Bunny with no feet: suddenly not using the litter box

Question
Hello,  I rescued a male 1/2 lion head, 1/2 lop bunny.  He's less then a year.  He is kept indoors.  He was litter box trained from the day we took him in, which has been six months now.  Suddenly he is not using the litter box in his cage.

We have not changed anything in our or his life.  The cleaners are the same, litter the same and all is very routine in his life.  His personality is the same as well.  He is eating and drinking well.

A bit about him, he does not have any feet.  He does probably more laying down than most but it does not prohibit him from getting around seemingly comfortable.  We keep a close eye on his limbs for any redness, swelling and we touch them to see if they seem painful at all.  So far, he's done remarkable considering he has no feet.

Do you have any suggestions of how I can get him to use the litter box again?

Thank you in advance for your time!

Melissa

Answer
Dear Melissa,

A bunny with no feet could have unusual problems with his joints, since his gait will be abnormal, and he might not be comfortable enough to jump into his box.  A few suggestions:

1.  Get him to a good rabbit vet for radiographs to be sure there are no skeletal problems contributing to his inability to hop into the box.

2.  Cut down the side(s) of a litterbox so that he can *walk* in instead of having to jump.

3.  Be sure his footless legs have plenty of padding on the walking surfaces.  He may be young, but having no feet will eventually take a toll.  We all need padding to walk on to prevent skeletal pain.

4.  Ask the vet to check for any urinary tract abnormalities, such as urinary tract infection, sludge or stones.  These can cause pain and an unwillingness to use the litterbox.

You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope s/he will be able to find the source of the problem and prescribe appropriate treatment so your bunny is good as new soon!

Blessings on you for taking care of a little Special Needs Guy like this!  :)

Dana