Bun (intentionally?) peeing on me

[Kathryn D]

Hey everyone! I have had my bun (Milo, male, Holland Lop) for almost 2 years now, and he just turned 2 years old a couple weeks ago. He was fixed over a year and a half ago, so I don’t think he’s necessarily marking his territory (or maybe he is??) but the other night, I was laying in bed about to go to sleep, when he jumped up, hopped on my legs, situated himself just so, and then peed all over my legs. This is very strange behavior for him – he’s litter box trained and is VERY good with it. He has peed on me in the past (a LONG time ago, because I was holding him and he couldn’t get to his box in time – totally my fault) but hasn’t done so in a long time, and this time it felt deliberate. Like I mentioned, he’s been fixed, so I’m not sure this was a territorial thing. A guy friend of mine crashed at my place the night before – could this have been a jealousy thing? Milo and I are really close, he’s very sweet and affectionate, so I’m just wondering if anyone has any insight as to what could trigger this kind of behavior? And how to best deal with it? Thank you!

[Mikey]

He could be claiming you as his since you had a friend over the night before. Some rabbits also act up a bit around spring time due to instincts, so it might be that too

[Kathryn D]

UPDATE:
He peed on my bed AGAIN tonight… In the same spot, just without me there too. HELP!!

[Azerane]

I’m not really sure what could be going on here. Sometimes when rabbits lose their litter habits it is due to an underlying health issue, but this doesn’t seem like that since he’s only peed in the same spot out of his tray.

The other option is in regards to scent. It could be from your friend staying over, or if you’ve started using a different soap, moisturiser or washing powder he may be reacting to that too. Some rabbits don’t like the smell of certain products. And if it’s a new smell they won’t associate it with you or their territory so it needs to be marked.

[Bam]

Sth similar happened with my Bam one spring, sth set off his urge to jump up on the sofa pee and poopmark again, more than a year after his neuter. He was neutered because he peed and poop-marked the sofa (and courted my dog), so this was a relapse. I blocked him from accessing the sofa (he was obsessed with getting up there) and unblocked it a couple of weeks later. By that time he’d lost all interest in the sofa again.

Boy bunnies have some production of testosterone in their adrenal glands even when their testes have been removed. I don’t know if the spring light perhaps could cause an increase in that production (sex hormones are influenced by amount of light, the pineal gland and the shutting off of melatonin-release.)

I don’t know if this is what’s going on with your bun (of course), but in my Bam’s case it went away. It’s been 2 more springs since, and the behavior has not recurred.

[Beka27]

I would probably try to rule out anything health related first, like a UTI… Has he had a vet checkup lately?

Buns (even neutered buns) will sometimes pee on soft surfaces, plus the bed smells so strongly like you, he might be trying to spread a little “eau de bunny” as a gift to you! Lol! Can you block him from getting on the bed for awhile?

[Author]

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