Peeing outside of the litter box

[Salem Fluffle]

So my two youngsters that I’m bonding were housed next to each other at the shelter and they’ve been that way since I brought them home one month ago. My girl was super good about her litter box, the boy not so much which I attributed to his young age.

We’ve been bonding for about 3 weeks. Within the last 3 days my girl started peeing all over her cage. My boy now pees in one specific spot of his cage, but only after the girl pees near the connecting pen walls. (And his is smack in the middle of his pen, not even on top of her pee.)

They’ve both been altered already so I thought we’d see more progress with the baby boy moving forward, not a regression in the girl. The girl will still go in her box and pee, but then she’ll pee by her water bottle where part of the pens are close, and in the back corner where the pens touch (and this spot is literally right next to her litter box).

Any guesses on why they might be doing this all of a sudden? Nobody pees when they’re out playing together in their small bonding area. The territorial poops are still scattered around food bowls and the pen walls, but I suspect that to die down with more time together.

[DanaNM]

Unfortunately litter box habits tend to go out the window during bonding, we tend to call them “poop and pee wars”. They are basically marking against the “intruder”. It may not get better until they are fully bonded, but after that they should start to go back to having good habits.

. . . 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.  

[Salem Fluffle]

Bunnies are now bonded and living together. They’ve been together for over a week now. Poops I expect. What frustrates me is the pee right outside the box. We went from one box in each pen to one box in the shared pen. Then I tried two corner boxes. Now I’ve got all three in there. Each has hay in it and they had a hay manager before I had to add the third box. I’ve circled tonight’s pee spots that I could see when I woke up.

 

My girl (eating in the photo) had excellent litter box habits when we brought her home. For the most part, she’s still very good about it and will go in the box 98% of the time. Smudge, the little guy in the teal box, has been a bit of a nightmare. He just turned 6 months on 11/24 so I attribute part of this to his age. He’s about 50/50 with the box. They both clearly now what they’re for. Nobody has ever peed outside of the pen area, even when let out to roam our office or during the bonding process. I do not remember my Mini Rex’s being this difficult to train 9 years ago and I’m stumped at what to do to help these two build better habits. They are both neutered and they were seen by the vet last week so I know there isn’t health issues behind this.

 

What should I be trying? If anybody has advice, I would appreciate it! I’m tired of changing sheets every time they soil them on top of getting hit in the face with a pee smell each morning.

 

[DanaNM]

Sorry but I had to chuckle a little at the picture with litter boxes in all corners, because I have been there!

So, they have only been bonded a week, and it can take some time for things to get back to normal. I’ve noticed with my pairs there can be an uptick in marking in the first couple weeks after bonding, almost as though they are claiming their area as a couple. Then it gradually improved over a few weeks (I also noticed the same thing every time I’ve moved).

I also notice your litter boxes have pretty high sides. Here’s what I think I would try: Get a single large litter box with lower sides on all sides (those under-bed plastic boot bins are really popular as litter trays for pairs), that way they are tempted to jump in from any direction. Place it in the corner they use the most, and position their hay so they have to jump in to reach it. You might also remove the main blanket so the floor is easier to clean up. Anytime they pee on the floor, mop it up with a paper towel and put it in the box, and clean the spot with a 10% vinegar solution. You can use pee pads, or I like to put smaller fleece blankets down and just swap them as needed (I have a senior that has accidents sometimes). I have a suspicion that if you keep that up for a few weeks you will see 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.  

[Salem Fluffle]

Hi Dana,

I’ve tried lower litter boxes but Scout lifts pretty high and accidentally pees over the side. We swapped to the high sides to help her keep it in the box. I have seen both her and Smudge hop over the higher sides to get in even though the lower entrance would obviously be easier. They like to do things the hard way. haha

As far as the floor, we have carpet so we’re trying to protect that. We do have pee pads down with the thin sheet on top. Scout is notorious for chewing holes and I’m trying to make the pee pads last as long as possible since they’re expensive, plus I don’t want her ingesting the fluff or non-skid backing on the pads. I’m less upset about them digging into the inexpensive sheets we bought. I do have some fleece that I use for my Mini’s that ultimately we will use as the weather gets cooler.

Smudge seems to have gotten a little better over the weekend. He’s pretty into the teal box compared to my corner boxes from Nature’s Miracle. I think the shape and slightly lower and wider entrance is more enticing for him. I’m hoping to solidify his litter box habits before we move into bonding this pair with our other pair. And I know we’re going to go back into the potty war all over again. (I’m dreading that part.) If all else fails, I will try the storage totes and see about returning all the other boxes I’ve bought to accommodate these larger guys. 🙂

[Susanne]

When I first bonded my rabbits, the girl was peeing outside the box for a while. She would even go back to the closet where I bonded them and mark all over! I tried different litters and boxes.. but it was probably just the new bond and time helped. I think it was several weeks then she suddenly started using the box all the time again.

[Salem Fluffle]

Hopefully a few weeks is all it takes. It’s been awhile since I had youngsters and I’ve never gone through a bonding process since my other pair are siblings. I know with time it will get better. My poor husband works from home in our office where the youngsters are stationed right now and he’s getting frustrated with the lack of litter box habits. It’s his first time around young bunnies so he’ll have to adjust.

[DanaNM]

Ah, I see!

I use a big piece of vinyl flooring under my buns’ pens to protect the flooring, maybe something like that would help protect your carpet!

Since you are going to move into bonding a group it might be a bit of a lost cause to try to get their box habits in order now, as they will most definitely lose them again when you start bonding again!

. . . 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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