BUNNY BARRLY USING HIS LITTER BOX

Question
We got this lop ear bunny he is 5yrs old everything was good for about 8 months he was using his litter box, now all of the sudden when we let him out he pees on the floor. He has taken a real fancy for a female cat of ours and she likes him too. I don't think this would have anything to do with his bathroom problem, but you never know. We also would give him a few honeynut cheerios as a treat. he loves them. his poo has changed so we stopped the cheerios. now he isn't happy about that. We have a large cage in our basement and I like to bring him upstairs so he can roam around and look outside. Hope you can help.  Laura

Answer
Hi Laura,

has he been neutered, ever?  If not the hormones are making him mark territory and the female cat's looking attractive and affecting that.  He may also be overmarking her scents.

If he has been neutered sometimes in the fall and spring what little hormones they have left rise a bit and they do behavior they don't normally do for awhile.

Other things are that if he's been put into new areas he hasn't been in before he may be marking territory for the first time.  If there's a place he goes regularly, just put a litterpan there for him and he will probably use it.

As far as the cheerios go, regular cherrios, 2-3 a day, would be okay.  I wouldn't give the ones that are sweeter.  The regular ones are risky enough.  Too much sweets can cause bad gut bacteria to grow into a problem.

I would definitely try to get him up in your living area, as rabbits are social creatures and like being around people.  He doesn't have to be out all the time, and you don't have to give him the entire house to play in.  You can increase the space over time if you want to.  Towels, rugs, and litterpans (1 or two usually in different areas) will be the things you need.  And if he hasn't been neutered, you might want to find a good rabbit vet (not all are) and get him neutered, as this will cut his sexual frustration and make his litter habits generall a lot better.