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 recycled paper pellets or wood pellets)
- Tons of hay (Timothy hay and/or Orchard hay)
How to housetrain your rabbit:
- Fill the bottom of the litter box with a layer of bedding (recycling paper pellets are great) – about an 2-3 inches deep. Add a thick layer of hay at one end or in a hay feeder close enough to the tray so they can munch while in the box. 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 housing area. Larger open cages with multiple levels will need more than one box. If your rabbit is already peeing in one corner of their cage, put the box there. If they 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 their large home or caged area until they using their litter box reliably. They can have more space to roam once you’re satisfied that they’re using it consistently.
- When they’re ready, let your rabbit have time out of the caged area. Put a litter box out in her free-run space too. Use the same method with this space as you did with the 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 their litter boxes every day, 2-3 times a day. Clean the boxes at least every other day using a bunny-safe cleaner such as white vinegar and water mix.
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.