Controlling Revenge Behavior

[blthmm]

Hello wonderful rabbit experts!!

I am having a behavioral issue I need your help with.

When my bun doesn't get to come out of her cage when SHE wants to, she pees outside her litter box. This is a huge problem as I leave her alone every other weekend.

She gets as many hours as I can give her outside her cage, and her cage itself is pretty big! So it's not that she doesn't get enough time to run around and such.

What can I do to fix this behavior?? I had to take out her blanket she likes to play with because she peed all over it. I don't want her to start peeing on the blankets on the shelves too. And a stinky pee covered cage is a terrible thing to come home to :/

 

[juliew19673]

Rabbits are social animals; they live in groups in the wild and will try to mimic this behaviour with slow humans such as yourself. Don't feel badly just "Re- adjust your behaviour".

You stated you were gone every other weekend, I think your bun is trying to say He/She wants you to be there.
Taking away blankets is only making you feel in control; your poor bun is desperatly trying to get your attention.

If you can't be there to interact and play with your bun, maybe a neighbor or friend can come by and sit with your furry friend. They need a couple hours out of each day, not to much to ask.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

yep maybe have someone stop in and give her some attention.
IF she domes out and has an accident, reprimand her and say "NO!" and pt her back in the cage for a few minutes. My bunny used to pee on me every time I took her out since she thought she was going to get meds. At some point she realised it was no use and she'd still get the baytril

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat: Wondering how old and is she neutered?

 

[blthmm]

I understand she needs socialization, but I'm talking about if something is going on and it's not safe for her to be running around. Sometimes it's just for an hour or two that I need to put her away to clean, and she'll pee on her cage floor in anger.

As for leaving her on the weekend, I don't have anyone right now who could come let her out. Possibly in the fall, but even then, what 20-something has time to just sit and watch my rabbit probably not even come out and play because she isn't familiar with them. Or come out and then my friend has a hard time putting her back. I'm scared I'll just waste everyone's time. I COULD bring her with, but she hates car traveling, and she wouldn't have room to run around anyways. She'd probably end up living in a bathroom for the weekend to be honest. I figured at least at my place she has a huge cage.

So far no issues with peeing outside her cage, thank goodness!!

She is 5 years old and has been spayed for 4 years. Her outside cage litter habits are wonderful, it's the cage stuff. She likes to leave poops in her cage too but that's not a big deal and I understand she's just marking her territory.

I realize the only best option is to not leave her alone but it's not really an option at the moment. I would also still like advice on dealing with the other revenge pees that happen when I lock her up for an hour.

 

[Djakarta]

How big is her cage ? How big is her litter box?

It's possible that the litter box is becoming dirty/smelly over the course of the weekend and that is why she pees on the floor.

You may want to consider an x pen set up for when you are away. If you use a wire top ( like this : http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Wire-Mesh-Exercise-Pens/dp/B0002H3QX4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1311478231&sr=8-4 ), she won't be able to jump out.

A larger litter box or multiple boxes in the x pen could help her stay neat while you are away.

If your kitchen is large enough, you could set up the xpen there, or you could use a scrap piece of linoleum for a waterproof flooring if you need to set it up somewhere else in the house.

 

[blthmm]

Good news from this weekend! No peeing!

Her cage at home is an NIC cage, 3x3x3 panels (I call it Bunningham Palace ) I put in a 2nd litter box, but she actually didn't use it. I think it might have entertained her though because it was a disposable one and she likes to chew it.

I also left her a shoebox to take her frustrations out on, I think that helped.

Also I used a different kind of litter. I had just Carefresh before but this time I added paper pellets and I feel like it kept her box in a better shape.

Hoping this wasn't a fluke! Thanks for all the advice!