rabbit using food dish for litterbox

[bat42072]

ashes is using her food dish for her litter box... i clean herlitterbox daily ... i even got her a smaller food dish... i moved the food dish to different spots in her cage and she still does it... It's kind of like maybe she is telling me what she thinks of the feed i am feeding her..lol I guess i will have to buy one that hangs on the side of the cage( i don't like them)..

 

[Flashy]

I had this problem with one of mine. He did it because it was the place he felt best about. When I changed his litter tray it did not smell like him, and did not smell safe, so once I started putting some poo and urine soaked tissue in the litter tray after everytime I changed it, he stopped the behaviour. Plus thorough cleaning of the bowl so that it doesn't smell of his poo and wee.

Maybe that's worth a shot?

 

[bat42072]

thanks Flashy I will give it a try...

 

[maherwoman]

Another idea...to clean it out with some white vinegar...it completely eradicates any smells, so he doesn't continue thinking that because it smells of his urine and feces, it's still okay to go there. Just be sure to rinse thoroughly (not that it's harmful...just that the vinegar smell might discourage him from eating...but rinsing should handle that).

Oh, and another thought...my Flower did this when I had to move her foodbowl a while back as a protest of my moving it. I don't think it was that she disliked the place I put it..just that it moved. So, maybe try keeping it where it is for a couple months, continue cleaning it out, and he'll stop.

 

[aurora369]

Or another option, get a food dish that clips on to the side of the cage.

I would still clean out the food dish with vinegar. I give mine a clean with it every couple of weeks, and it hasn't turned my buns off their feed.

I know that Pet_Bunny also has a bunny that liked peeing in a food dish. He left the food dish in there and started filling it with litter. I think it's Bebe that does it, and she pees in the small dish and poops in the regular litter box and then has a third dish for food.

There's lots of options for you to explore. Choose the one that you think would best suit you and your bun then go from there.

--Dawn

 

[gentle giants]

One of my does, Sugar, will fill her feed dish with pee if she thinks her litter pan is too dirty. I have to watch out when I pick it up to feed her, I have splashed pee all over myself a couple of timeswhen I didn't notice she had done that. :?I think it sounds like your problem is the opposite of Sugar's, though. I think what Flashy said about it not smelling right to him is probably right, try putting a few "pebbles" and a wet tissue in there after you clean it and see if that makes difference. Cleaning the feed dish with vinegar is also a good idea, so that it doesn't smell like theright place to go.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

My mini rex buck does this too! Sometimes we'll find his food dish in his litterbox.... full of pee! GROSS! :shock:So I gave him a different dish (bigger, ceramic) that's MUCH harder to tip/pick up. So that should cause less the problem....maybe. lol.

Emily

 

[Becknutt]

Ruby's known for filling her bowl with pee also. She does it when her dish is empty, like feed me or I'll pee in it. lol It doesn' t matter if the box is clean or dirty..

 

[tamnjo]

DoAshes live with another bun? If so, she may just be marking her territory. She decided her companion is not allowed "her" food:brownbunny

 

[bat42072]

she lives with Frosty... I just realized it happened after we switched her pen with 2 other bunnies so that may have been what triggered it.... I got her a food dish that hands so we will see if that helps....

 

[Pet_Bunny]

aurora369 wrote:

I know that Pet_Bunny also has a bunny that liked peeing in a food dish. He left the food dish in there and started filling it with litter. I think it's Bebe that does it, and she pees in the small dish and poops in the regular litter box and then has a third dish for food.

That's right. Bebe started to pee and poop all over the cage including her food bowls and not using her litter box. After a while shewould sit in the food bowls. :shock: So I put some pellets and a screen on it and Bebe was usingthem as a litter box ever since.

Here are the pictures in my blog .... http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=28416&forum_id=6&page=3

 

[superchar42]

Nuge will pee in his food bowl if I change pellets on him, or if I didn't feed him at the right time, or if I gave raisins to another bun without giving them to him. It's his way of insulting me, I think.