after my repeated attempts at putting his poops in it and trying to get his scent back in it (and cleaning up his “accidents” all the time).

        We have just moved to a new apartment, so is he trying to mark things?

        It’s just so frustrating that he keeps doing this.  He’s never been like this before, to the point where if I found a few stray poops outside, it was just because they were kicked out when he was bouncing around.


      • Sarita
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          It is most likely marking – be persistent with cleaning up after him and he’ll eventually stop.

          I think new environments with new smells can easily cause this behavior with some rabbits.


        • Deleted User
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            I just have to ask! How did you get Zagato’s name?


          • Jennifer H.
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              Thanks, Sarita. I’m just tired of smelling like vinegar all the time. He seemed promising before I went to bed last night, but this morning I found that he had peed in three spots (all kind of in the same area) outside of his hutch (which is where his litter box is). Gah.

              Skipper’s Mama, I’m a car freak lol. Ugo Zagato was a famous car designer back in the day who set up his own independent car company in Italy; he designed Aston Martins, Fiats, Alfa Romeos, and the like.

              I’ve always given my pets car-related names (except for two — both the hamsters I had), and can always come up with one easily for a girl. I struggled figuring out a boy name and thought of Zagato. Plus it’s fun to say.


            • jerseygirl
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                It’s a cute name!

                When you clean his litterbox, are you using a cleaning solution?
                Perhaps for a while don’t clean too thoroughly. Or put some of the soiled litter back in with the new.

                What litter do you use? Are you purchasing it at different place now you have moved? Just wondering if it has varied…

                Last question; do you know if previous tenants had pets?


              • Jennifer H.
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                  I don’t know if the previous tenants had any pets. It’s possible, though, since it’s a “pet-friendly” community.

                  I only really just dump out the old litter and rinse out the litter box. I don’t clean it really thoroughly — just enough to get rid of the uber gross stuff. I’ve tried putting in some of the old, soiled litter after cleaning it, but that hasn’t seemed to help any. :-\

                  I’m using Feline Pine — still on the same “batch” of it since before I moved.


                • jerseygirl
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                    Mmm… Well maybe it just does come down to him acting out because of the move. Frustrating but hopefully it won’t last.

                    If possible, when you do see him using the box, reward him with a small treat. A bit of positive reinforcement can’t hurt.


                  • Jennifer H.
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                      I’ll have to remember to give him a treat when he’s using it. I know he’d like that — as long as he’s not munching on his hay! lol


                    • Jennifer H.
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                        You know, I got to thinking…

                        When Zagato and I first moved into this apartment, he didn’t have the litter box issue. He used it like normal.

                        The weekend after, I was getting low on food and, while waiting for his shipment of Oxbow pellets to come in (which took forever — thanks, USPS), I ran out to the local pet store and grabbed some of their “bulk” pellets (the kind you pour into a bag yourself and is really cheap), just to be a temporary fix so I wouldn’t have to buy a whole bag of Oxbow pellets since some were on the way.

                        When I gave him his first bowl of the pellets, he nudged his bowl away — completely unlike him. Usually he is too excited for pellets. The day after that was the first day I cleaned his litter box here in the apartment, and then, the messes started. He would eat the off-brand pellets, but not as much as usual. Usually he cleans the bowl out completely, but after every feeding there would be some leftover.

                        Now that the Oxbow shipment’s finally arrived, he’s back to being crazy about his pellets and eating them like normal — and there aren’t any messes.

                        I think it was the pellets. Gah.


                      • jerseygirl
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                          Lol ! He was protesting you think? It wouldn’t surprise me. Rabbits!

                          Let us know if he’s consistently back to using his box. Would be interesting to know if this was definitely the cause after all.


                        • Jennifer H.
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                            I think it was protesting!

                            I should clean his litter box this evening after I get home from work (I need to anyway) and see if it really was that.


                          • Mac46
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                              Hello everyone

                              Quick question I replace my rabbits bedding every two days is that a good amount of time to change it. And what’s a good bedding for rabbits?


                            • Sarita
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                                Welcome Mac46 – I’ll answer your question, but it’s always a good idea to start your own thread instead of tagging on another member’s thread.

                                First, rabbits do not need bedding – do you mean litter? Are you using bedding in the whole cage? If so, this is not necessary you just need a litter box with litter in that and changing the litter box should be minimum once a week but more if that is what you prefer to do.


                              • Jennifer H.
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                                  *sigh* I changed out his litter. Nope…still peed outside. Gah.


                                • NewBunnyOwner123
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                                    How often do you change his box? Maybe he doesn’t like you changing it so often? I have to change Harley’s box every other day or he will seriously scoot it across his cage to move it and then pee in the corner the box originally was on the floor ugh. Some rabbits are particular about their litterbox….


                                  • Jennifer H.
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                                      I change it about a couple times a week — always have.


                                    • NewBunnyOwner123
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                                        does he start using it more consistently after a few days? Maybe wait a little longer in between cleanings and see what he does? Or when you do scoop his box don’t scoop all his litter out. And only rinse out his litterbox once a week and see what happens?
                                        When I do Harley and Sally’s boxes I just focus mainly where the pee is and leave quite a bit of poo droppings still in the box. And once a week I will take the whole box and do a good cleaning and rinsing.


                                      • Jennifer H.
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                                          Maybe I should try that. Thanks, NewBunnyOwner!


                                        • Jennifer H.
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                                            Update: I discovered this morning before leaving for work that he has peed in his litter box. And that he peed outside in his area. I now really suspect that it’s marking. Gah.


                                          • jerseygirl
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                                              Posted By Jennifer H. on 03/05/2013 06:59 PM

                                              … When Zagato and I first moved into this apartment, he didn’t have the litter box issue. He used it like normal.

                                              So how long was this for? And other then the feed pellets, there were no other changes at this time?

                                              What type of floor is the litterbox sitting on? Just wondering if you’re able get the urine smell right out. Also, could he be marking because of the smell of vinegar?

                                              Do you use a second box anywhere? I was thinking if there’s another that doesn’t get used as much you could put that one in when the main one needs a clean. So it’s already semi soiled and its a quick switch. No time for him to realize his litterbox is gone…

                                              I’m also trying work out if anything to do with his age. He’s abouth 10 months old? The only thing I can think of that might happen around 10-12 months is the first big moult and this can put a bunny’s nose out of joint, so to speak.


                                            • Jennifer H.
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                                                It was about a week after we moved into the apartment before I cleaned out the litter box for the first time. After that, he’s been doing this.

                                                The litter box is on linoleum/vinyl/whatchamacallit tiles inside his hutch. We custom made a floor for it (plywood’s underneath the tiles.

                                                He only has one litter box. I don’t know if he’s marking because of the vinegar smell. Should I try something else to help clean?

                                                He had one big molt before, but he just recently finished one. Yes, he’s 10 months old as of a couple days ago.


                                              • jerseygirl
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                                                  It was about a week after we moved into the apartment before I cleaned out the litter box for the first time. After that, he’s been doing this.

                                                  I wonder (and hope for your sake) if he’ll settle and use his box again & its been to do with the changes of moving and his sense of security.

                                                  If you always used vinegar before I suppose he shouldn’t have issue with it. Who knows with rabbits sometimes!
                                                  It also wouldn’t hurt to trial a new bag of Feline Pine. Perhaps the old bag has absorbed some environmental smells or something got into it?

                                                  If you’re unable to find out the cause, I think the next best thing to do is make using the refreshed box a positive experience for him. And perhaps a distraction.
                                                  So when you put clean one back in, perhaps spend some time doing some reward work. i.e. Hold treat over box, call him to come or say “Box” and when he jumps in, reward with treat. Hopefully that could override whatever his issue is about the clean litter.
                                                  If you try this, you don’t want him expecting reward every time he gets in the box obviously. So I would reserve it only for when you’ve changed his box and make it clear you’re going to play a game. Maybe by using a specific container to hold the treats and by sitting down in his area, provided he’s ok with that!


                                                • BinkyBunny
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                                                    When you clean out the box, keep a bit of the soiled litter (urine) and some poo, and put it back in the box. See if the “familiar” scent will help him get back into the groove of using his litterbox right away.


                                                  • Jennifer H.
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                                                      I hope it fades away, too, jerseygirl. I’ll have to remember the treat thing the next time I clean out his litter box. And it’s almost time to get more litter anyway — I think I have maybe half of what I need for one change at the moment, so I’ll probably be getting more when I go grocery shopping tomorrow after work.

                                                      BB, unfortunately I’ve tried that. *sigh* :-\

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                                                  Forum BEHAVIOR Rabbit doesn’t use litter box anymore