Image Courtesy Candice Raio, NY
Litter boxes should be big enough for rabbits to lie down in.
A rabbit naturally prefers a certain spot to relieve itself. Rabbits are also very clean animals and do not like a dirty area. You can get your rabbit to cooperate in terms of its toiletry habits by pointing it in the right direction, so to speak. First things first, though. For the best results, spay or neuter your rabbit. This will greatly reduce your rabbit’s tendency to mark its territory, which is typically done by spraying urine and/or dropping fecal pellets.
Get a large litter box, big enough for your rabbit to lie in. (Or try a couple of litter boxes for more coverage.) Line it with a rabbit-safe litter, and pile a good-quality grass hay on top of the litter. Rabbits like to graze and poop at the same time, so by putting hay in the litter box, you are not directing your rabbit where to go potty, you are also encouraging it to eat more hay, which helps keep its digestive system running smoothly.
Pile up the hay in the morning and again in the evening. (Hay, by the way, is the only food item your rabbit should be given unlimited quantities of.) If you find you rabbit is pooping outside the litter box, pick up the fecal pellets and put them in the litter box.
Treat the litter box like you do your own bathroom. Rabbits love to hop into a freshly changed litter box to break it in. Clean your litter box with white vinegar once a week to keep it free of built-up urine, which can act as a corrosive agent and make future cleanings more difficult. Depending on how many rabbits use the litter box, it should be changed everyday or at least every other day.
Rabbit Litter Box Dos
- Do have a large litter box
- Do use rabbit-safe litter
- Do keep hay piled on top of the litter
- Do keep the litter box clean
Rabbit Litter Box Don’ts
- Do not use cat litter
- Do not use small or corner litter boxes as the only boxes
- not use unsafe cleaning agents
- Do not use a cage as a litter box
Hay To Make Rabbits Stay
Add plenty of hay to your rabbit’s litter box to entice it to stay in the box. Rabbits typically graze and poop simultaneously so this helps ensure that the droppings go just where you want them, and it lets the rabbit know that the litter box is good place to “make a deposit.”
Rabbit Litter Training Notes
Note 1: A litter box with a low front makes hopping in and out easier for an older rabbit.
Note 2: Rabbits love hopping into a recently changed box, they want tobe first to mark it with droppings!
Note 3: Your rabbit might spend hours lounging in its litter box, or it might hop in, deposit its droppings and immediately exit.