Help! My bunny is urinating everywhere!

[Madz88]

My male netherland dwarf bunny is around 12-14 weeks old. I’ve had him for about 6weeks. Previously he urinated on one side of his cage but the last few days I have noticed a stronger foul smell coming from the cage. I usually do a thorough clean ever Saturday but today after 2 days the cage smells strongly of urine. I have put a small litter tray in the corner that seemed to be where he went most but have noticed the last few days he is peeing in 3 or 4 spots now – and a lot more. He is also going through his water at a much faster rate. I am not sure I can stand this smell if it continues/gets worse and I don’t have the time or money to freshen up his cage daily. It is a wire cage with a plastic bottom that I have covered in hay. He also has a little hutch/house where he never really urinates in.  HELP!

[Roberta]

He is merely going through puberty. Get a cat litter tray, line it with newspaper sheets or something absorbent and top up with hay. He will do most of his business in there but you will still have a few stray poos till he is neutered. It will start him on the way to good litter habits and once he is done full litter training should be a breeze. My foster bun also has a rectangular seedling tray filled this way in his cage but he seems to prefer holding on and going in the big tray.

[Madz88]

His testicles haven’t come through set so I can’t get him neutered yet… He has a litter too it’s probably 20cm squared…

[RabbitPam]

I agree with Roberta about getting him a large cat litter pan to use, but I diverge in my opinion of what you use in it. First, remove the litter and hay from the cage bottom and leave the plastic clean and clear of bedding.

You want to be buying an odor absorbing litter rather than hay or newspaper that soaks up pee but doesn’t control odor. I would recommend Aspen pellets (Aspen Supreme) or Aspen shavings for the best odor control.
ONLY aspen shavings are safe – Never use pine shavings. That said, untreated pine pellets make an excellent litter, and a very cheap one is called Feline Pine and can be found in grocery stores for cats.
If you bunny prefers the softer litter instead of pellets (and you will know if he scatters them and pees outside the box) then try Carefresh Original, the cheapest of the Carefresh soft litter line. You can get huge bags for less money.
Just avoid the generic Wood Shavings products for safety as well. Use a hay holder that you can hang over the litter pan, so bunny can sit in the pan and eat hay at the same time. They often use the litter pan that way.

[DUSTBUNNY-CLYDE]

my boys are 11 weeks and 13 weeks old and they started shooting pee everywhere!! messy boys!! I just keep telling myself it’s only temporary!! they will be neutered in a month and it will get much better. hang in there!!

[tanlover14]

Definitely remove the hay and bedding from the bottom of the cage and ONLY put it in the litter box. Having it all over will confuse him about where to go.

Hay is definitely not ideal for litter as it will absorb absolutely nothing which is probably another reason the smell seems so strong. Get an absorbent litter. I use CareFresh and it works wonders for me. Also, make sure you’re putting the litter box where HE chooses to use the bathroom. Even if it’s not an ideal place for you, it will make litter training him MUCH easier for you both.

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