The Perfect Litter?

[BunnyHugger]

I started with clay kitty litter decades ago when we didn’t know its harmful effects. I then switched to newspaper, which of course bunnies chew and scatter. Plus, it had toxic ink at the time, and no odour control. Straw gets pretty disgusting with bunny pee. Slimy, and it’s hard to see how dire is the pellet situation, as they fall to the bottom. Who wants to dig through pissy straw to check their rabbit’s poo?

I’ve tried plain recycled paper (the soft crumply kind), and found that though it absorbs, it’s so light it gets flung out of the box and has little odour control.

As I’m a horse person, I knew that horse pine pellets/woodstove pellets turn into sawdust that tracks. Amazing for stalls, awful in the house. CareFresh bedding as litter controls odour, but I hate shavings on the carpet. I’m not paying more for their litter when it’s just crumpled paper I can get for cheaper as Absorption Corp.’s generic version (Walmart). Which didn’t work for me.

Besides, I think my macho bunny would hate purple or pink

Next was a recycled paper pellet product, Good Mews. But it’s almost as dark as bunny pellets, and hard to see how dirty it is, esp. in low living room light. Yes, that’s right. We take bathroom breaks at the same time while watching TV. Great absorption, but little odour control, and very heavy to work with. I have a spinal injury, so heft is an issue.

This week I found a Mad Scientist mix (great for Halloween) that satisfies:

-Low mess

-Odour control

-Manageable weight

-Good colour contrast to see pee and poo spots

 

I mixed 1/3 Carefresh bedding (the type with heat treated pine shavings=safe) with 2/3 recycled paper pellets. It works great! The pellets prevent the shavings from being tracked, and the light colour of the shavings shows where Borys has gone. The combo of treated pine and the little blue deodorant papers really control odour.

I’m fortunate in that he’s extremely specific about where he aims. I gauge more by the “ski hill” created as litter piles up in one corner, as by odour or timetable.

Every day—well, several times a day; he is a fertilizer factory—I just toss a light handfull of this mix on his dirty spots. I’m getting 3-4 days out of two litter boxes (for a Lionhead), with no odour, no urine stains on my bun.

 When I say “no odour,” I mean it. I have a condition where I have a hyper sense of smell. The last time I had a cat, I had to keep the litter right beside the toilet, because I spontaneously vomit while scooping. So this discovery is a real blessing.

[Beka27]

I’ve never heard of that type! Interesting, glad it’s working for you!

“The perfect litter” is a very personal choice for people! I’m surprised you didn’t like the wood stove pellets, bc that’s usually what many of us recommend as a safe, inexpensive litter option with great absorbency and odor control. I have personally been using WSP (well… not ME, but my bunnies have!) for years and they don’t track around the house at all in my experience!

But again, different strokes for different folks!

[LittlePuffyTail]

After trying several different kinds, I’m happiest with Yesterday’s News. I think it’s really the best thing. A bit pricey but if used in a thin layer (just enough to absorb the pee) and topped with hay, it doesn’t use up too much litter and is great at keeping odours away.

[BunnyHugger]

Little PuffyTail, is Yesterday’s News paper pellets, or paper crumples?

I now put hay only in the corner of the box the rabbit doesn’t use as a bathroom. I found that putting hay over the entire litter confused them as to hay’s purpose, and caused more marking in their house or on the floor (hay everywhere!).

After I put Borys’ box on a plastic tray and placed an equal amount of hay in the box and on the tray, I found he eats more often from the tray than while sitting in the box.

Different bunnies are different. I’m dealing with a very dominant male who hasn’t yet been neutered, so who knows what he’ll be like when he stops being a firebreathing dragon…I mean Lionhead.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Pellets

[BunnyHugger]

“The perfect litter” is a very personal choice for people!

Yes, that’s why I used a question mark. To stimulate a discussion on bunny litter. It has, and I’m binky happy.

[Stickerbunny]

I just started using pine WSP (very thin layer on bottom) and aspen shavings on top for a softer feel. Will see how it goes.

[Megabunny]

Like Sarita, I’ve been using the horse pellet bedding. It doesn’t track at all. Maybe for horses because they have all those, um, grooves…or whatever you call them, where it probably gets stuck.

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