Help! Litter issue!

[kfarrell]

Hi Everyone, 

This is only my second time posting on here but you were all extremely helpful before. I have a male Holland lop and he is 6 months old. He was litter trained and all of a sudden he is not going in his litter pan. The way the cage is set up is there is a hideaway with a door on the left hand side of the cage. On top of the hideaway is his food dish for his pellets. On the right side of the cage there is his hay bale and litter pan. He has a good amount of room in between to move around. He loves going under his hideaway and has recently been urinating right in the door to his hideaway. I have tried to flip the hideaway to the right side and move his litter pan in hopes that that would solve the problem but he keeps going right in the doorway. 

My concern is that I don’t want him laying in his urine and it being unsanitary. Up until a week or two ago this was not an issue and was using his litter pan for both urine and number two. It is causing the cage to smell and I’ve been cleaning a lot more than I usually have too. Does anyone have any suggestions! I love him so much and I want to make sure he is comfortable. 

Thanks in advance,

Kelly

[Wick & Fable]

With his age in mind, it may be a sign to get him neutered some time soon. Since he likes the hideaway, he could be repeatedly marking it so it’s his, not anyone else’s.

If this is the case, you can wipe up a bit of urine with a small towel/old shirt, let it dry, then place it so it’s the flooring to the hideaway. He may not want to remark if he already has his scent on it. This is what I do with Wick until he’s old enough to get neutered, but he still likes to pee in non-litter places.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[kfarrell]

Hello,

Thank you for your response! I am planning on getting him neutered shortly. I am hoping that doing would help him. 

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

I agree with Wick’s advice: it’s probably hormone-related. A hormonal rabbit is usually a frustrated rabbit who’ll try anything to feel better. This varies from destroying everything in sight to mounting all objects with approximately the right size. Our bun frequently started to mount my knitting or crochet projects. Yuck! Good that you’re neutering him soon, most litter box problems are solved by it, and it’ll also prevent many behavioural issues. Usually the hormones will die down within 2-3 weeks after the operation.

Afterwards you can start to correct his litterbox habits if problems persist. One of the things to keep in mind is that rabbits love to pee on soft things for some reason. Your woolen sweater, the bed sheets, towels, their blankie. If you want to remove the smell of rabbit pee from something, wash it with white vinegar and rinse off the vinegar smell. Nobody knows exactly why, but sometimes the only way to keep them sanitary is to remove all softness from their surroundings except for their litter box. We had to do this to our bun as well, he’d use his whole cage when it was still covered with hay. Now it’s covered with cardboard except for his litter box which is filled with absorbent wooden pellets and hay. He uses it as a lounge-box as well, which isn’t a problem as long as you clean it frequently.

Best of luck with your bun and welcome to the forum!

[kfarrell]

Thank you so much! I am going to call the vet today and see when I can  get him in to be neutered. I really appreciate your help so much!

Best,

Kelly

[Author]

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