When you decrease his freedom and increase litter boxes, you are increasing his chances he will make it to the litter box. Keep two or more litter boxes outside the cage and one inside the cage.
As his habits improve, you can decrease a litter box or two. If you have more than one rabbit, you may see less control and more marking. If slip-ups begin, start shorter periods of freedom and more litter boxes. Keep litter boxes clean. Rabbits are very clean creatures. A smelly, soiled litter box could cause your rabbit to choose another place to do his business, sometimes just outside the box. Depending on the number of rabbits and litter boxes, clean litter boxes at least every other day.
Once a week is NOT enough! Spritz litter pans with white vinegar to clean and deodorize. Let pans soak if there is urine build-up and then rinse clean. Do not use chemicals. If your rabbit marks in an area, blot up the urine and dab on white vinegar or a commercial enzyme deodorizer to neutralize the odor. Do not leave the smell or he may be encouraged to revisit. Hydrogen peroxide also works well for this and will not harm the color in the your carpet or furniture fabrics.
Try a different litter. The House Rabbit Society suggests one of the many organic paper litters available. Sometimes the strong scent of litter will keep bunny out of the box. Avoid pine and cedar shavings and clay cat litters.
Also, try a good amount of fresh hay in the box. This will usually entice your rabbit to get into the box. You can also put a few of his droppings in the box. Be consistent. Get your rabbit into a daily routine and try not to vary it. Rabbits are very habitual and once a routine is established, they usually prefer to stick with it. Routines make learning easier. Adapt to the stubborn bunny. If your rabbit is continually going in an opposite corner from his box, put his box in the area he has chosen, even if it means rearranging his cage or moving a table in the living room.
He has already decided where he wants his box and it is much easier to oblige than to try to work against a determined bunny! Not sure how to put together a bunny-friendly litter box? Learn what to use, and how to put it all together to ensure your bunny's successful litter training, by visiting our "litter box setup" page.
Learn the basics, below, and help your bunny on his way to successful litter box training. Plastic Cat Pan Basic plastic cat litter pans work best for bunny's litter box. They come in sizes small, medium, large, and giant, and can be found at stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Kmart, for a nominal price.
We recommend sticking to the medium, large, or giant litter pans for most bunnies, unless your bunny is very tiny. However, you can't go wrong with a larger litter box that your bunny can grow into.
Choosing the size of pan to buy, will depend on the size of your bunny. Medium cat pan, for small bunnies under 4 pounds. Large cat pan, for medium bunnies under 10 pounds. Giant cat pan, for large bunnies over 10 pounds, or bonded pairs. If you have a pair of bunnies sharing the same litter box, you'll want to get one very large box, or give the bunnies multiple boxes to keep them well supplied with hay and fresh litter.
Setting-up the Litter Box We recommend using CareFresh and fresh hay to prepare your bunny's litter box. CareFresh is a bunny-safe pet bedding that does not contain any pine or cedar products, and is also environmentally friendly. Fresh hay in the box entices bunny to jump in and do his "business. Next, add a BIG handful of hay. Here, we've spread some grass hay over the CareFresh, then added a nice bunch of oat hay at the "kitchen" end of the box, giving bunny a combination of oat and grass hay to nibble.
About 12 hours later, here's a well-used box. You can see that bunny has created a "bathroom" end and a "kitchen" end the end with remaining clean hay. Keep a Fresh Box Change bunny's box frequently, to ensure a clean, fresh box. This will prevent bunny from heading to cleaner places to eliminate.
If your bunny does not soil his box completely within a hour period, simply add another large handful of hay to the "kitchen" end, to replenish his supply. But never go for more than two days before giving bunny a fresh litter box.
Once dirty, dump the entire contents of the box into your "yard waste" container or regular trash, to dispose. Rabbits are very prolific poopers!
Many rabbits will use droppings to mark territory. This habit is significantly reduced or eliminated with spaying and neutering, but is more likely to be a problem if there are other bunnies around.
Some rabbits who are perfect with their litterbox will start leaving droppings when their environment changes or they are stressed — did you move the furniture? Move bunny to a new cage, room, or house? Rearrange her cage contents? Take her to the vet? She might grunt or lunge at you for invading her space! View this great PDF illustrating a good litterbox setup with the right materials.
When choosing a cage and litterbox, make sure the box will fit through the door of the cage! If your cage floor area is too small for a litterbox, your cage is too small for your rabbit. A box with higher sides will keep litter, hay, and waste in better. As rabbits jump in and out of the litterbox, they can scatter droppings and litter.
This might also happen as litter absorbs and swells and fills the litterbox more; the rabbit will be up higher when on dirty litter and might go over the edge. Cat litterboxes in the larger sizes usually serve well for rabbits; litterboxes designed for rabbits are usually fine for smaller breeds but are rather small for medium and large bunnies. A perfect intermediate option between based and wood litter, the Oxbow Eco-Straw is perhaps the most unique rabbit litter available today.
Its compact pellets are made from wheat straw, rendering them completely safe for rabbit consumption and highly absorbent — a rare combination in any litter.
In fact, the pelleted wheat straw in Oxbow Eco-Straw might be the most absorbent litter option that is also safe for rabbits. Twice as absorbent as paper based litter, a little bit will go a long way in their litter box. While it may not have the brand recognition of other litters, the fast-absorbing paper pellets of So Phresh really impressed us with their odor trapping abilities.
However, these excellent features can come at a steep cost — especially if you care for multiple rabbits. For the best of both worlds, consider purchasing a bag to mix in with a more bargain-priced paper litter. Pros Sustainably grown and harvested Completely biodegradable Great absorption capacity Cons Very expensive 6. In our experience, this clay litter will clump up far too often when used for rabbits — making it an absolute mess to clean up.
Do yourself a favor and stick with one of the other litters in our review. Of all the litters in our reviews, it stands out as having the best combination of utility and value.
For anyone looking to purchase a more economical rabbit litter, the Fresh News Paper Small Animal Litter is easily the best value-priced rabbit litter. May a clean and comfortable litter box be just the start of many happy and healthy years to come for your rabbit! We truly hope that this guide helps you find the best litter and litter box for your rabbit.
Good luck! She has a strong love for all animals of all shapes and sizes and particularly loves a good interspecies friendship and wants to share her animal knowledge and other experts' knowledge with pet lovers across the globe. Skip to content.
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