Housing ideas?

[Feira426]

Hi everyone. I’m new here.

We have two rabbits that currently live in a cage. I know it would be much nicer for them to have more space, and I would like that for them. But I need some suggestions from experienced rabbit keepers.

Here’s the situation. We have two dogs and a cat. One dog I could probably leave with the bunnies completely unsupervised without trouble. The other dog is a greyhound. And we have a cat. A cat who keeps our mouse and rat problems at bay but who will also kill and eat a wild rabbit without a second thought. And I suspect he would do the same to our domestic rabbits if he ever got a chance.

Anyway, my point is it wouldn’t be safe for these rabbits to wander the house. In the warmer months I plan to put them in a safe roofed enclosure I built for playtime and foraging, but what about now when it gets so cold? I considered emptying our spare room for them and letting them run loose in there. But even when we let them out under supervision they poop all over the floor (not a huge deal) and they have peed on the couch twice (a much bigger deal - it was very hard to clean). I want to give them more space to play but I don’t want to have to clean urine out of furniture/carpet every day. They have a huge litter tray in their cage which they normally pee in. But I don’t know how to get them to not pee on carpet/upholstery when they are out. I don’t have time to monitor them every second for four hours per day, either, so they don’t get to be out nearly as much as they would like to be.

What are your suggestions for larger housing that won’t let these cuties destroy my house? (And it has to be completely cat proof).

Edit - they have access to their cage and litter tray when they are out in the living room. They just don’t always go back in there when they decide it’s time for a pee.

 

[Blue eyes]

It sounds like you have given them time out in the living room, presumably when the cat is put away? You could consider a larger cage in which they also get several hours per day out in the living room. They don't have to be out 24/7.

But, you have a couple issues to deal with. One is the cage itself. Two is training them to behave when out.

I'll discuss the 2nd one first. Unfortunately, because they've already been out and had the opportunity to have accidents, un-training that can be a little more difficult. Once you have a new cage (to be discussed in a bit), have them confined to that cage for about a week so they can "own" the cage and consider it to be "their" territory. They will be fine for a week without their exercise time.

Once that time is up, use an exercise pen to create a space that surrounds their cage door and open the cage door. This will give them a limited space outside their cage to start exploring. The idea is that they gradually get used to more space while being sure that they always, always, return to their litter box as needed. After a week or so of having daily outtings in the pen, the space can be increased (provided they aren't having potty accidents). Just bit by bit do they earn more space by always returning to their litter box as needed. I suspect that before, they had been given the larger space all at once. That's a common mistake that leads to potty accidents. Rabbits do best when given space in small increments.

It will be a process that will take time to get them to return consistently to their litter box while out and about.

As for the cage itself, what do they have now? If they aren't getting much roaming time, you could consider making a roomy NIC cage. You can make it as wide as you like. I wouldn't suggest making it any deeper (front to back) or it will be too difficult to reach for cleaning. But you could go wider (rather than 4 grids wide, do 5 or 6)


If you have the space and desire, you could go fancier like the one below. You'd just have to enclose the top to make it cat-proof.

 

[Feira426]

Where do you get those NIC things? The second picture is fabulous, but I’m not sure I could fit something like that in my house.

I will try what you suggested and limit their free space. We had started standing watch with a water squirter every time we let them out, but I have been so busy with work and a sick goat lately I honestly just stopped letting them out for the most part. I feel bad but I can only do so much.

What is the floor in the second picture made from? It looks waterproof - I’m guessing to make for easy accident cleanups.

 

[Blue eyes]

The 2nd photo is not mine but any rolled lino with some texture on it can be used for flooring. That is what is on the bottom level of the NIC cage.

The grids are just from wired cube shelving. Just be sure there are 9 opening across each panel. There are some manufacturers that have grids with 8 or 5 openings which make them too large of an opening -- large enough for a bunny head to get stuck.

and here's a tutorial. It doesn't have to be followed exactly.
https://breyfamily.net/bunnycage.html
https://binkybunny.com/bunnyinfo/cubes/

 

[Miffythebun]

I would suggest a big run in the spare room using xpens or sheet wire or free roam and make bunny proof- bunnies are very easy to litter train buy a big litter box with a roof (if that makes sense) and then stuff with hay and they wee and poop in there! Watch videos of how to train too! Bunny proofing skirting boards with parcel tape or xpens or treat distractions Is pretty simple too! Re peeing on sofas and carpet I would suggest if you catch them put them straight into litter tray and when you see them use litter tray give a treat and good praise! Also cover things with blankets ect when they are out!