Toilet trained bunny soiling furniture

[Kylz69]

Hi can anyone offer any advice.
My lop ear bunny was an abandoned (or lost?) bunny that was regimes to me by a vet.
We don't know his age but he is a very sweet rabbit, who has run of the entire yard in day, and inside at night.
He was toilet trained and an absolute angel, but on now 3 occasions he has peed on the couch.
When inside he has run of the house and sits on the couch with us. On every soiling occasion whoever is home has left the room (not the house) even though this is a several times a night occurance that doesn't appear to bother him usually.
He does have e cuniculi.
After the soiling he goes back to the toilet training for lengths of time.
Both my husband and I work away though so wondering if that could be why? In other words he has different minders.
He is a very much loved member of our family, and is treated wonderfully by all his carers, he is not scared or even anxious as we catch him free in the yard and the house.
Could it be a separation anxiety thing?

 

[PaGal]

I have heard many people bring up this issue. Usually it is just blamed on bunnies liking to pee on soft items, usually the furniture in question is a bed or couch. You may just simply need to keep him off of the couch.

I would however, keep an eye on him. Sometimes a change in litter habits could be linked to an ailment such as a UTI.

 

[Sialia]

I think, like PaGal said, some bunnies just really can't resist peeing on a soft cushy surface. He could also be marking it as his territory since it will have lots of smells on it.

Our bunny, Sebastian, isn't allowed on the couch anymore because he can't seem to help himself. He also pees on the dog's bed (which definitely seems to be territory marking). Otherwise he's very good with his litter box habits.

I read a suggestion somewhere that you can try putting puppy training pads on the couch but that wouldn't really teach your bunny not to pee there. It would help with clean-up, though.

Also, like PaGal said, keep an eye out for a UTI, just in case.

 

[pani]

Felix is really good with his litter box, but will occasionally go potty on one of the blankets we have on our couch. They do seem to like those soft surfaces!

Whenever he does, I soak up the urine with a paper towel and pop it in his litter box, just to remind him of the appropriate place to potty (I do have to place it underneath his litter, otherwise he sometimes tries to eat it... :confused2. I also clean up the area with vinegar, to deter him from pottying there again.

 

[Kylz69]

Thanks for all suggestions, he has apparently done it 3 nights this week, and appears to be in protest. I'm on a long rotation this time and my hubby is doing the bunny sitting and my bunny is being quite naughty. I'm home with him tues and I bet he will be a complete angel. 2 weeks must be ages in bunny time.

 

[Sophie's Humble Servant]

If there is any smell of pee left after it's cleaned up, they will likely continue to pee there because now it smells like their urine. Vinegar and/or enzymatic cleaning solution will remove all smell. So he might not be protesting, he might just be making it his litter box.

 

[aozora]

I can attest to the whole liking to pee on soft surfaces theory-- Mocha has perfect litter habits when it comes to peeing, but when I'm not careful about keeping an eye on him while he's running around on my bed, he never fails to pick a spot against the wall and pee on my comforter. Every time he does that I spray it liberally with vinegar or deodorizer and then pop it in the wash, so it shouldn't smell like his urine. I honestly just think he considered it a second litter box since it feels so nice and there's a convenient wall next to him to scoot his little butt up against. *sigh*

EDIT: I almost forgot to mention-- he JUST peed on my comforter again not even 15 minutes ago!!

 

[Kylz69]

It's a new suede couch so I don't want to vinegar it. I do have a plastic sheet I will pop on it when I'm there too see if I can break the habit. He loves the couch so I don't want to ban him from it.

 

[Sialia]

^^^Awww, what a sweetheart he is!