Litter box, What litter box?

[avaheartdog]

I adopted Clover from the shelter on the 12th of this month. He is a 1 year old neutered male. He was doing great with his potty habits, always going in the box even when he was out. Never so much as a pellet of poop out of the box.

Now, suddenly, He has decided he doesn't want to use the box anymore. He has pooped all over his cage, his enclosure & his room. I just went in there to sweep for the 3rd time today.

What makes a well behaved rabbit suddenly stop going in his box?

 

[JBun]

He's feeling more comfortable and settled in his new home and now feels it is the appropriate time to mark his territory It should settle down in a few weeks, once he feels more sure about things and his own space.

If you have other pets, that can sometimes set these things off too.

 

[avaheartdog]

Just a little update: It's been about 3 weeks since I got Clover & he is still having potty problems Not a happy Mom.

 

[che]

I am having the same problem with Codi. She was fine when I got her a couple of weeks ago, and only went to the toilet in her cage, but very quickly got comfortable and now goes to the toilet wherever she likes. No pattern to it, no aiming for a corner, just anywhere, so I know how frustrating it is. I seem to spend all day sweeping poo and scrubbing puddles of pee!

I'm praying that post-spay it'll stop.

 

[PaGal]

If your bun is healthy so has no medical reason to suddenly change it's potty habits then you may benefit by starting back at the beginning of litter training. Clover may not have had much room to roam prior to you bringing him home. You may want to try restricting his space for a time. Keep him in a smaller space so that he cannot wander too far from the litter box.

If he starts showing good litter habits again then slowly increase his free space making sure he continues to use the litter box. You may need to provide him with more than one litter box in a larger area. In fact you may just need to add a litter box or more now to his area that alone may be enough to get him using the litter box again.

Often times litter habits will improve after a spay/neuter. Make sure to clean any pee up and then scrub with a vinegar/water mix to get rid of all smell so the bun at least will not pee again in the area based on the smell. Soak a corner of paper towel in the urine first and place this in the litter box. Also put some of the poos in the litter box so it has the smell for your bun.

If you haven't already hang a hay rack above the litter box so that your bun must be in the litter box completely to be able to eat the hay or place hay in a corner of the litter box. Since buns tend to potty while eating this should help.