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Litter training trouble please help!!!

amybunnies

New Kit
Hi everyone,
I am having major issues with Penny’s litter training. She has never been 100% I think because she was 5 months old when we rescued her and hadn’t had a litter tray before. She had however been using the litter tray to wee in and just doing the occasional dropping around the room. Last week we went on holiday and our friends moved into our house to look after the bunnies. Since the minute we left she seems to have decided to use everything and everyone as a toilet!! She is peeing on people and sofas and blankets etc and it seems like she isn’t even aware when droppings fall out of her!!! She was spayed just over 3 weeks ago but her behaviour seems to me to be territorial. Does anyone have any ideas!! Lenny (bonded with Penny) is 14 weeks old and not neutered and yet his toilet habits are perfect!!! We have 2 litter trays in which we use wooden pellets and Timothy hay in the lounge which is the bunnies main room. Please help!


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Hopefully when she settles down after her spay, and having different people looking after her, she will start to use her tray more or less all the time. Also she may be marking her territory as there is another rabbit there - are they together?
 
They are together yes. He doesn’t seem to have started displaying any hormonal behaviours yet. She is definitely a sassy lady! It’s getting to the point where I don’t feel like I can give her free run of the lounge because she is ruining furniture and driving us mad! Just don’t know how I can help her to use the litter tray better!


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Perhaps you will have to put them in an enclosure so she can get into the habit of using the litter tray, especially as she is with your other rabbit. All rabbits are slightly different but most wee in the litter tray but leave poops around. Boys are quite often cleaner than the girls. I am afraid there is no magic answer, you can pick the poops up and put them in the litter tray in the hopes she gets the message, this works sometimes.
 
Don't know the answer but if you work it out, please let me know. Our rabbits use their litter tray consistently for months, then suddenly they decide they are going to wee and poo somewhere else. We can do whatever we like, they won't use the litter tray. Then a few months later they decide it's time to use the litter tray again.

The only pattern I have established is that they use the litter tray during the winter months and abandon it during the summer.
 
the problem likely was a change of routine and a new person coming in to take care of her, hence the territory marking. I expect that is what the issue is. you may need to pen her for a while to get her back into the habit. but as she settles down and things go back to normal, I expect the poops will too. females are known for being super territorial.
 
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