On edge with clean litter trays

[sarahthegemini]

Hi guys, I change my rabbit’s litter trays daily and something I’ve noticed about Peanut is that he’ll look a little on edge when I put the clean trays down. He looks into the trays and it looks as though he wants to dive in but is hesitant at first. It takes him a good 5 to 10 minutes before he finally goes in whereas Buttercup jumps in immediately. I know he’s hungry because he eats from the hay box that I use to top up the trays lol. I don’t scrub the trays or anything. Because I empty and refill every day they don’t get stained or need to be wiped down very often so I wouldn’t have thought it’s a scent issue (meaning he might not recognise the litter tray?) 

Any thoughts on this? 

[Azerane]

I’m not sure, perhaps leaving a little bit of poops or soiled litter in might help if it’s scent related. Otherwise if you’re using wood pellets maybe they’re too hard at first until they’ve been padded with a bit of hay? My other thought regarding scent is if you’re taking the tray outside to rinse it out there might be a strange scent where you are seeing the box down which them gets brought back in with the tray.

[Wick & Fable]

Wick sometimes hesitates before going into his litter boxes, but I always chalked it up as him deciding “Do I want to take the effort to jump over this wall to pee in there, or should I just go pee in the corner of the room….” — It could be related to scent now that you mention it.

I second Azerane. Perhaps leaving a few poops behind may help.

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.

[sarahthegemini]

I thought about leaving a few poops and soiled litter in when cleaning so I’ll give it a go today and report back!

[Luna]

Do you think Peanut’s hesitation to jump in the litter box could be related to the eating less hay issue? Or is this something he has always done?

[sarahthegemini]

Luckily this hay issue is very recent whereas this little ‘quirk’ of his has been going on a while. It’s strange, once he’s done his business, he’s happy to jump in and out. I think it must be a scent issue. Unfortunately, I’m an idiot and forgot to save some soiled litter when I cleaned them today. I’ll have to leave a reminder note for tomorrow!

[Deleted User]

Ophelia also does this. She starts by eating from the outside of the box. I use compressed pine pellets though, and they smell quite strong when they first come out of the bin. It also could be because they are kinda rough on the paws! I’ve been putting a little layer of hay “padding” over the new litter so it’s softer for her little feets <3

[Luna]

Posted By BunNoob on 4/10/2018 9:40 AM

Ophelia also does this. She starts by eating from the outside of the box. I use compressed pine pellets though, and they smell quite strong when they first come out of the bin. It also could be because they are kinda rough on the paws! I’ve been putting a little layer of hay “padding” over the new litter so it’s softer for her little feets <3

At the rescue, we mix a tiny bit of hot water with the pellets…just a little to soften them, but not too much that the pellets won’t soak up urine.

[sarahthegemini]

I left some soiled litter in the trays today and Peanut was a little hesitant still but did go in much quicker than he usually does I’ll keep doing this for a week and see if it continues to help. If not, I’ll try soaking the pellets. Thanks for the tip guys!

[Deleted User]

Posted By Luna on 4/10/2018 12:51 PM

Posted By BunNoob on 4/10/2018 9:40 AM

Ophelia also does this. She starts by eating from the outside of the box. I use compressed pine pellets though, and they smell quite strong when they first come out of the bin. It also could be because they are kinda rough on the paws! I’ve been putting a little layer of hay “padding” over the new litter so it’s softer for her little feets <3

At the rescue, we mix a tiny bit of hot water with the pellets…just a little to soften them, but not too much that the pellets won’t soak up urine.

Neat trick! I felt bad about them being so poke-y

[Author]

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