How to Prevent Your Rabbit from Eating and Ruining Your Carpet

Although rabbits often make good house pets, as with any pet they sometimes damage furnishings and furniture. Rabbits enjoy chewing, sometimes gnawing practically everything they see, including furniture, shoes and carpets. Minimize any destructive tendencies in your pet by providing a suitable environment, training the rabbit and supervising it when appropriate.

Things You'll Need

  • Litter tray
  • Newspapers
  • Cable protectors
  • Non-toxic wood chews
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Instructions

    • 1

      Housetrain your rabbit. Most rabbits take naturally to using a litter tray, but ensure the housetraining is complete before you allow the animal free access to your best carpets. Confine the rabbit to a single room with an easily cleaned floor. Put the litter tray where the rabbit urinates most. Sweep or wipe up all other accidents and put them in the tray. Retain a few droppings every time you change the lining, until the rabbit only urinates in the tray and nowhere else. The occasional dropping outside the tray is not a problem because they are dry.

    • 2

      Rabbit-proof your home. Protect electrical cables and trim away loose ends of carpets, which provide a starting point for a determined rabbit.

    • 3

      Provide appropriate chews in all the rooms to which the rabbit has access. A rabbit is less likely to chew your carpets if there is something better, like a fruit-tree twig, to gnaw on.

    • 4

      Supervise the rabbit when it is in the vicinity of items you do not want chewed. Confine the rabbit to one or a few "safe" rooms while you are out and ensure all members of your household close the appropriate doors.