My litter is bankrupting me!

[elemenoperica]

I have two buns who live separately and have their own litter boxes.  Lily is 5 lbs and William is 3 lbs. I use Kaytee SoftSorbent litter and change their boxes about every 3 or 4 days.  This really is not often enough–they’re stinking up my house with their wee!  I’ve tried different litters and find that they’ll eat the pelleted varieties, like Yesterdays News, so it seems I have to stick with the fluffy SoftSorbent or CareFresh type varieties.  The problem is, these litters are so expensive!  I spend more on litter than practically any other pet product.  Does anyone have any recommendations on how to minimize odor with these or similar varieties? 

[ScooterandAnnette]

We just use the pressed wood pellets for wood stoves – although they’ve been out of stock lately so we’ve been buying the litter version of them (which is more expensive). We change the litter out every day or two, any longer than that and it starts to stink.
– Annette

[bunnytowne]

I use Aspen with the odor removed.  Comes in 4.0 cu units and 10.00     Works well.  I change boxes twice a week.  Yes litter can be a big expense unfortunately.

[Beka27]

I have been able to switch over to the woodstove pellets recently. I found them at our local Lowe’s store and I bought 8 bags to last us until next winter. They’ve been awesome. I can change boxes every 3-4 days with absolutely no smell whatsoever.

[Deleted User]

I have this warehouse near me that sells only pet food and other things, not the actual pets. Their stuff is extremely cheap. My recomendations is to look around your house for some pet suply stores that have this kind of bargain. if you search hard enough i’m sure youll find something

[RabbitPam]

After Sammy’s spay this past week I used her favorite, Feline Pine, covered with a light layer of Care Fresh for extra softness on her incision. Feline Pine is sold at my grocery store, is wood stove pellets with the chemicals removed, and very cheap.

With any litter, the bigger the bag, the lower the price. So stock up on very large bags of the kind you like the best. I just discovered that the moisture went past the carefresh layer and the F. Pine soaked it up. The top stayed pleasant. It smells a bit like pine trees. She has not kicked away the carefresh (she did in the past) and I am still on a very small bag that’s barely started after 5 days.

Don’t get a large amount of any brand until your bun has confirmed that it’s ok. Then buy big! You can get a covered container, like the big plastic ones sold at Office Depot or WalMart, for storage.

[wendyzski]

Wood Stove pellets from the hardware store are awesome if you can find them (and it might be too late in the season for this year).  $4.99 for a 40 lb bag.

Failing that I used to use Feline Pine in the larger bags (Target carried them).  I can go a week between changes with that.

[LilynJestersMama]

I am going to have to try these woodstove pellets……the Carefresh does tend to add up $ – especially with 2 litter boxes. After a day, I am noticing more smell now too. Jester makes bigger puddles than Lily does- maybe that’s why! hehe

[Beka27]

LilysMama (and Jester’s… lol!) You might not be able to find woodstove pellets living in arizona. But… if there are any rural communities near you that might have horses, horse stall bedding is basically the exact same thing, exact same price. Do some research in your area, and even if you have to drive 30-60 minutes away… drive there, buy a lot (8-10 bags) at once and you will save so much money over the course of a year. In my area, WSP are 6 bucks for 40 pounds. The litter I was using before was 26 bucks for 40 pounds. So every month, I save 20 dollars automatically.

[LilynJestersMama]

Too funny, I wasn’t thinking when I created THAT screenname, was I?! hehe

Good idea!!……with our blazing hot summer approaching, I doubt any stores are selling WSP!

I will start my search!  Thanks once again, Beka!

[jerseygirl]

Just wanted to show you what I currently have for litter box as it might be an option you could try.  Initially, when I trialed putting a grid/grate in my buns box, I put it in the box she was already using.  She continued to use it no problem. After that, I could change box to a bigger one.  Not every bun will take to this, it’s a bit of trial and error.

So this is just a storage box with a plastic grate. (A shelf from one of those plastic tiered shoe racks).  So the grate is raised off the bottom of the box.  Another member uses egg crate grid (glocell) but I couldn’t find that material.

   

I sprinkle about 1 cup of a wood pellet over the bottom.  The wood pellets swell and crumble so the sawdust rises a bit toward the grate but the rabbit isn’t sitting in it and can’t eat it.  Whatever litter used, you can put less in and even add bi-carb soda to help with odors.  I bought a 30lb bag of Woody Pet in the 1st week of Jan. Cost about $10 (US)  I estimate I have used about 10lbs over 2 months. 

If you go for the more traditional style litter set up, a wood pellet or pellet/paper mix would help odors.  Plus, as it’s by far a cheaper litter , you can change it more frequently and reduce the smell. 

Other than wood stove pellets, there’s Equine Fresh, Feline Pine and Woody Pet that I know of.

Could the buns be eating a veg that makes the urine smelly? 

[Steve Parker]

That grid thing in the litter pan looks great.

Have you tried Yesterday’s News? It is ground newspaper in pellet form. It works well for me and doesn’t seem to cost too much. I get it at my local pet store. We change it every day.

[LilynJestersMama]

Thoughts on using this for litter (maybe not from this co., but a similar product)?

http://www.guardianhorsebedding.com/pinepellets.htm

I am going through Carefresh like crazy with Jester- he is a poop and pee machine I tell ya! hehe

Also, the smell is so much worse now- I never really had a problem with Lily’s box.  They are on the same exact diet.  He’s bigger than she is and generates more waste.

I’ve got to find a more cost-effective litter and find something to help with the odor too!  I do change their boxes every 2 days.

Beka, your suggestion started me on the search for horse bedding pellets.  Thank you!

I just came across these- might not be cheap but if they helped with odor control, I’d try ’em!   http://www.equinepine.com/why.html

I don’t want the shavings kind- oo, the Woody Pet is pellets too!  Glad I have some options

 

[dreamlessforever]

i use  a litter called equine pine, its feline pine but in a larger bag and cheaper. its also very similar to these wood stove pellets. equine pine in my area costs about $7 for 40lbs (which is freaking awesome lol). any feed or horse supply shop should have it, if not i am sure they will sell a rabbit safe litter for horses thats cheap. i found many other beddings i could use for litter but i like the equine pine best.

[Beka27]

Equine Pine is available at local tractor supply stores by me. That is a great option!

[elemenoperica]

Thank you all for the great suggestions!

What if they try to eat the equine/feline pine pellets? William will eat nearly anything that’s shaped like a pellet… is it dangerous for them to ingest this stuff? I’d assume so. I’ll try it out and watch them closely for the first few days.. hopefully they won’t eat it.

[Beka27]

can you do a thin layer of hay or straw over the top?

[elemenoperica]

Yes, but they are both very agressive diggers. William–especially–would dig through his litterbox to China if he had the chance. So layering won’t really make a difference for him. I could try the grate idea though… hadn’t thought of that before.

[LilynJestersMama]

Yeah, I too am wondering if my Lily girl will try to eat the new pellet litter.  She eats pieces of her Carefresh sometimes.  Hmmm…. 

Jester keeps moving his entire litter box into the middle of his pen, and then he goes potty in the spot where the litter box should be!!  Grrrr….. the poops I can handle but the urine is a little annoying!  I clean it daily/every other day, so I know he’s not boycotting it because it’s full!  I am going to try bungee cording or drilling holes in the litter box and attach it to his pen.

[wendyzski]

Pepper did teh same things and I now have her litterbox chained in place.

[MooBunnay]

If your bunnies are eating the pellets, try creating a grate like in Jerseygirl’s picture. Not only will this prevent them from eating the litter, but also from flinging the litter around since they are diggers. If you wander around WalMart of Home Depot, you can often find some creative things to use as mats! Just make sure that the holes are not so big that their feet will get stuck in them.

[skunklionshow]

I never thought to look at hardware stores for the woodstove pellets…DUH!

I use a layered approach to help keep costs down:  newspaper to line, some type of pressed pellet (i.e. wood or newspaper), and cover w/ carefresh.  Sometimes, I will use the wood shavings rather thanthe pressed pellet.  I try to budget a specific dollar amount each month for pet food & litter…so for the rabbits, it kinda depends on what my budget is.  I find the layers cuts down on stink & price.  I try to do a complete dump/change every 2 days.

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