two Blossom questions

[IsabellaRobyn]

Hello everyone!  I have two questions for you all today!

The first one is about litter training!  In Blossoms last house she didn’t have a litter tray she just had to pee and poo on the floor – so in preparation I picked up some puppy training pads and some plain paper wallpaper to line the floor. I put in a litter tray with some paper based pellets – but for the first day or two she was too apprehensive to go into the litter tray.  She put her front feet in a few times, but other than that nothing.  She did one little pee at the edge of her cage so I soaked it up with toilet roll and put it in the tray.  Later that night she started to tear at the paper on the floor at one end of her cage (great fun for her haha!) so I moved the litter tray from one side of the cage, on top of the bit she was ripping at (pretty close to where she had peed before).  So anyway, I went to sleep and she had still not went into the litter tray at all.  When I woke up ALL of her pees AND poos were in the litter tray!  She had also absolutely destroyed the puppy pads and paper over night (and woke me up numerous times in the process haha!) so yesterday I put her into her carry case and tidied out the cage.  I put a fleece blanket on the floor this time to see how she would do.  She has only peed the floor once, but by the looks of the mark it’s like she started to pee, then went into the litter tray?  You can see it in the picture.  So I guess my real question is, do you guys think she was litter trained in her house before the abusive one?  Or does she just like where I’ve put the litter tray?  I’m amazed really, I thought it was going to be a long and difficult process with an older rabbit!

Another thing I noticed this morning is that she has pulled fur over night.  This is the first night she’s been on fleece, not sure if that would have anything to do with it?  Belle has only pulled fur twice and it was when she had phantom pregnancies and was building nests.  Is this something to worry about or was she just getting comfy?  As far as I’m aware she had no contact with any other bunnies, and the vet didn’t say anything about her feeling pregnant so I’m pretty sure it’s not that.

[BarbaraC]

Hi Robynisabella. Congratulations on your new addition. I don’t have any experience with unsprayed female rabbits so I am not sure what the fur pulling means. However, it sounds like you did everything right with the litter training. She may still have “accidents” if she is not fixed.

The only warning I would have is in regards to the puppy pads. My vet warned us against using these when our last bunny was sick because most companies put a chemical in them to attract the puppy which encouragee it to pee on the pad. This same chemical can encourage your rabbit to eat the pad which can be harmful. There are pads out there that do not have the attractant added to them but they are really hard to find.

[IsabellaRobyn]

Hey Barbara!

Thanks for the info! So far it’s still only been that one accident so safe to say she is litter trained. I didn’t know that about the puppy pads!! I’m so glad I decided to scrap them after she ripped them up the first night. She’s just been on fleece since. I should have researched it more I feel terrible knowing it could have made her sick!

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