Pooping but not peeimg in litter box?

[lauren8165]

My bunny is litter box trained, but for the last 4-5 days, he has peed just right outside of his litter box. He poops in there, but for whatever reason, won't pee in there. I clean his litter box about 3 times a day and he has hay in there at all times. Does anyone know why he could be doing this all of a sudden? He literally pees on the floor directly in front of the litter box and I have resorted to laying down a trash bag where he is peeing now. I have also shooed him and told him no when I have caught him in the act, about to pee, but he still keeps doing it. Any ideas?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Spike used to hop in his pan and hike up his tail and pee--half the time his back end was outside even though most of him was in the box. I took a cardboard Box--the kind with a top and bottom half and put his pan inside with a small hole cut in one side for ingress with a higher lip. It solved my problem and he was a very fastidious bunny and only would use his pan. Just not much of a marksman.

 

[lauren8165]

This isn't him missing, bc I have caught him in the act quite a few times. He will poop, then hop out and go the the spot outside the litter box and go potty there. I am beginning to think he's starting to feel like the box is too small and he feels trapped when going potty. It is a spare litter box that I added so he could have a box in both rooms he spends alot of time in. The other one (his main one) is a container tub, that is a bit bigger. I guess I will have to get a bigger one and see if it fixes the problem. It's just weird bc he's used it with no problems before. I know bunnies can be finicky like that though. 😊

 

[Blue eyes]

Larger boxes are always better. You want them to feel comfortable in there. Also, it could be you are cleaning it too often. If it is cleaned out so often, he'll never smell the pee. They like to potty where they can smell their own pee -- it is their space/spot. By overcleaning, he could be getting the message that he is not supposed to go there.

With a larger box, it won't get smelly so quickly (but he'll still be able to smell it). Three times a day of cleaning is overkill (but may be needed with a too-small box). With a roomy box, it can last longer, and hopefully he'll go back to consistency.

 

[samoth]

He literally pees on the floor directly in front of the litter box

Ha, my Dutch does this as well. It goes in phases. I haven't figured out why yet, though she wasn't spayed or litter box trained until 3 years of age.

I have also shooed him and told him no when I have caught him in the act, about to pee, but he still keeps doing it. Any ideas?

I tried something similar (using a "LITTERBOX!" command and shoing her in there), but it just created a negative association with using the litterbox.

I switched over to positive reinforcement (using established positive phrases with the previously negative phrase in the middle, "GOOD GIRL LITTERBOX TREAT TREAT!" then awarding a treat once the positive behavior was achieved). I have found this works great, and she goes into one of the litterboxes on command now if I catch her in the act She's not perfect, but it has helped immensely.

My setup consists of two large, high-sides cat litter boxes in addition to a smaller low-sided one in a hutch a few feet away. She seems to like the variety, and sometimes looks at one, thinks for a few seconds, then hops over to use a different one. Maybe your bun doesn't like the box, box size, or its location... or maybe he wants a choice of bathrooms

 

[lauren8165]

I think you are right about the phases. There has been two occasions where I thought he wasn't doing it anymore, because he hadn't peed on the carpet for about a week stretch. Then, as soon as I thought we were out of the woods, he goes and does it again! Little stinker! I am going to change out the box that I am having the problem with. It is smaller than the other one.

I will definitely have to try the positive reinforcement. I think he could do well with that, because he LOVES his treats!