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Forum DIET & CARE my mom wants me to use cats pride….

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    • Fuzzibunni
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         i know cats pride litter is NOT supposed to be used for rabbits but my mom doesnt seem to care. probably because we had a bunny for a few years when i was younger and we always used this kind of litter and nothing happened to him. how could i possibly convice my mom to use a litter that is safer? she always say nothing is going to happen. unless i can find a screen to go over a corner litter box.


      • LoveChaCha
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          A rabbit’s respiratory system is very sensitive. How much is this cat’s pride litter by the way? You could also convince her by saying wood stove pellets is a cheaper, and safer alternative. A 40lb bag of wood stove pellets is $5 .


        • RabbitPam
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            A good brand that might seem like a compromise to your mother would be Feline Pine pellets. They are essentially prepared wood stove pellets, very cheap compared to anything designated as litter for bunnies, serve double duty as a cat litter (if that’s her point) and can be found in my local grocery store chain as opposed to the pet stores. Though you can get a huge bag of the stuff in the big pet stores, probably for even less $ per lb.

            I’m talking about 5 bucks in the grocery store pet aisle for a bag that’s not too heavy to lift if you bought it there but enough to last for a couple of weeks. Ask her if she’ll switch to that brand instead and see what she says.


          • Fuzzibunni
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              i just want something that doesnt look like pellets though because i know for sure he will be eating it like regular food and not peeing on it…


            • Fuzzibunni
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                 although he never eats the litter and very rarely digs in it. and the cats pride litter says low dust too.


              • LoveChaCha
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                  My rabbit doesn’t eat the wood stove pellets. The pellets are considerably bigger than rabbit food pellets. Since the smell is quite different to their noses, yours may not want to eat it.


                • BinkyBunny
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                     My bunnies may have nibbled on pelleted litter, but once they realize it’s not food, they normally leave it alone. 

                     
                    I am not familiar with cats pride but is it a sandy kind of litter?  (clump style?)  Either way though, the other problem is that it’s not good for a bunny’s digestive system.  They can consume it by it getting on their fur and then they clean it off. 
                     
                    The sand type of litters are known to cause problems. I know you mentioned that your mom had a bunny for a few years when you were young, but if it was only for a few years, and since rabbits can live to be over 10 years old, digestive problems could have happened if this liter was used for his entire life.   I think that while your mom may feel confident based on past results, it’s best to look at not just one’s own one time experience, but to compare it to a larger pool of results to prevent issues.  Example:  If someone never wears their seat belt and never had a problem, I wouldn’t say that driving without a seat belt is safe.    
                     
                    I think in order to help convince your mom, you will have to have some evidence to actually show her. Here is a list of litters that HRS recommends and warns against (and why). 
                     
                     
                     
                    Another option to use  is Cat Country — grass based safe litter meant for cats, but rabbits can use it too. 
                     
                    There are some special corner litterboxes that do have screens built in.  I have seen them.  Just don’t know where exactly. 
                     
                     


                  • Eepster
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                      If cost and convenience are the issue, you can just use old news paper.


                    • Fuzzibunni
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                        my mom is insisting we use up the litter we have so we dont waste it and THEN get the new better litter.


                      • BinkyBunny
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                          I think Eepster has a great idea, until you get the new litter — just use the cat litter for the cat and use newspaper for the bunny. You do have to make sure to clean the box more often as newspaper will not be as odor friendly.


                        • Fuzzibunni
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                            i dont have a cat…


                          • LoveChaCha
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                              Is there a shelter around the area that you can donate the litter to?


                            • Fuzzibunni
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                                my mom doesnt want to just give it away she wants to use it because she payed for it :/


                              • LoveChaCha
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                                  there does not seem much that can be done, but to show her the article that binkybunny posted.


                                • Fuzzibunni
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                                    well the it will be resolved in time. and maybe ill throw little bits of the litter away every once and a while to speed things up XD


                                  • Monkeybun
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                                      I have always hated that… people compromising the safety of an animal to save a few bucks. It’s unsafe for bunnies, hopefully your mom switches soon.


                                    • Fuzzibunni
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                                        well my mom hates wasting something she spent good money on. so id rather not have my head chewed off right now.


                                      • BinkyBunny
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                                           It’s too bad that she sees it as being wasted by giving it to a shelter that could use it.       Well…like LoveChaCha said, not much more that can be done but show her the article and after that, what more can you do?  I know you are just as frustrated as we are.  It shows that you are doing all you can to make sure that your bunny has the best care and you are trying very hard to convince your mom to get on board with the best care.  Sounds like she is at least willing to change once this bag of litter is out.   So at least you convinced her of that — good job!  She must be proud have such a smart daughter. 

                                          In the meatime,  you had a clever idea that would get rid of the litter quicker.   I am certainly not advocating going against your mother’s wishes or anything, nope, no sirree, not at all, just happen to think it is a creative idea you had there.  


                                        • mocha200
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                                            Fuzzibunni. I know what that feels like. My mom is the SAME way! It can be soooo annoying! Sometimes you have to keep your mouth shut and go with what she says if she has agreed to do it or she might change her mind.


                                          • Eepster
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                                              Kitty litter has many valuable alternative uses.

                                              Just as an example; In the winter, it is a good idea to have some in the car to spread under the tires if you get stuck in ice or snow. It provides good traction. It can also be spread on icy walkways. A completely different use would be for art projects, I’ve used it as fill inside molds. Fill a plastic bag with kitty litter, put it inside an old pantyhose leg, use string to form the shape. One can then cover the mold with what ever media one is using. When the art work is dry, just cut a hole in the bag and pour out the kitty litter. Once all the litter is gone, it is very easy to remove the rest of the mold b/c it is all soft, pliable and flat. There are even more basic uses for Kitty litter, like using it to weigh stuff down.

                                              Maybe if you convinced her it wasn’t being “wasted” she would be more open to not making the bunny use it.


                                            • tobyluv
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                                                Since your mom doesn’t want to give away the litter, is it possible that you could sell it at a reduced price to a neighbor or friend who has a cat? I don’t know how much she paid for the Cat’s Pride, but if you could get just a couple of dollars or so for it, you could put that toward a good rabbit safe litter.


                                              • Fuzzibunni
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                                                  well i finally have the better litter. it is similar to feline pine and its called exquisicat i think? there both 100% pine pellets but my mom bought this one because its cheaper. we just need to use the last of the catspride already in his box now.


                                                • Fuzzibunni
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                                                    he is beginning to eat the clay litter too and i dont want him in it now.


                                                  • BinkyBunny
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                                                      Is the clay litter the Cat’s Pride? If he’s eating it it can cause a compaction. Did you tell your mom he’s eating it? I would remove it immediately.


                                                    • tobyluv
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                                                        Please get rid of that clay litter if your rabbit is eating it. If your mother objects to wasting money, tell her that the litter could very well cause a serious health problem for your rabbit, and could result in a vet bill–and those are never cheap. You don’t want to fool around with any product that is dangerous for your rabbit.


                                                      • Fuzzibunni
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                                                          i dont think my mom would care. she still doesnt want to waste it. ive told her him eating it could harm him multiple times.


                                                        • Tate
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                                                            Gotta love parents, eh? I do NOT miss the days of living with them!
                                                            You could open your bag of pine litter and do a 50/50 thing… half pine, half old litter. This might discourage the bun from eating it, if he has to dig too much to get to it.


                                                          • Monkeybun
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                                                              So is the litter that is in the box all that you have left? If so… I would probably “accidentally” spill it one day, maybe into a puddle of water so it can’t be used again…

                                                              *looks innocent*


                                                            • Stickerbunny
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                                                                Time for the water bottle to “accidentally” get thrown in the clay litter in the box. Oops, dropped it!

                                                                Sorry your mom is being so stubborn about it try covering the litter with newspaper until it’s all gone, it might discourage nibbling


                                                              • RabbitPam
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                                                                  She’s not saving money if she’s using a bad product. She’s personally wasting it, since you’ve had several suggestions of very low cost litters.

                                                                  I have always had good luck with any store that I took a product back for a refund or an exchange because my animal rejected it. It happens all the time, so if you can take it back to the store for a swap, she can still be cheap and you can salvage the issue.


                                                                • Fuzzibunni
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                                                                    i switched the litter and all is well. i put the bedding from the pan under the cage that he urinated on under his new litter hoping he’ll smell it and know where to pee. and things will probably get much better after the larger litterbox and screen i ordered arrives.


                                                                  • Fuzzibunni
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                                                                      *slaps forehead* aaaaaaand now he eats the new litter…. at least it wont hurt him


                                                                    • BinkyBunny
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                                                                        LOL. Fuzzibunni – you are always trying so hard. I certainly respect you for that. The new litter is just pine right? If it is 100% compressed pine pellets, it won’t be a problem. Bunnies can chew and eat pine wood toys without a problem.


                                                                      • Stickerbunny
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                                                                          Fuzzi – my bun ate the new litter I gave her for the first day then decided ya know after all… that doesn’t taste very good!

                                                                          The exquisicat afaik is just compressed pine (I was looking at it in the pet store) so should be fine if he nibbles it. As long as it isn’t clumping litter.


                                                                        • Fuzzibunni
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                                                                            yeah the only feline pine was a powdered clumping kind and went to search for the pelleted kind. luckily the cheaper one my mom wanted was exactly the same aside from brand. and he is peeing in the litter box much more often, i am EXTREMELY happy right now. and i havent seen him eating it for a little while so i think everything is good now


                                                                          • Beka27
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                                                                              I’m glad he’s doing well!

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                                                                          Forum DIET & CARE my mom wants me to use cats pride….