Cat using rabbit box

[Kleb06]

Just wondering if anyone has dealt with this issue or something similar…
I free roam my 2 bunnies however they have a big exercise pen for night time or when I will be gone for a while because I have a cat. He’s pretty good with them but I don’t trust them alone for an extended period of time, anyway the cat and bunnies use a tote with pine pellets and I keep finding my cat using the bunnies box. I give him crap and bring him to his own box but it doesn’t seem to be helping much. I’m not sure if he is trying to mark his territory or just uses it because the bunnies do and it’s the same litter. Although I usually clean it right away the bunnies still use it without problem if I can’t. Any advice to get him to stop would be appreciated.

 

[JBun]

I'm not sure of a solution, but it is important to figure something out. Cats can be carriers of toxoplasmosis in their feces, and that can be passed to rabbits and make them very sick.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Toxoplasm/Toxo_rab_en.pdf

 

[Kleb06]

Oh wow that’s certainly scary!!!! He has never had feces in their box, only urine. I’ll definitely make sure to clean the box ASAP

 

[JBun]

If he's only peeing, I would be less concerned about it. You could maybe provide him his own litter box with the pellets and see if that does the trick. But if he's doing it as a territory marking thing, then it might not.

 

[Kleb06]

That’s a relief! Sort of lol. He has his own litter box but I catch him trying or in the process of urinating in the bunnies box. It’s certainly annoying since it usually happens when the bunnies box is fresh

 

[Moonshadow]

Maybe your cat really likes peeing in fresh litter. Our cat always seems to use hers as soon as we clean it.

Thankfully because of the setup in our house, she's never tried to go where our bunny goes. He has an open "home base" dog crate type of setup where we placed his hay, food, and an area to do his business in. Since he's free roam and the door's always open he hop in when he wants to eat or do his business then leaves when he's finished. I think the crate is too enclosed for our cat to want to venture into it. She stuck her nose in a few times but never has gone all the way in.

 

[Kleb06]

Maybe your cat really likes peeing in fresh litter. Our cat always seems to use hers as soon as we clean it.

Thankfully because of the setup in our house, she's never tried to go where our bunny goes. He has an open "home base" dog kennel type of setup where we placed his hay, food, and an area to do his business in. I think the kennel is too enclosed for our cat to want to venture into it.

Thanks for your advice!
He will use it too right after I clean it!
I can figure something out to try and put something on top so it’s low and maybe he will stay out of there. The cat won’t drink his water beside his food but likes to go into the rabbits house and drink there

 

[Moonshadow]

Glad my setup may have given you an idea! I hope it helps, keep us updated~

 

[nicolekline97]

Thanks for your advice!
He will use it too right after I clean it!
I can figure something out to try and put something on top so it’s low and maybe he will stay out of there. The cat won’t drink his water beside his food but likes to go into the rabbits house and drink there

Cats can be very particular with litter and going to the bathroom. Maybe you can get the cat an additional box to go in.

 

[Orrin]

We have a neutered tom cat that is jealous of our rabbits. I've suspected him of using one of our rabbits litter boxes (they have four, scattered through several rooms) and the other day I caught him peeing in it.

I'm not sure what to do about it. His clean cat-only litter box is but three or four steps away.

Either he's jealous or he wants to be a rabbit. He eats their pellets, drinks their water and eats their hay. When I feed them their kale in the evening he won't eat it; but, he lays right down beside it. The buns have to come to the other side of the bowls.

So far there has been no harm that I can tell; but, we keep an eagle-eye on the situation.