Spayed and still marking

[TronicAndMrPeepers]

 In December, Tronic joined our family.   She is a Dutch and is a year old now, so she was about 9 months when she came to live with us.  We had her spayed almost immediately because we were hoping for her to become a companion to our neutered male Holland Lop of the same age, Mr. Peepers.  (My husband has posted here about Mr. Peepers previously – he never left his cage and we determined he was lonely.  That was correct – thanks! – he’s as happy as can be now even though they can’t be technically together yet)  It’s now been about 3 months since Tronic’s spay, but she’s still marking near Mr. Peepers cage whenever she is allowed out (we have just recently began trying to bond them for the second time – she was very aggressive at first so there were setbacks).  Mostly it’s just a small amount of urine and some pellets, but sometimes it’s quite a large amount.  Tronic is very good about her litter box when inside her cage, not even a spare pellet is left out of the box, and she hasn’t urinated on the opposite side of the room at all, which is where she likes to go hide.  It’s just in the corner closest to Mr. Peepers cage.  I had really hoped the spay would stop this, but it doesn’t seem to be.  I would love to allow her out more often as she loves to explore, and would be allowed free run of the house otherwise (once the two can be trusted to get along!), but the carpet in their room is completely destroyed!  Her urine is much darker than Mr. Peepers, and stains immediately which makes it especially bad.

What can I do?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!  It seems to be a territory thing with her – she will tolerate Mr. Peepers in a different room, but if he gets even close enough to her cage, she lunges and boxes at him.  He adores her and keeps trying to get close to her which just drives her crazy!  Her aggression is calming down as she gets used to us more, but the marking is the big problem.

I should also mention, she was a breeding doe and had lived in a hutch with a wire bottom.  I was told she was litter trained, and she seemed to use only one corner of her cage, but she was not using a litter box when we got her.  She had something in her genes that made the only litter she had not to the Dutch standard, and it was decided not to breed her anymore, so she was sold to us as a pet.

Thanks

Heather

[Elrohwen]

That’s fairly typical. Bunnies are very territorial of their own space, which is why bonding needs to take place in a totally neutral area.

You can try switching them back and forth between the cages. This may make things worse as they try to make the new territory, but may eventually make them better. I don’t really know.

Otherwise not much you can do other than clean it up and work on bonding them. “Poop wars” are very common in the bonding process.

[jerseygirl]

Oh yes, the adorable Mr Peepers! Good to hear he continued to come out of his shell.

I have to admit, when I read “Dutch” and “she” I thought – Uh-oh. They are smart and stubborn. But yes, as Elrohwen said, it’s poop wars and more to do with pre bonding. I may continue thru bonding and after a little. Unfortunately there’s not alot you can do. Do try de-scent though, use white vinegar to neutralize the smell where she’s marked I would move onto bonding them now as the more time she is housed separate, the stronger sense of territory she’ll develop. Bonding sessions should take place in an area neither bunny has been or “claimed”. You could start cage or pen swapping if you haven’t already.

[Balefulregards]

Oh Jersey – I thought the SAME thing. Dutch Girls are tough cookies. So smart, so feisty!

Coco did VERY similar things when Jackson was introduced…even though they had a “fairly” smooth bond. Even as recently as this morning, I will find occasional decisions by Coco to mark the front of the litter boxes with her droppings…and once a month of so with some urine. They have been bonded since September and I think in my bonding thread I bemoaned the POO WARS and WHEN WOULD THEY STOP!

It is never Jackson who needs to mark now, although it was common for him to try to mark over ( with poos) where she would decide to pee.

For Coco, I think it is about asserting her dominance.Reminding us all that SHE is Diva Queen. I wash it all down with vinegar and sweep everything back into the litter box. This spring has been noticeably rough for her. She has been very sassy, overall.

I should also mention that Coco reacts strongly when I make her litter boxes TOO clean. She really hates when I do the massive scrub down and works hard to cover up the smell of “No Coco”. She is a bun who is also very picky about her litter.

Dutch girls tend to be full of character ( read some of Markus’ Mary Ann stories!) and she will help you lead the bonding, especially if Mr Peepers is a laid back kind of guy. Coco was VERY directive with Jackson, even though he is three times her size.

You may also want to put down some linoleum or a plastic shower liner in front of the box for now – where they are urinating. I did do that for a while to help with mess. However, I have hard wood floors with lots of throw rugs, so I am not as worried about the urine stains. And Yes, I notice Coco’s urine is VERY different from Jacksons ( which is how I know immediately who is peeing where) They might hate the liner, but it beats trying to soak up bright orange urine!

[BabyBunnie]

Hi !!
Not sure if I can still comment on this forum considering its from now 5 years ago….

Bunnie has been spayed for about 3 weeks now. She is still marking all over my big fluffy white duvet. When can I expect this to stop ? Is there anything else I can do other than the spay to get her to stop this habit ? I’d like her to cuddle with me in bed but I cant have her peeing all over it like this.

I hope someone has some advice for Bunnie and I !
Thanks in advance

[Author]

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