To protect my bun’s feet from touching urine I use these plastic grates that put in the litter box. I have a pet peeve that feet should be clean and not stained, especially if she’s white! I’ve used this method for Chilly, who’s an albino so she’s completely white down to her hocks. I went to Home Depot–lighting department. They sell plastic overhead lighting covers (about 46″x22″x1/2″). It’s the kind that you see in department stores’ ceiling lights. The idea is that urine will pass through the grate never touching her feet!
Here’s what to do: Buy one sheet and use some metal clippers to cut pieces down to the size of your litter pan. The ideal size should fit on the floor your litter pan. Repeat 3-4 times. Stack them up and use a zip tie to secure all of them. Do no zip too tightly because you’ll want to be able to flip the pieces around for cleaning. Place the tied sheets in the litter box for use. Be sure the litter pan has sides high enough so that your bunny won’t pee go over the sides, being that the floor is now raised. I made 2 sets so that I can swap out the clean for the soiled. Having an extra pan is ideal. If your pan is shallow you can try 2 sheets stacked high.
There’s two ways to go about using this method:
Method One: without litter (aka. unfiltered)
Chilly was not a typical rabbit. She didn’t poop while eating timothy hay. Since she separated those tasks, I put the grates in her box without any litter. I changed her box & grates every other day or until I could smell it. I saved so much money for not having to buy litter!
Cleaning was super easy. Take everything to the garbage and remove the grates by the zip tie (so you don’t have touch pee or poop). Dump out everything and shake the grates clean. This may require a bit of banging against the side of the garbage can to loosen any poop stuck in the squares. Next, rise everything. Put grates back in litter pan. Then you’re done! Urine does stain over time, so you’ll want to soak the grates in the little pan with a vinegar-water solution for a few hours every other cleaning or at least once a month.
Method Two: with newspaper &/or hay (aka. filtered)
Posey, my new rabbit poops and eats hay at the same time (typical bunny). I’ve layered the grates in the litter pan: First is a grate, then some newspaper, then a grate, then some timothy hay. By the time I can see the grate below the timothy hay, it’s time to change the pan. Also because there’s a layer of newspaper under everything the squares clog faster and then you’re back to bunny sitting in pee. Cleaning is same as above.
I’ve been doing this for a number of years with great success. I’ve seen some shelters use this type of method as well, so that must mean something’s working. Good luck!
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