Difficult litter training – need help, please!

[Angora10520]

Sorry in advance for the long post, but I suspect my bun’s litter issues are territorial, so I wanted to give the full story to get clear advice.

A month ago we adopted a 2 year old spayed French Angora (Farrah) from a shelter who had her for 6 months.  Even though she was in a small cage most of the day, they said she was “still working on” her litter training.  I didn’t think anything of it, because it was love at first sight with Farrah.  The day after she arrived home, we bought a baby lop bunny (Chico), thinking it would be easier to bond them when they were both new to our house.  They each have their own 3-level bunny condo, and have a dedicated bunny room.  Bonding seemed to be a pretty painless process, and they were soon sharing litter boxes, hay and pellets with no problem.  However, while Chico took to his litter box with no prompting whatsoever, Farrah was peeing and pooping everywhere.

Then, within a couple of weeks, Chico started making amorous moves on Farrah (he was almost 3 months old and not yet neutered).  That was the end of the bonding, and I had to separate them as I saw Farrah nipping him.  They alternate run time in the bunny room (Farrah during the day and Chico at night), and I simply cannot keep up with the mess: the first level of her cage is filthy and so is the bunny room, within a couple of hours after cleaning up.  I feel like I’m keeping a cow inside the house, and I’m exhausted!  It’s about 90% Farrah, because Chico still has very good litter habits, although he does mark in response to her as well.

The problem is compounding, since she now needs extra help keeping herself clean around her privates.  She has a litter box with a wire grate, but since she hardly uses it, she’s usually sitting in her own waste when she’s eating on the first level.  Even though the hay rack is optimally positioned right above the litter box, she actually reaches over the box in order to eat.  I’m about to get a 24×24 pan that will cover half the first level, and put a grate on top of it to keep her out of her mess.  While I’m hoping that will help keep her cage clean, it doesn’t solve the issue of her habits in the bunny room, let alone the rest of the house.

I have hope that once Chico is neutered in a couple of months, her territorial urges may diminish and I can try bonding again.  I’m also hopeful because Farrah does keep the other 2 levels of her cage clean, which is a sign she has some self-control.  But right now I’m very sad because she is such a sweet, lovey girl and she craves human interaction, but she’s not getting much these days because I can’t trust her outside the bunny room (already tried), and none of us wants to spend much time in the filthy bunny room with her.  I want to have my happy bunnies binkying around the house, but I can’t have her out and about until she is litter trained.

Thanks for listening, everyone.  Hoping the experts out there can help me figure this out!

[Flopsie]

Well I’m no where as experienced as other forum members so take what I say with a grain of salt

But as you stated if the beh is territorial then neutering should greatly assist in the process

I do have a question though. My understanding of bunny Bx is that they tend to pee in the corner which makes it an easier process to litter train. My bun is not really trained but she does exhibit this pattern. She will always pee in one of the corners. The only time she’s actually sat in her own pee is when she is out of her cage or doesn’t have access to it (e.g. I have her on the couch or her cage is being cleaned). So does she exhibit the tendency to pee in corners

Furthermore based on what I have read on this site and others it would be prudent to start training in a smaller area and then expand so they might need to start litter training I the cage with limited access outside. Not sure is this is correct so others may comment

It kind of sucks tha you can’t even be in the room. Have you considered limiting the bunny room? This way you can partition off a section and have the other half or section of the room clean and remain that way so you can be in it. Also reduces room you have to clean as well. Just a thought

[Flabebe]

I think keeping a section of the bunny room clean and seperate for you and keepin a smaller section for her is a wonderful idea. I recomend that when she is in there you watch her for signs of her going where she isnt sposed to. Then gently say no (dont be loud or scare her) put her in her box, and congradulate her with lots of pets and praises.Have you tried cleaning the space with white vinegar water? It keeps the smell down and takes stains out and discourages her from peeing where she shouldnt.

[Angora10520]

Thanks for your suggestions, Flopsie and Flabebe.  Farrah is peeing along the sides of her cage, rather than the corners.  In fact, it seems she is deliberately dribbling over the edge and I’m guessing it’s in response to Chico’s chinning, which he does most around her litterbox area.  I was going to put up urine guards along with the new tray.

Yes, I’ve read that it’s best to limit the area for litter training, but I’ve held off getting an X-Pen because we’re still recovering from the start-up costs of the 2 bunnies.  We have left over NIC panels from making their condos, so maybe I’ll start there.

Should I move her to a different room?  I’m thinking she may calm down if I take her out of the bunny room entirely and away from Chico.  They seem to be competing for ownership of the bunny room by making a mess (Farrah) and chinning (Chico).  But then she won’t get the exercise she needs, since there is no other place in the house where I can set her up with an x-pen.  And I’m also wondering if moving her will hurt chances of bonding them again once Chico is neutered.  Honestly, at this point it’s more important for me to have 2 litter-trained buns than having a bonded pair.

Again, I can’t tell whether this is more about training her to use her box, or territorial behavior.  She was not litter trained when she was in the shelter for 6 months, in her small cage.  I understand her previous owner gave her up because she was “too much work.”  I didn’t ask any questions about that (silly me!), and just figured it was because Angoras need to be groomed several times a week.  Now I feel like I actually adopted a special needs bunny, and the thought of this level of effort to care for her over the next 6-8 years is really daunting.

Has anyone else dealt with a similar situation successfully?

[Author]

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