Baking soda and coffee for odor?

[PamperB]

Hi everyone! 

I’m taking Pamper for her first/pre-spay consult with her new vet next week. I know this procedure can reduce the smell of her poop and concentrated urine, or something of the sort. Until then, I’m trying to reduce the general barn/ammonia smell. She lives in my room. It’s summer right now in Argentina with temperatures as high as 40°C (105° F) so opening the windows to let hot air in is not really an option right now. I clean her cage and tray everyday or two, and scrub it all with vinegar, then wash it down thoroughly. 

I read that coffee, placed out of the bunny’s reach but in the same room, can mask odors in general. Is it okay for me to place small bowls of coffee grounds in places up high in my room? Can this cause my bunny any respiratory harm? 

Also read that placing a very small amount of baking soda after I clean her cage and sort of mixing it around with her litter can help absorb the bad smell. Note: I place the litter tray beneath her cage floor, so she doesn’t have any direct contact with the litter or the poop and pee. This is the way her cage has always been, she’s never been on top of her bedding/litter, like I’ve seen that so many of you do. So she wouldn’t be in danger of ingesting the baking soda at all. 

Since she goes in her condo when I sleep, she is right next to where she poops and pees during these hours. She has a history of eating my purses and then having GI-like symptoms, and my room is too complicated and small to completely bunnyproof. My question was more about the possibility of her breathing it in at night. Is this a reality even when using extremely little amounts of baking soda?

Thank you!

[JackRabbit]

It sounds like you have a grate-bottom cage if the poop and pee fall through to a litterbox. Grates are really hard on little bunny feet and can cause sore raw hocks. I’ve never had a problem with odor with any of my bunnies, and my lops pee and poop alot! In the past I’ve used Carefresh Natural bedding in their litterboxes, and now use a mix of aspen pellet litter and Carefresh to keep the cost down a bit. We empty and refill litterboxes every night and they are pretty full. I’m wondering if its either the type of litter that you are using (doesn’t absorb odors) or if the pee/poop is staying on the grate and smelling bad.

[Megabunny]

And do you have air conditioning inside? Just plain heat will contribute to the smell.
I don’t think that the soda would be much problem given where it is and it isn’t getting stirred up, but as JR said, wire isn’t the best for buns and she’s hopefully got a favorite spot to pee in , so maybe you can put some carpeting in the other areas? I’ve never heard of coffee grounds being a problem…but then I just learned that avocados will kill a rabbit, so what do I know?

[Bam]

Coffea grounds that are out of the bunny’s reach won’t harm a bunny, but if the bunny ingested it it could of course be toxic.

Perhaps you should wait with the spay until the temp is cooler? I don’t know how you do things in Argentina (obviously), but warmth makes bacteria thrive. It is a big operation, after all.

Baking soda is relatively harmless and much used for odor-reduction. I don’t think breathing it in would be problematic unless you use very much and it gets stirred up into a cloud all the time.

Wire-bottom cages are not recommended for bunnies, as JR says it’s harsh on their little feet.

[PamperB]

Hi everyone! Thanks for the answers.

1) When I adopted her, the previous owner had this type of cage. Later on, I bought the grids to make the cube condo from the USA. They are imported so we don’t have any way to get them here except if you buy them there and bring them to Argentina (importations are closed so YOU have to bring them directly). I didn’t know any better at the time and maintained that format. Her condo is made of the cube grids and has two floors, most of which are covered by appropriate carpeting so the only place that is not, is right on top of the litter box. I was extra careful and overlapped two grids there, and tied them together so the little spaces aren’t big enough for her to accidentally get her foot stuck. The spaces are big enough for her poop and pee to go through, but not big enough for her foot to go in. I was thinking about switching from this format to what everybody else has (her standing directly on the litter) but unfortunately the only type of bedding/litter we get here is the cat stones (no-no) or the pine pellets that turn to mush when it’s wet. My biggest fear is that she’ll eat it if she stands on top of it. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can make this transition?

2) I do have air conditioning, so I’m pretty sure that direct heat isn’t the problem. The sun doesn’t directly hit the cage or the litterbox. It’s always a nice temperature in my room (for my bunny’s and my sake).

3) Bam, I hadn’t thought about the bacteria and stuff. That’s clever. I will talk to the vet. Since she turned one in December, I would’ve spayed her last year but we moved and I didn’t really find a vet who I trusted (rabbit-savvy vets are very very hard to come by here). Would it be okay if I postponed the surgery till we have better weather? Maybe till fall. I know that the longer you wait, the more chances the bunny has of developing certain types of cancer and other reproductive diseases so I don’t really know whether to wait.

[PamperB]

Hi everyone! Thanks for the answers.

1) When I adopted her, the previous owner had this type of cage. Later on, I bought the grids to make the cube condo from the USA. They are imported so we don’t have any way to get them here except if you buy them there and bring them to Argentina (importations are closed so YOU have to bring them directly). I didn’t know any better at the time and maintained that format. Her condo is made of the cube grids and has two floors, most of which are covered by appropriate carpeting so the only place that is not, is right on top of the litter box. I was extra careful and overlapped two grids there, and tied them together so the little spaces aren’t big enough for her to accidentally get her foot stuck. The spaces are big enough for her poop and pee to go through, but not big enough for her foot to go in. I was thinking about switching from this format to what everybody else has (her standing directly on the litter) but unfortunately the only type of bedding/litter we get here is the cat stones (no-no) or the pine pellets that turn to mush when it’s wet. My biggest fear is that she’ll eat it if she stands on top of it. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can make this transition?

2) I do have air conditioning, so I’m pretty sure that direct heat isn’t the problem. The sun doesn’t directly hit the cage or the litterbox. It’s always a nice temperature in my room (for my bunny’s and my sake).

3) Bam, I hadn’t thought about the bacteria and stuff. That’s clever. I will talk to the vet. Since she turned one in December, I would’ve spayed her last year but we moved and I didn’t really find a vet who I trusted (rabbit-savvy vets are very very hard to come by here). Would it be okay if I postponed the surgery till we have better weather? Maybe till fall. I know that the longer you wait, the more chances the bunny has of developing certain types of cancer and other reproductive diseases so I don’t really know whether to wait.

[PamperB]

Hi everyone! Thanks for the answers.

1) When I adopted her, the previous owner had this type of cage. Later on, I bought the grids to make the cube condo from the USA. They are imported so we don’t have any way to get them here except if you buy them there and bring them to Argentina (importations are closed so YOU have to bring them directly). I didn’t know any better at the time and maintained that format. Her condo is made of the cube grids and has two floors, most of which are covered by appropriate carpeting so the only place that is not, is right on top of the litter box. I was extra careful and overlapped two grids there, and tied them together so the little spaces aren’t big enough for her to accidentally get her foot stuck. The spaces are big enough for her poop and pee to go through, but not big enough for her foot to go in. I was thinking about switching from this format to what everybody else has (her standing directly on the litter) but unfortunately the only type of bedding/litter we get here is the cat stones (no-no) or the pine pellets that turn to mush when it’s wet. My biggest fear is that she’ll eat it if she stands on top of it. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can make this transition?

2) I do have air conditioning, so I’m pretty sure that direct heat isn’t the problem. The sun doesn’t directly hit the cage or the litterbox. It’s always a nice temperature in my room (for my bunny’s and my sake).

3) Bam, I hadn’t thought about the bacteria and stuff. That’s clever. I will talk to the vet. Since she turned one in December, I would’ve spayed her last year but we moved and I didn’t really find a vet who I trusted (rabbit-savvy vets are very very hard to come by here). Would it be okay if I postponed the surgery till we have better weather? Maybe till fall. I know that the longer you wait, the more chances the bunny has of developing certain types of cancer and other reproductive diseases so I don’t really know whether to wait.

[PamperB]

Oh, apparently we also have very buggy internet too, haha. Sorry about the triple post!

[A Flying Brick]

I’d get it done ASAP, so she doesn’t get too hormonal.
As for the litter tray, I’d just empty it every day as well as use the baking soda. Baking soda is very cheap and can be used with vinagar to clean up any puddles of pee. There are better/easier cleaners but this method is dirt cheap and natural. (And the one my grandma keeps telling me to use)
Baking soda is a base so it’ll neutralise the acid from Pamper’s pee also, killing alot of the smell and making it easier to clean up.

[Author]

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