Bunny decided couch is her toilet

[Laura D.]

Hi, I’m a new bunny owner and am learning the ropes. I got my female bunny last week from a pretty reputable pet store. I took her to the vet and he said she’s healthy and about 4-6 months old. I asked him about spaying her and he told me that unless she starts getting nasty or territorial I might want to hold off because it’s a somewhat complicated procedure.

I have to say, I have been very impressed with my new furry friend. She’s done very well with the litter box and is very smart and friendly. She is crated throughout the day and has a few hours a day of supervised play with the family.

However, she’s started doing something weird. For the past day or so she’s decided the couch is now also her toilet. She knows where her litter box is. She doesn’t care. She’s obviously claimed the couch as her territory. She still uses her litter box. But now she has two: The one in her crate (which she has constant access to) and the couch. Not a poop or pee anywhere but these two places.

Now we are going through the task of keeping her off the couch. Is there a way of breaking her of pooping on the couch other than making it completely off limits? We enjoy the time we spend with her on the couch and we hate to banish her from sitting with her family. Any suggestions other than spaying? Or is spaying the only way to get her to not mark?

Thanks so much!

[Stickerbunny]

First off – congrats on the new bunny!

Rabbits who are not spayed/neutered mark often. Even when spayed/neutered, they tend to mark places that have heavy human scent (beds, couch, etc). While she is intact, I would not expect her to stop marking.

As for your vet – find a new one. You need an exotics vet, not a dog/cat vet. Spaying is NOT complicated and a vet should be comfortable doing it with a very low fatality rate and do it quite often. My vet has been seeing rabbits for 25 years and he is fine leaving a male intact, but he prefers females to be spayed if possible. Female rabbits have an up to 80% chance for cancer by age two if they are left intact. Beyond that, they get hormonal and mark (like your couch), can become aggressive and have false pregnancy (they go through all the symptoms of pregnancy, but due to no mate, they can’t have babies… but they build a nest etc). False pregnancy alone is a good reason to get them spayed, it is very stressful on them. Add to that the cancer risks and well, two very good health reasons right there, even without the behavior issues. If your vet is not comfortable spaying a rabbit, it means he is not very comfortable with them in general.

[Beka27]

Welcome here. I just want to ditto everything stickerbunny said. Spaying is the single most important thing you can do for your new bun!

[Laura D.]

 Thanks for the advice. 

You guys are in agreement with everything I’ve been reading: Spay the bunny. I was actually very surprised that the vet recommended a wait and see approach. I thought he’d totally be on board with my idea to spay. The weird thing is my friend who lives about 800 miles away from me got the same advice from her vet that I got from mine. And (surprise) her bunny isn’t fully potty trained, either. 

Do you think it’s because my vet is an older vet? He’s been treating animals since the late 50s. But no, he doesn’t specialize in exotics but he does treat them along with other animals. He treated my hamster last year when he got sick (we eventually had to put him down.) So I know he’s worked with exotic pets so to speak. But you’re right, it’s not his specialty.

As a side note, I find it curious that bunnies are considered “exotic”.  I guess they’re not the typical cat or dog, but you would think enough people have them as pets… 

Thanks again!

 

 

[Stickerbunny]

It’s not the fact he’s older – my vet is at least 60, but he’s an exotics vet. It’s the fact that he’s a regular vet and probably hasn’t read the journals/literature for rabbits specifically. Many dog/cat vets TREAT exotics, but are not very good with them. And you need someone who is very comfortable doing the spay/neuter on a rabbit or it can be a risky procedure, they are not able to take many of the things a dog/cat can (certain antibiotics, different ways of handling if they stop breathing, etc). Call around and find one who treats a lot of rabbits and considers the procedure something routine and relatively risk free (any surgery has a risk, but a spay on a bunny should be no riskier than spaying a dog unless there is a health condition).

As for why they are under exotics – anything that requires extra classes during schooling and extra conferences / journals to keep up with the latest treatments is considered exotic. Dogs/cats and other “normal” pets are covered under basic material, but rabbits, lizards etc all cost extra to learn about so they get classified as “exotic” and the vets can then charge more to make up for the extra cost of being up to date with their care.

[Beka27]

Ditto stickerbunny again… lol.

I do however feel that his age and length of practice CAN play a role in that. Some of the older vets are very set in their ways and still consider rabbits as “livestock”, although then you said he provided treatment to your hamster… so I just don’t know. A dog/cat vet may “look at your rabbit” and give an antibiotic, but their treatment options are exhausted after that.

Have you heard the phrase “jack of all trades, master of none”? I’m not calling your vet that, but just saying a rabbit/exotic specific vet is very well-versed in current rabbit health information. They are the masters of that subject. Even in human medicine, your primary care doctor will always examine you and provide valuable info/treatment when necessary… but if it’s outside of their comfort level, they should refer you to a specialist for follow-up.

If you are comfortable with this vet, and he truly said “wait and see”, just call him up and said, “I’ve waited and I saw… and now I am ready to go ahead with the spay.” If he still hems and haws, then I would take that as a sign of discomfort in doing the surgery, and look for a new vet.

The couch as a litterbox thing is truly secondary to all of this. That’s why the importance of spay has been the focus as of yet. Keep her off until after this has been done and she’s been allowed to heal and see if that fixes the problem.

[Laura D.]

 Beka, you must be psychic because that’s exactly what happened…

Earlier today I called my vet back and said I gave it some thought and I want to go through with the spaying. The receptionist spoke with the Dr. and he asked that I bring the bunny back in to get looked at again. He’s now not sure if it’s a boy or girl because the rabbit is marking the couch and that sounds like male behavior. He wants to see my rabbit in a week to confirm and decide how to proceed.

So I did my research and found an exotics vet in the area. I’m bringing her in on Monday. This vet specializes in rabbits.

As much as I love my regular vet for my dogs, I’m now very uncomfortable with him for my rabbit. It’s obviously not his area of expertise. He’s lack of confidence does nothing to bolster mine.

So I’ll keep you posted on how the vet appointment goes on Monday.

I really appreciate everyone’s advice. You’ve been a great help.

 

Laura

[Stickerbunny]

That is often the case when you have a multiple pet household. When I lived in Florida, we were lucky and had a vet that used to work for an animal park – she had treated alligators, emus, ostriches, dogs, cats, birds etc so she was pretty well versed in all animal care and we were fine using her for everyone. Up here, it’s just the run of the mill vets and we have the bird vet, the bunny vet and if we ever had a dog probably a dog vet. Hope the appointment goes well !

[Beka27]

I’ve been looking for a good vet for my emu! LOL!!!

You have to do what you’re comfortable with. I have no doubt that your vet is awesome for your dogs. And in an emergency, he might be able to help with your bunny, do an exam and prescribe appropriate antibiotics. But for something more serious, like the spay, go with an exotic vet…

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