aggressive/dominant bunny, peeing on futon…

[jennifer]

hi everybody, this is my first post here. i am a first-time bunny momma and i am writing with some behavioral troubles i have encountered with my new rabbit, cashew.

i adopted cashew this past february from my local spca. the shelter said his breed was “domestic mix,” and i can tell you he is a large brown bunny, about the size of an average housecat. at the time of his adoption, he was 6 months old, and was just recently neutered in mid-february. as i stated, i haven’t had a bunny before, i have had cats my whole life, but never bunnies. i have wanted a bunny companion, and so i’ve done my research on how to properly care for them. my rabbit had been raised for meat, but his previous owner had a change of heart and surrendered him to the shelter, with about 2 dozen other bunnies. the shelter staff didn’t know much about his upbringing, but despite what must have been a hard beginning in life, he is very friendly, curious, and outgoing. 

i have two cats, both neutered males, who are 11 years old and 17 years old, respectively. they are very mellow cats, who were introduced to cashew last month. at first the cats seemed a bit nervous of him, but i have supervised all cat-rabbit interaction, and mainly, the cats don’t seem too bothered by him. the cats have never shown any aggression toward the rabbit. cashew, on the other hand, is very bossy, and will hop right over to the cats, chase them around, etc. so, the cats like to sit high up (on the back of the sofa, etc) when cashew is out and about.

so, onto the behavioral issue. cashew lives in my 2nd bedroom/office, in a puppy playpen that’s 16sq feet, but i let him out to hop around when i am at home. in this same room, i have a futon sofa, where my cats like to sleep. well, just about a few days ago, i noticed cashew hopping up onto the futon and peeing and pooping in the exact spot where my older cat, tobey, likes to sleep. cashew is litterbox trained and usually is very good about using his box, i have never seen him have an accident. (he does leave little poops around his cage, but i hear that’s a normal thing rabbits do to mark territory). i cleaned up the area on the futon that cashew soiled and then covered it with a towel. cashew continued to pee and poop on that one area, and i continued to clean it. i put him back in his cage for awhile as a “time out,” then let him out again later that evening. imagine my surprise when i found cashew standing on top of my 17yr old cat tobey, peeing on him!! (tobey, for the record, didn’t seem fazed by this at all).

i have called both the shelter and my vet to inquire about this behavior and ask for help. both places have told me it is clear that cashew is doing this to establish dominance, but no one had any tips or how to help me. i have since blocked off the futon so no animals can access it until i get this figured out. last night i let cashew out after work, and he seemed even more energetic than usual. he kept chasing my 11yo cat out of each area he was sitting in. at the end of the evening, both cats were sitting on the back of the sofa. cashew hopped up onto the back of the sofa, then climbed on top of each cat and just stood there. then he hopped down, and started pooping on the sofa. at that point, i put him back in his cage.

i would love any advice or tips anyone has to help me with my bunny. he is now almost 9 months old. he is very bossy and i’m not sure what to do to train him. for example, if i am eating, he almost climbs onto my plate of food. i will repeatedly tell him “no” sharply, and push him away, but he keeps repeating it. the shelter did say one way for me to show that i am “top rabbit” is to gently hold his head down when he does something bad, as that is how rabbits show dominance. i’ve tried that too, with no effect. my cats are getting more wary/scared of him, and he just seems to be getting bossier. everything that i have read says neutering is supposed to help with this behavior, but he was neutered 2 months ago.

thank you for your help!

~jennifer

[Dface]

It may take some time to get the hormones out of his system, but as everyone has said, your rabbit is trying to be in charge of the cats.

Cats smell stronger than rabbits, so in his mind, it may be a case of re-establishing the room as his every-time they are in it, hence the need to mark territory all aroudn them.

The only thing I would advice is perhaps trying to keep the cats out of the room for a while and seeing if it calms him down, or restricting him to a more confined area where he isnt free to hop around the entire room.
Sometimes restricting their area lets the rabbit know that that area is “home territory” and the rest of the room is just for explorin’, and isnt really theirs.

As for the stealing food, my boy did that and there was nothing to be done to stop him. Confident bunnies are great, but they can be nightmares to train

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