Litter box habits of older rabbit

[Lionheadmama]

Hi there,

My senior rabbit Sylvester has been going downhill with his litter box habits. He still primarily uses his litter box for peeing and pooping but the instances of him pooping and peeing outside of the box have increased significantly. We think this is due to his age as he is approaching 10 years old in December but it also seems to have gotten worse since his brother passed away last month. We are cleaning up puddles and piles of poop regularly now (like few times a day).

Any advice for helping me re-learn his litter box habits? It seems like he generalizes the litter box area as a giant litter box. He doesn’t go near his food or water or bed.

Thank you!!

[DanaNM]

He might be having some arthritis that makes him less likely to jump into the box. There are some low-sided litter boxes for cats that I’ve had good luck with. I’ve also seen people use jelly roll pans or lunch trays as litter “boxes” for senior and disabled buns.

You should also discuss with your vet, some senior buns do well with some daily metacam to help manage their arthritis.

. . . 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.  

[Lionheadmama]

Thanks for the suggestions.

We’re actually using two low-sided litter boxes for him so we don’t think entry is a particular issue. Also because he’s older, we’ve been giving him joint supplements as advised by his vet. He’s a very fluffy long hair bun so matting on his underside can be an issue and since becoming older, he’s not doing as good of a job cleaning and we often find cecotrope residue on the floor. For this situation we’re not sure  if it’s arthritis or more of a mental thing.

We’ve been laying down cardboard and a washable absorbent pad and he seems to go on it now. We just want to do what’s best for him because this won’t help with keeping his bum / underside clean and dry.

[LBJ10]

From my experience, there may be a level of simply not bothering to get into the litter box anymore. Some of this may be due to arthritis and some of this may be due to not wanting to make the effort. I have a “pee rug” that goes underneath the litter box to catch any misses. They are cheap, so I just throw them away when they are too far gone to clean anymore. You could use puppy pee pads as long as your bunny doesn’t chew on them.

I do agree that having a daily low dose of pain medication could help. Sanitary shaves aren’t a bad idea either.

[DanaNM]

Ah I see. Yeah it could just be a case of him not really caring about it. My senior (12+) poops in his sleep often, and will occasionally pee outside the box as well.

But I do agree that some daily metacam might help, and a sanitary shave occasionally from the vet will help him keep clean (and may even help him reach his cecals).

. . . 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.  

[Lionheadmama]

Thank you. I’m going to speak with our vet to see if this is a good option for him. He just had a thorough vet check in October but we didn’t really talk about arthritis or pain management. I’m also using washable mats and swapping it out when it gets soiled. He seems to go on it now so it’s not getting on the floor.

[ParsleyBun]

If he is a lionhead, a sanitary shave would be a good idea!

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