Newly Bonded Bunnies Litter Problems

[Daisy&Barbar]

We’ve had a male, free roaming, litter trained rabbit (Barber) for about a year now–he’s likely a year and a half old. About a month ago, we decided to adopt a second bunny–a female (Daisy) who’s age we’re completely unsure of (adult, certainly.)

They’re both fixed and they bonded really well and surprisingly fast–lots of grooming, napping together, etc. The first 2 weeks were totally smooth sailing.

But about a week ago, we noticed that Barbar was peeing outside of the litter box, primarily in spaces that my boyfriend predominantly occupies. We had a bit of trouble when we first got Barbar with him marking my boyfriend’s areas, but that’s been long passed.

Daisy pees in the litter box just fine (pooping is a hit-or-miss issue we’re working on), but we can’t figure out why Barbar has suddenly started peeing outside the box and only around the boyfriend’s thing (his side of the bed, his blanket on the couch, near his shoes, etc.). He pees inside of it, too, so it doesn’t seem like he’s rejecting the litterbox itself.

Any ideas what might be causing this? I assume it’s a response to the new bunny, but there were no problems for the first couple of weeks.

[Mikey]

My Bombur has been neutered for well over a year, and he still pee marks things that he likes. This includes shoes, clothes left on the floor, his favorite toy, the side of the litter box, ect. You may have a bun like mine who just likes to mark things he likes. I havent found a way to stop it other than picking up things I dont want him to pee on and cleaning the pee spot as soon as I noticed he peed. Weve tried putting litter boxes in those areas, but its usually met with Bombur peeing on the side of that litter box which seems to make a bigger mess.

[DanaNM]

I’ve had some success with re-litter training my Moose after bonding. I’ve been rewarding him for using the box, and directing him to the box when I see him about to pee somewhere. If he does pee outside the box, I’ve been soaking it up with a paper towel and placing it in the box. It requires watching him like a hawk though. I also have noticed he’ll mark after meal times, so I’ve been confining him to his condo briefly after meal time to allow him to use his box, then I let him out again.

He’s not perfect, but definitely an improvement.

. . . 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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