I recently took in a year old female rabbit from a woman who could no longer care for her.
She’s very friendly, and we’re getting to know each other on…somewhat…shaky terms, but all in all things are going mostly okay. I’ve been looking at every rabbit article I can find that will tell me anything about her language, habits, health, etc…
So far, the only thing I’m having true trouble with is litterbox training. Let me give you some background, but before that, let me just say, I have enough food for her til I can purchase more, as well as timothy hay and bedding.
She was given to me in a homemade cage, and it seems….a bit small. Big enough for her to play in and exist in when she needs to, but if I were to put a litterbox in there, it would take up almost 70% of her space. Until next month I won’t have the funds to buy her a better cage, and I’ve been thinking about drawing some blueprints and just building it myself, which I’ll look up proper instructions for when the time comes. I also, until next month, don’t have the funds to buy her a proper litterbox, or the apparent multiples that I need to do this correctly. I suppose it goes without saying that I don’t have the money at the moment to get her spayed, either. I appear right ill-prepared, hm? Well I am, as far as box training goes..
I made a makeshift one for now out of cardboard. I tore several newspapers apart and put the shreddings in it, as well as putting her poops and pees I clean up in the box. Not too many, though, right? So its not too dirty? There’s also some hay in there. I tried fitting it in the cage anyway, which just made her upset. I had to remove it. Or did I? I guess thats what I want to know. Will I be able to train her with the supplies I have at hand? Should I wait until later? I want her to be able to run about, but I know I can’t have that until she’s box-trained. I’m a bit distraught, but also quite determined. I fear my technique needs some shaping up, and I know I need to be consistent. Any advice that can be offered that hasn’t already been utilized is extremely welcome. Also…whenever I pick her up to place her in the box and correct her behavior, she just kicks like mad. I know I’m picking her up right, and I know its common, but its making the process so hard, and I don’t know if she’s making the connection between doing business outside the box and then being placed into the box as a corrective act.
I heard unspayed does are very hard to litterbox train, but since spaying doesn’t seem very likely until a few months down the road, I have to work with what I have. I also heard few females survive being fixed, which scares me. Despite our shaky relationship, I am already fond of this little rabbit and I want her to be just as fond of me, if its possible.
Please help us.