Does anyone know how to teach an older rabbit to use the litter box again?

[Jada1]

BunBun is a spayed, Dwarf Lionhead who is 6 years old. She use to be uncaged and free to roam the living room and dining room. She loved running in big circles around the furniture and jump up to her favorite places.

In 2011 I started to have a problem of her not using the litter box all the time. I took her to the vet and found out it was the Kale that was causing the problem. That helped for a while, then she started getting worse about using her litter box again. I took her to 2 different vets who said after doing a urinalysis test that it was behavioral. I tried dealing with it, I finally called one of the vets again and she said let's try another urinalysis test. It showed that she had sludge and I ended up having her bladder flushed. The vet says that she doesn't know that she will go back to using her litter box. She has not. Does anyone have experience or knowledge with this problem? It is breaking my heart keeping her caged. :sad:

 

[Julie Bunny]

I had a bunny called BunBun a long time ago.
Did the vet say that BunBun had calcium crystals?
Julie has problems with calcium and can't have any greens high is calcium. She use to eat a lot of Kale. Spinach is also high in calcium and if one leaf of it is accidentally dropped on the floor she has a problem right away. Julie's urine gets thick and she will pee outside her litter box when she has greens high in calcium. She also had a UTI. Once that was cleared up Julie went right back to using her litter tray.
She is 8 1/2 though and has arthritis now so started peeing right infront of her box or where she was sleeping.
I switched her litter box to a lower one that was easier for her to get into. She is also on metacam and some alternation stuff for her arthritis. She is feeling much better now and is back to using her litter box full time.
Just some thoughts and ideas for you to consider.

 

[Julie Bunny]

Oh... wanted ask if BunBuns pees in the same spots in the house? If she does and not a chewer you could try using puppy pads. I used them for a while before we got Julie's Arthritis sorted out. Julie was use to her litter box always being in a certain spot so I put puppy pads where her litter box was instead and she peed only on the pads. Also a paint roller tray makes a wonder litter box for senior buns. It doesn't hold a lot of litter so needs to be changed often though. You could also put the pads under towels in the area thatshe plays so that she could run around for a bit.

 

[Jada1]

I am having a problem, I have sent replies but have not seen them posted. I also have had my homepage coming up blank, actually it says blank page.
This is a test.

 

[Jada1]

BunBun did have crystals once and we got rid of the Kale which was the cause, that was the beginning of her not using her litter box. She didn't go back to it completely. This last time she had sludge and had to have her bladder flushed out. I don't know if sludge is the same as crystals. She pees all over even when she is running. I have started trying out the pads that you suggested. The store I went to today had a plastic paint roller tray that was higher than the metal one. I don't think she would like the metal so I am going to check out some other stores. Thanks for the great ideas.