Litterbox Woes

[Rescuemom]

I'm looking for some litterbox advice..

Crush was EASILY transitioned to the litterbox and only towels for bedding from the cedar shavings his previous home had him on quite easily. He used the litterbox VERY reliably for being new to it.

However... A few times, he stuck his bum over the edge of the litterbox while peeing, and got pee outside of the litterbox and now, for the past month and a half, I have been UNABLE to get him to stop peeing/pooping outside of his litterbox no matter how many times I've thoroughly washed/cleaned the cage itself or the towel. His cage does have a solid bottom, so I'm debating the idea of taking the towel out of his cage as it just gets completely filthy, disgusting, and smelly. I've tried moving the litterbox to the other end of the cage as I figured MAYBE he just preferred that side for the bathroom, but unfortunately, he's still going outside of the litterbox. It's smelly, it looks gross, and quite honestly, being my neat-freak pregnant self, it's driving me nuts. I don't even want him free-roaming at this point because I don't want pee stains on my new rug either and have recently moved to an open concept home(I need to invest in an x-pen for roaming time).

My concern with taking out the towel is a) will this actually accomplish anything other than giving him somewhere to escape pee/poo? and b) he has callouses from previously sore hocks prior to me getting him, and I'm worried about taking out his 'soft' surface, only to cause the sores to return - thoughts?

Any ideas on how I can get him reliably using his box again?

As a side-note: I have scrubbed the cage bottom itself clean multiple times with a baking soda paste and a vinegar/water solution to get rid of the smell. It always worked with foster dogs peeing in the house, so not sure if I should try something else or not, but it did work prior to him peeing over the edge of the litterbox. His litterbox is also cleaned regularly of droppings and urine, however, I try not to clean it AS frequently, because I'm hoping the smell will keep him realizing that the litterbox is the place to go. I use Yesterday's News pellets for litter, and have his hay dispenser directly over the litterbox, as well as add hay to the litterbox itself.

Am I doing something wrong?

 

[curiouscarrot]

I don't know, I'm new to bunnies, my ideas may be way off for bunnies instead of cats....

Maybe he doesn't like the smell of the vinegar and is trying to mask it? I would try something else. You can get odour neutralizers at the vets or pet shops, or maybe try just bicarb without the vinegar.

Is he "fixed"? How old is he? Could this be marking instead of litterbox mistakes?

Can bunnies get bladder infections? It's often the reason when cats start weeing in odd places.

 

[mochajoe]

Is he neutered? Is the litter box big enough? Is it a corner litter box? If it is a corner, I would try angling it so it blocks the corners on one end...put food dishes/something to block the other corners and keep everything else out of the cage (loose hay) and see if that works? I have had that work for several bunnies (a couple resistant babies...and two rescues that I got at a year and a year and a half, neither having ever used litter boxes before). Persistence paid off...good luck!

 

[Zaiya]

If the floor is a solid surface and the sore hocks are completely or mostly gone, I think it's fine to take the towel away. Sore hocks is usually caused by sitting on uncovered wire.

 

[Rescuemom]

Hmm... Thanks for the input everyone. He's four years old and yes, he's neutered. I'll try removing the loose hay and the towel and see if it helps at all.

Thank you!

 

[Katielovesleo3]

I was wondering g about the size if the litterbox as well. For my female who is newer to litterbox training, I got a cage for a guinea pig and gave her the bottom portion for her litter box and she has been doing really great with it, ad she also has a smaller one on the opposite side of her pen. When pee gets on the floor I get a small piece of paper towel...let it soak as much pee up and put the tidbit into the box and clean the rest of the pee up and spray vinegar directly onto the ground, leave it for at least 5 minutes and bam! Gone!

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Any other new changes in the house? Like a dog or a cat? Smells of other pets can get them going everywhere.

 

[Rescuemom]

No changes prior to this happening. We moved after it started happening, but same number of pets, same pets.. I'm in the third trimester of my pregnancy, but otherwise, nothing has changed at all.

His litterbox is one of the smaller cat litter boxes.

 

[Rescuemom]

UPDATE - Yesterday, after observing how much feces and urine Crush had left in the bottom of his cage, I decided to try several of the suggestions here. I placed a bunch of the feces and urine in his litterbox and swished around the litter a bit to get the smell more spread out, then I scrubbed the hard bottom of his cage clean with baking soda and hot vinegar water. I dried it, let it air out a bit, and removed the now-filthy towel that I had originally folded up in there for a 'soft' bedding to rest on. I also made sure all hay was snuggly tucked into his hay dispenser and not in the bottom of the cage OR in the bottom of the litterbox.

I checked on Crush several times afterward. No urine or feces outside of the box all night. I checked a few times throughout the day today and still - no urine or feces outside of the litterbox.

He has ALREADY largely improved(knock on wood). I'm not sure if it was the towel or the hay or what exactly it was, but whatever it was, it helped to take your suggestions. Thank you so much! I'm FAR less frustrated and much happier, and he seems to be as well.

I'm planning a Vet check up within the next month or so, and if his litterbox issues come back or persist, I'll have them check for a UTI or other problem that could lead to it.

Again.. Thank you!