Litter Box Training: Tips & Tricks To Be Successful!

[Happy Hollands]

Litter Pan​

It is first very important to find a litter pan that your rabbit will be comfortable using. There are numerous different types of litter pans available which can make it overwhelming to choose, so I recommend the following ones which are tried and true:
#1: IKEA Cat Litter Box - $6
#2: Petmate Litter Pan - $9
#3: PetFusion Litter Box - $40
Triangle litter pans are simply not big enough and many rabbits will refuse to use these!

Litter​

Like litter pans, there are many different types of litter on the market. If your rabbit is a digger, I recommend covering his or her litter pan with a grate. This also prevents them from consuming their litter by accident, and stepping in their waste - this will keep their feet very clean!
I've used a majority of the different types of litter available, and narrowed it down to my top two. Based on personal preference, opt for a shredded paper or pelleted form litter. CareFresh and Yesterday's News are both great for absorbing urine and masking smell!

Limiting Area​

If you have a stubborn bunny, it may be best to limit their living space until they are fully litter box trained. You can use a dog exercise pen to do so, and once they get the hang of how to use the litter pan, you can expand their living area again! Anytime they start to have accidents, retract their space and repeat the process above.
Keep in mind that your bunny may be hormonal which is causing accidents. Neutering almost always fixes this problem, and makes for a much happier rabbit overall!

Other Tips & Tricks​

1. Use apple cider vinegar to clean up pee accidents. This not only prevents stains on the floor, but it eliminates odor and can even prevent them from peeing in that area again! This also works on old pee stains, so go ahead and try it for yourself!
2. For any bunny, even ones who are already litter box trained, make sure their hay is near or over their potty corner. Rabbits tend to eat where they go to the bathroom, so this prevents confusion and can even fine tune their litter box training skills.
3. If your rabbit is stubborn about using one corner in particular to go to the bathroom, it may be best to give in and move their pan to that potty corner. Believe me, this will save you a lot of time and energy in the long run.
4. Trying to train your rabbit unsuccessfully? Rabbits normally lift their tail before going to the bathroom, so if you are watchful you can even try to interfere and move them to their pan in hopes of directing them where to go to the bathroom.
5. If your bunny is free roam or has a large living area then it may be best to have 2+ litter pans to always be accessable and prevent accidents.
6. Use the paper towel used to clean up past pee accidents and put in the litter pan. The same can be done with scattered poops to get the hint across!
7. Everytime you witness them going to the bathroom in their box, praise them and give rewards / treats to encourage this behavior! It depends on the individual rabbit, but some pick up litter box training immediately, while others take time.

Do you have other tips and tricks that you find helpful? Please share!

 

[Blue eyes]

I prefer wood pellets over any other litter for both cost and odor absorbency. My 2nd choice would be Yesterday's News pelleted litter (they have a newer line that is not pelleted).

Plain white vinegar will work to clean up urine (doesn't need to be apple cider vinegar).

 

[Happy Hollands]

I prefer wood pellets over any other litter for both cost and odor absorbency. My 2nd choice would be Yesterday's News pelleted litter (they have a newer line that is not pelleted).

Plain white vinegar will work to clean up urine (doesn't need to be apple cider vinegar).

Yes, any type of vinegar works! However, I find rabbits prefer the smell of apple cider vinegar over any other type of vinegar.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

I also suggest wood pellets, they are way cheaper and better for odor control. The bag of wood pellets I get is 50lbs for $6, where the link to Yesterday's News litter that you sent is $20 for a 30lb bag.
I also suggest using a plastic storage tote for a litter box. This is the one I have for Theo and it is huge and super cheap.

Another tip is:
If your rabbit has just moved in or you have just moved its playpen to another room, it might poop and pee around its playpen. It is just marking its territory. Clean up the pee with a paper towel, but leave the poops for 24 hours. It will leave the rabbit's scent and your rabbit won't mark its territory in that spot again.

 

[Happy Hollands]

If your rabbit has just moved in or you have just moved its playpen to another room, it might poop and pee around its playpen. It is just marking its territory. Clean up the pee with a paper towel, but leave the poops for 24 hours. It will leave the rabbit's scent and your rabbit won't mark its territory in that spot again.

Yes exactly, I totally forgot to mention that! You can tell what type of poops they are by the smell - territorial ones have an onion-like smell.

 

[Hoolia]

My best tip for litter training is to move their food bowl into a corner of the litter box (or on a platform between the box and the wall) so they have to get into their litter box to eat. This has worked like a charm for every one of my rabbits over the years!

 

[Happy Hollands]

My best tip for litter training is to move their food bowl into a corner of the litter box (or on a platform between the box and the wall) so they have to get into their litter box to eat. This has worked like a charm for every one of my rabbits over the years!

What a great idea! I'm going to try this with one of my newer additions, to see if this helps.

 

[Happy Hollands]

I have recently switched to Tractor Supply wood bedding pellets from Yesterday's News pelleted litter, and I think they are great! In my opinion, they do a better job at absorbing urine and odor than any other pelleted litter brand I've tried. They are way more cost effective and I don't feel the need to use puppy pee pads with them, which cuts down on expenses even further. Thank you @Mariam+Theo for the awesome suggestion!

 

[Penelope01]

I put hay inside the litter box and attach a hay rack behind my litter box and my bunny has to get in the litter box to get the hay, She had a couple accidents but if she peed I soaked it up with a paper towel and put it right in the litterbox so she would smell the scent and every time I saw an occasional poo I would just scoop it up and also stick it in the litterbox . I use feline pine and lots of hay inside the litterbox, but also do agree wood pellets work as well and a bit cheaper will be trying those when I run out of the feline. Just make sure if you do use feline pine it’s the (original) do not use clumping litter.

 

[CamelNewt528962]

I currently have something like this:

I have to use "Critter Litter".
She still does not use it

 

[Blue eyes]

I currently have something like this:
View attachment 53110
I have to use "Critter Litter".
She still does not use it

Unfortunately those litter pans are not ideal. They are always too small (though may seem large enough when your bunny is still so young). Having a large enough box makes training much easier. In your case, though, with that small cage, you may need to make further adjustments since the cage may not hold a large enough box.

Skip the Critter Litter -- it costs a fortune compared to wood pellets. Pellets (not shavings) cost about $5 for a 40 pound bag!! Just top it with hay.



If you also have loose bedding on the floor of your cage, that would also confuse bunny as to where to potty:


Here is how a member on our forum made better use of her small cage: