Bunny Stard Peeing on Bed

[bunnybean]

My 2 year old French lop is a cage free, potty trained house bunny. At night he sleeps in our room – either on the end of the bed, or next to us while we pet him, or on the floor. Suddenly out of the blue, he peed at the top of the bed while we were sleeping, near where the pillows are. It is so unlike him, he has never used the bed as a litter box. Now, 3 days later he did it again in the exact same spot! 2 times in a week worries me – I don’t want him to think our bed is a place to pee! :&#160 We woke up right away when he did it, I put him in his litter box near our bed and then we cleaned it up.

Any ideas on why this sudden behavior or how to prevent it? We don’t want to ban him from the bed, we love having him sleep with us and he is usually so good about now peeing o nthe bed! Not sure if this relates but for 4 months he never went to the bathroom on the couch and then he started peeing and pooping on it, and how i have to leave a litter box on the couch so he uses it. That couch litterbox has been there for about 5 months.

Thank you for any insight!

[Stickerbunny]

Is he neutered? Have you changed any smells about your pillow area (shampoos etc?) to make it seem like a “strange” smell was there? After you cleaned it up, did you use something to dissolve the smell? (nature’s miracle works great on mattresses, but keep bun away from it while it’s wet).

[bunnybean]

Forgot to post that yes he is neutered. We haven’t changed smells (shampoos, etc.) to make the area smell different.

[LoveChaCha]

It is likely because the area smells of you. rabbits will mark their territory as theirs if they do.

[Beka27]

How is he acting otherwise: eating and pooping okay? Sudden changes in litterbox habits can indicate a new health problem (like a UTI), but that would usually be everywhere, not just on your bed. It does sound like marking, it’s just odd that it would happen out of nowhere.

At night when he’s on the bed, he can get down to use the litterbox anytime he needs, right? It’s easily accessible? I wonder if there’s a reason why he is not wanting to go down and use the box, he is hopping and running around okay? Older rabbits can get arthritis that will affect their mobility, and they tend to pee where they’re at. But he’s only two.

I’m really not sure. Is it an option to keep him off the bed for a few days and then try again?

[bunnybean]

Thanks for the insight! His litter box is easily accessible and he hops on and off the bed all night long. He is still using his litterbox, in addition to those 2 peeing incidents. All other behavior, eating, litter box use, etc. is normal. Its just so funny that after eight months NOW he wants to start marking the bed with his scent? I’ve been trying to keep the bun off the bed for a few days, but its his favorite place at night. : )

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