Before I spend the money (litter box issues)

[Battie]

Hello again.  It’s the new mom with a thousand questions!

Lately I’ve been repeatedly grossed out by brown puddles just outside Quincy’s litterbox.  Something about that color just makes it extra icky to clean up.  I’m wondering if he’s missing on purpose or if I need to invest in one of those high-backed/covered boxes.  I hesitate because they are several times more expensive than the one I have already.  Do you think this is what his problem is, or is he just naughty (and yes, he is neutered)?

I can’t do much this week anyway, because he is helping me house-sit for my parents and so is staying in his smaller travel crate.  But let’s try to figure this out!

Also, any good ideas for getting pee-spray off the wall (of my place, not Mom and Dad’s!)? My white vinegar solution isn’t quite working.  I don’t even know how he got the pee to splash like that!

Thanks!

[Cassi&Charlie]

I use a bathroom cleaner to get pee of the wall – such as a mould cleaning solution. I found this is the only thing that works.

My bunny is notorious for peeing just outside his litterbox. It drives me mad and nothing I have done in the last year has prevented him from doing it. It’s only sometimes and I can’t figure out what triggers it so I will be interested in other peoples suggestions.

[jerseygirl]

Have you looked at the troubleshooting tips here on BB under Bunny Info?
Also, this is House Rabbit Society link: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/litter.html

Does Quincey only pee outside the box? Just thinking prehaps he doesn’t like the smell of the litter once it’s wet. Maybe look at changing it. Or is he attempting to go in the box but missing/backing up too far? I use a plastic tub/ basin like box with higher sides that cost $3. You can find in in kitchen, laundry or storage areas of variety stores. Or you could fit a cardboard box with an access side over your existing litter pan to help backing up and spray problem before you fork out for expensive box.

Does Quincey like to hang out in the litter box so doesn’t want to soil it with urine? Put a second tempory box in to see if he’s choosing a new spot.

[OllieBunnysMamma]

Hi there. I dont know a whole lot about rabbits yet. I am a new bunny mamma. But, Ollie did this once the other day. I notice that he does pee in the corner that he was aiming for. Usually … almost always … he lands inside the box. I can tell he is aiming for his original pee corner. With that said, is he peeing anywhere near where he usually did pee when it was inside the litter box? Of so maybe he has grown out of his litter pan? I am just throwing this out there. Have you tried soaking up the urine in newspaper or something like that and placing it in the litter pan? Have you changed the bedding from what it used to be when he peed in the litter pan? good luck

[BinkyBunny]

It sounds like he’s actually spraying the walls. Jack will do that. I use the white vinegar mix  and use it in conjuction with hydrogen peroxide (in a separate spray bottle)

I would stay away from those strong bathroom cleaners, especially the strong kind that kill mold. This is not healthy if it is near your bunny. Or at the very least make sure to keep your bunny out of there while you spray the wall, and air out thoroughly before allowing your bunny to return.  WIth those sprays it can take hours – so if you have a fan to speed up the process that will help.  Also be sure that none of the spray/mist particles from the cleaner can get into his walking and food areas. 

Do you think your bunny is lifting his tail over the box or is not getting into the box?

If you think he is not getting into the box to do his business, but some healthy favorites in there – hay, of course, but add some greens (if he’s already eating them) and other favorites to encourage him to get in and stay.

What kind of litter are you using right now?

[Battie]

Ooh, good stuff.

-I didn’t think of peroxide. I will add that to the cleaning effort.

-As far as I can tell he is peeing just outside the box. However, I only recently got clamps so that he can’t scoot it around, which made it harder to track before.

-Preferring the box to be a lounge is an interesting thought. He does have towels that he happily sleeps on, but I’ve also caught him stretched out in the box (maybe I need to get him a mini bed so he has sides to curl up in?). However, he also pees in the box sometimes, and he poops in there all the time.

I just think it’s so odd that a litter-trained rabbit would have trouble peeing in the box unless he just couldn’t aim. He’s so good about not peeing when I let him run around…

Thanks for the tips! Bunnies are so complicated!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

See if you can watch him pee-Rupert will back his bum so far back he pees on walls. You might not have to invest in a high backed litter box, I got these tupperware containers and just cut them with a craft knife….Work great!

 

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[Battie]

Ooh, that’s a good idea!  I think those are much less expensive.

Maybe Quincy is like Rupert.  I just found a gravy stain several inches behind the litter box–outside the cage, in fact.  Maybe he frequently goes outside the cage because he backs up until he hits a dead end?  That or he’s just a problem child.

Odd that almost all his doots end up in the box, though.

What does a rabbit look like when he pees?  I can never catch him in the act.  I’ve seen him pause a few times to poo, but never pee. 

[Lightchick]

They raise their tails up a bit… It’s fairly subtle, but once you see it, you can recognize it from then on…

Unless your bun is Lizzy Diva-Demon Bunny and your bun is pee’ing on the bed to make a point. Then your bun will NOT raise her tail, because she’s sneaky like that…you’ll just hear an odd watery noise…

Sigh…

[Battie]

Oh I’ve been there, I’ve been there…

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

LOL ‘gravy stain’ *snorts* I literally snorted juice there-too funny!!

like lightchick said-once you see it you’ll know! They sort of hop in the box, turn around, point the bum in the corner and scoot backwards a bit (heres the prob with the overhang) and they also have a certain expression

[Tami]

BB, when you say you use hydrogen peroxide in a separate bottle…..do you dilute it with anything or do you use it straight ?

I have male bunny “spray” on my wood (knotty pine) walls and wood french doors and was wondering how to get it off.  We just used plain water to be on the safe side, but of course that didn’t do any good, so now I’m at a loss.

We have big pieces of cardboard…….big boxes that we’ve opened up flat…….and put those behind the rascals that do this, but some of the “spray” still gets on the wood walls and doors.

Was thinking of using a small scrub brush to better get into the wood, but obviously just using water isn’t cuttin’ it.  I use a ½ white vinegar & ½ water solution for cleaning cages and floors but was hesitant to use on my wood walls because I didn’t know if it would soak into the wood and make it smell ‘vinegary’.

As far as the h2o2 goes…….do you first use the white vinegar solution and then spray on the h2o2 ?

[Battie]

Good questions, Tami! I want to know this too.

I was supposed to go home today, but discovered that my air conditioner was broken with no repairs coming till tomorrow. Mom and Dad let us stay an extra night so Quincy won’t get heat stroke (boy does it feel weird to be sharing a house again!). BUT, I finally caught Quincy peeing, and it’s exactly as you all thought. He scoots the the back of the litterbox and his butt hangs over the edge, so all the pee spill outside. I got him a deeper box while replenishing his hay supply (the box was inexpensive, so I don’t have to cut a container). It’s too big to be confortable in his travel cage, but I will try it at home right away!

[MooBunnay]

Battie, I’m glad that you discovered the problem! Sometimes they have trouble hittin’ that litterbox When I clean up pee I always use just plain vinegar, and have always had a lot of success with that. If it gets in your carpet, my husband and I have the technique of first layering paper towels on top of it, and then stepping on them which soaks a lot of the stain out (don’t know if this is the BEST technique but its what we do!). If the stain is somewhere your bunny doesn’t usually go (e.g. they escaped and peed) I’ve heard that oxyclean is excellent for removing stains, you do not want to use this anywhere that the bunny goes routinely however because I’m pretty sure its not good for them!

[kimberleyanddarren]

i second gettnig a high sided litterbox or getting a box and cutting it down

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