Previous good potty training going south

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 6sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 10 months ago by Tashabunny.

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- 05/29/2012 at 4:27 PM
  Tashabunny
  Participant
  6 posts
  OK so this is going to be a long story! Please help though!
  
  I got Thumper as a rescue bunny back in 2005 and the shelter required that spaying be a part of the adoption. From the night I brought her home – a little woozy from her surgery – she has always gone in her litterbox without issue. (Aside from stray poops all over… i have to vacuum that daily lol).
  
  Recently I had to take her to the vet for sore hocks as the fur on he heels is just gone and she rapidly grew a large sore and it was infected. She was on antibiotics for 6 weeks total in order to eliminate the infection and now I have to put a salve on her heels that the vet gave me nightly to prevent infection from happening again. Her heels remain a little dry, a little calloused, and slightly reddish. I have put down soft fleece everywhere that I can for her so that there is less to irritate her heels.
  
  Ever since I started the antibiotics, she started to think that going pee anywhere in her cage was just fine. I thought the issue was just that the antibiotics were causing the behavior, but it persisted even after the course was run. I ripped up her carpet and put fresh EVERYTHING in her cage to eliminate her scent trail and she stopped going outside the box for awhile.
  
  Now she has started again just outside her box. I kept taking the pee’d on fleece out and putting fresh in to take the scent out – but it didn’t work because the pee soaked through. Now I am considering puppy training pads because of their leak proof bottom and because they are easy to dispose of. (I found that washing things does not eliminate her scent!) Also… all the fleece gets very expensive and I am low on funds.
  
  She chews little holes in her fleece from moving it around and sometimes “nesting” in it – but she never seems to actually eat it (little bits of it are all over lol). So I think that she might be ok with the pads, but I still worry a bit. Can anyone give me some input on this?
  
  Attached is a pic of her cage setup. It used to be a full rectangle, but I had to make it smaller due to the areas she was peeing in.
- 05/29/2012 at 4:28 PM
  Monkeybun
  Participant
  10479 posts
  The soft fleece is probably confusing her. Most buns do like going potty on something soft, so that could be the reason.
- 05/29/2012 at 4:33 PM
  Tashabunny
  Participant
  6 posts
  She has always had a little soft fleece in her cage actually… She prefers the blankies as toys over anything else I have ever gotten her lol.
- 05/30/2012 at 5:06 AM
  RabbitPam
  Moderator
  11002 posts
  I figure that she’s at least 7 years old now, right? That may mean that she is incontinent, brought on by the medication. My Spockie lost mobility in one leg at that age and he couldn’t get into his litter pan anymore, so peed outside it. Is she walking and running normally?
  
  Puppy pads could be a problem due to being eaten. I found a special carpet sold online called Palace Pet Beds, which was designed for incontinent senior animals or puppies. It wicks away the pee and keeps the pen dry. Throw them in the washing machine to clean. They aren’t cheap, but a big swatch can be cut to size, which I got on sale. It was soft to lay on, too.
  
  You can also try reminding her to go in her litter pan by soaking up the pee outside of it with a paper towel and putting that into the litter. You want to get her pee scent back in it, and use a little water/white vinegar solution to clean the area where you don’t want her to go to remove the scent. Help her into her litter a few times. She just may have lost the knack and need a bit of retraining.
  
  But check her bottom for pee and poos. If she isn’t cleaning herself well, it may be due to her age, where something subtle like arthritis is making it hurt to do normal things. Your vet may be able to tell that as well. If not now, keep an eye out for those symptoms. Glucosamine (there’s a pet form of it in the BB store) often brings relief to older buns.
- 05/30/2012 at 12:43 PM
  Tashabunny
  Participant
  6 posts
  Hi RabbitPam =)
  
  Yes, Thumper is approx. 7 years old this Sept (the shelter said she was just adolescent when I adopted her) so she is getting up there in age for a bunny. She does still use her box often and I have watched her many times to be sure she can get in and out easily – she has no problems. She can still zoom and binky just fine too… when she isn’t being lazy and snoozing instead lol.
  
  The vet says she looks like she is in excellent health, with the exception of permanent sore hocks because her heels went bald. I put a salve on her heels nightly now to keep them from getting infected and to soothe the inflammation that running around/sitting causes her. Her first step into old age I guess.
  
  My ultimate goal is to try and break her new bad litterbox habits if possible. That’s why I thought the disposable option would be better so that there is no scent lingering anywhere. I did not know about the white vinegar though! I will have to run out and get some.
  
  I decided since she isn’t that bad of a chewer to go ahead and get the pads. I got the kind that do NOT turn liquid into gel. I plan to place a single pad in her spot and then sit down on the couch to “watch TV” while I actually watch her – gotta be sneaky about it lol. If I see her chewing it up I will remove it immediately and try another avenue I guess.
  
  I just wish that her good habits wouldn’t have been broken! I don’t know why… other than the course of antibiotics… it would have happened. She’s always been very good about going in her box except for poops all over.
- 05/30/2012 at 1:18 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  I have 3 rabbits who are about 10 years old and 2 are not great with their litter boxes either. You might consider a low sided litter box because she could be arthritic and that would only show up in an x-ray. Even older rabbits who are still active may suffer from joint pain – rabbits just don’t show discomfort like other animals.
  
  Also she may have a UTI as well which can cause bad litter habits.
- 05/30/2012 at 3:17 PM
  Tashabunny
  Participant
  6 posts
  Had her checked for a UTI, vet said she didn’t have one.
  
  I have thought about getting a low-side litterbox for her though, just in case.
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