Female dwarf bunny change in behavior

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allie0618
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Hello:

 I have a 5 yr old female dwarf rabbit who is spayed. I've had her since she was 2 mo old and she was easily litter trained both with pee and poo. She is adorable and has friendliest personality of any rabbit I've ever owned.  A few mo ago, however, she started pooping outside her litter boxes.  I keep her in a 5'x7' pen that  has an open cage inside it. She jumps in and out of the cage at will. She spends a good part of her day going back and forth between the cage and her pen. I keep one litter box is in the cage and one in the pen.
Almost a year ago, we moved to a new house.  I have a walk-out basement and my bunny has her pen in my living room.  Everything has been fine until about 4 mo ago.  I picked her up and was holding her like I always do and she suddenly urinated all over me.  I put her in her litter box which she jumped right out of.  Since that time, she has done the same thing about 2-3 more times.  Can you tell me what the problem might be?
I have been picking her up less and just sitting in her pen w/her and letting her come to me.  Then I give her a treat and pet her.
Tonight I noticed she peed outside her litter box inside the cage.  She has done this only occasionally since I adopted her. 
Can you please tell me why she may be displaying this sudden behavior of urinating on me?  Also, can you shed any light on how I might get her to start pooping in her box again?

Thank you!

Jason
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Have you considered a

Have you considered a possible bladder infection?  If she has a bladder infection and you pick her up it could be painful which will cause her to urinate all over you suddenly.  If she is still allowing you around her in her cage petting her etc I wouldn't think this is behavioral.  I would take her to a vet and get her tested for a possible infection.  Hope this helps and thanks for the post!

 

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Jason
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To err is human, to forgive and to love is canine

Christy
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A bladder or similar type of

A bladder or similar type of infection was the first thing that came to my mind as well.  Cats will often urinate beside their litter box when they have bladder problems because the act of urinating is painful and the cat associates the pain with being in the litter box.  It could be a similar situation with your rabbit, particularly since she hasn't always done this.  A quick round of antibiotics may be all she needs to get back on track.

Christy
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"My main goal in life is to be as good of a person my dogs already think I am." ~Anonymous

Jason
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Any updates on your bun?  I

Any updates on your bun?  I hope everything is going well with her.

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Jason
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To err is human, to forgive and to love is canine

Jason
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Hows the bun doing?  I hope

Hows the bun doing?  I hope she is now back to using her litter pan instead of her cage.  Let us know an update on how she is doing.  We look forward to getting her update!

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Jason
Pet Research Admin
To err is human, to forgive and to love is canine