Potty Problem-Behavior

[Switty]

Hello- I needed advice for my bunny’s bathroom habits. She has a cage (hutch) outside. Most of it is the cage then there is a hole she can go through to get to her bed box. I have a litter box in the cage part. I would prefer her to pee and poop in the cage so it just falls to the ground, or the litter box in her cage, but she will only go in her bed box. She sits in the pee and the poop and gets gross. It also smells, and the bottom will eventually rot out from all the pee I am sure. I clean it as often as I can and today I blocked the hole so she can’t get in there temporarily, until I figure out a new plan! Any suggestions?????

[Tony's Mum]

It sounds gross but I found the best way to get a bun to poop and pee where you want them to go is to soak up all the pee with litter,then put the dirty pee soaked litter into her litter tray. Sweep up the pellets and dump them in the litter tray to, then clean the bed box out as throughly as you can so the smell is gone as much as possible. Keep doing that every time you can until the litter tray is what she’s using instead. You need to use the scent to lure her into using the right area.

You could also try moving the litter box into the bed box until she starts using it, then slowly relocate it, but I’ve found that some buns get wise to that.

[Oliver]

I have a challenge with my 20 week Holland Lop. We have done everything our vet and various forums have said. Changed litter boxes, changed litter, placed the box exactly where he pees. He will not go in the box. He is in a hutch and has physically been moving the litter boxes out of the way to pee in the corner where we’ve placed the litter box. We’ve even tried opposite corner placement. We also got a litter box with a grate on it thinking it might feel the same as where he’s peeing and pooping all over the hutch but that has not worked either. We’ve seen him urinate in his litterbox on 4 occassions and that’s it. I’m at a loss. I hope you can find a solution Switty.

[Sirius&Luna]

Can you not put another litterbox in the bed box area or move the litter box to the bed area? once you have her used to the litter box concept it’s easier to move it.

I’m also a bit confused by the ‘prefer her to pee and poop in the cage so it just falls to the ground’. Do you mean her cage has a wire flooring that poop would fall through? If so, you need to ensure that at least parts of it are covered with something soft to stop her getting sore hocks.

[Wick & Fable]

@ Oliver, though applicable to Switty too — I posted this on Oliver’s topic earlier this week:

There are rabbits that naturally begin using litter boxes, but most times, it requires a bit of hands on training.

I’d recommend blocking out some of your time to observe your rabbit in an enclosed space with a litter box. Every time your rabbit poos or pees outside the box, pick him up and put him in the litter box, then praise him with a pet and a positive affirmation statement, like good boy. Keep doing this. If there is anything he goes in and uses it on his own, ultra praise him. Stay away from treats or he may associate using the bathroom with getting treats.

Clean up accidents as soon as you can. It is also helpful to establish a sound you can make immediately once an accident happens. Immediacy after an accident is key to learning, and sometimes it happens away from you so you can’t get to him right away. Having a short sound helps (like clicker trainer).

With Wick, it was:
1) Wick pees.
2) I notice and do a short hiss sound.
3) I pick him up and put him in his litter box.
4) I pet and praise him.

Rabbits poo on the fly, so you can’t really predict poos, but rabbits tend to back up and perk their butt up when they’re about to pee. If you suspect he’s going to go pee, don’t wait until he goes. Just pick him up and put him in the box and wait. You can’t implement this until the association is in place and you have a good handle on how he looks when he’s about to pee. Wick’s easy as he sticks his tail up when he has one ready to go.

I hope this helps! Do multiple sessions as often as you can! Patience is key. Neutering will help as well.

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.

[Oliver]

Oliver’s home is a hutch. So he has the metal grates, but we have a rubber mat that has holes (breeder recommended), that sets on top of the wire grates so that he does not get sore feet. So, what happens is Oliver will pee and poop all over within the hutch. He doesn’t pick a specific corner for his poop. And, as it relates to his pee. He will often go in one corner, which is where I placed the litter box. But, when I do that, he will pee in the opposite corner, or he’ll move his litter box so he can pee in the corner he always peed in. If it attach the litterbox to the surrounding fence, then he just picks another corner. At one point, I removed the metal grates from the hutch so that all he had was the pan. I then placed 2 litterboxes on the pan. He chose to pee on the pan, near his food and his bottom was soaked in urine. And, it’s not that he’s opposed to the litter box as he lays in them but will not go to the bathroom in them.

[Wick & Fable]

You just need to help him realize the litter boxes are for his business, which requires you physically moving him to the box each time there’s an accident. It should be done almost immediately after an accident.

It’s a bit difficult to do in a hutch, which is why I suggest getting starting in an open pen area so the litterbox association may carry over to the hutch.

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.

[Oliver]

Thanks @Wick. Unfortunately, I work from 7:00 to 4:30 so he’s in his hutch most of the day and out when I am home. As soon as I see him urinate or what looks like he’s about to urinate (when he’s out and about) then I immediately place him in his box. Unfortunately, he jumps out and will then pee on the rug sometimes before I can even catch him in the act. Hence, my throwing his urine soaked tissue in the box after.

[Wick & Fable]

Hey Oliver! My thought is keeping up the persistence on training “reps”.

Rep scenarios would be:
1) He’s about to pee >> relocate to the box >> pees in box
2) He’s about to pee >> relocate to the box >> he jumps out and pees >> relocate to the box
2) He peed >> relocate to the box

— So even if he is moved to the box right after a pee, I think it’s still a beneficial piece of training that he realizes “every time I go pee, I’m always linked with this box! What the heck?”. Don’t think a training rep can’t be salvaged if you don’t catch a pee beforehand! This is how I trained Wick, and aside from him peeing outside it when he’s mad at me, he’s very compliant.

In terms of timeline, I always do movement first so the relocation is immediately before or after the pee, then once Wick jumped out of the box, I’d put the urine soaked tissue in, so it’s there as a guide the next time around.

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.

[Oliver]

@ Wick. Thank you for your feedback. I do appreciate it.

[Author]

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