Is my house suitable for keeping a rabbit?

Miles lives with me and my boyfriend in a one-bedroomed top floor flat in Surrey. As long as a rabbit can have the run of one small-ish room, and a suitable cage in which to put bedding, food and water (all of which can be bought from all good pet shops), your rabbit will be very happy.

Rabbits do have a tendency to chew things - wall corners, dado rails / skirting boards, table and chair legs, and cables are the most common, although some rabbits are worse at this than others! Miles, for instance, chews one wall corner, but leaves cables well alone. However, rabbits are usually very quick to learn the word "no" when used sternly, and if this fails to work after a few tries, a loud clap or a quick squirt of water (from a small water pistol or plant spray) to accompany the "no" command will do the trick. NEVER EVER hit your rabbit! You could easily hurt his fragile bones even if you hit gently, and he will become terrified of your touch, making him hard to handle and even aggressive. Always praise your rabbit as soon as he has stopped doing whatever it was, as it will stop him from becoming grumpy and will reinforce good behaviour. JML cable tidies are great for wrapping up your cables in solid plastic which is harder for your bunny to chew. They're cheap, easy to obtain and quick to install. Keeping cables off the floor will also help. Give your bunny plenty of other things to chew - cardboard boxes and cardboard inner tubes (such as those on toilet rolls and kitchen paper) make great free toys and feel sufficiently different from forbidden things that he will know the difference. After a few weeks of supervision, your bunny should be well behaved and know what it can and can't chew!

So I've stopped him chewing, I hear you say, but how can I stop my rabbit weeing everywhere in my house?! Well, you might be surprised to learn that it is very easy to litter train your rabbit, just as you would a cat! The best solution I have found is to buy a corner litter tray, designed to fit into the corner of your bunny's cage, put in some cat litter mixed with a few wood shavings so it doesn't feel too strange for him, and then place some soiled wood shavings and droppings in there too. Do this when you've just cleaned out his cage, then that way the scent of his urine and faeces will only be in that one corner, and he'll soon get the idea. If he takes a while to catch on, wait until he has had a drink from his water bottle, then pick him up and place him in the litter tray, gently holding him there by the shoulders if necessary. This will reinforce the idea that his litter tray is where he should do his business, as this is a common time for your rabbit to need to go. It may be harder to convince him to put his droppings exclusively in his litter tray, but this is not nearly as important as getting him to wee there, as the urine is rather wet and smelly whereas the droppings are completely dry. After he's finished using his litter tray, lots of praise and fuss for being such a good boy will help him to realise that going in his tray is a good thing.

So, to sum up the above:

·                    As long as your rabbit has the run of one small room and a suitable cage, there is enough space.

·                    Your rabbit may chew, so discourage him with scolding, reinforced with clapping or squirt of water if necessary.

·                    Reward good behaviour i.e. when he's chewing something he's allowed to, or when he stops bad behaviour.

·                    NEVER hit your rabbit! He will grow to be terrified of your touch, making him hard to handle, and you could easily hurt him badly.

·                    Give him plenty of other things to chew. Cardboard is particularly suitable and free!

·                    Use JML cable tidies and keep cables off the floor.

·                    Use a corner litter tray and cat litter in his cage to keep your house and his cage clean.

·                    If he doesn't get the idea straight away, give him a helping hand by placing him there after he's had a drink.