Litter box training trouble

[Samicles]

I already read the Binky Bunny Litter box training guide but I don’t feel like it’s much help in my situation. Nimmy just got neutered two weeks ago. Since he was a little over a year old when he got neutered and was hardly litter box trained to begin with, I didn’t expect his habits to do a 180. But I expected them to get better, not worse. These past two weeks have been a nightmare for the most part. I should’ve trained him better from the start, so I know it’s my fault. I know his hormones will continue to diminish over the next two weeks or so, so I’m really motivated to get his butt in the litter box to get him into some good habits before they wear off. 

Since he got neutered he’s been much more destructive than before. Chewing at the carpet (he RARELY has done that before), he seems more territorial/agitated (He’s never been aggressive in a territorial sense), and the marking has gotten a lot worse. Two days ago I was laying in bed and my feet were hanging off my bed, dangling right in front of his cage. He nibbled at my feet quite a bit and seemed rather unhappy about where they were. Luckily he didn’t full on bite or attack me. And regarding the marking.. it’s almost like it’s his life mission right now! I know that he knows it’s bad. And I know it sounds crazy and unbelievable. But he’ll stare at me while he’s in his favorite pee corner (sometimes in a different spot) and lift his tail and start peeing. As soon as I sit up/stand up at all he’ll run away. There’s been times where I’m not even paying attention to him and just move, and he’ll start running back to his cage. He doesn’t do this every-time I make a movement. He’s not afraid of me. He only runs away when he’s doing something bad. 

Last week I spent almost two hours cleaning his favorite pee spot, I wanted to get rid of all his pee stains and scent there, I put a flattened piece of cardboard over top and a freshly cleaned litter box with a few poos and a pee soaked paper towel in it. He tried moving the piece of cardboard, when that failed he just peed all around it. Not once in the litter box. I threw out the cardboard cause it had pee on it, and he was quick to take his pee spot back. I can’t block off the access to it because his favorite pee spot is right in the corner where the bedroom door is. So if I block the spot I block the door. Also, as you can see with the cardboard, it didn’t work. He’s only peed in his litter box a handful of times since he’s gotten neutered. Sometimes he’ll sit in the litter box and lean his butt out of it and he’ll pee outside the litter box even though he’s technically in it. Is he some genius that’s doing it on purpose because he found a loophole? Or does he not realize he’s doing it? 

HELP I need some pee-kicking advice! I’m about to give the carpet another deep clean to get rid of the new pee marks. I bought puppy pads to put down to try to protect the carpet from further destruction. I also bought him two new litter boxes, both of them are bigger than his current ones. I’m super prepared right now, so I need advice please! I need to make him NOT want to pee on the carpet.

[Tessie]

Oh dear oh dear, this sounds super annoying! (and maybe a little funny – sorry!)

First of all, -you may already know this- but after a neuter bun’s hormones are wild for about a month, after which point they calm down. It’s not unusual for bun to be extra naughty and annoying just after a neuter, so its possible that he’ll calm down again and be better behaved in a few weeks. Lets hope so!

Until then…
I assume you’re already soaking up pee with tissue and putting it in the litterbox?
Have you considered moving his litterbox to the spot he likes to pee in?
Could you restrict his space a bit until he is a bit more reliable with the litterbox and then expand his space again?
And when he does go in his litterbox make sure you give him lots of praise!?

[Samicles]

I’ve continued doing some research on it after posting this (reading some other forum posts on litter training) and I read that it helps if you give your bun more attention, and maybe even sit in his pee corner to try and deter him from peeing there. So I’ve been doing that, and it kind of works… as soon as I leave the spot he’ll take his chance and pee. In his pee corner there is currently a pee pad. I also bought him a brand new litter box and you know what he immediately does? Start digging and kicking the litter EVERYWHERE. Little bugger -_-. This is going to be a rough couple of weeks. But I’m really trying to stay on his case about peeing in the litter box, unfortunately that means he isn’t going to be out of his cage as often as he’s used to. Since now I have to watch him like a hawk. Wish me luck.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Good Luck!

[john]

You can try compressing the litter if your rabbit keeps kicking new litter

[Author]

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