HELP! LITTER TRAINING FORGOTTEN!!!!

[mouse_chalk]

Help you guys! :tantrum:

Mouse and Chalk (spayed in December) learnt fairly quickly not to pee outside of the litter box, although they did still do some poos. I figured that this was a happy compromise and we carried on happily for a few weeks with all pee going in the litterbox. They have2 litterboxes, one big and one small at one end of their cage as this is the end we found they like to pee at most.

But, for the past few weeks, all this seems to have been forgotten- completely! ALL their pee is now done on the floor of their cage- in any old place. Some days, like today, there is literally a lake of pee on the floor! It stinks, is a pain to clear up and can't be good for them hopping in it. We replaced the linoleum on the floor of their cage at the weekend because it was getting so stained, hoping that a clean start may help them. Nope! :grumpy:

I've tried spraying the floor with vinegar, putting the urine soaked tissue into the litter tray (they just pull it out again, even if I bury it!) and all sorts...

I'm aware that this *may* have something to do with Barney and Snowy arriving, although it didn't start until a couple of weeks after we got them. And obviously they now all play in each others cages, which may not be helping, but Barney and Snowy ALWAYS use their litter trays, even when they go into Mouse and Chalk's cage!

What can I do to get them acting littertrained again?!

Oh, and by the way, I've done one of those long posts again, sorry! :?

 

[JadeIcing]

Well some of mine do not start reacting till they are sure someone is staying. They are fine with other rabbits visiting for a short while. If they get the slightest ideathat someone is staying it is on.



Start soaking up their pee in paper towels and dumping it in their litter pans.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

I can sympathize with you. Mine were all great with their litter boxes. Then I bonded Penny and Shadow and now Penny pees all over their pen. I'm at my wit's end. I clean pee morning, noon and night. Not fun, especially when the pee river runsunder the litter box and you pick it up not knowing and it drips all over you.

Let me know if you find anything that helps.

 

[mouse_chalk]

Lol Alicia, well in that case it most definately is on! Or out.... of the litterbox.... :rollseyes

I've tried soaking it in paper towels but I've found that they just dig it out of the litter tray, and then pee on the tissue on the floor?!!?!! :grumpy:

And Snuggy's Mom, yeah I've had the litter tray dripping over me thing aswell! NOT nice!!

 

[PixieStixxxx]

Spank was perfectly litter boxed trained. Until one day - he flooded my room in droppings!

I went back to basics. I litter boxed trained Spank by putting all of his hay in his litter box. But peeing on the hay is also an issue, so I slowly started to take it out. And so I reverted back to this idea. I placed all his hay in his litter box, and he took it upon himself to sit in his litter box for a good 20 minutes. And it stimulated him enough to go to the bathroom.

 

[mouse_chalk]

That's a good idea, thanks! I'll try it... although I have found that when we've put their hay in the litter tray recently, the cheeky buns have sat on the floor eating it out of the litter tray!!!! If we were to use a hay rack to keep it out of the way they just wont eat it... All the rest of their hay is kept on the upper floors that they don't pee on!

OMG I must have the fussiest bunnies ever! I'll give your suggestion a go though....

 

[ec]

I don't know about "fussiest," but - they're definitely in their "teen" stage!

Believe it or not, you can expect them to settle down (a little bit, at least) as time goes on. I think the time frame is different for each individual. (My girl had to have been well over a year old before she finally stopped some of her more frantic "teen" behavior, and she'd been spayed many months prior to that...)

Just give them - and yourself - some time. (Not always easy, I know!)

One thing I've found since I adopted Nibbles: I've had to learn to think creatively about a *lot* of things.

Edited to add: Have you tried putting a tarp or plastic office chair mat under their litterbox - in other words, something that can easily be cleaned up? I've had fairly good results with that here - but that's my bun. Yours might just move the mat right out of the way!