Marking

[Marrie]

My bun isn't neutered yet and I know marking will happen, but... he seems to be marking the area my boyfriends scent is the strongest in only (where he spends the largest part of his days at home). Otherwise he is 100% on his litter box. He picked a few spots the second day here and I put boxes down in them.

Is he being territorial over the other male in the house, or just happened to pick that spot? It is just little "spots" of urine rather than when he uses his box and only a few droppings. I cleaned it up with vinegar and blocked off the area since ... I can't really put a litterbox under my boyfriends computer chair. lol

Do bunnies get "jealous" of humans like birds do? I know my male bird bonded to me as a mate and that has caused all sorts of territory issues with him (and quite a few bloody bites for the boyfriend). Will I have to worry about that with Powder?

So far he's bonding quite well with us, he follows me around the house if I walk away, I told him he's gonna trip me one day (he runs right under my feet and stops, waits for me to stop, then runs circles around me). He's been sitting under my chair all day today. And he'll just sit all day if I pet him.

We're going to get him neutered as soon as we can fit it into the budget after the initial adoption costs, so probably next month.

 

[DakotaSkye]

Hi Marrie,
I don't know how much help I'll be with this problem, but I'll try. I've owned four rabbits, but they've all been females, lol.

First off, you are totally right about the neutering. In fact, that should take care of not only the "spotting" of urine, but any sort of possessiveness he may have over you. I've never owned a bird, but I don't think rabbits are the same way. I know they can have a stronger bond with some people than others, but that's something that can be influenced. Rabbits are big on trust. If they can trust you, they can bond with you.

I don't know how much time your boyfriend spends with Powder, but I would suggest he take some time to bond with him. Maybe have him let him out when you aren't home (so he doesn't immediately run to you), and have him give Powder some treats (in moderation, of course - my Freya loves oats, carrots, kale, cilantro, yogurt drops, and blueberries). If Powder associates yummy things with your bf, he'll learn to trust him. Even if he just lays on the floor and lets Powder investigate, he'll be gaining his trust. Of course, the neutering will help the bonding process, too.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

 

[Marrie]

Ok, that's good to know - I think i'm a bit paranoid after the parrot... during hormonal season with him he has been known to dive bomb the boyfriend for being in the same room as me lol (almost came to the point we were going to have him clipped to stop the attacks).

I am home all the time, boyfriend works like 6 days a week, so him letting Powder out isn't an option. But, he does give him part of his veggies by hand and spends evenings talking/petting him. Powder has free run of the house, so he spends all day with us. He follows the boyfriend around the house as well, though spends more time with me than him. After blocking off the area he left droppings in a row along the outside of the "wall" I built.

Hopefully he stops the marking against people after he either totally settles in (he just got adopted last week) or after he is neutered. Crawling around on the floor every couple of hours to clean it up isn't fun, silly bun!