Basic littering questions

[Piggy88]

Hi everyone! I’ve had my Holland lop for about 6 months now but I never realized about littering until recently! I just did what my friend does for her Holland Lop. 

What I’ve been doing is that I have this basic litter box from amazon and I just put paper towels or napkins on the bottom to absorb her pee. However it’s really messy to clean and doesn’t help with the smell at all. 

So my question is what’s the purpose of litter? I know that sounds silly but I don’t understand how these pellet-size litter helps! Does it absorb the pee and help with the smell?

Thanks in advance! Any feedback can really help!

[haffy]

when I got my first cat years ago I didn’t know what to do either so don’t worry!

For my bun, I line the litter tray with newspaper and then pour wood-based cat litter over it. The litter absorbs the pee and wood is safe for bunnys in case they nibble on it. I use newspaper at the bottom so that when I clean, I can just pour it into a plastic bag and use the clean bit of the newspaper to push down the litter and poop into the bag. When i didn’t use newspaper i really struggled cuz the pee makes the litter stick to the tray sometimes and then you have to touch it LOL.

If you’d like, I can show you pics of my litter tray?

[Piggy88]

Yes I would love a picture if that’s not too much trouble!

So the litter absorbs the pee but not all of it? And why do you use wood-based cat litter as opposed to other rabbit litters?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

The purpose of litter is to absorb the pee-that way it can dry and you don’t get the ammonia smell Many of us use wood stove pellets (you want the kind intended for a wood stove, with no additives/fuel) -they are super cheap (under 10$ for 40lbs or more), work amazing, and are safe for bunnies. You can also use paper or wood based cat litters (No clay, no clumping varieties) or the many litters available for rabbits (no wood chips).

[HereComesTheBun]

I recommend checking out this House Rabbit Society article on litters: http://rabbit.org/litterboxes-and-liver-disease-2/. It’s a little dense, but it really helped me understand the dangers of certain litters. Also, this article lists some good litter options at the end: http://www.sandiegorabbits.org/litt…-materials. 

Personally, I use aspen litter. I really enjoy the scent and find it effective in controlling the smell. That being said, I know it’s a little strong for some people, so I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to everybody. 

[Bam]

I use wood stove pellets, plain, no accelerants. It absorbs pee very well, it’s cheap and easy to deal with, the used litter I use as soil improvement/fertilizer in my garden. Where I live people use wood shavings a lot for bunnies, the kind used in horse-stables, but that is very, very messy, it spills all over the place and it’s bulky.

I’ve also tried Yesterday’s News, and it worked very well but it’s a lot more expensive, and bulky.

[Author]

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