Sebastian Bun and the couch

[Rebecca]

Hi, everybunny!

I’m relatively new here–I’ve been lurking for a bit and reading through old posts. I rescued a bunny at the end of the summer; someone had put him out on the street, so we took him in. (Story available on my blog, here.) His name is Sebastian Bun, or Mr. Bun for short, and he is just a sweet, sweet little thing. He loves to be petted and happily seeks out company.

Our vet believes that Sebastian is about 2 years old, and we think he was neglected by his previous owners. His toenails were ridiculously long, he has never been neutered (something we are planning to take care of soon), and we are not sure what his diet was like; probably, judging by his initial eating habits, all pellets. (He seemed to dislike hay, although we managed to get him eating oat hay, and now he’ll eat timothy hay, too.)

Behavior-wise, we think we have lucked out in that he readily uses his litter box, has expressed no interest in chewing up our furniture or electrical cords, etc. So, I would like to give Mr. Bun the complete run of the living room, which is bunny-proofed, and try expanding his "habitat" from there. He often spends hours out with us in that room, and he clearly enjoys the time out of his cage.

The problem is that every now and then, he will hop up on the couch and spray it. (He has done this maybe 4 times–not a lot, but enough that we don’t trust him.) We guess this is his way of marking the piece of furniture that my husband and I spend so much time on when we’re in that room–similar to the situation discussed in another forum thread, where someone posted about her bunny marking her bed.

So: When we have Mr. Bun neutered, do you think this behavior is likely to stop? In the meantime, is there anything you would advise doing to discourage this behavior? I really want him to have as much time roaming as possible.

Thanks so much!

[Sarita]

Thank you for saving Sebastian (I love that name). He was surely neglected until you rescued him.

Is there anyway at all you can discourage Sebastian from getting on the couch at all? I think that would be the best thing since he’s prone to spray it.

He will likely stop this once he is neutered and his hormones have settled down, there’s not a 100% guarantee of that but it is more than likely this behavior would stop.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Welcome rchains! Thank you as well for saving Sebastian! Poor fella had a bit of a rough start to life but it sounds like you are more than making up foor it. What I would suggest since he is not neutered and this is territorial pee is to not allow him on the couch until after the surgery and his hormones have calmed down. You can prop the cusions up, block in from that room or place plastic bags on the couch to discourage him from going up there. Also be sure to thoroughly clean the spot with a pet stain remover so that the scent is gone and he doesn’t insist on marking the same spot over & over again. You can also try catching him in the act and removing the felon from the couch and scooting him back towards home as well. I hope this helps!

[Rebecca]

Thanks for the feedback. You’re right, I will have to see about blocking his way onto the couch. With any luck, then, once he’s “fixed,” he won’t be spraying it anymore and will enjoy an even better quality of life with free run of a whole room! 🙂

[MooBunnay]

Hello Rebecca & Welcome to Binky Bunny!

Thats so nice that you were able to rescue little Sebastian. I think its so sad when those bunnies get left outside because they really have no idea what to do with themselves.

I think that the chances are very good that he will stop spraying once he gets fixed. Its very common for un-neutered bunnies to spray things to mark them, but I have not heard of any neutered bunnies doing that.

[Gravehearted]

welcome Rebecca 🙂 Sebastian is very lucky to have someone who loves him and will give him a good home! Yes, I’d try to discourage him from being on the couch until after he’s neutered and see how he does.

Do you need help finding a knowledgeable bunny vet?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome to binkybunny Rebecca!
I concur, I am sure he will likely stop spraying when fixed…He’s seems to be claiming the couch!! It must be a nice couch You could try to discourage him from going on the couch by clapping and then moving him off the couch…Bunnies don’t like loud noises and I’ve found this is the best way to get “NO!” accross to mine.

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Rebecca – congrats on the new bun and thanks so much for rescuing him! It’s great that he seems to be doing so well. I would agree that once he is fixed, the behavior should calm down a bit. It sounds like he’s generally doing very well though.

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