Suddenly changed litterbox habits/peeing on the couch

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This topic has 3sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 8 months ago by Dymii.

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- 07/28/2013 at 10:15 PM
  Dymii
  Participant
  63 posts
  Hi! I’ve read these forums for a while but this is my first time posting.
  
  Anyway, my bunny Sprinkles has recently altered his habits a good deal. We moved across town at the beginning of this month and after a week or two he seems quite at ease here. We have all of the same furniture. He was neutered 3 or 4 months ago and been quite litter trained for a long while.
  
  Last Thursday we noticed that his litter pan went untouched for most of the day. We were concerned but we let him out because he was chewing on the bars. He quite soon got up on the couch and left a little mountain of poo (the dry ones not the wet ones) and soaked one cushion with pee. We were upset but just shooed him off the couch and cleaned it up. Maybe he was just having issues, we thought.
  
  The next day, again he barely used his litter pan. We also noticed he wasn’t eating much if we weren’t home. That day, he got up and did the same thing on another cushion of the couch. We started shooing him off the couch the moment he got up instead of waiting for him to go, but sometimes he does it before we notice him up there. He’s done it every day that he’s been in the living room since then. Sometimes multiple times a day. I’ve been putting him up when he does it because I’m not sure how to punish/train him not to do that. It was never a problem before, he used to get on the couch and never went to the bathroom up there!
  
  Because we’d noticed that he wasn’t eating or using the litter pan much while we were at work, we brought the cage into the bedroom so he’d be in there while we were sleeping. He both ate and used the pan. We let him run around our bedroom and he didn’t ‘mark’ anywhere. We brought him back out to the living room today.. and he does it again!
  
  I’m about to get very upset at him. I do the ‘dominant bunny’ but he doesn’t respond well. He’s always been quite antisocial and doesn’t like being picked up or touched much (except a little petting if you come at him on his level).
  
  Can anyone help me out here? He’s due to go back to the vet in a few weeks to check his teeth but I don’t think my couch (or my temper) can last that long!
- 07/29/2013 at 1:39 PM
  Craycrayaboutanimals
  Participant
  10 posts
  Maybe spray some bitter apple (or any type of spray that he doesn’t like) on the couch, so that he won’t mark there?
- 07/29/2013 at 3:15 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  This is not uncommon and has nothing to do with litter habits unfortunately – couches and beds smell most like humans and many rabbits will mark on them. Best thing to do is to not allow him on the couch. Try for now to keep him confined to his own area so he does not have the opportunity to jump on the couch.
- 07/29/2013 at 3:57 PM
  Dymii
  Participant
  63 posts
  Cray- Stores in my area don’t sell bitter apple spray sadly!
  
  Sarita- I was afraid of that. Today I put boxes and laundry baskets on the couch so he couldn’t get up there and we had no problems. I may just have to do that from now on!
  
  Thank you both for your answers!
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