Question about litterbox training and why Akira does this

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Rusty

Rusty

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2007
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Location
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
So I have had Akira since August now and was wondering why she isn't getting the litter training stuff. My friend told me she was a well behaved rabbit and litter trained at the humane society but at my house she is a total terror! She never pees in her litter box but Rusty does. The litter box is on the bottom level, food and water are on the top level on one side with another litter box on the opposite side. and the middle floor they have a large bed they like to sleep on. Anyways Akira never uses the litter box on top but she will sit in it and chew at the aspen shavings. On the bottom floor she likes to poop and pee right in front of the litter box. I tried putting dirty shavings and stuff in the litterbox but she still refuses to go in it. I tried putting aspen along with the litter thinking she likes the aspen better b ut she still likes to pee in front of it. Another thing is she will go out of her way to pee on my stuff. I have a very tall hamper and she likes to go in the hamper and pee/poop in there, and today I made the mistake of leaving my sweater on the ground and she peed/pooped all over that too. I don't understand what makes her do that. She was spayed when I got her and she was litter trained when she was intact.

Another question I have is that Akira won't really let anyone pet her for more than 3-5 seconds and then she takes off. But when I try to pet Rusty she pushes me or Rusty out of the way but never wants me to touch her. Any ideas on why she does this?

thanks in advance.
 
My rabbit will only pee and poop on a towel. So thats what i use as his litter lining outside his cage, and hes happy with it. But inside his cage he likes regular litter in his potty box (i use yesterday's news). Once i tired using yesterday news for his outside of his cage litter box and that was a big "no go" he went to the bathroom infront of his potty box until i changed it back to a towel. i guess some rabbits are just very picky. I just thought I would share my story of what I went through, I hope you can find a solution.
 
That would be a good idea if it weren;t my clothes she peed on. she goes out of her way to pee on my stuff. And I use yesterday's news as well and I have tried regular aspen, but she refuses to pee in the litter box no matter what. Thanks for your story though.
 
You know, some bunnies just aren't good at litter training. My guys poo and pee constantly at all the "borders" of their "territory", meaning the front door, back porch door, and the baby gate we have separating the apartment into two parts. Their habits wax and wane, and when they're especially bad (peeing on the couch, for instance), I shut them up in their cage for the day (normally free range). I find this does help to retrain them, although they're by no means perfect and I don't think they ever will be.

Things they really love to mark include shoes (especially ones that go over to the other bunnies' side of the apartment), workout clothes (maybe the smell of human sweat?), and backpacks. I think it's because these things smell different than anything else in the house (backpacks and shoes go out into the world, etc).
 
The only thing is that its not on anything but my clothes. Nothing else, the carpet (even when I washed it) towels (dirty/clean), backpacks. Just my clothes. In the laundry basket. My friend will leave her clothes on the floor and they won't get peed on. Just mine. That is what I don't understand.
 
my bum peed and pooped just in front of her litter box too when i was re-litter training her after her spay. i just wiped her pee with a paper and put the paper and poops into the litter pan. i also cleaned the area with white vinegar... after a few tries, she is now using her litter pan religiously... ;)

no such luck for her cage though... she uses the litter pan in her cage but still like to pee and poop here and there.. but there's a pull out tray under her cage where all her pee and poop goes, so its not too bad. i'm still trying to get her to use her litter pan in her cage completely.. :biggrin2:
 
Well for my birthday, a friend brought a laundry basket with wheels and a lid to school and made me drag it around lol. She told me she was at wal-mart when she saw it and totally thought of Akira peeing on my clothes. So now I will have unpeed clothes!! Yay!! And I tried all those other things but she just refuses to do it. She will even go out of her way to pull out my friends clothes to only pee on my stuff. But not anymore with my new handy dandy laundry basket! lol.
 
Haha thanks guys. I don't think Akira will be pleased with the new laundry basket but I sure will be!!!!I want to beat her at at least one of her games. :p
 
Before we got Emma, Toby had AWESOME litter pan habits after fixing some stuff up in our room. Before we fixed it up, he liked to pee all over Will's (my boyfriend) stuff! He would pee on his pillow! After some bunny-to-human bonding sessions, that stopped, but once we brought a new bun into the picture, it was all over. He is good, for the most part. It's just the poo on the floor that is driving me nuts!

Maybe you could buy some clothes from GoodWill or something and put them in the litter pan. You know, wash them with your normal clothes and get your scent on them. Maybe that would help? It would be a headache, but better on your "mock clothes" than your good ones!
 
Yeah. She hasn't peed on anything since the basket. I think she is trying to figure out a way to get in there lol. She probably will. She jumps for doorknobs now trying to open the door. She is a bundle of smart trouble she is. ;)
 
Haha what a smart bunny! I used to keep Tony in my room with a door that opened inward (but didn't latch) and he learned how to open it, I assume by bumping it toward the jamb and letting it bounce open enough to get his nose in there and get it open. He also learned how to get his cage open. The "rabbit as trickster" theme in kids' stories isn't at all far from the truth!
 
tonyshuman wrote:
Haha what a smart bunny! I used to keep Tony in my room with a door that opened inward (but didn't latch) and he learned how to open it, I assume by bumping it toward the jamb and letting it bounce open enough to get his nose in there and get it open. He also learned how to get his cage open. The "rabbit as trickster" theme in kids' stories isn't at all far from the truth!
Click to expand...
I am glad Toby never caught on to the whole "opening the door" thing. I have caught him digging at the little springy thing on the bottom of the door. I kick it sometimes and it makes that weird "BRROOIINNGG!" noise, and I think he associates it with the door opening. Ugh.

Good to know that Akira isn't weeing on your things anymore! :D
 
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