Yet to master the litterbox, spayed, 4-year-old bunny peeing everwhere!!

[Lulu*Havok]

I am a pretty new bunny mommy.  I got Lulu back in February from parents who kept her in cage with litter and bedding everywhere.  They never took her to the vet in the years they had her (they didn’t even know she was a girl!), but they said she was pretty good about peeing on a specific side of the cage. 

I have been trying to transition her to be truly litter trained, but it’s been a struggle.  While she is adorable, she is not the friendliest of buns, even post-spay.  I feel like my litter training challenges are sorta unique because she has been spayed for about 3 months at this point.  I keep her in the cage when I can’t be around to watch her, and have her space limited to a pen of a few feet around the cage.  She used to pee on anything, but she has now at least gotten the hang of peeing in her cage only.  I have tried putting hay in her litter box, giving her treats when she’s in there, and definitely positioning it on the side of the cage her previous parents said she used regularly.  To top it off, she leaves her little dry poops everywhere, and sometimes (super gross, I know) she will pee on top of them, making a pretty disgusting aroma.  I’ve been trying to spot clean daily so this doesn’t happen as much, but there is a big window during the day I have to be at work, away from her.

One other thing is that she is a lionhead with a LOT of hair.  She panics when I try to pick her up, so nail and hair trimming have been difficult to accomplish and more importantly it’s really hard for me to tell when she’s about to pee.  Any advice or ideas as to what I can do?  Any help would be appreciated!!!

[Lulu*Havok]

Update! So this weekend I tried putting her litterbox in the general area of where she had been peeing the most, just under her hayrack. I originally pushed it flush to the side of her cage, but she would always pee a little ways away from there. When I turned the box and put it under the hayrack, she has so far done a better job of putting her poops in there, and i have yet to see a pee stain on the cage floor after 1 day. I see some of the litter is wet. Here’s hoping!!

Should I be scooping the wet ones out or leave them there till I change the litter box? I’m under the impression that it would help remind her to go in there, bu tnow I’m worried that the next few times she will prefer to go outside of the box since the litter is “used”.

[Sarita]

No need to scoop out the wet ones.

[Lulu*Havok]

Posted By Sarita on 6/16/2014 12:16 PM

No need to scoop out the wet ones.

Should I scoop it out daily, though?  Or just wait till I clean the whole litterbox?

How long before I know she will be consistent about using the litterbox so I know I could start experimenting with where the litterbox can go?  I am going to build her a new environment, but I don’t want to get started till I know she’s used to using the box, even if it’s been moved.

[JackRabbit]

If she poops and pees alot, you could empty it daily, put fresh litter in, and toss a few poops back in if you’d like. Sounds gross but I wouldn’t “clean” (i.e. vinegar) the litterbox yet, that way it will still have a bit of scent so she will associate it with her potty needs. Just wipe it out with a paper towel and put in fresh litter. Once she gets the hang of it then use vinegar & water to remove any scent and calcium crystals. We empty daily, vinegar & water clean weekly, and use Carefresh Natural litter. No smell to humans here.

Others may have better ideas but this is what has worked for us.

[LongEaredLions]

Bunnies do tend to go where they eat, so it is quite common for them to go under the hay rack.
You can scoop out daily, but you may not have to depending on the litter you use.
Even in a new environment, she may have a specific area where she wants the litter box. Bunnies are bossy and like to pick their own areas oftentimes, and may not just follow the litter box around.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Sounds like she wanted to pick the spot where the litter box goes. Bunnies are funny like that.

[Author]

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