Frustration! - Paw Talk

Photoesque · #1 08-10-2008, 10:20 AM

Ok, I have a question for anyone reading this.

My rabbit Ruby always kicks the litter out of her litter pan and then uses the towel I put down as a litter box. Where ever the litter is, that's where she pees/poops. She is a really smart bunny because she uses the litter but she kicks it out of the box. I don't know if anyone else has this problem but if you do PLEASE help!

If you don't have this problem (which you are very lucky if you don't) do you have any advise?

I give her a ton of excersise time to try and tire her out. I've also bought a lot of new toys but she doesn't seem interested in any of them. What toys do your rabbits enjoy? She likes to throw things around and tear things up so I was thinking about putting a cardboard box with newspaper in it for her to chew and throw. Any other tips or ideas?

ps- sorry this is so long, I appreciate anyone who read all of it =D

christine · #2 08-10-2008, 10:30 AM

Well, I've never had rabbits but I can offer advice because I had trouble with my ferret and litter box training. Every time she went out of her litter box I put the droppings in the litter box. Every time I saw her use the litter box I gave her a treat. It took some time but now we have no problems and she doesn't require treats any more. It may not be the same thing, but I hope it helps!

Luckybunny · #3 08-10-2008, 07:16 PM

To make things more tidy here, we put in mesh wire to cover the litter. Poop and pee goes through 1 cm squares...hay stays on top...and there is no way for them to kick out the litter. Only down side is that it could make their feet sore if they spend too much time on it. Molly had taken to sleeping in her litter box for a while so it was much cleaner for her. It may be worth a try.

kathydip · #4 08-10-2008, 09:29 PM

Fromper should have some good advice. He taught Flash how to use the box pretty quickly.
Ollie and Ophelia use any blankies I give them to potty on. Penelope never does that to her blankies. Teddy does it sometimes and other times he is fine.
How high are the sides of your litter box? Can you get a deeper one? I have cat boxes for all the buns. I think I have 3 large and one extra large. Litter does still scatter. It seems like they get startled and run out of the box sending litter everywhere. I was thinking of putting some coroplast up for Oliver and Ophelia to help contain it. It hasn't happened yet - I just clean it up every day.

Fromper · #5 08-10-2008, 09:42 PM

Christine hit the nail on the head - use treats for positive reenforcement. I gave Flash a treat just for jumping into the box, even if he didn't do anything while he was in it. It also helped that I put the box on the spot of floor where he was already going, so he already sort of wanted that spot for it. But just giving him treats for going in the box a couple of times per day for a couple of weeks was enough to convince Flash that the litter box is a good place to be, and the rest just came naturally.

--Fromper

Photoesque · #6 08-12-2008, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luckybunny


	To make things more tidy here, we put in mesh wire to cover the litter. Poop and pee goes through 1 cm squares...hay stays on top...and there is no way for them to kick out the litter. Only down side is that it could make their feet sore if they spend too much time on it. Molly had taken to sleeping in her litter box for a while so it was much cleaner for her. It may be worth a try.

Wow! I didn't even think of that. And no, she doesn't spend much time in her litter box because I put a towel down so she can sleep somewhere comfortable. I think that actually might work but, how would I keep the wire down?

Photoesque · #7 08-12-2008, 03:30 PM

Well, its not that she isn't litter trained because she already is. She is a very smart rabbit and will go to the bathroom where ever there is litter but when she kicks it out, that happens to be on the floor. Since I've gotten a new laptop I've decided to spend intervals of 15 minutes randomly everyday just to watch her. And when she kicks the litter out of the pan tell her "no" and push her away.When she does go in and not kick it out reward her... I'm hoping that will work. Thanks for all your help!

Purple-Hops · #8 08-12-2008, 03:43 PM

Akina used to kick her litter everywhere as well,i put up a plastic place mat on the outside of the cage so they couldnt get through and she couldnt chew it,but she pees right up in the corner so it was easy and now she doesnt kick it around as much....as for toys, since she's not really interested in toys-neither is Akina-i keep toys there just in case she wants to toss them around and i drop in a phone book or old newspaper-type mags and she shreds them like no tomorrow!! its messy but it keeps her mind occupied.

also in my bedroom which is their playroom i have set up a pile of cardboerd boxes in different sizes and cut in different patterns and just went crazy and they love to hop around it and hide and chew,great fun...!

**Dragonrain** · #9 08-13-2008, 10:16 AM

I don't think anyone else suggested this...

Do you know what latch hooking is? You can buy kits and supplies to latch hook from craft supply stores. Okay well, to do it you use this screen stuff that looks like this...

http://i21.ebayimg.com/07/s/000/77/47/69d5_2.JPG

Well you can sometimes buy that screen stuff seperatly, and it works well if you cut it to size and put it on top of the litter in the litter box. The squares are small so the hay and poop stays on the top of it, which makes it easy to clean the poo out. But it makes it so they can't get to the litter and it's not wire, so it doesn't hurt their feet or anything.

The only thing is that you'd have to probably think of a creative way to secure it in the box, because if you just lay it on top of the litter so she doesn't just pick it up and move it off the litter.

Ooor what about using a covered cat litter box for her? Then there is only one opening for her to kick the litter out of.

Photoesque · #10 08-13-2008, 03:24 PM

Yea, that's the only problem. Securing it to the litter box. and I cant use the cat boxes with the top on it because her cage isnt big enough. She isn't an indoor rabbit she stays outside in a cage and I go out to play with her because everyone in my family besides me is allergic to her...

Luckybunny · #11 08-15-2008, 09:36 PM

With the wire mesh, we just measured it two or three squares larger than the litterbox (plastic dish tub) and folded it down into the litter box. It then becomes free standing inside the box. You have to make sure that there are no sharp pieces of wire exposed to bunny. It is a bit tricky getting the corners to fit. The litterbox is high enough that she cannot flip the wire mesh out or play with it. It works great for keeping bunny off the soiled litter and is easy to keep clean...but be careful cleaning the underside as the wire can be sharp on the knuckles. The poopies don't get stuck to their feet when the hop out.

**Dragonrain** · #12 08-16-2008, 12:15 PM

I just thought I would add, that I have seen litter boxes now that are sold with a wire grate on top. I was thinking of getting one like this myself...

http://www.rabbitstop.com/Merchant2/...roduct_Count=1

Photoesque · #13 08-17-2008, 10:51 AM

oh my gawsh.

thank you SO MUCH!
that thing is perfect. hahhahhaa i feel soo happy that you found that! im thrilled. and for less than $15 that is even better. =DDD

**Dragonrain** · #14 08-17-2008, 02:10 PM

If you get it let me know how it is, I'm still thinking of getting it for Barnaby next time I order from there.

Luckybunny · #15 08-17-2008, 02:58 PM

Unless that wire is fastened...I know my bunns would yank it out of there with the side so low. I also like to rotate their litterbox so the yesterdays news is wet all over before cleaning their box....with the high back I couldn't do that.