New Litter – Carefresh or Yesterday’s News?

[Buddy20]

I'm switching away from the Critter Litter and going with something more paper based as suggested by the Vet.

 

The two big ones I hear everyone speaking about is either Carefresh Litter or Yesterday's news. Is there one that someone would recommend for a 4 month Holland Lop?

[Ralphie]

I would not get Carefresh. I have an American Fuzzy Lop and whenever he would jump out it would fly out with him and stick to his fur. Yes it does soak up the pee nice, but it almost gets too wet. Some of the Carefresh say it's better with elimating the smell, but thats not true. I have never used Yesterday's News but I've heard a lot of people do. 

I use a litter called Planet Petco Small Animal Paper Pellet Litter. It soaks up the pee nice, very easy to clean. Doesn't get stuck to his fur and when he jumps out it doesn't come with him. I clean the litter box everyday but grabbing the pee spots and elimating them and hand picking out the poop just so he always has clean litter box. There is never an issue with smell becuase the paper pellet litter has an unique smell itself (but again I clean it everyday) I only add litter if needed for example if he goes pee alot that day and I elimate all that litter and it leaves me with not enough litter to cover the bottom I will add more. It's good pricing too, you get a 10 pound bag for 9.99 which is what I get. But they have different sizes. 

Here's the link to Petco for that litter, I also know PetSmart has it too, so I will add that link for you too.

The PetSmart is basically the same thing besides I think the litter is smaller and it is cheaper. But for me Petco is closer and I like the litter better.

http://www.petco.com/product/106817…ter-106817

http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind…lInUS%2FNo

Hope this helps!

[MoveDiagonally]

I’ve used carefresh and it worked well. I’ve not used yesterday’s news but have heard good things about it. If your rabbit has longer fur I would go for yesterdays news and carefresh can get stuck to their fur. I never had that problem but I have shorter haired rabbits and layer my litter boxes with hay. I don’t think you can really go wrong with either.

I currently use horse stall pellets (wood stove pellets) and love them. They are also really inexpensive at 1$ or less per 10lbs.

[Monkeybun]

I use carefresh. Yes, it can stick to fur if you have a long haired bun. But, with my 4 short haired fluffs, it’s perfectly fine. As for the too wet part… clean it more often

And my little Monkey refuses to use anything BUT carefresh, sooo… must listen to Her Highness.

[Kbana]

I just got Oxbow eco straw: it is a grain based litter suggested by the vet. So far I love it. It clumps very well. I paid $18 for a 20 lb bag. And, it is not harmful if they ingest it, as some litters can be. I used to use Carefresh and hated it because it always got stuck to my bun’s bum and would get soaked. Even if I cleaned it every day. I have heard great things about Yesterday’s News but I’ve never used it. Good luck!

[MariaG]

i use yesterdays news and it works really well. i also put some soft shavings on top so it doesnt hurt my bunnys feet and the litter box barely smells.

[Buddy20]

Thanks everyone!
One last question regarding the lining.. Been told that newspaper is a good liner but the news paper doesn’t cover the entire length of the litter box and he seems to dig out his new litter (pet store was sold out of everything but a bag of carefresh which I have noticed sticks to his bum) and start gnawing on his newspaper. Only thing I’m worried about is he hasn’t been eating much hay since but is eating his normal pellets and lettuce. Just not much hay and for the most part he’s not eating a lot of newspaper. Should I be concerned?

[Monkeybun]

You really don’t need a liner, just put the litter straight in the box

[Kayota]

I wouldn’t use a liner either. I’ve always used carefresh for my small critters and it works the best of anything I’ve seen. I feel like Yesterday’s News is too hard for the little ones, especially for buns since they like to lie in their litter box a lot vs cats who just poop and leave.

[Buddy20]

Without the liner it just seems like the urine smell is super super strong whereas the newspaper soaks up a lot of the pee?

[MoveDiagonally]

A good absorbent litter should soak up all the pee without a liner. My litter boxes don't smell unless they're not cleaned often enough. 

[Buddy20]

Hmm maybe I’m not using enough? I’m filling it so the bottom of the box cannot be seen but he likes to dig them into one corner or another leaving open spaces for the urine.

[MoveDiagonally]

I suspect that it’s the peeing in the places without litter is causing the smell then. Have you ever considered using a litter screen?

I know BB sells them:
http://store.binkybunny.com/litter-box-screen-binkybunny-p111.aspx

How they are used can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0meP1irepto

[Buddy20]

That one said pre-order.. Is there another place that sells it?

[MoveDiagonally]

It's the store for this forum. I don't know of any other place but you could contact BinkyBunny and ask when they expect it to be back in stock. If you scroll down to the bottom of this page you'll see a "contact us" option on a grey bar. 

[justwildbeat]

I’ve used both but CareFresh is a disaster for rabbits with long and fine fur. As for the screen, you can try making your own by looking for wire mesh screens at hardware/DIY stores.

[Elrohwen]

I second getting a litter box screen to discourage digging. A liner isn’t necessary, though I like to put down a paper towel so the litter is easier to dump out.

I used Yesterday’s News for years and really liked it. I haven’t used Carefresh for the rabbits, but I used it for gerbils and found it really dusty.

[Buddy20]

Stupid question – is there any place else that would sell them pre-made?

[kamdynandsunshinesmom]

I use yesterdays news with shredded newspaper mixed in with it I love it and wont use anything else. I buy a 30# bag at petco and it last me 2 months.

[kamdynandsunshinesmom]

I use yesterdays news with shredded newspaper mixed in with it I love it and wont use anything else. I buy a 30# bag at petco and it last me 2 months.

[Tessie]

I use yesterday’s news and really like it, no problems at all.

[Godwit]

i actually mix the two because the pet store used it throughout the cages as bedding so i wanted to encourage litter box use by having it just in the litter box. i have found that mixing it actually works very well for me, it’s softer for his feet, he doesn’t actually sleep or hang out in the box unless its to eat hay, and my strategy worked as far as litter training. i haven’t really noticed too much wetness, my only complaint would be that the carefresh kinda sticks to the bottom of the box when i’m dumping it out. however that may be a good thing if i’m not deep cleaning to remind him where to pee lol.

[Annabel93]

Is cat litter that you can buy in the supermarkets (the kind in the UK) suitable for rabbits? I bought some out of desperation the other night as my order of Yesterday’s News was taking ages to arrive and my mum threatened to move the rabbits outside because my room was beginning to smell like pee. It’s so much easier to clean out than the other litter but I still worry about it since it’s not designed for rabbits (although it did say it was 100% natural). Plus since they were just neutered I’ve had to get rid of it as they told me not to let them sleep on sawdust as it can infect their stitches. They don’t sleep on sawdust but the cat litter I had is very dusty and they like to nap in their litter trays so I didn’t want to risk it.

[Godwit]

cat litter is not safe unless it is feline pine, yesterdays news, or a similar paper or compressed wood based litter. clumping litters are dangers for their respiratory systems. i’d use shredded newspaper or hay in the meantime and clean it every day to keep the smell down.

[Annabel93]

Oh ok. My bag of yesterday’s news arrived today so I’ll just stick to that. I didn’t know about the cat litter being bad for them – thank you!

[Buddy20]

Thank you all 🙂
I wound up mixing up both and he seems to love it.
Only downside is he isn’t eating his hay as much for some reason. Not sure if it’d related?

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