Peeing in enclosure

[Camilla]

Just adopted a bunny, and I got a cage with a litter box attachment and a little hidey hutch thingy. I read that she would decide what corner would be her litter corner and then i should put the litter box where she has decided to pee. Unfortunately she decided to pee inside her little hutch area. I tried to move the hutch to the other side of the cage and put a little litter box in the corner that she peed in with the pee marked bedding and hay, but I’m pretty sure she is still peeing inside her little hutch, even though its now in a different corner. Should I take the hutch out and let her decide on a new corner? Or does she need some cover so that she isn’t stressed out and I should make the hutch her litter box area? I’m a little confused as to what to do. I’ve attached a photo of the cage, she is peeing inside the area circled in blue.

[tobyluv]

Is she a baby bunny? It is sometimes not easy to litter box train a rabbit that hasn’t been spayed or neutered, so you might not have a lot of luck with that if she isn’t spayed yet. Keep putting poops in her litter box that you find, along with bits of paper towels that you have used to soak up any pee in other places. Then clean the other places she is peeing in with a white vinegar and water solution to hopefully take away the pee smell that might entice her to pee there again.

That cage looks small. Most cages that are sold in pet stores are not at all an adequate size for rabbits. A little bunny might not need as much space, but they grow quickly. One minimum suggested size for a cage is 2 feet by 4 feet, or sometimes the suggestions say that the cage should be 4 times the size of your bunny, but they will still need a certain number of hours outside the cage for exercise (in a bunny proofed room).

The BUNNY INFO link at the top left of the page has a lot of good information about the basics of rabbit care, including housing.

[Azerane]

I would take the little hutch out, leave the litter tray in the corner where she has gone to toilet the most, and then drape a fleece blanket or towel over the top of that end of the cage. That way she still has somewhere to hide and feel safe but her litter box is able to be in that area too. Also how big is she in relation to the litter box? Some rabbits won’t use a litter box if they feel it’s too small. Adding hay next to or in the litter box can help as well, because rabbits love to eat while they go to the toilet

[Theodorusrex]

Hi Camilla,

When I first got Theodore we had the exact same problem. We provided 2 large litter trays with lots of fresh hay for him but he would still only pee and poop under his little shelf (or little hutch as you’ve called it). It was a really face off stale mate situation for weeks trying to get him to use his litter trays! We rearranged his cage all sorts of ways as I didn’t want to remove his shelf as it gave him a hidey-hole and he loved lying on top of it. In the end, thanks to some really helpful advice on this site I ended up putting his litter tray in a cardboard box on its side and removing the shelf and I went from there – about 4 or 5 weeks later and he is 100% with his litter habits. I would remove the shelf (if temporarily) and do exactly what Azerene has suggested by placing the litter tray in the pee corner and providing some sort of privacy whether that be a cardboard box (although your cage looks a little small to fit a box in) or a towel over the litter box area.
Good Luck! as tobylove said she may not be 100% until she is spayed if she is a baby but it’s certainly a start!

[Author]

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