The most important thing to remember is that your rabbit is very unlikely to retain reliable litterbox habits upon reaching sexual maturity unless she is spayed/he is neutered. Sex hormones give a rabbit an uncontrollable desire to mark the territory with urine and specially scented fecal pellets. Spay/neuter will eliminate/greatly reduce this drive, as well as eliminate the risk of uterine/ovarian cancer and unwanted pregnancy in females. And let's not forget the huge relief from endless sexual frustration that spayed/neutered animals enjoy.
To train your rabbit to use a litterbox in a selected area, choose a litterbox that is the right size for the bunny. Don't force a tiny dwarf rabbit to leap into an enormous, high-sided box designed for a gigantic cat--and don't make your French Lop squeeze his big frame into a toaster-sized toilet. The litterbox should be comfortable, and located in a quiet, private place.
Be sure to use ORGANIC litter in the box. Clay litters--especially clumping litters--are inexpensive, but very unhealthy for two reasons. First, the inhaled clay dust can cause respiratory problems. Second, when ingested as dust licked off paws or as a crunchy treat straight from the box (yes, some of them do it!), the highly dehydrated clay litter absorbs vital fluids from the intestine itself and can cause serious impactions and intestinal slowdowns. Clay litter is bad.
Organic litters include those made from recycled paper products (e.g. Carefresh, Nature Fresh), pelleted wood sawdust (e.g. Feline Pine, Aspen pellets) or other pelleted organic products. We strongly advise against the use of CatWorks organic litter, however. This particular brand of litter contains a binder with a very high zinc content. We know of at least one confirmed death due to zinc poisoning in a bunny who ingested CatWorks. Do NOT use cedar or pine shavings (even those cute, dyed green ones that supposedly contain active chlorophyll--which they don't), as these produce potent aromatic compounds which cause liver damage when inhaled!
Now that you have set up a safe, comfortable box, put it in an area where the bunny can be comfortably confined for a few days, except for brief excursions for run and play. You can place the box inside the indoor hutch, tuck it behind the john in the bathroom, or place it in a corner of the laundry room: whatever is convenient as well as attractive to the bunny.
Use a baby gate to enclose the bunny in the selected room with his litterbox, and be sure to provide plenty of toys, food, water and comfortable places to sleep. This will be bunny's home base and should be as inviting as you can make it. It may take a few days for the bunny to reliably use the box, as he may mark the area thoroughly as he settles in. It may help to soak or sweep up "accidents" (they're not accidents) with a bit of tissue and put the tissue in the box. He'll get the idea! Like cats, most rabbits prefer to do their biz in a nice, absorbent spot such as a clean litterbox.
It often helps to put a handful of timothy hay in a clean corner of the litterbox to encourage use of the box. A rabbit will often sit in the box, happily munching at one end, while the processed product comes out the other end. This may seem a bit disgusting to a human, but rabbits don't consider their feces to be dirty. Some rabbits will even nap in the litterbox! As long as the litterbox is changed regularly, this should pose no problem: rabbit fecal pellets are hard, dry and relatively odorless. In fact, rabbit litterbox leavings are just about the best natural, organic fertilizer you can get for your garden! Grow an herb garden, fertilize with bunny's litterbox leftovers (including the organic litter) and enjoy the ultimate in recycling!
Once your bunny is reliable about using the litterbox in his area, you can gradually increase his freedom. Be sure that he can always get back to his litterbox when he's free in the house. There's a possibility that he may pick a second area in the house as a toilet corner. If the behavior continues, even after squirt bottle and white vinegar, you may have to raise the white flag and provide another litterbox or two. But bunny's litterbox doesn't smell if it's changed regularly. Good luck!
For more information, and for referral to a veterinarian who is an expert in rabbit medicine, you may call or e-mail one of Rabbit Rescue volunteers or visit the home page of the House Rabbit Society. A link to veterinary referrals in all 50 states, Canada and Europe is listed on the first page. Please DO NOT allow a vet--however wonderful s/he is with dogs and cats--to treat your rabbit if s/he is not well-versed in the specifics of rabbit medicine. It could be fatal to your rabbit!
The House Rabbit Handbook by Marinell Harriman is an excellent source of information on rabbit care. It is available for less than $10 at most major bookstores. If your bookstore does not carry it, please ask them to order it for you: ISBN 0-940920-12-3.
If you're online, you may wish to join EtherBun, a free listserve devoted to the health, care, behavior and biology of companion rabbits. For more information on EtherBun, visit http://fig.cox.miami.edu/Faculty/Dana/ether.html.
by Dana Krempels, Ph.D.
