Bunnys’ peeing everywhere!

[Chloe]

Hi, I’ve had my 2 unneutered buck brothers for 29 days now, and I’ve owned rabbits before so I have plenty of experience, but I’ve never dealt with this so far. To get to the point, the boys are weeing everywhere. I know this is a natural behaviour for them because they’re not neutered and I believe it’s called “spraying”, all bucks we’ve owned before have been adopted, so were already neutered or were neutered a couple of days afterwards. So – not thinking I’m stupid – I booked them into the vet for a neuter as soon as possible. After dealing with a recent loss during a spay operation (a really bad veterinary practice!), I only ever go to the vets that have experienced with rabbits in particular, so they’re being neutered at this vet… in 2 weeks time.

Yes, the vets were fully booked all of November so I have to wait until the 5th of December! The boys are 7 months old now.

I spot clean the room every single day (they’re in my bedroom), but today I really saw the full extent of damage they’d done with their “spraying” – wallpaper wrecked, protective blankets wrecked (protect the sofa and floor), drawers are wrecked, the sofa, the cushions… need I go on?

I know this probably sounds like I’m fairly fed up – which I kind of am – I do love them to bits, but what should I do? They have a 100cm cage they are put in overnight – so I can’t possibly keep them in that until their operation. Any ideas???

They’re lionhead rabbits and so have stopped growing – they are tiny.

[Autumn's Dad]

You sound like how I used to be, and also I almost lost autumn to a spay op. the things I put up with would make any wince. definitely get them neutered if you can, males are the worst for marking. it took an additional 5 months for autumn’s hormones and behaviour to change after spay. Hang in there, I will be tough but they will calm with time. I’m sorry I cant offer something more constructive.
A.D

[Chloe]

Yes they’re booked in for their neuter on the 5th of December, so they’re definitely getting neutered! It’s costing me £41 each as it’s on an offer this November (they’re honouring the offer because they were fully booked), it would normally cost £61.25 each so I’m pretty happy about that! And it includes the pre-op check the operation, a 24 hr, 3 days and 10 days after op check.

I’m trying currently to litter train them – which I know definitely won’t work but I want to somewhat litter train them.

And that’s so good that your rabbit made it through. My baby, Misty, her heart stopped and they couldn’t bring her back later I found out it was probably the anaesthetic they use – this vet was inside pets at home. So I’m extra wary since. Timber our current neutered buck took a while to realise he could no longer mate and mount my legs and arms all the time! And finally we just managed to litter train him! (He’s a full house bunny!)

[Chloe]

Yes they’re booked in for their neuter on the 5th of December, so they’re definitely getting neutered! It’s costing me £41 each as it’s on an offer this November (they’re honouring the offer because they were fully booked), it would normally cost £61.25 each so I’m pretty happy about that! And it includes the pre-op check the operation, a 24 hr, 3 days and 10 days after op check.

I’m trying currently to litter train them – which I know definitely won’t work but I want to somewhat litter train them.

And that’s so good that your rabbit made it through. My baby, Misty, her heart stopped and they couldn’t bring her back later I found out it was probably the anaesthetic they use – this vet was inside pets at home. So I’m extra wary since. Timber our current neutered buck took a while to realise he could no longer mate and mount my legs and arms all the time! And finally we just managed to litter train him! (He’s a full house bunny!)

[Autumn's Dad]

I’m sorry for your loss. That is pretty steep but better to go with a higher quality. It was the similar with Autumn, the anesthetic almost killed her and the breathing tube became blocked, causing her to go blue. make sure they use a lighter anesthetic as small breeds like ours are naturally more frail and need delicate treatment. I wish you and the boys the best of luck

[McCord]

Bucks are marking whats theirs.
While most mark neutral or contested territory they also remark whats theirs.

Spot cleaning only brings the ground back to neutral. Thus meaning they need to reclaim it if they feel the need.

If they have developed a relationship with you already and rub on you with their chins, chances are they associate you with them.

So heres what i did for my buck who marked everything. i wear cheap old t shirts to bed every night, i stopped washing them and after a week or two, they smell like me. I rubbed them all over the floor and areas that were normally marked. The buck smelled me and quit. This worked also for a girl i knew who wore the same perfume consistently, she sprayed it everywhere and basically, marked her territory.

If they smell the scent on you then i dont see why you couldn’t experimentwith different scents. Provided that they arent too toxic. Try rosemarry or sage. Strong. Nice smells. Cheap to grow and keep plenty on hand.

[McCord]

Bucks are marking whats theirs.
While most mark neutral or contested territory they also remark whats theirs.

Spot cleaning only brings the ground back to neutral. Thus meaning they need to reclaim it if they feel the need.

If they have developed a relationship with you already and rub on you with their chins, chances are they associate you with them.

So heres what i did for my buck who marked everything. i wear cheap old t shirts to bed every night, i stopped washing them and after a week or two, they smell like me. I rubbed them all over the floor and areas that were normally marked. The buck smelled me and quit. This worked also for a girl i knew who wore the same perfume consistently, she sprayed it everywhere and basically, marked her territory.

If they smell the scent on you then i dont see why you couldn’t experimentwith different scents. Provided that they arent too toxic. Try rosemarry or sage. Strong. Nice smells. Cheap to grow and keep plenty on hand.

[Chloe]

Ok thank you! I noticed that when Smudge went and sprayed the sofa (it’s cheap leather) after I had just cleaned that exact spot. I’ll try that out today when I come back from sixth form but thank you

[Chloe]

Ok thank you! I noticed that when Smudge went and sprayed the sofa (it’s cheap leather) after I had just cleaned that exact spot. I’ll try that out today when I come back from sixth form but thank you

[Author]

Messages