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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 BEHAVIOR How To Stop Inappropriate Peeing WITHOUT Neutering?

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    • Victoria
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        Hi everyone! I’m a frequent lurker on these forums and have just recently decided to become a member to find a solution to this problem.

        Now, I know that there are many threads over marking, litter training, and fixing rabbits. But I just can’t seem to get an answer. Every time I find a forum with a question similar to mine, all of the replies are either “OMG my bunny does that too can someone post a solution??” or “get your rabbit fixed and it’ll stop.”

        My situation is a little different. I have a New Zealand mix bunny named Petey. He’s around 9-10 months old right about now and I’ve had him since he was somewhere between 6-8 weeks old. I began litter training almost immediately and he took to it right away. He has always been good about using his litter box, albeit some poopies here and there but he has NEVER peed outside the litter box.

        He is a free roam rabbit. He has free run of my bedroom for 12+ hours a day, I lock him in his cage at night and let him out as soon as my eyes open in the morning. 2 weeks ago I did some renovating in my bedroom and made bigger cages for my 5 guinea pigs, who also live in my bedroom with me. I moved his cage to a completely new spot under my desk, I figured since he likes to lay under there he would be okay if I made that his enclosure, despite it being a little bit smaller than the cage he had previously. His cage was on the floor at the foot of my bed where two of my guinea pigs are living now. I know that the changes would distress him and he would be confused about it but he was going to get over it. That’s when these problems started.

        His litter had poops and pee in it so he could associate his scent with the new area, he would not go near it unless he had to go. Then he warmed up to the cage a bit and things seemed just fine. A couple days after this he hopped up on my bed with me and dropped at least 25-30 poops. It’s typical of him to lay in bed with me and drop one or two poops at the foot of my bed by accident so this was shocking. I shooed him away, cleaned it up, thought it was over. It kept happening more and more and it was becoming tiresome. Just as I thought it couldn’t get worse, he backed up and peed on the very edge of the foot of my bed. It was a tiny patch so I cleaned it up and left it as is. I thought that was it, but just the other day my mom came into my room and said it smelled horrible and we couldn’t find the source of the smell. I happened to be laying in bed where the smell was the strongest. It turns out he had been peeing all over my bed while I wasn’t in the room. I’ve had to wash my sheets 3 times within 48 hours because he keeps peeing all over it.

        It almost seems like he’s doing it to spite me too. The second time I witnessed him do it, I had been loving on him for a couple minutes and when I sat up, he wasted no time turning around and blasting almost a foot across my bed barely missing me by an inch. It was like he was trying to mark ME.

        But at the same time he still lets me hand feed him and he’ll come to beg for treats. Recently he has been noticeably less affectionate with me. I’m lucky if I get a minute just to pet him in his favorite spots before he turns and hops away from me. 

        Now, the last time I took Petey in to see the vet was about a month or two ago. He had been seen by another vet (primary one wasn’t available and the substitute was not experienced with any exotics) because of an emergency a while back, he was diagnosed with E. Cunniculi and had to undergo a 3 week treatment (at home) on different medications. During this followup with the primary, it was discovered that Petey has an unusually low heart rate. This truly stumped the vet because aside from his heart rate, Petey was perfectly healthy and active. He still isn’t sure why his heart rate is so low but this is the number one reason why I can’t get him fixed. Going under anesthesia will most likely kill him.

        He doesn’t pee anywhere else except for my bed. Not my couch, my dresser, throw blankets, pillows, carpet, nothing. Just my bed.

        He has food immediately next to the litter box. Hay on one end for him to eat while he’s sitting in it. He has always used paper based bedding as litter, the brands have varied but have never been drastically different from one another. I’ve build a pen to keep him confined to the half of the room where he can’t access my bed, but he is determined to get to it. He’s broken out of it multiple times just to get up there and pee on my bed. I have used a water/vinegar mix on the end of the bed where he started spraying and he doesn’t pee down there anymore, just at the side where I have my stuffed animals up against a wall. I have sprayed my entire mattress down with the vinegar mix to get the smell and stains out, but I’m afraid that once the sheets are back on it he’ll break out and pee on it again. Is there anything else I can do? I can’t get him fixed and I refuse to give him up, what other tactics can I use in the event he breaks out again? Will he grow out of this at some point? Is he mad at me for changing the cages? He happens to be peeing on the side of my bed my boyfriend likes to nap on and one of his hoodies that he hasn’t worn in months. He’s currently away playing hockey and hasn’t laid in my bed for almost a month. Is he being territorial over whatever is left of my boyfriend’s scent?

        I’m so sorry this post is so long lol, I like to give everybody as much detail as possible so no one is scrambling for information 


      • Dface
        Participant
        1084 posts Send Private Message

          He isn’t angry at you, he’s just doing what a normal rabbit would do at that age. Undoubtedly the move probably sparked the urge to mark, this isn’t abnormal. The bed smells strongest of humans-he wants it to smell like him because it’s his room too.
          The only solution I know of is blocking him off properly from it.
          Also get a shower curtain and lay it over the bed- even when he pees it wont seep through.


        • Wick & Fable
          Moderator
          5771 posts Send Private Message

            A lot of people, including me, talk about how surprisingly smart rabbits are. This is one of those circumstances where… you need to remember they’re kinda stupid, and a slave to their animal instincts. Since rabbits have only recently been domesticated, there’s still a lot of inborn, concrete habits that simply may not end up being trained out, though it can be reduced.

            Even post-neuter, Wick will still lay a poo in certain scenarios. If I leave a room door closed and he wants to get in, he’ll poo at the door as a reminder that it’s still his space, although the door is closed. He still marks when he’s someplace new as well, just out of instinct. Once a rabbit is in an appropriate scenario, their thinking is pretty linear— “Oh, it’s time to mark here.”… similar to how humans automatically say “Excuse me” after burping, or “Bless you” after someone sneezes. It’s nothing against you and your training; it’s simply a behavior that’s a part of rabbit behavior.

            In terms of marking you, unfortunately, the only solution I have it active avoiding when you see it’s coming. Wick began spraying me 3 days before his neuter, and it was the longest three days of my life. When I’d notice him circling me in an excited manner, I’d just run away until he calmed down. Once he sprayed me and I had my mouth open. Not a good experience.

            For future scenarios, I recommend the cloth technique, where you get a fabric cover or something that is heavy with his scent, and use this to drape over any clean, new-smelling areas. This worked to keep Wick in pretty-good-check with peeing on the sofa. You can get something with his scent by putting it where he usually sleeps, rubbing it on him, leaving it in his cage for a bit, or feeding him on it. If he pees on it… that’s good, haha. That means it’s marked, so anywhere you put it, he probably won’t pee on again (though that seems counter intuitive).

            The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.


          • DanaNM
            Moderator
            8901 posts Send Private Message

              I am guessing that all the re-arranging made him feel inclined to re-mark all of his territory. Since you only re-arranged 2 weeks ago, he might just need more time to settle down.

              I’ve heard that bunnies pee on beds because they are soft, and also because they smell strongly of human (I’m sure those stuffed animals smell VERY interesting to him… maybe even like intruders!), so using a shower curtain, or opened up plastic trash bag, under a blanket on the bed can help them not pee (because it blocks the smell), and also prevent it from getting to your bedding.

              As far as cleaning, I’m not sure where you live, but there’s an enzyme treatment called nature’s miracle that works very well and is safe to use around bunnies.

              You might also try restricting his space to a smaller area around his cage for a while, to let him get more settled in the new spot, and then slowly increasing the area.

              As Dface said, you could also always block access to the bed with an x-pen as a final (but very effective) resort.

              . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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          Forum BEHAVIOR How To Stop Inappropriate Peeing WITHOUT Neutering?