New Rescue Bunny Owner – Kinda Long

[Texas Laws]

Good Morning! My name is Leslie Laws and I am the new owner of a rescue bunny named Dharma. Dharna is an adorable little lionhead who is 7 years old. We have had Dharma a little over 2 weeks.

In short, I encountered Dharma living in a tiny wire indoor cage (rarely cleaned) with no interaction from her humans and removal only consisting of the times she was put into a carrier to have her cage cleaned. She had a litterbox that she stayed in most of the time (probably because the wires hurt her feet) and she frequently peed and pooped right through the cage onto the floor when the litterbox was overfull. As far as I know, she lived like this for many years. I convinced her owner to give her to me.

My husband and I have never owned a rabbit before and any advice will help. We interact with her a lot and Dharma is really coming out of her shell!  We get bunny kisses, binkies, racing around us in circles and excited greets. We are in love!

We are still struggling with litterbox training. We have paid attention to where Dharma seems to want to pee when she is in her pen, and have moved the box there, but we still find pee all over around her pen. (Pills are everywhere too, but I am less concerned with those as they clean up easy)

I doubt she is spayed (she has been to the vet but we did not talk about that) could she be marking? Or is it just going to take a little longer since she was neglected? Or perhaps I should be concerned about a UTI?

Any advice will help and I am looking forward to learning more from all of you!

Leslie

I have attached a pic of Dharma – please excuse the bizarre haircut – she had a lot of mats when we got her.

[LongEaredLions]

Thank you for rescuing Dharma! It sounds like she is enjoying her new life in the home she deserves.
Spaying does tend to make litterbox training much easier, as well as eliminating risks of several types of common reproductive cancers. If she is otherwise in good health, her age shouldn’t be a risk factor–you may consider asking your vet about getting her spayed. It does take a different amount of time for each bunny to catch onto litter training, but cleaning up accidents quickly with a paper towel and placing it in the box is something I have found to work well.

[DanaNM]

I can’t see the pic, but thank you for rescuing her!

Spaying could help, but the vet might not want to due to her age. It’s their call though!

Since she is a senior, she also might be pretty set in her ways, and sometimes being cage bound for years can make it hard for bunnies to be good about their litter box.

It can help to make the litter box as enticing as possible (lots of fluffly bedding and hay), and to encourage her to take “potty breaks” frequently, where you shoo or lead her to the box. Usually when they hop in, they’ll pee. I agree with cleaning up accidents with a paper towel and placing it in the box.

If it gets to the point where it seems like she’s just going to have accidents, puppy pee pads are really great.

. . . 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.  

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