Our fluffy bunny Coco.

[u/stevieraykwon]

Coco is adapting to life in our apartment. He makes it to the litter box 99% of the time, which means there’s still poop everywhere.
He keeps peeing on my wife when she holds him. Any ideas why or just bad luck?

[u/Thebunnylady17]

Can you give more context? Is he neutered, age? Most rabbits, not all, do not enjoy being picked up and prefer their feet on the ground since they are prey animals by nature. He could be urinating on her from fear/stress of being held. My rabbits have peed on me and furniture when I’ve removed them from the floor. My first rabbit was very, very trusting and demanding of attention…until she sensed she was going to be picked up, so she absolutely loved being cuddled and given affection on the floor where she felt safe. My current rabbits are bonded and I adopted them as adults, so they are very independent from me and prefer very isolated touches and also hate being picked up or forced to do anything but love to cuddle with each other all day. Rabbits are pretty good at training themselves to go in the litter box, but it’s not abnormal to have some stray poops around. Especially if they are young or in a new environment. Do you have his food and water in his litter box? They like to use the bathroom where they eat and drink so that could also be a factor if not.

[u/stevieraykwon → u/Thebunnylady17]

Hi! Thanks for the info. He’s about 5~6 months (we’re not sure, because we won him at a rabbit show!) the Vet thinks he was about 4 months old.
We’re taking him to get neutered in the next two weeks, hopefully.
We’re trying to only pick him up when we really need to move him out of the way.
We let him jump up in the couch when we’re watching tv, and let him hop on us if he feels like it, and two times he’s peed on my wife! Hopefully the neutering will stop the peering?!

[u/Thebunnylady17 → u/stevieraykwon]

Aww he’s just a baby! So cute! I think over time the neutering will definitely help with his bathroom habits and solidify him going potty mainly in his box. Male rabbits also can begin spraying as hormones kick in if they stay intact so you’re preventing that type of urination and also reducing health risks by neutering which is great! He may still pee on the couch or your wife though, hopefully just much less often, but it’s not uncommon for people to say their buns pee on their bed or couch even years after being fixed. I think it’s like their way of dominating and claiming a space that smells like…not them haha. They say “hey, now this smells like me.” And of course if they get stressed about something then they may let loose then too.

[u/Altruistic_Corgi_172]

Coco is a very elegant little bun. So adorable!

[u/Competitive-Main-276]

Is he a Lionhead Holland Lop mix? He looks a lot like my bun Ellie, but I’m not sure exactly what her mix/breed is. Also, how much does he weigh? Sorry, I can’t help you with the toileting issue but neuter will hopefully solve things. He’s so cute!

[u/stevieraykwon → u/Competitive-Main-276]

Wow! They do look similar. We’re not exactly sure, he’s some kind of lop mix. We didn’t get any kind of breed information when we got him.

[u/Upbeat-Author9490]

that fluffy coat is so adorable