Can all rabbits be house trained?

[Pocahontas the Flemish]

I currently own a Flemish Giant cross named Pocahontas. I have owned her since she was 6weeks old, she is now 4 months old. I have had a huge struggle with getting her litter trained… She will pee in her litter box but doesn’t like to poop in it. I have tried everything I read such as making her cage smaller, that will help but only for a little while, she has her hay above her litter box, I cannot afford to get her spayed, Iclean up the messes she makes… I don’t know what to do. My biggest problem is she isnt so bad at her litter training if she is on hard floor but as soon as she hits the carpet she pees on it and poops where ever she wishes! I love her to pieces but my entire house is carpet! Eventually she is going to get to big to stay in her cage. My question is can all rabbits be house rabbits?

[sarahthegemini]

You should get her spayed. I know you said you cannot afford it but you need to find a way. Not only will it help litter training but without it, the risk of her getting uterine cancer is huge. It’s really frustrating to see people not see spaying as a necessity. It is essential. And it is something people need to realise before taking on the responsibility of a rabbit.

Right, with the poops you can keep picking them up and putting them in her litter box. It might take weeks but she will hopefully begin to understand where she should be pooping. I did it for weeks for my two babies and eventually I did see a reduction in the amount of poops outside of the litter tray. Probably about 70% of all poops are in the right place. Since spaying and neutering though, I’d say about 95-98% of Peanut and Buttercup’s poops are done in the litter box. It could be coincidence but it might not be.

Unfortunately, lots of bunnies like to pee on soft things. Fortunately for me, carpet was never a desirable place for mine. I suppose you could put fleece mats down and when they pee on them, maybe cut a little square out of the soiled fleece and put it in the litter box?

It could also be down to he tray set up you have – some buns are very fussy! What litter do you use? And how big is her tray?

[Mikey]

She likely wont start bettering her litter habits until she is spayed and her hormones are fully drained (anywhere from 1 to 6 months). Upwards of 60percent (some studies show as high as 80percent) of female rabbits will have uterine cancer by the age of three. Treating that will cost much more (not to meantion much more painful for your little lady) than getting her spayed now

[Azerane]

Is the carpeted area newer to her than elsewhere? You said she is peeing and pooping quite well in her tray until she gets onto the carpeted area, if the carpet is a newer area to her, she may still feed the need to mark it as her territory.

Another option is that some rabbits simply like to pee on soft things, and the carpet is one of those things. One way around it is to restrict her play time to a playpen attached to the front of her cage. In this playpen you can cover the carpet with a single piece of something like linoleum which extends under the bottom of the playpen so that she cannot dig it up. This will keep her from having access to the carpet, make messes easy to clean up, but will also provide her with more room than just her cage.

Otherwise, as mentioned, the thing that is most likely to help is getting her spayed. It really needs to be done and should help a great deal with her litter training, she is also still very young, at 4 months she is a teenager, and hormones are going crazy, once she grows up a little more and settle down, you may find that she is more consistent with the tray, but it’s no guarantee.

What is her cage setup and litter tray like? How often do you clean the tray?

[LBJ10]

Havana and Dutch are the highest risk breeds, that’s where the 80% comes from. It’s around 50-60% for other breeds. I agree. You’re not going to have much success with litter training until her hormones are gone. Most people report a vast improvement in litter habits once their bun is spayed/neutered.

[tobyluv]

I agree that she should be spayed, for the reasons already listed. Have you called around at your local rabbit savvy vets to see what their prices are for spaying? You may have to travel out of your area to find a good rabbit vet that isn’t as expensive, or you may be able to find a low cost clinic that accepts rabbits. There is also a program called Care Credit that some vets participate in. You put the fee on a credit card, and if you pay the minimum charge each month, there is no interest.

[Jessica]

As everyone has stated litter training really does “click” for them after they have been spayed. Contact your local rabbit rescue and see what they can recommend to help with a low cost spay.

Consider changing up litter brands to see if your bun likes it better, I know some buns seem to get confused with very soft litter like care fresh and soft things like blankets and pillows

[Author]

Messages