Flying Poo

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Hi I have a problem with flying poo (hence the title).

Fern is great with her litter box she uses it all the time, but when she jumps out of her litter box some poo flys with her. I was wondering if there was a way to prevent this as it is pretty annoying. I do not want to give her a covered litter box because she likes to look around while in her litter box. I have gotten a higher litter box and that helped a little but not enough to make a difference. I have thought about putting a grate over her litter but i was wondiering if she would get sore hocks from it, also how far apart would the bar spacing have to be and where could I get a grate that would fit in fern’s litter box?

Any other suggestions on how to stop the flying poo would be appreciated. it is actually kind of funny because the reason the poo flys so far is because fern (being the petty girl she is) flicks her feet back when she jumps out of her litter box because she does not like dirty litter boxes (even though hers is cleaned every day)

This is the litter box I have

http://www.petstore.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=DK22006&child=DK22007&utm_source=pscseggl&utm_medium=pscse&utm_term=pscsegglDK22007&utm_content=pscsegglPetmate%20High%20Back%20Cat%20Litter%20Pan%20with%20Microban%20(Large,%2019%20Inch%20L%20x%2015%20Inch%20W%20x%2010%20Inch%20H)&utm_campai

[Sarita]

I don’t think she will get sore hocks but I don’t think that is the answer as the poo’s usually lie on top of the grate and the grate is usually best used as a deterrent to digging.

Perhaps a shorter box would keep her from having to jump out and therefore keep the poo from flying. That box is pretty high.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

That actually is not the true dimensions of the litter box, mine is a bit smaller, ( I just realized this while measuring my box.) mine is quite a bit shorter.

[bunnytowne]

Ferns flying circus of poop.    Cotton does that sometimes too.   NO ideas on how to stop it though.

[Deleted User]

I have used a grated litter spot and all the poo falls through. It’s actually a small cage with grated bottom, 17″ by 24″ and it has helped me with a number of litter issues I was battling, such as throwing of the litter box, emptying all litter materials beside the box, and my dogs eating rabbit litter… . I do put hay in the centre, on top of the grated bottom for munching and trampling around, and my buns took to this litter solution very well. Their hocks are fine since this is only a toilet spot. The spacing between the bars of the bottom is half inch. It wasn’t cheap for a litter box, but I had tried other options without success, one of my rabbits will not use an enclosed litter box either but the cage he accepted because he can still see everything.

[jerseygirl]

Moonlight, you could easily put an insert in your box.  I, like Petzy, use a grated litter box.  It cuts down on the amount of litter I use and keeps 99.9% of stuff in the box.  There are always rogue poos.  For mine, I got a plastic tiered shoe rack and cut down one of the shelves to fit in the box.  The squares are large enough for poop to fall thru to bottom.  The little “legs” on the rack raise it of the bottom of the box by an inch or so.  I only put a sprinkling of litter in and there’s plenty room for everything to fall thru.  This pic has 1 &1/2 grates in it but I also have a box like yours which I just put one grate in (It doesn’t have to go all way to box edges). 

Sore hocks aren’t an issue as Petzy said because the buns aren’t permanently on this grate.  With mine, the grid is a flat sort of profile, not round like wire, anyway.  You should be able to hunt around and find some sort of grate  that fits your specifications.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Thanks I think I will try a grate. I just have to find one that works for me.

[MimzMum]

I would be interested to hear how this turns out, as my bunnies all tend to kick their back feet and send flyballs through the air, usually to land on my bed. >.<
I wonder how difficult the grate would be to keep clean, however? I would think more than one would be convenient so you can just switch it out at litter changes.

[MooBunnay]

I used to have grates for a couple of my bunnies, and in order to clean them I put them outside on the driveway, sprayed them with vinegar and let it sit about 30 seconds, then I sprayed them with the hose. Sometimes you’ll need to get out the paper towels for a couple stubborn spots, but for the most part I didn’t have too much trouble cleaning them.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Do you  think that bar spacing of 3/4 of an inch will hurt Fern ‘s feet? It has 3/4 of an inch one way and then the bar goes all the way across like this grate

It is not this grate though.

[jerseygirl]

With something like that you’d want to put hay on top but that kinda defeats the purpose. It could work but I don’t know if it would be far enough from the base for stuff to fall through. Also, if the one you have in mind is metal, the urine may eat at the metal a bit. Someone here (bunny muffin?) used egg crate diffuser from the hardware store. It’s called glocell I think – used for open vented skylights but also people use it in aquariums. She cable tied some lengths (2-3 square width) of it along the base of the grate to raise it off the bottom. Sorry if that doesn’t make sense. I’ll try find the post with the picture.

If Fern only pees in one corner, you could cover the cake rack one 2/3rds with something so most of her feet are protected. You’d just want to raise it more somehow.

[jerseygirl]

Found thread with Bunnymuffins pics. I’ll just copied the pics though.

I really like idea of using this stuff but can’t find it 🙁

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I use a grate for Chucks litter-hes fine some days but then gets it in his head that all the litter should be dumped and enjoys himself while doing so I just use a cube from the cube condo stuff and bent it to fit in the litter box-for larger boxes you could zip tie a couple together to cover it. I fill it up to the grate with litter and a bit of hay on top-so he’s not really standing on the grate (Since the litter is right up to it) but it totally deters digging of any kind-it works great!

[3crazybuns]

Hummm…this is interesting, Oreo goes in his box about 90% of the time, but I still find some piles out of the box on occasions as well. The funny thing about this though is its only in the morning, I think he waits til he knows I won’t be there to clean in for a good while! LOL

[Deleted User]

has anyone tried this litter box?

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752717

seems too small to me, unless you have a dwarf.

[BinkyBunny]

Petzy – I like the grate in that box (from the link) but I find that that box is too small, and my bunnies don’t do will with corner boxes. They can easily turn around and pee over the front edge. I wish they would make something so slick in the normal rectangular box.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Hehe I am such a geek I am exited about going to home depot/lowes to look for some egg crate diffuser, also known as lighting diffuser. Wish me luck at finding it!

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Success! I found some lighting diffuser! it works perfectly as a grid!
Thank you jersygirl! Without you I would be stuck using a yucky grid I made out of some other things. The light diffuser or egg diffuser is nice and My design looks very similar to bunnymuffin’s.
I am so happy becuase it looks nice and it is not as complex as the other one I made so it will be easier to clean. Thank you for the idea Jersygirl!

[jerseygirl]

Oh lucky you – I’m still stuck with yucky grid I made out of other things! lol Wish ME luck in finding that stuff! All credit to bunnymuffin, I’m just as impressed by her bunnies litter box – oh wow, I never thought I’d have litter box envy, but there you go! 

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Oh, I’m sorry I wish I could send you some of the stuff, I have so much left over.

[MooBunnay]

ooooh its called an egg crate diffuser? That would have been good to know when I went to Home Depot awhile ago and told them I was looking for “plastic-y grid things that were white”. I had some guy leading me around the whole store trying to figure out what in the world I was doing. Then when I told him what I was going to use it for he found one for me that was broken on the edge a little bit and said I could have it for free!

[jerseygirl]

Moobunnay, also glocell or glowcell.

[Deleted User]

I needed a litter box for Deirdra, and I set one up when I got her that was too small for her — poo flying everywhere, cecals stuck to the edge and pee running down the sides.

I made this one for the time being and it works for her larger size. I am using a half size (10 gallon) rubbermaid storage tote and a cooling rack at the bottom. The tote measures 22 x 15 x 8 in.
The spacing in the rack is a bit small for her big poos but at least her white feet aren’t getting pee stained. Also, the rubbermaid container already had holes in the handles where I threaded some wire through to attach it to the grids.

[Beka27]

That’s a good idea for a litterbox. Simple, but definitely large enough to keep everything confined.

[BinkyBunny]

I like that idea – I am always worried my bunnies won’t want to jump into such a high box though and they’ll just pee or poo right outside of it. You haven’t had any problems with that?

[jerseygirl]

I’ve got high sided boxes, one was a storage box that I cut down the front section of to lower it.  I find they jump over the high sides anyway on occasion.  I like to have a lower side though for when they’re feeling poorly and need to get into the box. 

My litter boxes have morphed many times.  I’m currently using wire like Petsy has. I got some chrome cutlery trays and inverted them.  Works great.  I’m not concerned about their feet as they spend less than 1% of there time in there.

This is what I currently use, so far so good. Just hope the metal stands up to the urine.

[Deleted User]

BB — I figured that Deirdra wouldn’t mind the 8″ jump since her powerful jumps were the reason for the high-flying poo in the first place. She was afraid of the new box at first … I was sure she would pee on my carpet… but she didn’t. Sometimes she will jump in from up on her shelf, too. Lint and Mops did as well, while they were in the condo when Deirdra was roaming. It surprised me that even they, being smaller, hopped right in. I see Jersey’s point, though, if they were feeling flat, I doubt they’d do this leap. I could cut out an entrance in that event.

JG, I need a cutlery tray like yours t o d a y !! This is the hardets part, finding an insert grid in the right dimensions. I had another rack in D’s box, but it was a bit weak and after her first jump it was bent.

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