Lost Litterbox Habits

[MimzMum]

So all three of my bunnies for some time have been getting kind of lazy about their litter box habits. Pip I think is just expressing her royal diva-ness. The litterbox is simply not big enough for her needs I would guess. Fiver has had mushy cecal problems for awhile and it’s still taking some adjustment with his diet, so I’m not surprised to see a few bb’s kicked around on his bedding.

But it was a bit distressing last night (despite wanting to get sleep) when I was up watching Mimzy to be sure he was eating alright after his dental, I found a little spot of pee on the floor in his night habitat. It wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t just a drip either, about half a teaspoon. And I realized that the messes I’ve been cleaning up in the mornings are not just one accident spread around the pen, but many little ones along with the big puddle or two he leaves me when his box is the least bit soiled.

It caused me to think about how lots of times he also leaves a pile of bb’s (which later get scattered everywhere) either where he’s sleeping or where he was sitting while eating his cecals or washing himself. This has all been going on for almost a year on and off. I originally thought it was a territorial thing due to the advent of Jenna in our household.

His kidneys came back as fine on his blood test yesterday. Could some other problem be manifesting in this ‘leaky bottom’ of his?

I know someone else here recently had trouble with their bun just leaving blessings wherever he happened to be at the time. Not sure if it was a younger or older bunny. Mimzy is approximately 4 years old, so he’s about middle aged in bunny terms. I know he’s not as strong in his back end as he was when he was younger because he doesn’t hop up on his sleeping shelf without falling 3 out of 5 times. Could he just not notice that he is leaving this stuff? Could he have some kind of bladder infection (doesn’t explain the bb’s) or something that is causing him to be less conscious of where he is pottying? (kind of hard to believe that wouldn’t have raised a flag with my vet if she found his kidneys to be okay)

The house has been awfully dry and I notice all the buns increasing their water intake, Mimzy most of all, but Pip and Fiver aren’t peeing on their floors.

I’m looking into finding a low sided litter pan for him also. If anyone has any suggestions where to find them, I’d be very grateful.

 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Aww sorry to hear that Mimz!!

I currently have normal high sided cat litter boxes but often I buy ‘litter pans’ in the home organization section of Walmart, superstore, home depot etc-I just look for an ideal size/shaped plastic storage box ! I’ve found huge low sided ones I loved a few years ago in walmart -so you might try non-petstore for a lower litter pan.

Mine sometimes just have a wee outside the box-…here is what happens…Kahlua will decide to empty a litter box and then Rupert will pee and poop on the hay and litter that is on the floor/blankie/carpet. Buggers Was there hay or some kicked out litter where they wee’d?

[MimzMum]

Well, Mimzy eats his hay off the floor anyway, no amount of cajoling has encouraged him to use a basket, so usually whatever hay is left is all over the floor by morning anyway. And yes, this seems to mostly happen at night.
Pip will lift her box by one side and spill the litter on her bedding, but that’s usually because I forgot to give her the routine post-cleaning cookie. I’ll find poops in her sleeping hay as well, so I’m guessing she just doesn’t care where they go.

But since Mimz has been experiencing rear leg weakness, I’m thinking he’s having some overall difficulty with his nether regions. He doesn’t eat or drink much during the day, mostly towards evening, hence the morning mess.
I just don’t want to think he’s either injured, has sludge or has a mass down there or something. So I’m trying to find if there’s anything behavioral that could cause this. He was completely fastidious until Jenna arrived. That’s why I thought it was her presence that got him started….now, I’m just not so sure. He should be used to her by now. He never peed or pooped around Pip when they were bonding. He only occasionally pees when he’s near Fiver. The cats don’t affect him at all because they aren’t anywhere near him.
I noticed this morning he had actually formed a little ‘nest’ in his hay like he used to when he was outdoors to leave some of his bb’s in. It took me back to when I first got him.
He sure has been extra snuggly lately too. I can’t go past him without a request for a head groom. And he almost always purrs. (which must be easier now without those spurs)
He’s always been a bit of a lump, not really mobile. If he is having some kind of muscular trouble down there, can I do something to increase/decrease/whatever his exercise level so he gets stronger again? Or should I leave it alone because it might only damage him further?

He’s still really put out that I took his shelf away, because he used to love to hide from the world under that. (I only did that in this last week or so, so he’s not protesting that with poos.) I’m going to have to see if I can find some kind of storage box I can cut a smooth hole him for him to use as his new cubby when he wants to be alone.

[RabbitPam]

Why don’t you combine his hidey hole spot with a litter option? I mean, maybe a low litter pan that’s covered, like a cat kind, would allow him to use it, sleep in it, and be hidden. If he is peeing because he can’t lift his leg, try moderating it by cutting the opening low to the flat of the floor and sand the edge to smooth it then see if he’ll go in there.
After the medical episode this week he might be temporarily reverting to old behaviors and will come around in a few more days as he’s recovered. He would be stressed even more by more medical attention I fear. She just had him there, so accepting that he is aging and subject to changes making him stressful, I would try to keep him home and comforted.
If he is developing back leg issues like Spockie did, you can just get a little rug cutting from Palace Pet Beds. They are made to absorb pee, machine washable, and very comfortable for incontinent bunnies to lay on. I would order one or two for him because it will always come in handy to have with so many animals in the house. Griffy may need it if Mimzy doesn’t.

[MimzMum]

You know, Pam, it’s weird you should say that because his hab was uncharacteristically cleaner today. I only saw that little bit of mess yesterday, and today when I go to pick up (I was also late cleaning-a big thumping no-no for my bunnies) it’s almost completely dry for a change. Minimal poop spread, and only two spots I can see that may have been ‘leaks’. Not even enough to dirty a tissue with. And I even gave him a bunch of green leaf lettuce and parsley and a carrot sliver last night to boost his food intake (the vet is worried he is losing weight) and he ate like he hadn’t seen food in months…which I guess in a way is true as he hasn’t been eating like he normally does…even though it’s all soft orchard grass. Due to the extra pee he was making, I’d almost given up on giving him extra greens as a treat anymore. Now I can look forward to the new dandelion crop when it comes in later this spring.
He’s been drinking well from a crock, and a bit from a sippy, but not as much as before. So maybe the doc was right and he was drinking so much to fill a tummy that was empty of food…surprising amount of poo for a bunny who wasn’t eating that much hay though. :-/
Do you suppose it was the tooth pain that was making him do this messing business? 0_o I sure hope not, because it means he’s been hurting for almost a year.
Speaking of treats I’ve had to hold back on…I don’t know why it took me so long to think of it, but I realized after his dental he wouldn’t be able to eat his favorite nommies, the Oxbow Timothy Treats from the BB.com store. So since Critical Care is not his favorite recuperating fare, I figured out to ‘plump’ his timmy treats with warm water till they’re soft, then drain off the excess (if he doesn’t drink it) and let him have them that way. It was a surprising hit with him! It works great with APD cookies too. And it makes them go farther which is good for both of us.
I did hear him do some rapid fire sneezing again this morning, the first since he came home. I am almost certain now it is environmental. We have so much dust flying around the house right now, it’s driving us all crazy. Pollen hasn’t even begun up here since it’s still snowy out and I’ve been going through zyrtec and benadryl like candy.

You have some wonderful ideas there that I’ll give a go. I’m ambiguous about the carpet, since he has a long hate relationship with soft things under his feet, preferring the cool floor to anything else (no worries about sliding around on it, since he hardly moves…lol), but we’ll try anything once. Is Palace Pet an online store?
I just had to wash and hang out to dry (or in our weather, freeze) his new timothy mat he got from BB.com. He completely soaked it since he was unable to tear it to pieces, so out of frustration he let mummy know how displeased he was with her choice by turning all those nice brown fronds a striking yellow. >.< There's just no pleasing some critters, you know. *sigh* It'll probably turn into a cat scratching mat now.
I’d have to say that God thought it would be hilarious to gift Mimzy with extra ‘routine’ genes, so when I do make things different for him, he goes postal and I wind up having to change them back the way he likes it. But I do wonder if now he’d be open to the idea of having a hidey/litter box. That would certainly cut back on my chores for the day. I by no means want to isolate him, or encourage his hermit tendencies, but if it makes him more comfortable at his age, I’m all for it. For now I have hung a blanket over one side of his pen, so that when I am up late my light does not bother him. He loves the dark. He’s a real vampire bunny.
And no, I wasn’t planning on taking him back in to the doc if I can help it. We’ve all had enough of that for a while. I’d rather try some at home therapy. Perhaps he feels he needs more full body bunny massage.

BTW, nasty dosing match this morning for me and poor Griffy. We’ve still got 5.5 days to go…*groan*…poor guy, I felt so bad I just burst into tears after I let him go. He’s doing better, but for the eye which still hasn’t recovered, (on the 25th of this month it’ll be 8 weeks), but I just feel such a rotter to have to practically strangle him in a towel to shove that nasty stuff into his mouth. He doesn’t need this aggravation, my sweet boy. And so it’s even more guilt tripping to have him come and sit on my lap in the afternoon and look at me with those big blue eyes….sheesh. *headdesk*

I don’t think I had this much trouble giving medicine to the kids when they were young…well…maybe just a little less…. lolz

[RabbitPam]

That all sounds like good progress for Mimzy. Am posting the link to Palace Pet Beds here for anyone else who may need it. They were wonderful to deal with online, as well as by phone. She even clued me in on a sale they had so I could buy a big one cheaper and cut it down to several smaller pieces. So nice during a tough time for us.

http://www.palacepet.com/

If Griffy is letting you hold him for pets in the afternoon, he isn’t carrying hard feelings about receiving meds in the morning. But I know that feeling of crying after chasing and giving a struggling pet what they need. I felt much worse than Sammy a few weeks ago, I think it was just a nail trim. My big brother refuses to help me with that stuff because he doesn’t see my bunnies often and will not be considered a bad guy when he does. The big baby.

[MimzMum]

Well, we’re down to the last 4 days of this antibiotic. He’s easier to catch in the eves because he’s usually out cold when I come get him for his dose, but I still feel bad. This morning was terrible. I have quite a few nice new scars on my hands from our tussle. I deserve every one of them.

Yeah, hubby was helping me, but he is so allergic to the animal fur and becomes so surly, it’s just easier for me to do it. We’re almost done and believe me, neither of us can wait for Monday! >.<

I ordered two of the green beds. They had to call me for my physical addy, which is a pain because the UPS guy is just an independent local and he kinda scares me when he arrives. Always knocks at the wrong door and I don’t like answering to a man unless hubby is here.

Mimzy continues to stay dry, which is fabulous. I noticed last night he was resting with his chin up on the side of the litter box though. He wasn’t in any distress, just seemed to be using it as a pillow. Weird.

And K&K, thanks for that reference, I’ll go look at my local WalMart!

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