Cage or litter box.

[shananagrams]

Hello,

My Penny is a special needs senior bun. My rabbits are caged in the sense that they started with a cage to get used to the area but the door is always open. I could never get rid of the cage from my mini-rex since she sleeps in there and chooses it as her shelter more than any other hide out she has.

However, Penny my mini lop only uses her cage as a littler box essentially. Her food and water are in there but otherwise she could care less about it.

being that I live in a studio apartment I am being a bit selfish and considering adding a litter box to the cage and eventually getting rid of the eyesore and having just a litterbox in the corner with penny free range in her sectioned off area. Would getting rid of her cage be too upsetting for her if I offer enough alternatives such as different hideouts? I also see her struggle with the ramp sometimes and do not want her to get her legs caught as she gets older.

 

[MarisaAndToby]

Many owners do not have any cages for their rabbit at all, and leave them to have free range. As long as she has areas that she can hide (boxes, tunnels, what have you), then there's absolutely no problem with having only a litterbox. Hopefully she takes to the training well!

Obviously bunny proofing is not an issue since you said they're already essentially free range.

 

[ldoerr]

I think that as long as she has a variety of different hideouts then you do not need a cage. I personally will probably never have a free run rabbit because of the other animals I keep (dogs and cats that can not be trusted). There are a lot of people who do not have cages for their rabbits. If and when you get rid of the cage, make sure that you provide a few different litter boxes through out the area.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

I think it would be fine, however as others have pointed out, be sure everything is well bunnyproofed. Also, it would not be a bad idea to hang onto/store the cage in case you ever need it in the future-say, like if she ever needed surgery and needed to be confined or in case you ever needed it for some other reason; idk, just a thought.