Previously potty trained rabbit peeing everywhere

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This topic has 10sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 5 months ago by Rex.

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- 11/22/2010 at 1:31 PM
  Rex
  Participant
  42 posts
  We adopted a second bunny to bond to our existing rabbit 2 1/2 months ago. They are still in separate quarters (bonding is still not going well), so I don’t know if that has anything to do with it. Anyway, this new bunny came from a backyard breeder situation, but was potty trained when we brought her home. For the last 4 weeks, however, she has been peeing everywhere in her cage. And she is not pooping in the litterbox at all. It is the stupidest thing, she pees on the floor – soaking up her blankets and her feet/butt are covered in urine since she sits in it. Since we are bonding them, we were switching off cages (an x-pen and a dog crate set up side by side) but we have left her in the crate recently because we don’t want pee all over the carpet. I finally rinsed her feet and butt off in the sink last night (just with plain water) to get some of the pee off. It is gross.
  
  We have a jumbo litterbox in the crate that takes up almost half of it, and we would like to move her to a pen but the pee it out of control. Any suggestions?
  
  (Our other bunny has perfect litterbox habbits and his haven’t changed).
- 11/22/2010 at 2:50 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Welcome!
  If your female came from a backyard breeder she was most definitely not potty-trained because she would not have been spayed. Backyard breeders do not typically have spayed females~ She may have been kept in such confinement and single that she was clean enough in that setup. However, once confronted with her new situation, a rabbit to be bonded to, many rabbits’ litter habits fall apart, temporarily.
  Is she spayed yet? If she is, it probably has to do with the pre-bond situation. Another thing is litter setup: what is her litterbox like? How big? How big of a space does she have? What flooring is she on? What type of litter are you using? Many rabbits pee on fabrics. Another thing is, have you had her checked by a vet? If she came from a bad situation, and is still intact, she may be harboring a urinary tract infection.
- 11/22/2010 at 3:16 PM
  Rex
  Participant
  42 posts
  We got her from a rescue group, the same one we got our other guy from. Before they put her up for adoption she was rehabilitated (she was severely underweight) litter trained, spayed, etc. She was fine with her litterbox for two months after we got her home, then just stopped. She seems comfortable and fine with the bonding – it is our other rabbit who has territorial issues and picks fights. She always uses the litterbox when she is on bunny dates in our kitchen. We did have her checked out by our rabbit vet when we got her.
  
  She is a 3.5lb mini rex in a 2′ x 4′ crate with a jumbo cat box (wood pellet litter) and plastic flooring, covered by cushy fabric. This is a temporary cage situation, the plan is for them to both have free range in the living/dining room with an x-pen “home base”. We were recommended not to let them out into the shared territory until they are bonded, so it is frustrating having them both caged up.
- 11/22/2010 at 3:17 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  OK, I got it wrong then, my bad~ It could be the fabrics, try removing those and see how she does.
- 11/22/2010 at 3:37 PM
  Rex
  Participant
  42 posts
  I tried taking the fabrics out, and all it did was make her soak up the pee in her fur after she peed on the plastic floor. She was literally sitting in a pee pond all day… she got really, really gross. Since I didn’t work today, I have noticed that she’s peed twice in on her towel (which I changed the first time). When it started, she was peeing by her water bowl, so we got her a hanging bottle and took the water bowl away, but that didn’t change anything. Now she doesn’t have any dishes/furniture (just a couple toys). My husband is super frustrated with her and is ready to fill her whole cage with litterboxes.
  
  I thought she might also be angry that her box isn’t clean enough, but she pees on the floor even when she has a fresh new box., (and it hasn’t been getting nasty). Could it be that she is just in too small of an area and reverted back to her crappy backyard breeding days? I think I might try switching them and giving her the pen with boxes in all four corners, I am just a bit afraid for my carpet (and landlord…).
- 11/22/2010 at 3:39 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  You might be on to something, she mighht feel this entire cage is a bathroom. I would try the pen setup. Keep us posted..
- 11/22/2010 at 9:46 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  Welcome : )
  
  Good for you and the Rescue also in taking her in.
  
  If she was good with habits for 2 months and using a box during bonding, this make me think this sudden change could be health related.
  
  OR she is feeling comfortable in your home now and starting to define a territory. Did she start marking with droppings then regress to urinating?
  
  Another possibility is she is reacting to some sort of change in her immediate enviroment or in the home. Are you still in contact with the rescue you got the rabbits from? Would they be able to advise on how they litter trained her. Perhaps going back to the litter material they used might help. How long has she been spayed now and how long was she at the Rescue/or foster care?
  
  edit: meant to ask, what are you using to clean up the pee spots?
- 11/22/2010 at 10:16 PM
  Rex
  Participant
  42 posts
  She still uses her box the most, but also pees on the floor. Maybe she is defining a territory? We did have the two buns switching cages, but we went out of town on family business for a week. She wasn’t doing it while we were gone, but started up right after we got back. Maybe she just got used to having the cage all to herself?
  
  I don’t have any reason to suspect that this is health related, no odd behavior or signs. I cleaned the cage liner with vinegar and water to get rid of the smell, but she doesn’t care.
  
  She did stop pooping in her box and that probably happened before she started peeing on the floor, too. I don’t remember for sure though, but I do know that she went from pooping in her box and the floor to only using the floor.
- 11/23/2010 at 12:06 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  It could actually be related to you being out of town… routine is a biggy for these rabbit with an unstable past.
  
  So no changes in type of litter your using or anything?
  
  Has she been doing this in the pen too or has she not been back in there since this started? Do you have a liner or anything down in the pen?
  
  I learnt from the house rabbit society that rabbits do the territory marking with droppings but sometimes emphasize it with urine. Sadly! They referred to it as “underlining the signature”.
  
  It might be a case of litter training 101. Make the litterbox an appealing place to go and praise her when she does use it. Her sitting in the urine is worrying though….
- 11/23/2010 at 12:13 AM
  Rex
  Participant
  42 posts
  Yeah, I am going to build a second pen out of those wire cube shelving things hopefully tomorrow and see how she reacts to a change of environment and more space. She hasn’t had any accidents outside of her cage during bonding dates, so I am leaning toward the territory angle.
- 11/23/2010 at 10:29 PM
  Rex
  Participant
  42 posts
  Just picked up some NIC cubes today and I am going to make a temporary pen out of them for Tealeaf. (I am planning on building an awesome bunny condo for the two when they are bonded). Hopefully some extra space and litterboxes in all 4 corners will fix the problem…
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