New bun pees in litter box, poops EVERYWHERE

[allie ann & hamlet]

Hi all,

I recently got my boy, Hamlet (neutered and perfect litter habits) a friend named Ophelia. I’ve had Ophelia since approximately mid September 2024 and she was spayed the day I got her. She’s maybe 1.5 years old? She’s a rescue, so we aren’t certain.

Hamlet is totally free roam, since he’s house and litter trained. (Plus, I live in a small apartment- so I don’t have the luxury of a dedicated bunny room sadly.)  Ophie is neither of those things. She wasn’t getting the hint with me cleaning up pee spots and putting poops in the box, so I’ve resorted to having them temporarily in an x-pen and litter training there. She’s peeing in the box consistently now but I still constantly find poops everywhere. She somehow broke out of the pen this morning- still not sure how- and immediately pooped alllllll over the couch. It’s kind of impressive how she always avoids the litter box. I’m at the end of my rope. Any advice or anecdotes would be greatly appreciated as I feel awful keeping them cooped up and am running out of ideas 🙁 rehoming her isn’t an option because 1) I love the stinker and 2) they’re bonded. They can’t be penned forever as it’s not good for Hamlet (angora giant) to have his space be that limited. Plus, I simply don’t have the room for a pen to be up 24/7.

[BrunosMama]

I love your buns names! 😀

Is she pooping in the box at all? I know sometimes there can be stray poops that they leave around and some buns just seem worse about this than others. I have a boy lop pair who rarely leave a poop outside the box, but another bun who probably leaves about the same amount on the floor as in the box lol.

As for her pooping on the couch, its possible she was adding her “scent” to a place that usually is occupied by a lot of others – the humans and any other pets. Beds, couches, and stuff tend to be favorite places for bunnies to leave lots of poops to try to integrate their smell in with everyone else. You could try keeping a blanket or sheet over the couch cushions to protect the couch (and make clean up easier). Also, once her and Hamlet are free roam again, you could block off access to the couch so that she can’t get up there and, uh, unload lol.

Has there been any/much improvement with the poops since she has been living with you? It could be something that will improve as she gets settled in. You could also try a second litter box if there’s room and she seems to have any other favorite spots.

I’m always just so amazed at how many poops one little fluffy bun can make lol. <!–/data/user/0/com.samsung.android.app.notes/files/clipdata/clipdata_bodytext_250305_125018_692.sdocx–>

[Bam]

I’d add a second litterbox, as BrunosMama suggests. Even if the space isn’t huge. Put the box where she poops the most if possible. If she starts using it, you can then start to move it to where you want it -but do that slowly! Like an inch every couple of days.

You have seen improvement with the pee, that’s great. Her urge to mark is less strong now.

It’s not super-uncommon for girl rabbits to need a much longer time to adjust to the post-castration hormonal changes than male buns typically do.

[LBJ10]

Some bunnies just aren’t great at the litter box… and when they aren’t, it’s usually poop. I agree that this sounds like marking though, particularly since she went straight to the couch and unloaded. How big is the litter box? Sometime bunnies don’t like the share, especially when the litter box cannot accommodate both at the same time. I think adding a second litter box may not be a bad idea to try.

[Author]

Messages