Ideas for obsessive litter box chewing and digging in cage corner

[DanaNM]

Hi guys 🙂

Some of you may remember that Bun Jovi has always had this habit of “digging” in his condo on the slippery linoleum. He has free roam most of the day and his condo is huge, but he will do this even when the door is open. We think it may have been a habit he picked up from being confined in a previous home?

He also has been obsessively chewing the outer of his litter box. He’s not eating the plastic, but biting off pieces, so I’m going to have to get a different box because he’s making the edge kind of sharp.

I’d like some toy ideas for things that might satisfy these urges in a more healthy way. (The sound of it is also a bit maddening…he tends to wake us up with either the sound of his scraping his teeth on the cage bottom or biting the litter box). This morning he’s been alternating between the box chewing and the digging. He currently has grass mats on other condo levels, plus some willow baskets and twigs etc.  In the past I’ve tried grass mats on the bottom level, and he will dig through those very quickly and push them out of the way to get to the floor.

Unfortunately a true digging box isn’t really an option. We are in a studio apartment so there just isn’t space for that (plus i’m sure my cat would try to use it as a litter box).

Any ideas?

. . . 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.  

[Dface]

Ughhhh I hate when they get stuck in a habit.

Is the digging one corner or just wherever he feels like on that level? You could try to change the floor to a different substrate which might interrupt him enough to get him to stop?

I have seen some pretty clever covered dig boxes so the rabbit has to enter a like a sealed off chamber : https://www.manorpethousing.co.uk/digging-box  (the basic idea but it can be a large storage container either)

You dont have to use hugely messy substrate to make it entertaining, I used shredded fleece in mine for a while, shredded paper, bits of cardboard. I have even used childrens ballpit balls. I’ll be honest and say soil is the hands down favourite for them to dig in but I too do not enjoy having it in my house.

ATM my pair have just a cardboard box filled with random bit of other cardboard, toilet paper tubes  and paper etc. that I toss food and treats into every now and then and it keeps destruction fairly localized, but really doesnt take up too much room.

 

As for the second bit it sounds like he wants something harder to chew maybe, have you tried him on compressed wood toys? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewood-Boredom-Breaker-Edible-Extra/dp/B00PUENTL8/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=rosewood%2Blog&qid=1588526492&sr=8-1&th=1 (this type)
I always thought they looked crap and like they were a waste of money but mine are obsessional about chewing them.

Ive also found they really like this type of chew https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewood-Naturals-Hay-Hide-Large/dp/B003II221G although its basically just bit of hay stuck to cardboard . But it really distracts them from other more annoying things they feel the urge to gnaw.

For me those two types get them all a bit tranced when they are chewing, which I think is what Bun Jovi sounds like he is doing with the litter box

Other than adding alternatives to chew, I would also  (attempt to ) add a protective barrier around the litter tray. If you could fashion a type of cardboard shield, at least he will no longer be destroying the litter tray.

[DanaNM]

I have just started seeing those products at the shelter where I volunteer, I’ll have to see where they got them since the seem to be a UK thing.

I think the litter box chewing is related to the digging because he used to dig in the far back corner, but now the litter box is covering that spot (I flipped the organization when I bonding him with Myra). It’s usually in the corner closest to the corner he’s chewing on the box. Which also happens to face the one tiny corner of the apartment where he’s not allowed (insert eyeroll emoji lol). But then today he was also just digging in the middle of the floor. So idk! He’s nuts lol. Tranced is definitely the right word.

I can’t tell if it’s an urge to dig/chew specifically, or an obsession with getting to that corner of the apartment. We have been joking he’s like the guy in Shawshank Redemption, slowly trying to tunnel out of here.

But I like those ideas. We were wondering if maybe a plank of wood attached to the front of the box would provide a better thing to chew, but not sure how to attach it exactly.

. . . 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.  

[Wilburbunny]

Thats so annoying! I totally get the noise thing, my bunny has a metal cat bowl stand and always decides to start rattling it a 6:30 in the morning every day. I’m not sure what your condo looks like but you could try putting a large piece of cardboard over the whole bottom level so he can’t push it out of the way. My bunny is currently in a large dog crate (but he’s let out all the time) and it has a tray at the bottom. I sewed almost like a pillowcase made of a towel and sheet so he can walk on something softer but not be able to move it. If your condo is like that and your crafty, it’s worked well for me. He might still dig that tho but if he only digs on your current flooring that could be an idea. If he’s only digging in that corner I would probably just put something else there like a box or hiddy house and carabiner it to the side of the condo so Bun Jovi can’t move it. That’s about all I can think of rn for the digging. Cute name btw🙂. For the litter box, I agree to cover it with something. Attach that piece of you were talking about with Velcro and I think that should hold. You can either use regular Velcro or like command strip picture hangers. The command strip are just like Velcro but plastic and more sturdy. That’s the best can come up with at the moment but now that you’ve got this in my head I’ll be thinking for better solutions🙂 Hmmm you could even like drill holes in the litter box and wood and zip tie it, but that’s more permanent and would take more work. I’ll probably be back with more ideas lol! Let us know what you end up doing

For toys I like using hanging bird toys (especially the wood ones)- bunnies like them and they don’t take up floor space. You could also just find sticks outside and tie them together with twine for chewing or find a pine cone. I always like cutting up toilet paper rolls in fun ways (most recently I made a octopus by cutting holes for eyes a mouth and cutting tenticles in the bottom) but it sounds like bun jovi wants something harder to chew. Of course your probably right that he might just be annoyed his litterbox is in that corner!

[DanaNM]

OOooh, the idea of attaching a piece of lumber with zip ties might be the ticket! That’s a really good idea, thanks! Something he can sink his teeth into but that won’t prevent us from getting the box out to clean it. 🙂

He will dig on whatever flooring is on that level unfortunately. When I was bonding him he was in temp housing that had a fleece layer over plywood with linoleum and he did the same thing. It was a bit quieter but I was worried about him eating the fabric. I am also hesitant to put fabric on the bottom in case of accidents (they love to pee right when I take the litter box away to clean it). Cardboard would be fun for him but possibly even louder! I was wondering if I could line the whole bottom level with cat scratchers, but he does love lying on the cool hard surface. He is such a little rascal!

We can’t take credit for the name but it does suit him! When he’s getting into trouble we always say he’s signing “It’s my liiiffeeeeeeeee”

 

. . . 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.  

[jerseygirl]

If you don’t mind the sound of him gnawing on wood, edging the litterbox with some wood as suggested sounds like a good idea to try.  There are those wooden hay rays that have place you sit a litterbox in but I think they’d cost a pretty penny and likely be too big for the condo.  Maybe you can find a crate slightly larger then the box that it can sit inside it, the plastic edge below the wood edge?  I was thinking those ones Ikea have but they have nails…. maybe if the top row of slats was detatched and replace with wood strips glued in place?

For the digging spot, could you place a large tile there? Either slightly textured one or put  it in upside down? Or do you think he would just dig the linoleum next to it?

[cowolter]

I make digging boxes for my bunny, basically just take a box and throw either crumpled phone book pages, or shreds of paper inside, like stuff it most of the way. My bunny will spend hours digging it all out and shredding that.
Weaving willow or young branches from other safe trees through his cage bars will also give him something safe to gnaw that won’t ruin his teeth.

[DanaNM]

Yeah, I was perusing those fancy wooden litter box holders on etsy yesterday, but I don’t think they will fit in the condo (plus the price… yikes). We just had a new neighbor move in below use that was doing some wood-working yesterday. He’s very nice so I might see if he could make us a box.

A tile will probably help! I have done that in the past with him and does seem to help, although he might find a new spot eventually.

 

. . . 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.  

[Beau Bunny]

I put a single bottle wine box filled with hay in front of my litter box…you could drill holes and attach it to the front? Or depending on the size of your litter box, you could put the whole thing inside a wine crate. Check your local wine store, I’m sure you could score one for free.

 

Bonus: if you like wine, drink the wine and repurposed the box.

[Wick & Fable]

Does he tend to get into “funks” where he’s relentless about the chewing and digging?

With Fable (also rescued from a heavily confined home), she gets into funks of chewing on… everything. And digging in very specific spots. In addition to what everyone has said with laying wood and other chewable stuff in the hot spots, I found just playing with her to exhaust that energy during those episodes helped a lot. It may or may not be facilitating the behavior to keep going.. but it’s saving my carpet and what’s left of baseboard and wall corners, haha. She likes to chew things that give resistance, so I’ll hold the other end of a paper towel tube, cardboard box, packing paper, etc.. and keep toying her with it until she hops away and lounges somewhere.

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.

[DanaNM]

He totally does get into funks where he is just bonkers with the digging, chewing, mounting attempts, etc…. I think it all may be spring-time related, so I think some more boredom busters are probably going to help, even if they are not specifically related to the digging/box chewing. Thankfully I have an order of goodies from binky bunny on the way 🙂

I might try layering some different textured grass and/or paper mats on the bottom level so he has different layers to work through.

Thankfully he isn’t being destructive towards any of my stuff! He just wakes us up early in the morning with his crazy chewing and scratching at the floor. He also seems to like to do it when we are on zoom calls :p . Today I tried putting a tile down, but then he just switched to digging IN the litter box, so that was a no go. But I put a carboard box on it’s side in that corner and that seemed to help. So a temporary fix at least. I need to acquire some phone books for him to shred.

I don’t think this is related to us being home more, because often one of us would work from anyway, so our day-to-day routine with our pets is pretty much the same.

 

. . . 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.  

[DanaNM]

So I ended up taking a piece of cardboard and clamping it over the problem spot, and that seems to have helped! It at least gives him something safer to chew and protects their feet from the sharp edge.

I layered some cardboard and grass mats over the digging areas and that also seems to have helped, but look at what the rascal did today:

🙄

Myra is like “It wasn’t me!”

. . . 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.  

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