Believe it or not, rabbits can be trained to use a litter box, just like a cat!
Before you begin housetraining your rabbit:
Is your rabbit spayed or neutered? Rabbits who are fixed tend to have much less of an issue with spraying urine around the house than intact rabbits do. Intact rabbits are more difficult to housetrain.
If not, talk to a vet with rabbit experience about having your rabbit spayed or neutered.
What you’ll need to housetrain your rabbit:
- Litter pans (cat ones work well – but no lids!)
- Litter (such as kiln-dried pine or recycled paper pellets)
- Tons of hay (Timothy hay is a good choice)
How to housetrain your rabbit:
- Fill the bottom of the litter box with a layer of pellets – about an inch deep. Add a thick layer of hay on top. The hay actually makes the litter box more attractive to your rabbit to use. Rabbits will naturally want to munch on the hay while going to the bathroom.
Place the litter box in a corner of your rabbit’s cage. Larger cages and cages with multiple levels will need more than one box. If your rabbit is already peeing in one corner of her cage, put the box there. If she starts to pee in another corner, you might have to move the box there or put an additional box in that spot.- Keep your rabbit in her cage until she’s using her litter box reliably. She can have more space to roam once you’re satisfied that she’s using it consistently.
- When she’s ready, let your rabbit have time out of her cage. Put a litter box out in her free-run space too. Use the same method with this space as you did with her cage: start small, only giving her more room once she’s going to the bathroom in her litter boxes reliably.
A note about poop: Some rabbits will continue to poop outside their litter boxes – this can be a territorial behaviour. You can always pick up the poops and place them in the litter box, but the behaviour might never go away completely.
Give your rabbit fresh hay in her litter boxes every day. Clean the boxes at least every other day using a bunny-safe cleaner such as white vinegar.
More resources:
- 12 Things to know before adopting a rabbit.
- What spay/neuter is important for rabbits.
- For even more tips and tricks for housetraining your rabbit, visit the House Rabbit Society.
- Check out our rabbit care guide.