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Me and my boyfriend have tried everything! We started out with her having entire free roam of our new apartment (She seemed litter trained at our our old place but she was barely let out-due to his parents not really liking her.) and that was a huge mistake.
We kept limiting her space, and now she is in a 5’x5′ area(which she seems to love!!![]()
)
But, no matter how hard we try. she WILL NOT use her litter box! It’s driving us crazy. She has it in the corner of her space, and her food is on the opposite side, We’ve tried treats, coaxing, and there’s really no way to limit her space even more. she doesn’t have a cage, and were at a loss for what to do next.
ANY advice would be amazing!
we need all the help we can get!
Please and thanks!
We will need a lot more information in order to help you with your question. What kind of flooring is your bunny on…carpet, wood, tile, etc? Is there anything absorbent in her area that she is peeing on? Is her litter box the same one that she had at your last place? Is the litter the same? Most importantly…has she been spayed?
The answers to all of the above questions will help us have a clearer idea of what her set up is like and what suggestions we can make. I know that when we got our StickyBun, we had to remove all absorbent material from his area or he would pee on it. Rugs, towels, blankets, stuffed animals…even cardboard. Once we did that, he hasn’t had any pee accidents outside his litter box…and he is only 13 weeks old! Also clean up any pee accidents with paper towel and then place that paper towel in the litter box so she knows that is where the pee goes. Clean thoroughly any places she has peed outside the box with a vinegar/water mixture or nature’s miracle cleaner. Place any stray poos in the box as well.
Moving to behavior.
She does alright with the peeing in the litter box, unless she is on the couch with us.
Our entire apartment is carpeted.
The litter box is the same one, but whenever we brought it out when she was let out, she barely used it, because she wasn’t out for to long.
We just can’t have her leaving little presents around for us to find anymore.
She knows she’s supposed to go in the litter box, because after she poops, she runs right to it.
she’s 3 months old, and not spayed-although we are looking into it, we just haven’t had the cash yet.
My bunny is a neutered male and he was peeing outside of his litterbox…the reason i found out was because the room didn’t smell like him and he wanted it too. So what we did was take his things and rub them on the carpet so that the carpet could smell like him. I haven’t had an accident yet afterwards. Also if there is a blanket that is in the cage that smells like them put it on the ground and then put the litterbox on that. It worked for us but idk if it’ll work because your bunny isn’t spayed….worth a try though.
She’s still so young, and its the teenage times. Spaying will help with the territorial pooping, which is a lot of what you are seeing now. If she’s peeing on the couch, keep her off of it (I know, no fun!). Age and being spayed should help with that over time. If she’s peeing on the carpet inside her pen, move her space to the bathroom or kitchen, or get some sheet vinyl to put on the bottom.
But those little presents, the only fix is spaying. She’s marking all that is hers, and with the hormones it’s only going to get worse. Check your local house bunny association for any spay discounts.
If she’s just leaving piles of poo all over, then it is most likely territorial marking. She’s in a new place. Everything smells so non-bunny-like. If you just moved into this apartment, it is likely the landlord had the carpet cleaned before you moved in. The carpet could smell really strongly to her and she’s trying to cover it up wit her smell.
Thank you so much!
I am so sad about spaying her because I don’t really agree with it, as in my eyes its like lobotomizing my little bun.
Will she get fat? haha, I just want her in the best help as she can be.
And I will definately try the putting her smell around her more.
I was thinking about giving her the old pan from her cage she outgrew to use as a litter box.. I’m hoping it’ll work.
Don’t feel sad about spaying your bunny! You’ll be doing her a huge favor, probably even saving her life. Unspayed female bunnies have a really high chance of developing cancer in their reproductive organs.
Posted By troncat07 on 05/26/2013 11:30 PM
Thank you so much!
I am so sad about spaying her because I don’t really agree with it, as in my eyes its like lobotomizing my little bun.
Will she get fat? haha, I just want her in the best help as she can be.And I will definately try the putting her smell around her more.
I was thinking about giving her the old pan from her cage she outgrew to use as a litter box.. I’m hoping it’ll work.
Pregnancy and hormone surges on rabbits are actually very hard and stressful. Very far from cutting out a chunk of her brain, you’re actually making it so she can see clearer and relax, and not have to worry about defending her territory all the time. You are also giving her a much longer life, 80% of females get uterine cancer and die/ have to be put to sleep. As a pet owner, I feel its my responsibility to give my pets the best possible life they can have, and spaying/neutering is a part of that.
After spaying her, will she need special attention?
Will she be digging at it or anything?
Is there specific cautions I need to take?
Any information on spaying her would be great also!
thank you!
I don’t understand the correlation with spaying and lobotomy…why do you think this? Spaying is essential to a female rabbit’s health. You need to find a rabbit knowledgeable vet first and foremost – do you have a vet?
Because it’s altering her original self.
You are taking her parts off-in order to calm her.
We have a vet, but, we haven’t had enough cash to get her in to see him.
Females are spayed because of the high risk of uterine cancer if left intact. The behavioral changes are oftentimes an added bonus, but NOT the reason why we spay female rabbits.
It doesn’t change her personality from what I hear, just her non-appropriate behavior
Posted By kcomstoc on 05/28/2013 04:52 PM
It doesn’t change her personality from what I hear, just her non-appropriate behavior
Exactly. A sweet rabbit will still be sweet, a skittish rabbit will still be skittish, etc…
Alright, thank you very much.
Around how much? Am I reading up correctly when they say it’ll be around $200??
It really depends where you live. I’ve been trying to find a vet to neuter my rabbit, and I’ve called quite a few places the past few days. Quotes have ranged from $95 to over $600 (ouch). But I live in New York, which is horribly expensive. Call a few local rabbit vets and ask for quotes to get a good idea 🙂
Cost depends on the vet and your location.
You can contact rescues in your area to see if they know of any lower cost options. If you have a car I would check surrounding areas as well. If I drive an hour I can get a rabbit spayed for $80 where as locally it would cost me $200+. Just make sure that the vet is rabbit savvy.
It’s incredibly important for female rabbits to be spayed. The cancer rate is something like 80% by the age of 4.
Isabel- do you live far upstate? If you’re fairly close to New Jersey you should check with New Jersey house rabbit. You buy a voucher through them and then bring it to one of their vets. The voucher is only $75 for a nueter and $95 for a spay. I live close to jersey and think its definitely worth the drive.
Chronicambitions- no, I live quite south (northern Westchester). I saw that promotion just last night! I think I might end up doing that. However, the place that is $95 is actually a very reputable exotic animal hospital in NYC that does a monthly neutering program for rabbits at a greatly reduced price. But they don’t do blood work or a pre/post examination (understandably for the price). I also contacted our local humane society and am waiting for a reply back, as they are supposed to be *fantastic*, just over booked. But thank you for the advice! It is definitely currently an option.
