How much litter do YOU go through?

[MimzMum]

It seems like, since his neuter, Mimzy tends to get very upset the minute his box is dirty, and then either throws the litterbox around to let me know it needs changing (especially at night when I’m trying to sleep) or he’ll actually HOLD his bowels until it is changed. (I SWEAR this is true,  he shows no signs that he needs to go -even while being held- AND HE WAITS until a clean box is inserted in the pen before he runs over and wets it. He also does this with the xpen…doesn’t want to use the box there, but waits until he gets back into his personal box, hopefully freshly cleaned!)

This concerns me to think he will do this and wind up impacting his excreatory system.

Now Pip has no such compulsions, and will poop anywhere she likes if the box is dirty, but tends to prefer it as clean as possible also. She also throws the box a lot (which drives my duaghter nuts) and often litter ends up in the water crock, etc.  (I think she secretly told Mimzy that litterbox tossing is THE THING to do.)

Now I know I can secure the boxes, but still, I bemoan the fact that all this box changing has me going through one of those huge bags of Good Mews about every week. ;_;

Most of the litter I wind up dumping is only slightly soiled, if at all. It’s not difficult to separate the clean from the dirty, and the buns definitely have a ‘favorite corner’ that they use all the time. I even turn the box 180 degrees to avail them of the clean side…but mostly it’s just ‘nothing doing’ until I get that box clean. It’s as if even a whiff of scent from the litterbox is enough for them to turn up their noses and either wait or potty elsewhere.

Seriously, I don’t have to clen MY toilet this much!

Do I just have neurotic buns or does anyone else have this problem?

[osprey]

I change my guys’ boxes once or twice a week.  They have 4, 3 in their condo and one outside in the family room for run around time.  I change Marilyn the foster bun’s box every two or three days, because she is not fixed, an boy, is she skunky.  I buy a 50 lb sack of Aspen Supreme and a 40 pound sack of Critter/Cat Country every 6 weeks or so.

 

[Gravehearted]

we have 3 bunnies and changed their boxes about every 5 days. i think the 50 bag of aspen supreme lasts about 3 -4 months for us, but we only put one large scoop in per litterbox. None of mine are quite so picky, like you’re describing Mimzy. I wonder why he is so unhappy with a dirty box.
If I do wait too long, they sometimes pee outside of the box to give me the hint.

[Lisa_43]

I change mine twice a day, they also get fresh hay at the same time.

I was using hemp litter but is costing me a lot of money, I changed and now use news paper.

[Staja]

Before Warren was neutered, I had to change his box every 3 days, because it would get stinky quickly. Now, I usually change it every 5 days. I’d say I go through a medium size bag of Carefresh every 5-6 weeks. When I clean the box, I always put down a layer of newspaper, then the Carefresh, then a layer of Brome Hay (I had bought it for him, and he refused to eat it, so I figured the litterbox was a good place for it) and then I top it off with his Sweet Meadow Farm Timothy, which he loves.

Sometimes, he’ll try to toss his box, to let me know I need to clean it, but I try really hard to keep up with it – we share a room, and I don’t like the smell of bunny pee =)

[Spacehopper]

Once a week. Phewf!! Brian hates my initial “cleaning” of it, and will jump into the box if i let him and pee before i’ve had chance to disinfect the bottom, put the bag down, line it with magazine (staples removed) and fill it with shredded paper and a selection of hays and a handful of pellets thrown in to keep them amused whilst relieving themselves Because they have the run of the flat when we are home and the run of the bedroom when we aren’t or when we’re asleep, they alternate between the litter box and the corner of their cage, so weekly is fine. Anything over and it starts to stink. We also invested in a paper shredder so all our unwanted post is recycled and put to GOOD use!! I’ve noticed they HATE the thick shreds of paper and so it’s fortunate the other half works for a printing company and we get masses of nice fine strips for them to park their rear-ends in.

[JK]

I clean mine daily because Edson pees so much. I use the wood stove pellets and even with changing the litter so often a 40lb bag lasts me a couple months. With the pellets all I need is a thin layer because it explodes so much. It’s really great stuff!

[Cadbury]

I use the Oxbow Eco-Straw, and I go through a 20-lb bag every 10-14 days. It’s crazy! I clean the box 2 x day (just scooping out poop and pee) and dump, disinfect and refill 1 x week. Cadbury loves to wait until I am in the process of cleaning the box, then go make it dirty again.

[Hedi]

I dont use bedding. My buns get mad and kick it all out of their boxes when I have tried to use it. So I just use newspaper and plenty of hay in their boxes. So I end up cleaning out litter boxes every other day.

[Beka27]

i’ve been relaxing my litterbox cleaning a bit lately, esp. since Meadow’s spay, there is really no smell at all in the box.  she lives in our living room and i can’t smell anything, and people that come over are shocked to see we have a giant pen in the living room b/c upon entering the house there’s no “animal smell”.  i used to do every other day.  now i’ve been doing every 3 days, sometimes every 4.  yesterday i was going to change her litterbox, but i decided to wait for today b/c it’s garbage day, so as soon as it’s clean i can take the bag to the curb.  she also needs a thorough vacuum today… i vacuum her enclosure rug once a week usually. 

i get the giant 40 lb bag of the pressed paper pellets (offbrand) and it usually costs betw/ 15 and 20 bucks depending if there’s a sale or coupon.  i buy it every 3 months or so.  i use a plastic sterilite container to keep some of it in, and i stow the giant bag away.  each cleaning i put two kitty litter scoops worth of litter in the box, so there’s maybe an inch and a half in there at most…  i’ve never heard of rabbits getting mad if a box is not spotless, altho once or twice i was a day late cleaning the box (before her spay) and she peed next to the box… kind of saying, “uh.  did you forget something, ma?”

[wendyzski]

I use Feline Pine and change once a week.  There is no smell, and Pepper is very neat. 

I even went nearly 2 weeks when I was so sick with the flu, and the only issue was that pootie balls were getting kicked around.

[Sage Cat]

I just realized I have almost had my buns a month now! I am going to get my 2nd bag of litter tomorrow.

I have been cleaning out their boxes every day – to get a routine down. Not that there is any smell – but, seeing all that poop drives me a little crazy.

Right now they have 3 boxes – but only go potty in 2 of them. They still hang out in the 3rd – no poop or pee – so, I am not sure if I should take it away or not.

I put at least an inch or so pf litter – the pressed news paper kind – but, from what y’all have said – I think I’m using too much.

[Megsabelle]

I go through one of the big bags of CareFresh about every 4-6 weeks with my 2 bunnies and 2 mice. They tend to only poop and pee in the back of the box, so I can just scoop out the soiled portion, redistribute the clean stuff and then put some new bedding on top along with some new hay. The boys will usually hop in and start pushing the bedding and fussing with the hay instantly, as if I’ve insulted them by disturbing their beds!

[bunnytowne]

I use the Aspen and it is lasting nearly 3 months. it is on the 21/2 month now with plenty to spare. next tiem I may get yesterdays news and  see how that goes. I use those litterboxes with a grate on top so the litter doesn’t stick only the hay does and spills too when I put it in and out etc. I clean the boxes like every 3 days now used to daily and his paper daily since he was using it instead of his box. I moved his box  to see if that would get him in it agian. I can see he tried to lift it since 1 corner is sticking up off the hooksy thing I am goign to go put it back down now.

[kimberleyanddarren]

i tried proper rabbit litter and hopscotch wouldnt go on it.. now im using just newspaper hay and straw as he wont go on anythin else.. weird bunny i clean his boxes every other day

[MimzMum]

Whew! Looks like I hit a nerve with this one! ^^; After reading all the responses, my guess is, I just have a couple of picky buns. Everybun seems to be different. I’m going to try the minimalist approach and see if I don’t waste as much litter that way.
Pip is just prolific. She really poops a lot and after a few uses, the box is full. >.<
No smell to speak of, (unless she drops caecotrophs (<sp?), but I can see I'll still have to do frequent changes.

OT, for a sec…lolz…This reminds me of a cartoon I drew of my cat, Griffyn. It started a whole line of sketches and panels that featured my littlest cat and our very stuffy older one. I should find a place to post them, I think there’s a lot of folks on here who could relate. ^^
I’ll go post them in the Lounge if I can find them.

Going to start a new one with the buns in it too…I hope I can still come up with material for chuckles.

[ScooterandAnnette]

Our bunnies have two litterboxes in their enclosure. One is changed daily–it’s a small one they really like, so they stink it up pretty quickly– while the other one every other day. They only pee in one corner of the latter box, so we’ll turn it 180 degrees so they use the “fresh” litter on the other side.

They also have a couple of boxes in the living room outside the enclosure, which get changed every 4-5 days or so.

We should check our investment portfolios to make sure we’re buying Purina stock, given the amount of Yesterday’s News we use!

[Bunnies4ever]

I change the litterbox every day so I go through a lot of critter country. Stella and Luna share a huge litterbox outside their cage and I use to have a smaller one inside their cage, but they never used it, so I took it away. I buy the 20lb bag of critter country for about $12.00/bag. I use to use carefresh, but like critter country better.

[apanda]

citter country is my favorite too! its a bit hard to find here though

[Bunnies4ever]

I want to try Yesterday’s News, but I can’t seem to find it in the Bay Area. I heard it’s like carefresh, but I wanted to check it out for myself. What I don’t get is when I go into the pet stores, there is a lot of items for ferrets, and ferrets are illegal in the state of California, but hardly any items for rabbits and the items they do have aren’t good for bunnies (food, treats). Strange….

[apanda]

lol that is weird. I actually saw yesterday’s news at a supermarket here (StopNShop, part of the Giant family) in the cat litter area. it is also sold here at the dreaded petco.

[kimberleyanddarren]

maybe you could try scooping around the box and making sure that the dirty stuff cant be seen? let us know how u are getting on

[MimzMum]

Ferrets are illegal in California? Whoa, that’s odd. My son loves ferrets (but I won’t let him get one) and he was thinking of going back to Calif. when he moved out. Hmm…throws a snag in his plans.

Well, I decided to strew more hay in the litter box for him instead of just putting litter in, and now he’s not throwing it. 0.o Go figure.

Bunnies are so strange! >.<

[Bunnies4ever]

Yeah, ferrets are illegal here, but that doesn’t stop folks from having them. Sugar gliders are illegal too.

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