Today’s theme for Rabbit Adoptathon week will be about litter training. We get a lot of emails from people who are frustrated by stubborn, “outside-the-box” bunnies. Here are our best tips:

• Rabbits tend to poop while they eat hay. So it is always a good idea to place ample amounts of hay either in the litterbox or in a hayfeeder right next to the litterbox (so the bunny is forced to sit in the litterbox if he wants to munch on hay).
• Mop up urine with a paper towel and pick up stray poop and place both in the litterbox. This helps get the message across that the litterbox is the place that they should do their business.
• Be patient and persistent. Litter training takes time, especially if your rabbit has learned bad habits. It takes a while to retrain them. If you can see they’re about to go to the bathroom outside their litterbox (they may lift their tail or sometimes they sort of shimmy down in a seated position right before they go), try to pick them up and put them in the litterbox or corral them in. This is oftentimes easier said than done of course.
• Limit their space. If your bunny is free reign, you may want to limit their space initially using a puppy pen until your rabbit is consistently practicing good litterbox habits. Then, very gradually increase the space, ensure those good habits remain intact. Eventually, you will be able to take away the puppy pen completely.
• If your bunny is insistent on going in one corner of the room, sometimes it’s easier to give in to their stubbornness, and place a litterbox in that corner. Sometimes when rabbits consistently choose another place to go, they are trying to tell you that that’s where they want to go.
• If your rabbit is pooping/spraying pee everywhere, this is probably due to your rabbit marking his territory. It’s a good idea to get your rabbit spayed/neutered in order to ease territorial feelings.
• Sometimes rabbits deliberately pee on your couch or bed because they’re showing you who’s Top Bunny in the house.  You should correct their misconception immediately.  See our blog post, “Being Top Bunny” and the House Rabbit Society’s article, “FAQ: Training” for more information.

More litter training information:

• “Litter Training Your Bunny Rabbit” on My House Rabbit
• “Litterbox Training” on BinkyBunny
• “FAQ: Litter Training” on the House Rabbit Society website
• “Litterbox Encore” on the House Rabbit Society website

If you have any other great litter training tips or tricks, please share them!

To promote rabbit care and adoption, AfFURmation and Bunny’s Blog are co-hosting a Rabbit Adoptathon Hop starting Sunday, May 13th at 6pm ET and ending at 6pm ET on Saturday May 19th.

Here’s what you do to get involved in spreading awareness:

If you have a blog, create a post anytime during this week about rabbit care or share information about adoptable bunnies. Add in the Rabbit Adoptathon badge (code below) so others can do the same on their blogs.

If you’re on Facebook, you can share an adoptable bunny’s information by using the Facebook Share button located on each animal’s profile page on Petfinder.com.

Learn more about the Adoptathon Hop at AfFURmation.

<a href="http://affurmation.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://affurmation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rabbitadoptathon2012badge.jpg" width="200" height="245" border="1"></a>

(Copy the code above and paste it into your blog if you want to get involved.)

Last year, the Canadian town of Canmore, located about 60 miles west of Calgary, had a big problem.  Abandoned pet rabbits had bred with each other and caused a feral rabbit explosion.  Town officials initially planned to cull the rabbits, but a public campaign and the Earth Animal Rescue Society (EARS) made it possible to sterilize them and relocate them to sanctuaries.

From January until April, the town of Canmore trapped and sterilized hundreds of feral rabbits.  These rabbits are now happily living in local sanctuaries.

EARS plans to break from the trapping for the summer and resume in October to catch the remaining rabbits.

For more info see:

• The Tyee
• Save Canmore Bunnies
• Save Canmore Bunnies Facebook Page

The folks at Mint.com and Humane Society Silicon Valley put together a helpful infographic outlining the lifetime costs of pets.  It’s so important when you decided to adopt a pet rabbit or bonded pair into your family, that you are willing and able to shoulder the costs.

See how rabbits compare to other pets:

Here at My House Rabbit headquarters in New London, CT, the unseasonably warm weather has resulted in some fresh treats for Coco and Cosette. (It was 70 degrees today!)

Since we also had a very mild winter, some of the lettuce that I started last fall survived through the winter months and then flourished once I covered the bed with some garden fabric.  So for the past few days the rabbits have indulged in freshly grown romaine, carrots, and dandelions (ok, so actually I just plucked those from our yard… but we also have a pot of intentionally-grown dandelions that are currently thriving).  I’m going to experiment more with extending the growing season next year by using a cold frame and making more use of my garden fabric on the raised beds.

Anyone else harvesting veggies for their bunnies now?

Many of us in the bunny community already know that year after year, shelters and rescues get inundated with unwanted pet rabbits a few weeks after Easter.

So let’s try to spread the word that pet rabbits should not be Easter impulse buys! It comes down to this: if you haven’t done any research or put any thought into whether or not a real rabbit is a good fit for you and your family, go the chocolate bunny route instead.

Here are a few resources on the topic:

• My House Rabbit’s article, “Easter and Bunnies”
• The House Rabbit Society’s section, “Easter and Rabbits”
• Make Mine Chocolate website

The Erie Zoo in Pennsylvania houses an unusual pair of friends. Samantha, a 47-year-old western lowland gorilla, had been without a pal since the death of Rudy, a male gorilla, in 2005.

Zoo keepers decided she was too old to be paired with another gorilla, so they introduced her to Panda, a Dutch rabbit, in February.

According to zoo director Cindy Kreider, “To have something sharing their space that they can observe and interact with is always going to be beneficial.”

The two get along well. Samantha gently pets Panda and shares her food.

For more information, see:
Seattle Pi
GoErie.com

If you love Peeps marshmallow bunnies, you can base a whole craft theme around them this Easter.  With these free felt sewing patterns and tutorials, you can create your own Peep-inspired bunny decor/gifts that will brighten up your holiday.

Marshmallow Bunny Plushies by Dandelions and Lace

 
Felt Peep Money / Gift Card Holders by Mommy Savers

 
Felt Peep Bunny Bunting by V and Co. / MADE

The Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary, located in Whittaker, Michigan, is having an Easter chocolate fundraiser.

These adorable and delicious chocolates not only raise money for the shelter, they also remind people that real bunnies are  not appropriate Easter gifts.  The chocolates are made by a local shop called Chocolate Drop Shop in Westland, Michigan.

For more information, see the Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary site or the fundraiser Facebook page.

NOTE: The deadline for orders is Friday, March 2nd.

In case you didn’t know, February is Adopt a Rescued Rabbit month!

To celebrate, Petco is hosting a “Meet the Critters” adoption event this weekend, February 18th – 19th, from 1-2pm in their stores nationwide. Petco does not sell or breed rabbits. Instead, they work with local rescue groups to find forever homes for available bunnies.  During the event, volunteers from the rescue groups will be on hand to offer advice on how to properly care for house rabbits.

If you’re wondering if a pet rabbit is a good fit for you and your family, see our article, Thinking About Getting a Pet Rabbit? to find out. To learn more about why adopting a pet rabbit from a shelter or rescue is a wonderful alternative to buying one from a store or breeder, see our article, Benefits of Adopting a Pet Rabbit.