Bunny Litter....HELP??

[NoahsMommy]

Hey there,
We need some help....when we adopted Thomas for Faith, he was using that recyclable litter stuff. The person we adopted her from said he was used to that and we should use it. So we got some and it is TERRIBLE! They kick it all over the floor and we have to vacume it every day!! We've already wasted 2 bags this way and it isn't all that cheap...Zippy, Karen, anyone with a house bun...what type of litter do you use? (And where do you get it?) We were told that wood shavings are BAD....any ideas???? Our apartment is in destress....along with our vacume cleaner!

[Karen]

We use the litter made from recycles newspapers called Carefresh. Do you have a "bunny" litter box? They're triangle shaped, with two sides being nice and high - which must be so they don't scatter litter easily. Hoppy uses hers just fine, but her litter box is in her cage, so it's not on the floor where it would get stuff on the floor in that case. She also gets a layer of hay on top of the litter, and she LOVES to rearrange the hay - maybe your bunnies are just rearranging stuff?
We have her cage it in the laundry room where there is no carpet, so I just sweep up any loose hay with a broom. Hay, by the way, is death on vacuum cleaners - burns the motor right out.

[ December 10, 2001: Message edited by: Karen ]

[zippy-kat]

Hi Kelly!

Here's what Miz Sophie prefers...

1) She HATES the 'rabbit pans' that Miz Karen described. She REFUSES to use it, will even push it out of her cage. So I have and a decent sized kitty pan that stays in her cage. She uses that with no fuss.

2) I tried the Carefresh and it's a mess! Plus, Sophie eats it. I just use shredded newspaper. It's cheap (after the initial cost of the shredder) plus you can pick up thrifty-nickels for free, if you don't have a regular paper. Bunnikins tried to eat it once but I guess the ink was nasty--hasn't touched it since.

Good luck...let us know what works for ya!

[zippy-kat]

Originally posted by zippy-kat:
<STRONG>I tried the Carefresh and it's a mess! </STRONG>

Wait...maybe I am ... carefresh is the litter that's in pellets? or is that yesterdays news? I used the type of 'litter' that actually looked a bit like pillow fluff. It was Messy! I'm sure it wouldn't be if I could get Soph to use a pan like Hoppy's though. I'm hesitant to use the kinda that looks like pellets--I'm afraid she might start eating that instead of her regular pellets.

AND speaking of pellets, do you guys know of any other brand besides Oxbow that makes a Timmy-based pellet?

[Karen]

Carefresh isn't pellets - it's just clumps of stuff - kinda looks like kleenex after its been through the laundry. It's okay if the bunny munches it a little, I'm told, but that's why Hoppy has hay on top - to munch, and to rearrange!

[zippy-kat]

Ok, I did have Carefresh. (Think I still have a little bit of it somewhere.) Maybe I'll try it with the hay on top! Thanks Karen!

[NoahsMommy]

We used CareFresh and that is what they got all over the floor. I think we may try it with hay over the top so they wont make a mess.

Thanks!!!

[Daisylover]

I too use Carefresh. Our rabbit specialist vet said if the buns eat a little it won't harm them (I find that hard to believe). Yes it is messy but the hay really works. I've also bought the cat pans that have a plastic basket-like grid that sits on top of the litter and they have had no problem using it, plus it keeps their feet cleaner and dry when they linger in their litter. I've put hay in the basket part of that one too. For some reason they like to sit, eat and pee at the same time so it works out well. Yes, pine/cedar shavings are bad-bad-bad for their respiratory system. Hope this helps.

[NoahsMommy]

Thank you for all of your suggestions! I just ordered a large, high-sides, litter box that we are going to attach to the bunny gate (their play area) and will stick with CareFresh with hay over the top...

Thank you!!