MAJOR litter box issues–SOS!

[quirkygirlx]

This is a long story but the details are important..

My mini lop has always been PERFECT with his litter box…. he originally had one of those HUGE corner trays with the grate over it, and then i started giving him more run room during the day as he was so good…

Then he discovered my cat’s litter box (I KNOW it’s not the most ideal situation…).. and he was only using it when he was out and I watched him carefully. My vet said as long as he wasn’t digging in it or anything it was fine–he did nothing but hop in, use it, then leave.

THEN I don’t know if it’s because he hated pooping in his condo or what, but then he stopped using HIS box altogether and entirely using the cat’s box.. I dealt with this just cleaned it every morning and night, fine with me.

Now he recently has started slacking on his litter box habits–he started hopping out of the cat’s box mid-poop leaving a poop running trail… It got to the point it was gross and my apartment is tiny so there isn’t much I can do regarding the placement of the cat’s box.

I tried to “re-train” him to use his own box, loaded a big cat box with hay and rabbit litter, and put it and him in his condo… he got PISSED at being locked up and not only dug out the entire box and made a major mess, but also pooped ALL over the condo–point made bunny, you’re mad at me

So I tried to compromise–I moved the cat’s litter box into his condo (leaving the door open so the cat could use the box too) and thought hey at least his “mid-running out” poops would be contained and they could both still share a box like they’re so adamant about, right?

NOPE. Not only did Charlie dig out the entire cat’s litter box (just cleaned so no poop thank god) but he also ran back to the spot where the litter box USED to be and pooped ALL OVER–it was a massacre.

I’m completely stumped I think I’m running out of options! He digs like HELL if you give him his own box and destroys it, refuses to use his grated litter box whatsoever anymore (will poop in front of it instead) and if you move the cat’s box he destroys that too (mind you he never once dug in the cat’s box when it was in it’s original spot)

He is ENTIRELY too smart and stubborn for his own good. He’s pissed he’s not free roam and pissed I switched up the routine, which I get… but he’s running out of the box mid-poop leaving a mess in my tiny apartment and the box isn’t exactly in a super concealed place… so it’s gross.

I’m really at a loss here… I want him to be free roam and happy as always but also I want him to USE a litter box (any box, I don’t care at this point, even if he uses the cats box I’ll clean it 2x a day again as long as he makes it all IN the box!)

Any suggestions anyone? Either on how to slow him down hopping out of the cat’s box or to get him to use his own litter box? Like I said I want him to be able to free roam like always as long as he uses A box ANYWHERE it’s fine with me… Even if I move the cats box (although I really have nowhere I can move it to that it’ll fit and he can’t get to it) he still poops there like there is a box to poop in, I’m SO CONFUSED!

I’m getting desperate here 

[Sarita]

Moving to behavior.

[Beka27]

I glanced at your profile, is this the 2nd bun you just adopted, or your original bun?

Do you know that he is “mid-poop” when he hops out, or could he be kicking poops out of the box, or they are sticking to his feet and then they get flicked off?

My rabbit will sometimes send a few poops flying jumping out of the box. They’re so lightweight that she can get really good distance with them. I have found them 8-10 feet away from the litter box and this was when she was penned up overnight!

Even with neutered bunnies, “litter trained” means that 100% of the pee is in the box, and at least 90-95% of the poops are in the box. You might always have some poops here or there, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t litter trained. Can you estimate what his ratio is?

Could he be marking his territory as well?

[Beka27]

My best friend has got to be my $20 rechargeable hand vac. I use it to just zap up the stray poops a couple times a day. Fortunately, bunny poop is dry!

[quirkygirlx]

It’s my original bun, the addition didn’t work out :/ they started fighting alot so I actually found him an AWESOME home through the people I originally adopted him from He is bonded with a female now and is so much happier… and my guy seems ALOT happier too–I really do think he wants to be the only bunny, and he ADORES my cat. 

Very true, it could be that they’re sticking to his feet or anything… but he’s definitely not making 90-95% of them in the box more like 60-70% I’d say… and unfortunately with how small my apartment is he needs to be a tad better than that with it. He used to be soo good with it I’d only have to clean up maybe 3-4 poops per DAY, right now I’m going crazy cleaning up after him basically every time he hops in there. 

I think he originally started using the cat’s box as marking territory, but now I think it’s just a habit. He doesn’t like pooping where his hay is, hates using the box in his condo (he has a 3 story NIC condo) and is more then happy to use the cat’s box that is in the same room but about 10 feet away… 

Like I said, it’s strange because I even moved the cat’s box into his condo so they could both use it and hoping that it would hold the poops in a more contained zone, and he got PISSED and dug everything out of it!

He is VERY set in his ways lol and he’s great as a house bunny–but I need him to be more reliable with his box. I dont mind cleaning up 5-10 poops a day but when I see an equal amount in the box as it is out, then I worry. And my boyfriend is NOT happy about it either and I don’t want it to come down to Charlie being caged up again permanently. 

As of now I have him in his condo with a box with hay and litter in it (and the high walls on 3 sides that clip onto a cat box because I knew he’d be pissed and dig in it) and once he got over being mad about it he’s used it all day and has been MUCH better with containing the poops–so is this helping re-train him so eventually he can be free roam again? I know he’s never going to stop using my cat’s box, I’ve already accepted that–even if the cat box isn’t there or I block it off he’ll poop in that area right next to it a TON like “hello, put the box here for me” lol

[quirkygirlx]

Also ironically just looked over and my cat was in my rabbit’s cage (I let him out for a bit) and she was using his box. I CAN NOT keep these two separate from each others boxes my apartment just is not big enough.. AHH

[Beka27]

If he’s doing better in his condo, you may need to keep him confined to that area for a little while (maybe a week). This should help to reinforce where he needs to do his business. He’s not going to be happy about it, I’ll tell you that right now, but it’s only short term.

Sorry your second bunny didn’t work out but I’m glad to hear he’s doing well in his new home! 🙂

[quirkygirlx]

Yea, you’re right, I just feel so bad! He is SUCH a lover now that he’s free roam and soo much happier but I know he’s going to revert back to being grumpy and isolated when I lock him in I’m a sucker I know…

[quirkygirlx]

Do you think maybe a covered litter box would help? 

Or maybe a bigger one? he always poops all the way at the end anyway so maybe a bigger box would catch more of the strays? :/

[Beka27]

And did this behavior start while the other bun was there or shortly after? It could be residual marking against his scent… Do you have access to a carpet cleaner to thoroughly clean the carpet?

[quirkygirlx]

Actually it did start after that bunny got here.. he wasn’t litter box trained very well so they had alot of poop wars…

He didn’t start using my cat’s box until after he became free roam, which was after the new bunny left.. do you think that has something to do with it? 

[Beka27]

Yeah, I feel like either or both could be contributing to this… Unfortunately, we can’t ask him “Dude! What’s going on with you!?” Lol!

[quirkygirlx]

LOL so true! Like “DUDE, you’d be 100% cage free if you’d just use the litter box perfectly”! Haha… rabbits are so complicated

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