Loss of Litter Training

[RosieJ]

I have a 17 month old rabbit who has been perfectly litter trained since she was neutered 7 months ago.  She has free run of the house and even her own bedroom!  Yesterday she had her myxomatosis booster jab and nails cut.  When I went into her bedroom this morning she had urinated on the bed.  I am very surprised as it is totally out of character.  I have read in some books that spring can affect a rabbits litter training or could it have been the trauma of the vets?  Has anyone else had similar experiences?  Any thoughts and advice would be gratefully received  

[Beka27]

It could be a little bit of discomfort from the vet. If it is a one-time isolated event, I really would not fret about it. If it continues it could require some retraining or another trip to the vet to rule out urinary infection.

Is this an actual human bed in her room, or a pet bed?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh I’d definitely not worry about one incident-she may be punishing you for the vet trip (One of mine routinely pees by my boyfriends shoes if he makes her mad-and she peed in her condo the other day as punishment for being locked up and not allowed free range for a few hours!)

oooor she may be marking the bed-if it’s a human bed. Bunnies love the softy cushy absorbancy and generally pee on the bed to let you know that they now own the bed and you are to find somewhere else to sleep (maybe a litterbox?) as they are now going to be sleeping in the bed
If that’s the case, I’d put a shower curtain over the bed-as its slippery and will discourage her going on the bed, and will also act as a moisture barrier so if she does pee on it again it’s much less clean up!

[RosieJ]

Thanks for the replies.  Yes it is a human bed but it has not been slept in for a long time.  I have removed the bedding and covered it with a plastic sheet and then a white cotton sheet so I can see if she does it again tonight.  Hopefully she was just annoyed at the trip to vets!  I will watch her though to see if it could be a urinary infection, but it probably is her being very moody as she was not happy with me at all yesterday!  She is my first rabbit and I am learning how temperamental they can be, but that is half the enjoyment of her.  Once again thanks for putting my mind at rest and letting me know it is not that unusual behaviour.

[MooBunnay]

I also have a friend whose dog will pee on the floor (usually when she is watching) to punish her if she takes a vacation and leaves the dog with a dog-sitter! Its so fnuny how smart animals are…

Let us know if she continues to pee on the bed. I have two free-range bunnies that got in the bad habit of marking my bed, and I had to do what K&K suggested and put a plastic shower curtain over the bed to prevent them from peeing on it during the day. Then, they decided to mark it while I was sleeping in it…so then I was sleeping under a plastic shower curtain for awhile…now they are just blocked from the bed all together

[skibunny8503]

When Gracie came back from the vet for a physical, she peed in her cage.  She has a shy bladder, when she gets scared or is a situation where she panicks (like me trying to pick her up to do nails or something) she’ll pee.  I’m always worried she’ll pee on me   I’m sure it was just a one time thing and your bun was just scared.

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