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YOU CAN LITTER TRAIN DOMESTIC
RABBITS?
I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!
Debra Olon-West
I have heard this comment from the majority
of people who either do not have a pet rabbit
or have one and keep him or her in their cage
full time. It is possible to litter train your
pet rabbit, but it requires time and patience
on your part.
 Are
rabbits as easily litter trained as cats?
 In
my experience, it really depends on the rabbit.
Some are very easily trained; others are a
challenge and may fight it.
At
what age can you start litter training my bunny?
The
sooner the better. Any rabbit placed with us
is immediately started with litter training,
regardless of age. If you are breeding your
rabbit, the doe will teach her young to do
as she does. I have found that, in general,
older rabbits have been easier to train than
the younger ones.
How
do I start?
Try
these steps:
- Place an appropriately sized litter box
in your rabbit's cage and keep it in there
any time the rabbit is.
- You can put cat litter in the box, but
watch for the ones that are scented or clump,
since these may not be healthy for your rabbit
to use. With the litter that clumps, the
rabbit's urine has a tendency to form an
almost cement consistency on the bottom of
the box that makes it more difficult to clean.
- Start your rabbit with his/her training
outside of the cage a little at a time. I
would suggest that you use a room that is
sectioned off and has a linoleum floor. You
will need a whisk broom and dustpan on hand
to place any droppings in the litter box.
Rabbits have a tendency of doing their business
in the same place, so you will need to know
where in the room and place the litter box
there when he is out of his cage.
- As soon as you let your rabbit out of his
cage, place him in his box. Allow him to
run around for five minutes, and then place
him back in the box. Repeat for the next
ten minutes at five-minute intervals. After
the total time of 15 minutes, put the rabbit
back into the cage. For subsequent outings,
allow the rabbit to have more time out of
the cage, with longer periods between being
placed in the litter box, not to exceed 15
minutes. If he urinates outside of the litter
box, correct him by telling him NO and he
goes back into the cage until the next day.
Any droppings he has left go back into the
litter box for any time he is out of the
cage.
- Encouragement is the key to successfully
litter training your rabbit. Any time, he
voluntarily goes into his litter box; give
him praise and a treat. Some rabbit caretakers
will put treats inside the litter box to
entice them to use it.
- As time progresses and you have bunny proofed
the rest of your home, you can allow him
to roam the house when you feel he is ready.
Are
there times that a usually well-trained rabbit
will mess outside his/her litter box?
Unfortunately,
some rabbits spray, as cats do. Usually it
is the bucks (males) who do this, but does
(females) may spray as well. The bucks may
also leave pungent smelling droppings in the
presence of a doe. Usually, this will be quite
a few droppings right around the doe's cage.
I would suggest separating the couple immediately,
since this situation has a tendency to upset
the doe. Other times that a buck may spray
is because he is establishing his territory
around other pets, such as cats and dogs, even
if he otherwise gets along with them. In this
case, you may wish to keep him separated from
the other animals in the household and have
an area that is strictly HIS space.
With a little time and patience, you will
be able to successfully train your rabbit and
enjoy more time with him or her.
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