Please Help Me!!! My Bunny Won’t Stop Pooping on the Couch!!

[kAtHrYnLoVeSdAiSy]

I’m sorry, I am sure this is a common problem and I have searched through the forums to get some advice, but my problem seems a little bit more specific than general litter box training.

 

I adopted Daisy-Boo in July 2007, she was 11 weeks old and bought from a pet store. I was a new mummy, so I did a lot of research on how best to take care of her. (Thanks Binkybunny!)

I litter box trained her. She was such a good girl! She got the hang of it pretty quickly. By September, she was exemplary. But then, I moved house. In the old house, her hutch was in the corner of the living room and I had a litter box in one corner of the room and one in her hutch. In the new house, she had the conservatory all to herself. I let her out of the hutch all day long, only putting her inside at night when I couldn’t watch her. (She is a digger and loves to rip upholstety to shreds if she is not chaperoned!)

The conservatory has a couch and two chairs. For some reason, known only to Daisy, she has decided to use the couch as her litter box. At first, she just pooped there. It wasn’t so bad, I just swept them up and put them in her litter box. But now, she pees too. Whenever she does it, I clean it up and after, she just does it again…. and again… and AGAIN!! I just don”t know how to stop her!!

I have heard that if I get her spayed, she will be better in control of her toilet habits. Do you think I should do this? I haven’t wanted to get her “done” because i love her SO much and I am scared it will distress her or that she will be hurt in the process… or worse!  But, if others think it would help, I will definitely consider it..

Thanks for listening. I just don’t know what to do!!

 

[pryzmkess]

Kathy,

I’d get her spayed. I just had Chloe done, and she was moopy for a single day. I gave her pain meds and she was fine, then didn’t need them the next day. Plus, if she’s not being bred, spaying is just flat-out healthier.

Dawn

P.S. I’m a new mommy too, so I was scared about the spaying too. It’s not that bad.

[Beka27]

Spaying is necessary for females. They have an 80% risk of developing uterine cancer by the age of three, which she will be approaching in not too long. In my mind, behavioral and potty-training improvements take a back seat to the health benefits.

Here’s a great article about why this is so important… http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/spay.html

That being said, pooping on the couch is likely marking on her part.  You can discourage her from going on the couch altogether or cover the couch with blankets.  For the pee, a waterproof shower curtain may help.  After awhile she may feel it is adequately “marked” as hers and she may stop doing that. 

[dlscanne]

Yes I think you should get your rabbit spayed! There are lots of important reasons to do it (as in the link beka gave you). However, to be completely honest, my rabbit has the same issue of using the couch as a little box for over a year, and getting her spayed did not change that. That being said, she was not at ALL litter box trained, and now she is post-spay and can be free range. I keep a litter box on my sofa. which I realize isn’t ideal. when i visit my parents, the rabbits stay in the guest room and Franklin only wants to pee on the bed in that room. she’ll even hold it if I keep her in her pen, then sprint out the door the second I open it and pee on the bed. so I have to put her litterbox there. I wonder if it has to do with height of the location? maybe before your hutch was the highest thing in the room? Franklin definitely prefers a litter box with a view it seems. oh those bunnies ruling our lives. I haven’t found a real solution to the problem, but this is all I can tell you! Probably not what you wanted to hear!

and like I said before, spaying may or may not fix the problem. there are lots of reasons to do it, eliminating reproductive cancers being the biggest reason to me.

[kAtHrYnLoVeSdAiSy]

Thanks everyone!
Great advice. I will definitely get her spayed. I am cabin crew and I am going away for 7 days as of tomorrow (the housemates are taking care of Daisy) so I will book her in for when I get back. I know it’s silly to be worried about her. It’s just that she doesn’t cope with change very well and she has just moved in to a brand new, mega huge hutch and she is not coping very well with it. She loves to explore her new home, and it’s so much better for her, as she is shut in at night, but she absolutely hates change of any kind. Once she is settled in her new habitat, I will take her to the vets.

Thanks guys!
xx

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