is it the litter box that stinks or the bunny herself that stinks?

I don’t think Carefresh does a whole lot for odor control. You may want to try something wood-based like Aspen or Woodstove pellets, even Yesterday’s news, and you could do a layer under the Carefresh if you still wanted something soft.

My bunny’s litter had a foul odor until he was neutered.

How old is Juliet- are you sure “she” is a she?

I use wood pellets for litter and have been happy with the odor control- you can either buy horse stall bedding or wood stove pellets (with no accellerant)- and those are cheap- approx $6 for a 40lb bag.  Or there are pet store litters like Yesterdays News or Feline Pine- but you will pay much more for pet store litter.

I use a solution of vinegar and water to clean- but you want to make sure at this stage you do not get the litterbox spotless- or if you do add a little dirty litter back to the box to remind the bunny what it is for.

What is your cage set up like?  Is she using the litterbox only- or is she using other areas of the cage.

The only bunny of mine that truly stunk was Griffin- a young male that I got- and he reeked until we got him neutered and for awhile afterwards.

I line my litterboxes with newspaper then add wood pellets on top and throw some hay in (the rest of the hay is in the bin mounted above their litterbox) as bunnies like to eat and poo.   The newspaper will peel out in a soggy mess but it helps keep the wood pellets (now mush) directed into the garbage bag that I empty it into.

If she doesn’t like pellet type litter (My favorite is Aspen pellets, but they’re harder to find lately) than you can also try Aspen shavings. Pine shavings are very bad for bunnies, but Aspen is an entirely different wood, it’s safe, and it’s a very good odor control litter. Sammy likes her Aspen pellets or shavings. I just have to scoop out the shavings more frequently than the pellets.

vinegar and water wash of the rest of the cage, with a good rinse, will remove the smell from those areas so the litter box will smell like the place to return to for peeing and poos.

I think you’ll have an easier time finding pine pellets – aspen pellets are hard to find.

You never want to use pine shavings (only aspen shavings), but pine in pellets is fine because it’s processed differently.

I have used the aspen shavings UNDER the Yesterdays News to absorb some of the aroma. Jackson always smelled more than Coco ever did, until about a month after his neuter.

I would agree that a More absorbent litter ( not bedding) would really help.

i was not inpessed with yesterdays news once it was a day old it smelled like dusty cat litter. was it just the kind i had or is it all yesterdays news? i used Purina cat YN or somthing like that. i just know it was for cats.

You don’t really need to use bedding just the litter in her litter box. Part of the problem is that she just needs to get used to her new home as well to help her with litter training. As well as the altering.

Using bedding and the litterbox is pretty confusing too for them as well. They don’t need both. And it is such a hassle anyway for owners to clean cages with bedding in it :~)

Ditto Sarita. I didn’t read your post carefully and I missed that you had bedding on the floor of the cage and in the litter box. I think if you confine litter to just the litter box, she’ll get the hang of using it pretty quickly. She might just be confused about where she’s supposed to be peeing.

Mocha, I used YN for a while and never noticed any smell until day 4. I really liked it, but switched to wood stove pellets for the cost.

Oh, I also missed that part while reading! Must’ve been in a hurry… lol! Only putting litter in the box will make clean up easier for you (and soooooo much cheaper!) Imagine you walk into a room and there are 10 toilets in a row, but you’re only “supposed to” use one… how confusing would that be, trying to figure out where exactly to go when everything is the same? Littertraining is all about making things easy on the bunny so they can’t help but do the right thing.

You know what gets me..is that I won’t smell a thing and someone will come into my room raging about the smell and I can’t smell it at all….
I clean boxes every other day or everyday depending on when I come home. It’s really weird.

Elrohwen- what kind of YN do you use? or can you not say the brand?

As far as I know, Yesterday’s News is a trademarked brand. I believe it’s owned by Purina. I used to get the stuff for cats (unscented) but it’s the same stuff they make for buns – just in a larger package size for less money. I never had any issues with smell and it was completely odorless until it was time to change around 3-4 days.

Now I use wood stove pellets. I think they have more of a smell, but it would only bother me if my bun’s cage were in my bedroom. In its current location, I can’t smell the woody smell unless I get close to the box.

We use the unscented YN for cats too – You’re right Elrohwen, same stuff they market for Buns, but bigger and cheaper.
When I have found it, I have used pelleted straw bedding manufactured for horses. I was getting 35 pounds for like 7 bucks at the Blue Seal Feed Store in the US.

Its harder to find here in Canada, or at least in Montreal ( I should say) – so I am often crossing the border to haul over litter. When that runs out, I go back to Yesterdays news until I can smuggle (Kidding!) the pelleted straw horse bedding again.

My two Do live in my bedroom. I have found that a proper clean of the litter is needed every 4 days ( as in all fresh, vinegar and baking soda wash) Up until then, the YN, aspen underneath seems to squash any odor…and My husband is a Psycho about smells. He walks around the house Sniffing invisible smells asking me if I can smell them. So if the rabbits smelled, he would be screaming to high heaven about it!