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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Do Rabbits Have An Odor?

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    • OceanBunny
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        Hey guys! I might get a holland lop. However, I was just wondering, do rabbits have an odor? I plan on litter box training him/her but I just would like to know if they smell a lot. I would be cleaning the litter box once every other day and have a full cleaning every week. Is this routine enough to decrease smell? I know that it’s the rabbit’s cage that smells but does the urine and poop make your house smell differently? I would love to get a rabbit, but I just need to make sure they’re right for me. Does spaying decrease smell? Lastly, on a scale of 1-10 how bad does the litter smell? Thank you!


      • Mordaith
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          It may depend on diet. I have a neutered male. He is fully litter trained. We use odor masking paper litter. We have no issues with smell. I would say 1 or maybe a 2 on a scale of 10. 2 is only if we missed a cleaning. Fox has two litter boxes and we clean them every two days with a full cleaning once a week. I am unsure with females, but neutering removed his desire to pee any where other than the litter box, so that helped his cleanliness amazingly. Spaying and Neutering bunnies is always a good thing, if a bit nerve wracking for the owners.


        • Stickerbunny
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            It depends a lot on your rabbit. Mine get excited and when they do, they like to release a smell that… I can only call aroma of skunk. It generally happens as they are running around playing. Mine also absolutely refuse, no matter what I do, how many litter boxes I give them or what blocks I try, to 100% litter train. They INSIST on peeing BESIDE the litter box sometimes. Which, of course, leaves a urine scent that has to be cleaned by vinegar, giving it a vinegary scent until they pee there again, which gives the urine scent back. There is also hay, which I like the smell of, but some people don’t.

            Spay/neuter decreases smell, but every animal has some smell associated with them. It’s just part of pet ownership. You can mostly keep the smell down, but you can’t guarantee 100% smell free bunnies.


          • LBJ10
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              Bunnies have an odor, it’s a fact of life. How much really depends on the bunny, both physically and their personality. When spayed/neutered, many have excellent litter habits. Certain types of litter are better at absorbing smell than others. Wood stove pellets or Feline/Equine Pine are great at absorbing odors. If you’re cleaning the litter every couple of days, you shouldn’t have much trouble.

              As Stickerbunny said though, some bunnies are better at the litter box than others. Some will pee outside the litter box, some will just poop here and there. The poop isn’t a big deal, it doesn’t smell and it’s easy to pick up. Some will still spray or open their scent glands, even when spayed/neutered.

              There is another factor that hasn’t yet been mentioned. It can depend on the person. People perceive smells differently. What might be considered a mild odor that isn’t bothersome for one person, could be unacceptable for another. It’s important to remember that all animals have an odor. I personally think cat litter boxes smell more than bunny and I grew up with cats. If someone has never had pets before then they might not know what it’s like smell-wise. Moreover, bunnies tend to be housed near people and that includes their litter box. A lot of people put cat litter boxes somewhere people aren’t going to smell it. When I was a kid, the cat litter boxes were kept in the basement. Not a living room or bedroom.


            • Stickerbunny
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                The best litter combo, smell wise, I have found is aspen shavings (don’t use pine/cedar shavings due to phenols) and wood stove pellets underneath. The pee goes through the shavings and into the pellets, but the top layer of wood keeps a woody scent and covers up the litter box scent very well.


              • StachesMommy
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                  My rabbit smells like hay… Lol. She actually has zero smell other than smelling like hay every once in a while but she doesn’t get stinky like my dog does. I rarely ever smell her litter box. Sometimes I do but I would say 1 on a scale of 1-10 and this is me changing her litter box every morning. I can only smell it in the mornings when I’m changing it. I happen to be very sensitive to smell though. Perfumes and colognes and all that make me super sick. I have asked my family members who have came to visit and they tell me they don’t smell anything. Also, as LBJ had mentioned above. To me… cats actually smell more so than rabbits in my opinion. Maybe not the cat itself but the litterbox does smell. I had a cat and my older sister has always had dwarf rabbits. My kitty’s litter box was way stinkier than her grown up male dwarf bunny’s living quarters. I use puppy pad, feline pine pellets, then carefresh on top in her litterbox. My guests always tell me they smell pine.

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              Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Do Rabbits Have An Odor?