My rabbit just won't stay out of the cats litterbox!

[Runestonez]

I have a rabbit, Peppers, that likes to chaseand bite my 5 cats. We think it is jealousy. She isa three pound bundle of terror as far as the cats areconcerned. She hops into a room and every cat in sight getsgone!:?

Lately she has developed a bad habit of going downstairs into thebasement...(the last safe haven for the cats)...and sitting in/usingtheir litterbox! :shock:

I am trying to decide if it is her being a little brat and trying totake over cat territory...or if she really just likes theirlitterbox. I don't think she digs or anything...she just sitsthere. With 5 cats you can see how this might cause a problemsince we only have 1 litterbox!:shock: Also it is clumpinglitter so it def off limits to the bunns...that is why it is in thebasement! I can't block off the stairs because the bunn canjump just as high as the cats (further since our one cat is 20 lbs andthe other doesn't jump!) I am going to go grey at this rate!Reverse psychology worked like a charm before...we would keep shushingher downstairs like we wanted her to go there and she got mad anddecided not to go down. Apparently she figured out our plancause now she just thumps and hops downstairs into the litter!

Any ideas? I need some fresh insight on this.Usually when it comes to behavioral stuff I've got it down...the bitingthe cats and the litterbox thing is making me crazy. They arethe last two really bad habits that I can't seem to conquor.I tried changing the cats litter...buT then they stop using thebox!! Eegads this killing me!!!:banghead

 

[Bramble Briar86]

Maybe you could put the litterbox higher up, with a series of high steps to jump so she gets discouraged?

I know you posted this a while ago, have you found a solution?

Ellie and the Buns :bunnydance:

 

[Pipp]

Sorry that nobody responded to this at the time!

I've got the same problem, just different configurations and also in reverse.

I suspect that with your bunny, it's a territorial thing.

Pipp, my dwarf, beats up the cats (badly), she'd 'mark' a circle around them defining her territory (which is everywhere else), and she'd stand guard and/or mark thelitter box as well. It was definitely jealousy, if I went to pet a cat, it meant an instant rabbit attack.

She's quite happily living in my bedroom now. She used to have full run of the house, and I thought she'd hate being confined to one room, but she's very happy there. Even with two new bunnies running around just on the other side ofthe baby gate, after the initial week or so of 'security checks' and a bit of indignation, she's far more secure with a smaller area. I realized that when she was outside my room, she'd always be hopping from room to room or sitting 'on guard', and she'd get quite exhausted. And there's a better bond between us now.

The two new bunnies don't attack the cats, and they are all happily living together.

But one of the new bunnies is a litter hog. He loves the cat's litter boxes. He uses them -- not sure if he's marking territory or if he just likes their litter box, but he's normally got good litter habits -- and he'll dig in it and send litter flying everywhere. I put a plastic guard on it which helps a bit.

My cats, unfortunately, have adopted the 'don't get mad, get even' philosophy and are now dropping big goopy poops in the rabbit's box. :shock:

I'vepositioned some NIC cubes over the box. They stand high enough not to deter the rabbits, but low enough to make it uncomfortable for the cats.

None of my bunnies do stairs (thank you Lord), but I have been thinking of trying to install a cat door in a baby gate so I can still climb over, the cats can go through it, but hopefully my much lighter bunnies won't be inclined to push it open.

Love to know if you've come up with any ideas!



sas and the gang :bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance::bunnydance:

 

[Runestonez]

No...no solutions yet. I tried raising the box to make it a little more difficult for Peppy...not as convenient. Our two non-jumpers (cats)went on strike! What makes it even more frustrating is that the bunn poops fall thru the scoop holes!! :? So you can't clean the litter properly!

Peppy is a little monkey. She climbs and jumps like a pro. There are very few things we can keep her out of. She is just very jealous! Yesterday I picked up Solembum to pet him and as soon as his feet hit the ground Peppy was after him nipping his butt! She is the submissive bunn too!! But she rules the house with an iron fist!!

This one has me stumped. I am just going to keep trying different things till one sticks! I hope!