Rabbit makes a mess of his litterbox!!!

[Rain]

Every time I put fresh hay and new litter in Rain’s litter box, a couple hours later it’s a horrible mess! There’s pee and poop in his food! I just don’t know which direction he wants to eat in. He literally turns to the opposite side of the pile of fresh hay and starts eating the little strands that strayed over to the other side. Then he finally turns around and starts eating from the pile. It’s a horrible mess just after two days. And he has a big litter box too! I don’t know what to do to make him stop peeing on it. I don’t think it’s a UTI. There isn’t any where else that he pees. He’s fully litter trained. I clean it every three or four days because it usually stays neat and tidy. I DO put HUGE amounts of hay in there, but that’s because I was going somewhere today for a long time so I didn’t want him to starve. And I do that when I go to school because nobody else in my family cares about him except for my dad, who’s at work. Poor baby.  Anyways, what should I do?

[Wick & Fable]

Putting slightly less, just slightly less, will help. Rabbits will paw through larger piles to get the best strands, and when they do that, they push the hay to the other side, so then the entire body rotation happens to research the previously pushed aside pile, which is now at the other end of the box.

A litter screen will help as well, because it’s easy to dump everything off it. It lessens litter flying around and makes cleaning more clean? No loose hay caught in litter and such. If you look at Wick’s Instagram, you can see how his litter box functions and it generally saves him from peeing on his hay.

http://www.instagram.com/p/BaPzvpkFcN-/
http://www.instagram.com/p/BXsXo28FTcG/

Wick’s litter screen is just made from cut knit mesh, which is something you can buy in large packs cheap online. His is 7-count (denotes how big the squares on the mesh are. 7 is small to catch poos and be solid, but large to let urine seep through).

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.

[Rain]

Hmm, that seems like a MUCH more organized litter box. I like that idea a lot!! Time to do some more Amazon shopping!
I’m going to start keeping small piles of hay (only when I’m at home) and just refill it every time he finishes. It makes it easier for him I think, instead of stuffing his face into a mountain of hay. I’ll add that to my list. Do you just change the screen out every time you clean the litter box?

[Wick & Fable]

I clean the screen with a spray bottle full of some white vinegar and water. I only swap out for a new screen if it gets trashed or seems dirty. I’m on my second screen for all the boxes, but only because Wick got ringworm so I wanted to cleanse and replace everything. Aside from that, the screen cleans very easily and you really should just have 15 some back ups for a while, since they come in packs!

I would still rotate hay. A rabbit won’t ever finish an entire pile unless it’s starving. Recycle and replace the small stack at least once a day! After a while, the old hay will be very unappetizing, so cycling it is good.

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.

[OverthinkingBun]

If it makes you feel better, your rabbit sounds normal My rabbit has exactly one spot in her box where she really likes peeing, right where the hay and litter meet. I don’t think they worry about it being dirty like we would. Because as Wick mentions, they like to pick at hay rather than eat it all, I take the discarded hay from around my bun’s hay rack, and put it in her litter box to “recycle” it. I think this tricks her into thinking it’s new hay

[Author]

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