Are Rabbits Messy? (9 Interesting Facts)

If you are considering adopting rabbits as pets, one of the questions you are likely to be having is as to whether they are messy. That question – on whether rabbits are messy – is the one that we shall be focusing on in this article. Read on, for answers.

Are rabbits messy? The answer is yes, rabbits are slightly messy. Though they can be litter trained, they don’t always keep the habits they learn. Moreover, they sometimes chew on things they shouldn’t, get into places they shouldn’t and mess up with carpets.

Still, when you compare bunnies to most other pets, you realize that they are not exceptionally messy. In fact, once you get into learning how to care for a bunny indoors, you realize that a rabbit is much easier to care for than most other pets.

The biggest challenge you are likely to have, once you start keeping a rabbit, is that of cleaning the hay it strews all over. Indeed, while learning how to keep a rabbit indoors, this aspect – of cleaning the hay it strews all over – is likely to be the most challenging.

Besides strewing hay all over, the rabbit is also likely to chew on things like cardboards, leaving small bits of them all over. Rabbits are really messy in these respects.

The other challenging bit may be that of cleaning the hair that the rabbit sheds, from time to time.

And then of course there is the aspect of cleaning rabbit poop and pee. Even with good litter training, a rabbit is still likely to poop or pee outside the litter box on occasion.

All in all, while rabbits are slightly messy, they are not exceptionally messy compared to most other pets.

Do Rabbits Pee Everywhere?

Most of the people who pose the are rabbits messy question are really interested in knowing whether bunnies pee everywhere. So, indeed, do rabbits pee everywhere? The answer is mostly no.

Rabbits are the sorts of animals that will select specific corners, and be peeing exclusively there. Mostly, rabbits don’t like peeing where they sleep/eat.

But there can be exceptions. If, for instance, you have rabbits that haven’t undergone spaying/neutering, they may start peeing all over as a way of marking their territory.

Further, if your rabbits have conditions that make it impossible for them to control their bowels, they may start peeing all over. This could actually escalate to a point where you find yourself wondering: why is my bunny so messy? But these are exceptional circumstances.

With proper litter training, it is possible to get your rabbits to a point of never peeing where they shouldn’t. This works particularly well if you do it alongside spaying or neutering (at the appropriate age).

Do Rabbits Poop Everywhere?

Many of the people who pose the are rabbits messy question are also interested in knowing whether rabbits poop everywhere. The truth of the matter is that bunnies generally don’t poop everywhere.

They typically select specific corners where they do their business. This is in fact what makes litter training for them so easy.

Moreover, just as much as rabbits don’t like peeing where they sleep/eat, they also don’t like pooping where they sleep/eat.

There are, of course, situations where even the bunny with the best litter training will poop outside the litter box. But most of the time, they tend to poop in the litter boxes.

Even when a bunny does poop outside the litter box, there are two facts that give relief. First is the fact that their poop is usually dry. This makes it easy to pick up, at cleaning time. Second is the fact that bunny poop is usually not very smelly.

All in all though, rabbits usually only poop at specific spots (or in litter boxes, once they undergo litter training). They don’t poop all over: unless it is genuinely by ‘accident’.

Are Rabbits Dirty?

Alongside the are rabbits messy question, one is also likely to encounter this one – on whether rabbits are dirty.

Now one way to understand our domestic rabbits is by looking at their wild counterparts. This leads to the question: are wild rabbits dirty? And the answer is ‘no’. Wild rabbits are among the most meticulous animals, when it comes to cleanliness.

Similarly, house rabbits are not dirty. They go to great lengths to groom themselves. And they also try to ensure that the areas they eat/sleep in are free of poop and pee.

The only aspect with regard to which rabbits can be termed as ‘dirty’ is that of strewing hay all over. When it comes to tossing hay all over, rabbits are indeed guilty of dirtiness.

Another aspect with regard to which rabbits can be termed as ‘dirty’ is that of shedding hair all over. During the seasons when they shed hair, rabbits can be quite messy.

But in terms of things like bodily grooming, peeing and popping at the right places, rabbits cannot be termed as being ‘dirty’.

Are Rabbits Messy?

Rabbits are slightly messy. They are not exceptionally messy. But neither are they absolutely mess-free. On a 0 to 10 messiness scale, it would be fair to award rabbits at 3 or 4.

There are several ways in which rabbits’ “slight” messiness manifests.

The first way in which rabbits’ “slight” messiness manifests is by way of strewing hay all over. If you keep a rabbit, you need to be ready to be finding hay strewn. It may get to a point where you start asking: why is my bunny so messy? But strewing hay is something all rabbits do.

The second way in which rabbits’ messiness manifests is by way of chewing things (like cardboards), and leaving bits all over. This can get to a point where, in frustration, you start asking, why are rabbits so messy – with regard to chewing and leaving small bits all over?

The third way in which rabbits’ messiness may manifest is by occasionally peeing all over, as they try to mark territories. This is likely to be more common in rabbits that haven’t undergone spaying or neutering.

The fourth way in which rabbits’ messiness may manifest is by occasionally pooping outside the litter box. But with proper litter training, this is likely to be occasional, and mostly accidental.

The fifth way in which rabbits’ messiness may manifest is by shedding. During the months when they shed, there may be lots of hair all over.

So, are rabbits messy pets? As we can see above, there are several ways in which they can be said to be somewhat messy. But they are not exceptionally messy.

Are House Rabbits Messy?

If you are considering adopting a rabbit as a domestic pet, you will likely find yourself wondering, are rabbits messy when kept in houses? Or, to put it differently, are house rabbits messy?

The truth of the matter is that house rabbits are slightly messy. Therefore if you are adopting a house rabbit, you need to be ready to deal with a bit of mess.

You need to be ready to deal with hay strewn all over.

Further, you need to be ready to deal with a situation where the rabbits will be chewing on things (like cardboards), and leaving small bits of them all over for you to sweep.

At yet another level, you need to be ready to deal with an occasional off-litter-box poop or pee.

And during the shedding months, you need to be ready to deal with lots of bunny hair around.

At this point, you may start wondering: are rabbits high or low maintenance pets? With regard to messiness (and the necessary clean up), we can say that bunnies are not high maintenance pets.

You only have to clean their litter box once per day. Full cage cleaning may be once per week. Cleaning the occasional off-litter-box poop or pee is not likely to be too much work.

But if you let your bunnies into various rooms without rabbit-proofing the rooms, there can be huge losses.

The rabbits may chew on electricity cords, carpets and other things they shouldn’t. Then they would suddenly turn into high maintenance pets (on account of the losses they cause to you)

In general terms though, house rabbits are only slightly messy.

Are Indoor Rabbits Messy?

Folks who pose the are rabbits messy question may opt to be more specific, and want to know whether indoor rabbits are messy. This is understandable, when we consider that most of the people who adopt rabbits do so with the intention of keeping them as indoor pets.

So, are rabbits messy when indoors? The answer is ‘yes’ – but only to a small extent. They are messy, but only to a low degree.

They are messy in that they strew hay all over. Further, they are messy in that they chew on various things, then leave small bits all over. They are also messy in that they shed a lot. And they can be messy in that they occasionally pee and poop outside their litter box.

Considering all that, one may then ask, are rabbits good pets for indoor life? Or can you keep a rabbit in your bedroom? And the answer is still yes. That is because the little messes rabbits make are things we can live with.

Moreover, there are measures one can put in place, to mitigate the small messes that rabbits make. 

Using feeder boxes, for instance, can mitigate against the rabbits strewing hay all over. Bunny-proofing a house can keep the rabbits from chewing on things they shouldn’t chew on (and leaving bits of them all over).

Litter training, spaying and neutering can minimize incidences of the rabbits peeing or pooping all over.

And running rabbit brushes through their furs during the shedding seasons can help minimize the amount of shed hair they leave all over.

Can Rabbits Be Litter Trained?

Usually, right after the are rabbits messy question comes this one – on whether rabbits can be litter trained. And the answer is ‘yes’. Rabbits are capable of undergoing litter training.

It is important to remember that by nature, bunnies are the sorts of animals that prefer to poop and pee at specific spots. These are usually spots that are some distance from where they sleep/eat. This being the case, litter training for them is quite easy.

Litter training is usually just a matter of harnessing their natural inclination to pee and poop at specific spots, and getting them to view the litter boxes as those ‘spots’.

Within a few weeks, you can fully litter train your rabbits.

How Do I Stop My Rabbit From Making A Mess?

After answering the are rabbits messy question, we also need to focus a bit on how one can stop their bunny from making a mess.

To stop your rabbit from making a mess, you need to put in place various mitigating measures.

With regard to the rabbits making a mess by strewing hay all over, you can invest in a hay rack. Or you can make use of feeders that keep the hay from being strewn all over.

With regard to the rabbits making a mess by chewing on things they shouldn’t chew on (and leaving small bits all over), you can mitigate by bunny-proofing your house. Or at least bunny-proof the rooms that the rabbits will get into.

That way, they won’t get in contact with things they shouldn’t chew on, and then leave small bits of those things lying all over.

And with regard to the rabbits making a mess by shedding hair all over, you can invest in a rabbit brush. This will help you in brushing the bunnies’ hairs and ensuring that you collect the bits in one place – rather than having the bunnies shed them all over.

When it comes to peeing or pooping all over, litter training can be helpful. So can spaying or neutering, to keep the bunnies from engaging in territory marking behaviors (which is usually done through the use of pee marks).

Final Verdict – Are Rabbits Messy?

Rabbits are only slightly messy. Granted, they may have a tendency the strew their hay all over. They may also have a tendency to chew on things (like cardboards), and leave small bits all over. Further, they may shed hair all over and occasionally pee/poop outside their litter boxes.

You can deal with the bunnies’ messiness through the proper use of mitigating measures.

Those include the use of hay racks/feeders to prevent hay from being strewn all over, use of rabbit brushes to keep them from shedding hair all over, proper litter training as well as spaying/neutering to minimize off-litter-box peeing and pooping incidents.

As a pet lover, make sure to learn about pet more and give your pet rabbit a good and comfortable life!

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️