Peeing out of place training

[GeorgieTheBunny]

Georgie is loved AND is driving us nuts

She has had good litter habits coming from her foster home, but for a few weeks now she has been peeing out of place. Full puddles ranging from light coloured lemonade and occasionally a tad rusty coloured, no blood and doesn’t seems to be in any pain or struggling with urination.

She uses her litter box for #1 & #2 for almost everything except for when she sneaks off and pees.

She had a second litter box inside her carrier which lived in a corner of the kitchen. After peeing inside the carrier beside the litter box she went on to pee beside the carrier, where the carrier was when I was off cleaning it, next to the mat infront of the sink, and then beside the pantry & microwave stand cupboard. I cleaned these each up when I found them, with 2/3 vinegar/water, tossed the mat, and now the kitchen is gated off. The kitchen has been gated and the floor inside washed with “scrubbing bubbles” bathroom cleaner with bleach since and she hasn’t been allowed there since (This past Saturday)

When these events were taking place Georgie would be put in her condo for a time (not too long) until we saw her use her litter to urinate.

We were concerned with the checklist of possible reasons, UTI being one of them, so we used apples pieces to reward her for letting us look at her underbelly. It looks fine, nothing red, inflamed, no urinte scald, or fur missing and her scent glands look good.

Since this started she has had a few days in her condo and small attracted pen and done well. On her first day running free from that’d she managed to pee up the side and out of her litter box, which meant we needed to clean in her cage. Georgie was outside the cage doing whatever and my boyfriend helped me lift the side while I clean around the edges of the bottom, her cage is quite large so I was half inside to complete the chore. She investigated the activity while it was happening but just as we were wrapping up she stood right in front of her cage and “protest” peed while staring Andrew in the eye

There have been a couple of times when I think she has protest peed but mostly is sneaky about it; I think she knows what she is doing isn’t appreciated.

My questions are:

What do I do if I can’t catch her in the act?

How long do you guys “retrain pets” for by putting them back in confined space with their litter?

Any advice?

Please please please Help me train better habits!

[tobyluv]

You didn’t mention if Georgie is spayed or not. It can be difficult to fully litter box train a rabbit that isn’t spayed or neutered. If she isn’t spayed, she may be doing some territorial marking. I think the only way to determine a UTI for sure would be with a urinalysis. A rabbit may not have any redness or irritation when they have a UTI. You will usually notice straining or signs of discomfort with a UTI though, so it doesn’t seem like she has one, but only a vet can determine that.

[GeorgieTheBunny]

She is spayed.

We haven’t noticed any discomfort, no hunching, no chattering teeth – just… A Lot of pee and a lot of water consumption.

It’s been hot here so the quantity, and large puddles, don’t seeeem that shocking

[GeorgieTheBunny]

A friend of mine made a suggestion!

When Georgie pees outside her box, I pick her up, show her the puddle, and say no. I take her directly to her litter box in her cage and put her inside and say “litter box” then I close the doors to her condo and she is “in” until we see her using her litter properly.

Perhaps since this started I’ve given Georgie a complex, my friend suggested, that when she is free she doesn’t want to get locked in, so she’s afraid to go and use the litter in her cage.

I’ve made a pen that will be her timeout place if/when she pees outside her litter again.
She *had a second box but I don’t feel confident about providing another one right now

I’m open to any suggestions!

[GeorgieTheBunny]

Exasperated!

Peed out of place again today; it’s been awhile at least.

I can’t think of what set her off. Her litter was fresh, I’ve been changing it daily since this started. She was a bit bored earlier so I moved her toys around the room for her to adventure.

I found the puddle in post, in a place she’s gone before. It’s been cleaned with vinegar – thoroughly. It’s immediately behind the front door so I can’t put a litter box there.

She’s in her new pen, the moment I put her in the new pen she protest peed.

Grumble….

[narkut]

Lady protest peed last night too for the first time! She sat a few feet from me, staring in my eyes and ran off leaving a puddle behind her! I have no idea why she, or any other rabbit does this.

My advice to you though is to keep Georgie in her cage/ pen for a few days until she completely uses her litter tray only. Sounds like she has picked up bad habits and has forgotten her litter training so you basically need to start the training from scratch. Then slowly give her a little bit more freedom, a little at a time. Keeping her in until she uses her tray once is not enough.

I hope this helps, keep us updated on the progress.

[Author]

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