My bunny holds peeing whenever she is not in her cage!! PLEASE PLASE READ!! I need urgent help :(

[steff1010]

Hi everybody

I have a 4-month-old Mini Rex female bunny called Pixar. She is the sweetest, I swear. She is littertrained, and she never ever goes outside her litterbox (except for maybe 5 or 6 little pellets). She sleeps in my bedroom inside her cage and she is outside in a bunny-proofed room almost all day. Her cage is one of those that the top part is detachable and has a plastic bottom, so I let the bottom part of her cage with her litterbox, water and food for her in that room. But even when her litterbox is there, she does not pee or poo when she is outside her cage; when i get her into her cage she starts peeing and pooping. I have built for her a playpen out of wire cubes and she does not go when she is in there either.

The problem is that I’m going for a 3-day trip with my family and I’m going to leave her home inside her playpen. A friend of mine will come once or twice a day to check on her and do her some company for a while, but I am really worried that she will hold for too long and get sick or something.

HELP PLEASE? I’M LEAVING ON THURSDAY!! 

thanks and greetings form Mexico

[LBJ10]

Will she go in the litterbox if you set it out on the floor?

[Baxter n Boos Mom]

My buns tend to pee and poo in the early morning – and then again starting in the late afternoon and evening….but not so much during the day, even though they have access to their water, grains and hay all day. I think this is probably because they sleep during the day.

Do you think that her biological schedule just coincides with when she’s in her cage? If not – I’d try placing a litterbox in the playpen now – and try leaving her there for a day to see if she’ll start to use it.

[steff1010]

Hi, LBJ10.

No, she won’t I put her litterbox on the floor when she’s inside her playpen but it just doesn’t seem to make any difference.

[steff1010]

Hi, Baxter n Boo.

I put her inside her playpen today afternoon and I’m planning on letting her sleep there for today, and see if there’s any difference. Her litterbox is inside her playpen on the floor (and has been ever since i put her there) but I just went check her out and she hasn’t peed or poo.

What worries me is that I don’t know when to stop this “when-will-she-go” experiment. Do you think she’ll get sick or something? I really hope that eventually she will  give in.

I really apreciate these responses.

[jerseygirl]

I put her inside her playpen today afternoon and I’m planning on letting her sleep there for today, and see if there’s any difference.

That’s a good idea. So with the litterbox still in the cage bottom? Or out in the pen?

One thing to try is leave the cage top on but a door (or 2) open. Perhaps she likes having something overhead that gives her a sense of security?
If the cage is a top opening one, you could try adapting a box to fit over the top instead.

I really don’t know if this would make a difference but worth a try right?

What type of flooring is the play pen set on? If wood/vinyl/laminate etc, try putting a mat down near by the cage or litterbox. So she can jump in and out without losing her footing.

You really needn’t worry about her holding on affecting her health. She’ll have to go at some point. It probably is like Baxter n Boo mentioned, she just goes at certain times. She could be very efficient in her routines. I notice some of my buns hardly drink water and urinate infrequently. Then I have a couple that are the opposite! Most of the pooping happens when eating their hay in the litterbox. Sometimes it’s a ton all at once.

I know it’s hard to leave your bunny. I remember feeling so anxious the first time I did when I had just the one.

[Svandis]

If this doesn’t work (although I really think it will), maybe you could connect the pen to the cage so she can go in and out of it as she wants?

[Beka27]

Posted By Svandis on 03/24/2013 05:17 AM

If this doesn’t work (although I really think it will), maybe you could connect the pen to the cage so she can go in and out of it as she wants?

This is what I would do.  Don’t make a stressful time (going away without your bun) worse by over-thinking things.

My rabbits don’t pee outside of their litterboxes; this is because they’re litter-trained and it’s expected that rabbits will pee in their litterbox 100% of the time.  They don’t use a litterbox outside of their pen.  Rather, they run back to their pen to do their business.

Does your rabbit have access to her cage when she is out playing?  A rabbit’s cage is their “safe space” and they should always be able to go in it whenever they want, without interference from you.  If the rabbit’s play space is in a different area than the cage, I’d consider either relocating the cage OR the play space.

[bunnylova123]

My bunny will normally hold it in, and only go in the morning, in her outside ‘ poo corner ‘ ( it’s not a litter tray, it’s just a corner of the run where she has decided This is where I will go to the toilet. ) She does go inside, but only when I let her out at a later time, she will probably go after a while though, I’m not sure, but I don’t think it is physically possible just to stop going to the toilet.

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