EileenH
Well-Known Member
I am so upset. I just moved Gulliver's cage to find that he had peed out of his litterbox under the rug - I didn't notice it and it totally ruined my hardwood floor - it's all black and won't come up.
I guess this was the icing on the cake. I know he has to pee in his litter pan, and this was my fault for not catching it.
But he also pees immediately when I let him out. He used to target the kitchen back door (I have parquay flooring that has started to seperate and raise, even though I clean it up the second he does it. I see him running over there & know "the look", so I'm ready with paper towels to clean it up. So, he's banned from the kitchen.
He's already banned from the bedroom because, as we all know, rabbits LOVE to jump on beds and pee on THEM too.
Then he moved on to the living room - the corner by the entertainment center. I clean THAT up immediately too,but now that I see what he did in the dining room, I know I am not getting the little bit that is under the entertainment center leg; it's too heavy for me to pick up. I'm sure the pee seeps under there & it's stained there too.
*sigh*; I've been battling this with him for almost a year. I rescued him last June and he was worse then, but, will he ever stop?
Yes, he is neutered; had that done last July and it didn't help.
No, he doesn't get too much free roam time. He does it as soon as he's out of the pen. I've tried to limit him to one room; at least he only ruined the floor in that room.
It is totally intentional andI know, he's marking, .
I've cleaned the places he targets with vinegar, didn't help at all. I've given up on the couch, I just try to keep up with him so I get him off the couch when he jumps on it, but sometimes he gets there before I do.
But the floors..that is going to be really expensive to fix. I have to replace the boards, and then polyurethane the whole room.
I am going to get linoleum and put it under the whole cage; hindsight is 20/20 for sure.
I had hispenon a 6X8 rug; his litter pan was on top of a square plastic pan, and his cage has an additional rug in it. What he did, was pee outside the pan and it leaked outside the cage, seeped through the rug(s) and I didn't notice in time.
I don't know what advice I am looking for; I guess I am just commiserating.
I love this rabbit to bits, don't worry. But how can I let him out and save my house at the same time? He's a big New Zealand White, so I hate to limit him to just the dining room, which is where his cage is - I know he needs to run around.
A woman at my vet office told me they sometimes outgrow this; he is only about a year and 3 months old (I rescued him last year and he was ~4months old then), and I've had him since June.
Will it ever get better? Any suggestions on what else to do?
--
Edited to add:
You know, when I re-read this post, it sounds like all I am doing is running around trying to clean up what he's done. And BTW - I leave all the poop when he does it, because he gets mad if I pick it up and just runs over and does more - I've never seen anything be able to produce so much poop on demand. But, poop is easily picked up and doesn't hurt anything, so I just clean it all up when I put him back in.
I am just frustrated; if I were you guys, reading this, I'd tell me I am neurotic & maybe he's feeding off of me. But that's not it. I basically leave the poop, and then run around & play with him. He idolizes me; kisses me in the face non-stop, we run around the house and he chases after me. We have a lot of fun, but in between this there is just a LOT of pee & poop. I've been just accepting it, and this post is just the culmination of it.
*sigh*
I guess this was the icing on the cake. I know he has to pee in his litter pan, and this was my fault for not catching it.
But he also pees immediately when I let him out. He used to target the kitchen back door (I have parquay flooring that has started to seperate and raise, even though I clean it up the second he does it. I see him running over there & know "the look", so I'm ready with paper towels to clean it up. So, he's banned from the kitchen.
He's already banned from the bedroom because, as we all know, rabbits LOVE to jump on beds and pee on THEM too.
Then he moved on to the living room - the corner by the entertainment center. I clean THAT up immediately too,but now that I see what he did in the dining room, I know I am not getting the little bit that is under the entertainment center leg; it's too heavy for me to pick up. I'm sure the pee seeps under there & it's stained there too.
*sigh*; I've been battling this with him for almost a year. I rescued him last June and he was worse then, but, will he ever stop?
Yes, he is neutered; had that done last July and it didn't help.
No, he doesn't get too much free roam time. He does it as soon as he's out of the pen. I've tried to limit him to one room; at least he only ruined the floor in that room.
It is totally intentional andI know, he's marking, .
I've cleaned the places he targets with vinegar, didn't help at all. I've given up on the couch, I just try to keep up with him so I get him off the couch when he jumps on it, but sometimes he gets there before I do.
But the floors..that is going to be really expensive to fix. I have to replace the boards, and then polyurethane the whole room.
I am going to get linoleum and put it under the whole cage; hindsight is 20/20 for sure.
I had hispenon a 6X8 rug; his litter pan was on top of a square plastic pan, and his cage has an additional rug in it. What he did, was pee outside the pan and it leaked outside the cage, seeped through the rug(s) and I didn't notice in time.
I don't know what advice I am looking for; I guess I am just commiserating.
I love this rabbit to bits, don't worry. But how can I let him out and save my house at the same time? He's a big New Zealand White, so I hate to limit him to just the dining room, which is where his cage is - I know he needs to run around.
A woman at my vet office told me they sometimes outgrow this; he is only about a year and 3 months old (I rescued him last year and he was ~4months old then), and I've had him since June.
Will it ever get better? Any suggestions on what else to do?
--
Edited to add:
You know, when I re-read this post, it sounds like all I am doing is running around trying to clean up what he's done. And BTW - I leave all the poop when he does it, because he gets mad if I pick it up and just runs over and does more - I've never seen anything be able to produce so much poop on demand. But, poop is easily picked up and doesn't hurt anything, so I just clean it all up when I put him back in.
I am just frustrated; if I were you guys, reading this, I'd tell me I am neurotic & maybe he's feeding off of me. But that's not it. I basically leave the poop, and then run around & play with him. He idolizes me; kisses me in the face non-stop, we run around the house and he chases after me. We have a lot of fun, but in between this there is just a LOT of pee & poop. I've been just accepting it, and this post is just the culmination of it.
*sigh*