I'm being honest and looking for advice

[spoh]

I will start at the beginning. We very irresponsibly bought Lucy (mini rex) on a whim almost two years ago for me daughter. We new nothing about buns, we bought the package deal at Tractor supply and thought we were good. My daughter(19) loved Lucy until she realized that Lucy wasn't going to be that snuggle in bed type of pet that she had been wanting and that she would chew things if let out of her cage. So I brought Lucy downstairs into the living room, after joining this site and learning alot I built her a three level Nic condo. The way the living room is set up I was easily able to block off that room so that Lucy could eventually have free run. She was spayed by that point and we thought totally potty trained. We have had three dogs and a cat, the one dog wanted to eat her but the othersdon't pay any attention to her. The dog that wanted to eat her had a stroke back in August and we had to put him down so she has had a bit more freedom to explore our whole lower level.

Fast forward to last week, we really needed to replace our carpeting and the way that our house is set up if we replaced any wehad to replace all so Lucy's room had to be replaced too. When we were rolling up the old carpeting it became very obvious that Lucy isn't nearly as litter trained as we thought she was. We could see all of the spot all over the back of the carpeting,it was pretty nasty, I don't know why the room didn't smell. While her room was being worked in we moved her downsized condo out into the dining room. I can't keep it out there, there is no room what so ever but I really hate to put her back onto the carpeting. If I put her back in there she is going to have to be caged most of the time, we can't have her peeing on the new carpet. Since she has been in the dining room she has been caged most of the time and doing fine with it but I don't think it's fair after having full run of a room for nearly two years. I don't know if the spots that we saw were pre-spay spots so she was marking or if they were from the past two years but there was a lot. If there we pre-spay will she mark the new carpet because it doesn't have her scent on it?

Like I said, I am being honest and looking for advice, I know we were wrong to get her without knowing what we were getting into. I have contacted two people on RO that seem to be highly regarded that live in a neighboring town to see if they would be interested in taking her but I haven't heard back from them. I do love Lucy, my husband and I both do but we worked really hard to be able to replace the flooring and we can't have it ruined. The color of the new carpet would make it nearly impossible for me to see the pee if she did pee on it. I don't know what to do, we can't cover to the whole room in plastic. So I either keep her caged and only let her out if we can sit right with her or I rehome her. Another thing is, she would love a friend she really wants to be friends with our cat but the cat doesn't understand that she can't play with Lucy the way she would another cat so we can't allow it and there is no way that we can get another bun.

I'm not looking to be criticized about our irresponsibility, we know that we were irresponsible and we are now trying to solve the problem. Any advice would be so helpful! Thanks!

Joy

 

[JadeIcing]

I can not post now but PM and I will try after work.

 

[Leaf]

I skimmed your post because I'm a little pressed for time this morning but I want to say-

If you keep her one thing you may want to look into getting is a "black light" you can scan your new carpet with. It illuminates urine on carpet that the naked eye cant detect.

 

[spoh]

I do have a black light, maybe it's not a good one I don't know but it doesn't work, it illuminated every speak of dust. Maybe I just don't know how to use it.

Joy

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

maybe you can attach a run/pen to her cage so that she can get out time of the cage, and put somet hing like coroplast or a piece of linoleum on the floor where the run is to protect your carpet? I hear you there are going to be cage changes when we get new carpets.

 

[werecatrising]

Could you try building her a large pen? You could put one of those roll up utility carpets in it with a plastic drop cloth underneath.

 

[RexyRex]

We have WHITE carpets :shock:and what I have done was put the plastic carpet protecter (like what they use in Model Homes) and put down an area rug on top of that to protect my carpet. I'll try to get a pic for you when I get home from work so you can see it.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Joy, I have to tell you, there's probably no completely right answer here.

Bo and Tony will pee on stuff to this day! I don't think it's because of each other - I think it's "THIS IS MINE" and they like to remind everyone!

Bo has a 2 level house and it has a big pan that I purchased from Tractor supply under it. Part of it is open with a floor, the other part was going to be a "hideout" and I didn't add wire to the bottom - just the black droppings pan. Bo pees in the corners so we blocked it off. Bo's bottom level is 2 litterboxes because he will pee ANYWHERE near his door.

I would prepare for the worst...... and just deal with her on that level since you have a history - she might have it as a habit now.

 

[spoh]

Okay so what I am hearing from most of you, not that you are saying it, I'm just hearing it is that Lucy doesn't really NEED to have full run of the room. I think we did that because it got to be such a pain in the neck trying to pen her back up in the evening that we finally just gave up and left her out and then we all got use to it but I really don't want her to ruin my new carpet and I know that rehoming her could end up so bad and I love her to much for that. I think I am going to head down to the sign store to get a piece of coroplast to make her a bottom for her NIC condo. That will also keep my hubby happy because it will keep the hay and poop contained. I know a coroplast bottom with sides will be a pain too because stuff will get stuck under the edges but I will just make the cage strong enough that I can pick it up and move it to clean around the edges. She is just going to have to be caged when we aren't able to really keep an eye on her, she has been so spoiled it's pathetic!

If anybody has any other ideas I am all ears. Thank you so much!

Joy

 

[cjune1961]

Hi, I don't post, mostly lurk. I bought a blue tarp from the camping section at Walmart for 3.97+tax and covered the floor in my dining room and then layed down washable rugs for my two. They have the entire dining room area in my apt. and I can wipe up any overspills from the litterboxes with distilled vinegar, does not get on the carpet which was recently replaced. They are in an x-pen and have a little more freedom than nic cubes, and it has a door to close on it. Only spills have been from their water bowls really. Carla.

 

[tonyshuman]

If poos, pee, and hay are spilling out of the cage, I would go get some cheap linoleum at home depot. they sell pre-cut rolls of way more than you need for ~$20. what i did is put the lino underneath the cage and fold it up on three out of four sides. i then taped the corners together and zip-tied the whole thing to the NIC cubes. it's like a big version of those small animal cages with the plastic bottom and wire top that you see--the raised up (3-5") part of the linoleum keeps stuff in and it's easy to clean.

 

[pinksalamander]

Hey, my rabbits don't have free run of a room, and they are just fine! They get a few hours outdoor run time every day (even in Winter) and come in at night sometimes. Lottie only comes in for cuddles on the sofa occasionally because she likes to pee... I do let her in my room when its tidy enough as the carpet is pretty crap anyway and the odd pee spot (she doesn't pee on carpet that much) isn't too bad. Archie is much easier and comes in often for a few hours while we are watching TV. He also adjusts better because he spends nights indoors he can get away with being kept in a warm room without the shock of going outside.

I don't know if its possible, or what the weather is like, or if your garden is outside, but maybe you could set her up a small shed? That way she would have more space to move and run in general and can come in for run around time.

You could still keep her confined to her home in your living room but just supervise her for a few hours when you are around the house. As long as you find the pee quickly it should be easy to clean? And that way you can see if she really is peeing or if it was just pre-spay.

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[kirst3buns]

My two rabbits are the most active in the morning and in the evening and that is when I let them have free run time. They are out the most in the evening because we can keep an eye on them. Even then, they don't get as much free range as it sounds like your Lucy does. If you are having trouble getting her back into a smaller space, perhaps some kind of routine would help. Mine know that at my bedtime, they get their veggies and when I walk into the room anytime between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. they run for their cage. Makes shutting them in easier on everyone.

We also use coroplast under NIC cage and I have a larger piece of linoleum underneath that just in case. Mine like to chew the coroplast. Another thing I've done is extend their run area with a cheap rubber backed rug that is about 4x5. They like the surface and its very easy to clean, almost like an indoor/outdoor type rug. Mine don't really like to run on lino but love the rug.

 

[MissBinky]

I got some really nice wire mesh to put around the bottom of Annabel's NIC condo because she was making a total mess in my kitchen with all the poops and food coming out from the sides. I folded the edges over so she cannot hurt herself - nor can anyone else - and I tied the mesh with cable ties. It's thin enough that she can see through, we can see her, it looks clean, aaaaaaaaaaaand it does the job. I covered the bottom part and left the top as is. It works great honestly.

As for the rest, I would start with a pen attached to the cage, that way she will have room to play. She may be moody at first since she's used to being out, but you'll have to be in charge and let her know that's what she gets. At the same time, when you restrain the space, I would work on getting her litter habits to where you want them to be and as time goes on, depending on the situation, you may want to enlarge the space or let her free-roam again. Other than that, leave her a stuffie or two, and she should be good.