What am i doing wrong?

[white7409]

So i got thumper saturday night, brought him home from the inlaws on sunday, bought the stuff to litter box train him on monday.

at first i was putting cat litter with hay into the litter box. i let him out around the house for a litter while each day, i dont this from monday until  wed. (he’ll use it every now and then)

then someone told me to mix cat litter with the critter care cage bedding with hay && not to let him out. i been doing this seens  yesterday. (he’ll use it everynow and then)

he’ll use it everynow and then, but there more poo in the cage then in the litter box!

any tips. what am i doing wrong?

 

[Monkeybun]

What kind of cat litter are you using?

How old is Thumper?

Does the cage have any bedding on the floor? Is it the same as what is in the litter box?

If he is still a baby, you can’t really expect him to be fully litter trained until after he is older and neutered. Also, you haven’t had him long.. he may be marking everything as his, you have to accept that as well

[Elrohwen]

I have a few questions first.

Is there bedding in the rest of the cage? If so, remove it and only put litter in the litter box. It’s confusing to them when there’s litter all over.

Is he neutered? Sometimes unfixed bunnies never have perfect litter habits, but it almost always improves with neutering.

What kind of cat litter is it? Clay and clumping litters aren’t good choices and can be harmful. I would use Carefresh, Yesterday’s News, or wood stove pellets/pelleted pine horse stall bedding. The last is the cheapest and works very well.

Putting hay in his box is great, and so is giving him a limited area to run around in. You should also pick up and poop and put it back in the litter box and wipe up any pee and put the tissue you used to wipe into the litter box as well. Then clean down the whole area with vinegar/water solution to get rid of the smell.

Finally, some bunnies just like to mark new territory. My second bun marked around the outside of her pen with pee for the first 3 or 4 days we had her, but has been perfect since then. Until today when she decided to pee in our hallway during a bonding session. Sometimes they just need to mark it as their own once or twice and then they stop.

[white7409]

cage is bear. not sure how old he is, but he is tiny. not sure the name, but its not toxic, natural none treated litter. ive picked up the poo and pee and put in the litter box.

[jerseygirl]

“Natural ” doesn’t always mean safe for rabbits. Does the pack say what the litter is made out of? Litter training young rabbits is harder. It will take some time.

[RabbitPam]

With a baby it’s best to go with safer products made especially for bunnies. Cat litter is not universal, so the ONLY cat litter I would ever try is called Feline Pine, which is untreated wood pellets. But some bunnies find pellets uncomfortable, so I agree with switching to Carefresh, Yesterdays News, or even Aspen shavings. DO NOT use pine shavings! Also, do not use any litter that is scented, or clumping. You can get a big bag of good litter from a pet store once that will last for a couple of weeks, just to get the baby started.

Thumper is still getting used to you, and his home, so this will take a few days. You can get a medium sized rectangular plain cat litter pan at a pet store that’s pretty cheap, too, for starters. I actually get about two or 3, since one goes in the cage, but the others go out into the room the bunny runs around in so he doesn’t feel he has to go all the way back to the cage just to pee. If he poos on the rug, scoop it and him up into the outer litter pan and set him into it. Leave the poos and some urine soaked litter in them both so he knows this is where he should go. He will want to be clean if he can figure it out, and they do pretty fast.

Don’t keep him in the cage all the time, but you can let him out for a few hours a day only in one or two rooms at first. He will need to learn the basics so being confined to his own cage and the room it’s in will help him learn and feel safe. After he gets used to it and becomes litter trained, he can explore new territory. sometimes they pee because they just have too much space and are marking everywhere with urine.

If you go up to the green banner on this page, there are drop down menus of information. You will find all of this very helpful in setting up your new home with Thumper.
Congratulations! We NEED pictures so we can ooo and ahhhh.

[Denise12]

I agree with Feline Pine with the hay on top. It doesnt smell and stick and lasts about a 5 days with out having to change it. You never have to scoop it out.
My bun is 9 months old and still poos in other spots from time to time.

[Author]

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