New to Bunny Ownership

[sll99]

So my family recently become the happy owners of a cute little Holland lop named Peanut.  She was four months old when she became part of the family a month ago.  Her previous owner said that she was litter trained and while she does use her litter box when she is in her cage, we have had a terrible time keeping her from peeing and leaving pills on the couch and chair.  We had her in the master bedroom at first because it’s a quieter and smaller space but we had to stop because she was doing the same thing on the bed.  Does anybody have some thoughts on why she seems so hellbent on using the furniture for her pottying needs and what could possibly be done to break her of this? 

Also, we are wondering if perhaps our house is too loud and exciting for her.  We have five kids, ages 2, 6, 8, 10, and 12.  She rarely seems bothered by them and will chase them, hop in circles around them, come over and rub her chin on them, etc. but I am wondering if she is being negatively affected by them regardless of how chill she seems with them.

Any thoughts or ideas are helpful and very much appreciated!

[Deleted User]

She’s at that age when her hormones are kicking in. It’s typical for them to be marking their territory with poops and pees. A lot of bunnies do lose litter box habits when they hit puberty. You can try to encourage her by either blocking off areas she’s prone to pee on, and wiping up the pee with a paper towel and putting it in her litter box and putting her poops in there. It won’t get truly better until she is spayed.

[Deleted User]

This is what has happened with multiple rabbits of mine. They are well trained and then two months later whoopsies. It’s probably because of hormones, and as said above it only gets better if they get fixed. Sometimes it takes a month after their spay or neuter to go back to normal but it’s still a lot better than before.

[Cocoa]

When you take Peanut out of the cage, is there a litter box she can get to? I had issues with my bunnies until I made it where she could get to a litter box when i was holding her. It may be because the couch is soft, I had this issue with my bunny. I would soak up the pee with paper towels and set that in the litter box. Pick up the poops and put them in the litter box. This will help her realize that that is where she is supposed to go to the bathroom. Rabbits are not good pets for younger kids. Rabbits are better pets for kids 12 and up. Hope this helps

[DanaNM]

Bunnies often pee and mark on soft things and things that smell strongly of humans. I know some bunnies are notorious bed-pee-ers.

There are ways to try to break the habit, but she does sound like she is hitting puberty, hence all the marking. Think of a rebellious teenager

Are you planning to get her spayed? Females have high rates of cancer if unspayed, and it would help a lot with the marking.

. . . 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.  

[Deleted User]

Yes that’s very important to know, female rabbits have a sixty percent chance of uterine cancer!

[Author]

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