Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Rabbits > rabbit peeing and pooping on bed!!

rabbit peeing and pooping on bed!!

22 10:27:50

Question
Mr. Lee Meyer,
 I've written you before with my rabbit problems and you've always been helpful so again, I need your advice. My rabbit is a Holland lop dwarf maybe three years old (from humane society so not sure), neutered, house rabbit (literally runs around my apartment at all times and has a litter box in the bathroom).  Now to the problem.  About two weeks ago he started pooping on my bed when he got on it.  It seemed strange but I picked it up and threw it out and got over it.  Then he pooped AND peed in my bed!  HUGE ordeal to clean up, figured it was just a fluke, nope, it kept happening.  I spent hours cleaning mattresses, doing laundry, etc. I started picking Peanut up and taking him off the bed whenever he would get on.  So I would come home to work to a urine soaked mattress covered in pee.  Meanwhile, he's still using his litter box and isn't peeing anywhere else (so I don't think it's a bladder infection)EXCEPT twice I closed the bedroom door so he couldn't go in at all and he peeing in spots that have been hot spots in the past in the bathroom.  Bedroom door open, back to peeing and pooping on the bed.  I feel terrible about closing the bedroom door because that's kind of "his room" and it seems to stress him out. I didn't want to compromise his immune system with stress.  All of his stuff is in there, that's where he sleeps during the day, and he looked absolutely miserable the day and the night I kept the door to the bedroom closed.  So instead, I got a plastic tarp/plastic piece and placed it over my bed.  I thought it may not be comfy for him and/or that it would smell unexciting and make him not want to pee/poop (and obviously would save my poor bed).  Well, he goes right ahead on pees and poops on the plastic.  I'm beside myself because I can't live life with plastic on my bed forever trying to usher Peanut off the bed whenever he gets on plus I don't want to sleep under plastic and I feel just awful closing the bedroom door.  Why has this habit happened?  What does it mean?  And How can I get it to stop?  I did get a new job almost a month a ago (you always say things are because something has changed). I am not home as much but there's not much I can do about that and I've tried to give him as much attention as possible when I am home.  He didn't start this until two weeks after the job started either.  Otherwise everything has been the same. No new people, sheets, nothing.  Please help!!
Thanks,
becka

Answer
Hi Becka,

well, the bottom line is, he's doing it for some reason.  They all do what they do for a reason.

Either marking his turf, overmarking a scent, claiming something as his.

I am wondering if he does it after you've slept in the sheets.  If you put clean sheets on and don't sleep in them, will he do the same thing?  I am wondering if he's triggering on your pheromones, even being neutered.  In the spring/summer fixed rabbits' hormone levels still can elevate.  They often urinate on their mates to mark them as theirs.

The other question is that there are no other animals or smells that are in the sheets?  This can cause rabbits to overmark those other scents.

The only thing you can really do if you are going to keep the door open is to put a towel down (doubled up) and then place a litterbox in the middle of the half-towel.  He may decide marking in the litterpan is just as good as the bed itself.  Washing towels are a lot better than a bedspread.

Other than that, if there's a way to prevent him from getting on top of the bed (sounds like he can get up there pretty easy, though.  You may need to get an exercise gate and gate off the bed.

The only other thing perhaps is he's acting out being left by you.  You could always try spending more quality time interacting with him and see if the behavior starts to correct.  I'd still put the pan and towel out while trying to up your interaction time together.

Let me know how it is going, write back along the way.  Lee