h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We've had our female hare and our male rabbit for about 4 years and we've moved more often in that time than I care to remember but they have always been good (aside from marking their new territory) and used their liter tray. Now we have moved in to another new flat and try as we might be can't prevent them from weeing and pooing on the carpet. Not just the carpet generally, but a specific patch of carpet, a square, more or less, which has the boy mouse cage on on side and the girl mice cage at a right angle to it. For the first time even my wife is not sure how to stop them. Any ideas?

Sorry, I don't know anything about rabbits.

It's clearly a territorial thing. Try shifting the mice.

B

Good theory Mu, but they have always had their toilet near the mice, they adore the mice. They treat the mice like their babies. I am working on a theory that they are trying to establish that they like it here and want to stay. Does thst sound ridiculous?

Don't anthropomorphise your pets, there's a good chap.

The practical advice still sounds. If it's something to do with the mice, move the mice.

B

'Don't anthropomorphise your pets' fair point, although tobe fair, there's a difference between anthrapamorphising and just recongnising their complex motivations. Anyway, allow me to rearticulate:

They are found a territory where they feel safe and at ease, so they naturally wish to mark it as their own territory. My problem with your mouse theory is that their toilet has always been in their hutch and on top of their hutch we have always had mice. That hasn't changed with the move, so why are they suddenly weeing there they never did before? The mice have never previously been an issue.