Hi GeorgeBooBoo. Sorry you are having trouble with your doe and I hope having her spayed improves things for you. I am assuming your rabbits aren’t bonded since she isn’t spayed yet. If that’s the case, since you live with your father he might end up making this decision for you. When living under our parents’ roof we have to go by their rules. If he ends up insisting she is caged full time then I think it’s absolutely the responsible thing to rehome her. If it were me I would make sure I have done my due diligence in both training and also educating my father on what their needs are.

It’s not unusual for bunnies to be difficult to litter box train prior to being fixed. This should improve once she is spayed. With that said what are the training methods you have tried?

As far as her trying to dart out of the room that is not unusual. Mine do the same thing when they want out of their room but I am able to put my foot in front of them to stop them.
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I feel the need to add that if she is bonded to another bunny you would have to rehome them both if that ends up being the end result.

A rabbit should not be in a cage full time. That is ludicrous. If you have to sneakily let her out when your Dad isn’t home, then a rabbit clearly isn’t for your household.

then a rabbit clearly isn’t for your household

Theres no need to be harsh to a younger owner who is seeking help and guidance. People learn through experience, and from other people.
No, rabbits shouldn’t be caged all day and the rabbit isnt caged all day, as

As for the actual issue;neutering may help. Additionally if you could give her a smaller area, like a playpen, she may feel less compelled to mark, and you can cover the space with a layer that wont leak into the carpet/flooring making the area easier to clean.
Are your bunnies bonded? As this may have an effect on how much she is marking her territory.

If you really are having issues there is no shame in deciding to not keep her, by bringing her to a no kill shelter, or finding a good home for her.

If she is getting spayed in literally 2 days, keeping her in a cage (as long as it isn’t like the size of a shoebox) until then won’t kill her. She will probably hate it, but it won’t damage her. It will take a couple weeks for the hormones to die down after that, though, so don’t expect her to come home from the vet litter trained. Mine poop and pee everywhere, too, so for their playtime I put them in an xpen with a huge piece of cardboard lining the bottom (this was also a compromise with my dad about the pooping and peeing everywhere).

Posted By Dface on 1/19/2019 6:32 AM

then a rabbit clearly isn’t for your household

Theres no need to be harsh to a younger owner who is seeking help and guidance. People learn through experience, and from other people.
No, rabbits shouldn’t be caged all day and the rabbit isnt caged all day, as

As for the actual issue;neutering may help. Additionally if you could give her a smaller area, like a playpen, she may feel less compelled to mark, and you can cover the space with a layer that wont leak into the carpet/flooring making the area easier to clean.
Are your bunnies bonded? As this may have an effect on how much she is marking her territory.

If you really are having issues there is no shame in deciding to not keep her, by bringing her to a no kill shelter, or finding a good home for her.

No but OP implied that his/her dad wants the rabbit caged at all times and has to go behind their back to let their rabbit out. That would mean that the adult/s responsible for the rabbit are not prepared to care for the rabbit properly and unfortunately, as we’ve seen on BB many times before, we know if the parents aren’t on board then it doesn’t matter what advice is given to the minor because they don’t have the power to enforce it. Hence why I said the household isn’t right for a rabbit.

Hi GeorgeBooBoo,

I think it’s very mature of you to want the best for your rabbits, and to recognize that you might not be able to provide that for them. I don’t think there is any shame in rehoming, as long as you find someone (or a rescue) that will give them the care that you can’t provide.

That said, spaying should help a lot, as will completing the bonding process if you aren’t familiar with it (you might read up on bonding in the bunny info section at the top of the page).

It may take some time for things to improve post-spay, as it take a while for hormones to drain from their system.

Not sure if your parent’s have given you a time limit, but some things might help your parent’s be happier with the situation in the mean-time. You could set up an x- pen attached to her cage, and add some type of flooring that will protect the carpet. I’ve used carpet protectors meant to be used under office chairs as temporary flooring, linoleum also works well. If she isn’t a chewer, even a carpet remnant with a layer of plastic under it would do the trick. This would give her more space all the time, protect your room, and stop her from darting out of the door.

To try to repair some of the damage done, I really like Nature’s miracle carpet shampoo for pee stains on the carpet. I make a dilute solution of it, squirt it on the stain, let it soak for a few minutes, then blot it up.

Maybe if you can fix these things your parents (and the buns) will be happier? They are willing to wait till she is spayed, so maybe this will make it even better.

No but OP implied that his/her dad wants the rabbit caged at all times and has to go behind their back to let their rabbit out. That would mean that the adult/s responsible for the rabbit are not prepared to care for the rabbit properly and unfortunately, as we’ve seen on BB many times before, we know if the parents aren’t on board then it doesn’t matter what advice is given to the minor because they don’t have the power to enforce it. Hence why I said the household isn’t right for a rabbit.

This is true. I think it was very mature of GeorgeBooBoo to recognize that he/she may not be able to provide the best home for this rabbit.

GeorgeBooBoo – If your parents are willing to have her spayed, then I say have her spayed and see if that helps. However, if it doesn’t help (or if it helps, but your parents still aren’t willing to allow her out time) then there is no shame in finding her a loving home where someone is willing to work with her. Since we are a house rabbit forum, we like to see bunnies happy. If that means she needs to be rehomed, so be it. But I would not give up just yet. Try spaying her and try educating your parents… then make a decision based on what happens.

Posted By GeorgeBooBoo on 1/18/2019 10:37 PM

This is a last resort. We have two adorable bunnies, Cinnabun is the problem though. She’s ruined my entire bedroom with peeing and pooping everywhere. We are getting her spayed on Monday.But if things aren’t better even after trying everything, is it responsible to rehome? It causes a lot of arguing and yelling due to the peeing and pooping everywhere. She also tries to dart out of my room every single time a door is opened, and technically she’s supposed to be in a cage full time. I just let her out when my dad isn’t home. If the problems don’t get better is it okay to consider rehoming?

I see from your profile that Cinnabun is about 7 months old.  So I think you are seeing some pretty typical behaviour from an intact female bun of this age. You might to read over this, just to reassure you how common it is! When Good Bunnies Go Bad

Since she is getting spayed Monday, I think after she is recovered, start by giving her limited area outside of the cage, not the whole room. It is very easy to give them too much space, too soon. Especially when they are babies! You just want to watch them binky all over the place. But then bunny puberty arrives…  It can be a pretty frustrating time as an owner. 

Are your parents wanting her caged because she became so messy?  Are they on board with allowing her more space if you see improvement with the litter habits?  

In my experience, female buns tend to mark territory more, so Im not surprised she has been like this. A spay should certainly help and will be better for her longterm health regardless.  You should see an improvement in time and she may not ever have 100% perfect habits but in the meantime, it will be about making a compromise. I like the suggestion given above about using and x-pen and some protective flooring. This is often a way rabbit owners can help get their rabbits litter habits back on track. By slowly allowing more space bit by bit. 

I do hope you can keep her and see the improvement that a spay and her maturing will bring. Hang in there!