rabbit litter training

Question
Hello, I adopted a pair of bunnies about two months ago.  They were pretty much litterbox trained already when I got them (they were 8 months old then, and already fixed).  It took a couple weeks for them to stop marking their cage, but they used the litterbox right away and didn't have any accidents outside the pen.  They've been perfect for about six weeks.  But in the last week, the male rabbit has been peeing on my furniture.  Once he left a mound of droppings too.  So far the only advice I've found online is to be more vigilant about cleaning the box (which I do already every other day) and to make sure I'm not trespassing in the cage too much.  I do reach over the sides of the pen to feed them, but I always coax them in and out of the pen and clean it when they aren't in there.  Do you have any more advice?

Jessica

Answer
That's a toughie...

It does sound like he's marking his territory, which even speutered bunnies will do. I doubt it's related to him feeling threatened by you reaching into the cage; rather, he's trying to stake a claim in the world outside the cage (in his mind it's just in case another bunny comes along while he's locked up in the pen ;-) )

I also don't think that he's reacting to whether or not you clean the litterbox vigilantly. If that were the case, he'd be peeing next to the litterbox or elsewhere in the pen. He's choosing the furniture for a reason.

I think you have a couple options. One is to keep the furniture off limits. Buy an extra exercise pen or simply surround the couch with kitchen stools so that he cannot jump up onto it.

Second is to buy washable puppy pads and lay them on top of the couch, so that if he chooses to pee on them it won't make a mess of your furniture. Something like this:

http://www.assistedliving-store.com/detail.aspx?ID=409

If it were my rabbit, I would probably go with the second solution. It may lead to a little more laundry, but it allows him to follow his natural instincts without stifling or frustrating him. And who knows? You've only had them for a short time so far. He may just need to get this out of his system, and once he really feels settled in, won't feel the need to vigorously establish his domain.

Hope that helps!