That is NOT the litter box!

FORUM

What are we about? Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules.

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 12sd replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 15 years ago by LoveChaCha.

Viewing 12 reply threads

Author

Messages
- 02/22/2011 at 6:42 AM
  Kate Monster
  Participant
  550 posts
  So I bought Kate and Spence a basket for their hay (the one sold here at binkybunny actually). It was going quite well, my apartment was staying a bit cleaner and they were appropriately entertained by pulling hay out of a basket (and by occassionally tossing the basket) they like to be entertained while hay eating. But then while I was sitting around watching TV Spencer frolicked into the pen, ate some hay, and then this happened:
  
  My first thought was, “hey, that’s funny and cute” that thought was immediately followed by “Oh, @#$%$#^ he’s peeing isn’t he?!” And sure enough, there was a fresh wet spot on the blanket under the hay basket. Now in general, Spencer is pretty good with the litter box, he has a bit of difficulty keeping his poop in there, but he keeps it in the pen and not anywhere random in the apartment, so I’m pretty happy to just call that one a day. And on occassion he has a tendency to hop in the litter box and pee off the end, but at least he has the right idea. This is new. In fact, it’s doubly funny since he occassionally has trouble keeping it inside the much larger litter box, but he sure managed to keep all of the pee inside the hay basket! I was hoping that maybe if I kept it too full for him to hop in like that, he might not. But sure enough, he just ate and ate the hay, threw some on the ground and did it again this morning! So apparently, we have a habit going now. Is there anyway to teach him that “one of these things is not like the other” the litter box has hay in it yes, but the hay basket should NOT have pee in it? Or is my hay basket doomed and I should just remove the hay and call it a toy and find a new hay routine?
- 02/22/2011 at 7:57 AM
  Michelle&Lolli
  Participant
  2347 posts
  I don’t know that there is a way to teach him not to pee in it. Lolli always goes when she eats hay. She has always been like this and even passed on this nice habit to Eddie once they got bonded. The only thing I found to work was to just give up and put the hay over their litter. I think others have had to do the same with positioning a hay rack over the litterboxes. I just put a layer of hay over her litter. It works for us. lol
  
  But that is absolutely hysterical! I caught Eddie in mid-pee stance on some hay once. It was a total deer in headlights. There was hay on the floor, he was in mid-stance and here I was yelling No at him. Poor boy. LOL And I love how they get grumpy with US when we interrupt something they’re doing when they know they shouldn’t be doing it.
- 02/22/2011 at 10:06 AM
  Otti
  Participant
  535 posts
  Yeah there’s really no way to avoid that. You’ll have to relocate all their hay in some way over or in the litter box.
  
  For his peeing over the side of the litter, I solved that for my rabbit by getting a litter box with high sides. They usually have a high back, high sides and then a lower front entrance. Completely solved the problem, and also keeps hay contained a bit better I think.
- 02/22/2011 at 1:16 PM
  Elrohwen
  Participant
  7318 posts
  Hahahahaha. What a great picture!
  
  Can you use zip ties to attach it up on the sides of the pen? They can still reach it and nibble on the basket, but won’t be able to jump in so easily.
- 02/23/2011 at 4:09 PM
  Kate Monster
  Participant
  550 posts
  Thanks all, for a few new ideas to try out 🙂 right now I have the basket on its side and that seems to be working, although it is a bit messier. I do keep a good amount of hay in the litter box as well, but for some reason they are strange about where they like to eat hay and they just don’t eat that much from the litter box. Their favorite place to eat hay is actually on top of their hidey house, but I’m trying to limit that as it gets really messy with them jumping up there and throwing it all over the place. But that is why I was so happy that they were willing to eat the hay out of the basket, I think having to pull it out made it more fun. I guess we will see how sideways basket goes, then I’ll try some zip ties, or maybe a basket too small for Spencer to fit in!
- 02/28/2011 at 8:49 AM
  LeslieDianeG
  Participant
  5 posts
  Well I’m glad I read this, because it makes me feel better about what one of my bunnies is doing. My 3 month bunny Devi has also decided that she wants to pee/poop in her hay box. I’ve gone through three or four timothy hay baskets because she keeps saturating them with her urine. It’s taken awhile but I think I might have figured out a “solution”.
  
  What I do is I line the bottom of her timothy hay basket with her box litter (I use recycled paper litter) and then I add hay on top of it. By no means is this keeping her timothy hay basket from getting soiled, but they last much longer now. Also, I dump the contents of this basket at least three times a week. It freaks me out to think that my poor little bunny is eating urine soaked hay (even though she is the one peeing on it).
  
  I hope this helps!
  
  -L
- 02/28/2011 at 2:06 PM
  Michelle&Lolli
  Participant
  2347 posts
  When I get my computer working, I’m gonna save that picture. If you don’t mind. Not going to do anything with it except look at it occasionally. It’s just so funny! And it reminds me of something that Eddie would do.
- 02/28/2011 at 4:51 PM
  Kate Monster
  Participant
  550 posts
  Thanks again all, I’ve given up and bought a new litter box that is much bigger and I can keep an appropriate amount of hay in it, and keep at least some of the hay pee free. Hopefully the higher front will help the peeing off the end issue. I’m also hoping that a very big litter box with two little bunnies will cure Spencer of peeing in front of the litter box because Kate spends so much time in it that he can’t get in sometimes. lol, silly bunnies! But this was really funny, I decided to put the basket of hay on its side, Spencer pulled all of the hay out of it, and backed his butt into it and peed again! What a little brat. Hopefully we have this problem fixed now, fingers crossed.
  
  And Michelle&Lolli, you are more than welcome to save that picture. Spencer says he is honored to remind someone of a beloved bunny.
- 02/28/2011 at 10:10 PM
  lashkay
  Participant
  1548 posts
  Ha ha that’s funny what Spence did! Yep, he definitely considers that straw haybasket a litterbox – even withOUT the hay, he saw to that! lol I do hope your most recent acquisition of a new bigger litter box will help, sounds like a good move. In the UK (maybe in the US too) they sell little haybaskets made of woven willow twigs for holding hay. They were successes in my house, but unfortunately get devoured in due time so alas, shortly it’s time for a replacement feeder. The willow hayholder secures to the side of the cage or pen with sisal string (safe).
- 02/28/2011 at 11:07 PM
  lashkay
  Participant
  1548 posts
  Here’s the willow haybasket I’ve had for my bunnies – how long would it last in YOUR house?
  
  http://www.equinecaninefeline.com/catalog/willow-hayrack-natural-woven-p-4914.html They ship worldwide
- 03/02/2011 at 2:08 PM
  Huckleberry
  Participant
  972 posts
  Huckleberry is a 1 yr old female. Since the first day she came to live with us, she has been a very tidy bun, with her potty habits at least (she tosses her hay everywhere and throws her water bowl). I can clean and rearrange the apartment and move her box and she is still a faithful box user…. until… the bathroom door is left open. We do not let her in there and we do not let her in our bedroom very often. When she gets the chance to be in the bathroom she races into it and forces herself to pee and poo all over the place. I say force because she really seems to force it. When she has finished, she wiggles her tail and binkies out of the room and tosses her head around and looks very pleased with herself. Once I even spotter her using my shoes to brace herself as she stood on back feet to pee. What on Earth is she thinking? Why is this so much fun for her? She doesnt do this in the bedroom she isnt allowed in.
- 03/02/2011 at 2:08 PM
  Huckleberry
  Participant
  972 posts
  Huckleberry is a 1 yr old female. Since the first day she came to live with us, she has been a very tidy bun, with her potty habits at least (she tosses her hay everywhere and throws her water bowl). I can clean and rearrange the apartment and move her box and she is still a faithful box user…. until… the bathroom door is left open. We do not let her in there and we do not let her in our bedroom very often. When she gets the chance to be in the bathroom she races into it and forces herself to pee and poo all over the place. I say force because she really seems to force it. When she has finished, she wiggles her tail and binkies out of the room and tosses her head around and looks very pleased with herself. Once I even spotter her using my shoes to brace herself as she stood on back feet to pee. What on Earth is she thinking? Why is this so much fun for her? She doesnt do this in the bedroom she isnt allowed in.
- 03/03/2011 at 11:06 AM
  LoveChaCha
  Participant
  6634 posts
  Perhaps Huckleberry is marking her territory?
Author

Messages

Viewing 12 reply threads

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.