Plastic Pieces in Litter

[Roxie]

Hi everyone! I use a recycled newspaper brand for litter for my rabbits. The past couple of bags I’ve opened have had various pieces of plastic. At least that’s what it feels like to the touch. Some pieces are produced in the litter pellets and some are in the bag on their own. I can’t seem to find anything online about what it could be. Has anyone encountered this before or have an idea what it is?

I attached a picture. Mostly I found lots of white plastic pieces and there was also one green and one clear one I found. All very hard and a little sharp! They do not dissolve in water so I can only assume that they should not be part of the litter.

I plan on contacting the brand but thought I’d ask here as well. Thanks!

[tobyluv]

Is it the recycled newspaper pellet litter that you are using?  I don’t use that kind of litter, but in a Google search just now, I found an old post (from 2015) where the poster was using All Living Things paper pellet litter from Pet Smart and it contained small pieces of sharp plastic, pieces of dried paint, pieces of latex and other things that shouldn’t be in there.   You should definitely contact the litter manufacturer and also contact the store where you bought the litter.  You may want to change brands or change the type of litter you use.  Hopefully, your rabbits do not eat or chew on any of their litter.  Rabbits have ingested plastic from time to time without apparent harm – there have been posts  here about that, but it’s still better for them to not ingest any, of course.

[Roxie]

Yes, that’s the kind of litter I use but not the same brand. Thank you for responding and suggesting I contact the store as well. It doesn’t seem like they eat it but I’m not taking chances.

[tobyluv]

It is best to not take chances.  Even if your bunnies don’t ingest any of the litter, you don’t want them sitting on and hopping across possibly sharp pieces of plastic or any sharp items.  I hope that the litter manufacturer and the store will listen to your concerns, and that the manufacturer will take actions to make sure their litter is free from foreign objects.

Welcome to the Binky Bunny forums!

[Roxie]

I bought the litter from Chewy.com and they were so apologetic and told their warehouse right away. Purina is the brand and they’re doing a Quality Control investigation. I really hope they do.

I’ve been thinking about finding a way to make my own litter because it seems like all other brands have an foreign objects in theirs as well. It’s just very unsettling. Yesterday’s News is what I buy and I have found plastic in almost every paper pellet from 3 bags of the unscented softer texture and unscented original formula.

Thank you for the welcome!

[tobyluv]

It’s not impossible for small bits of foreign objects to be caught up in bags of litter or in any item on an assembly line from time to time, but for it to be occurring in every bag in unacceptable.  I use Oxbow Eco Straw Litter, then I cover that with Carefresh or Critter Care Paper Bedding to make a softer surface for my rabbits to sit on.  I also use Pine Pellet Litter Bedding from Small Pet Select in a litter box that I have on the screen porch where my bunnies love to hang out.  Since the pine smell is kind of strong to me, I only use that on the porch where there is good ventilation from all the fresh air. I don’t know if you have ever tried any of these brands before.  I have never noticed any plastic or other foreign objects in any of those litters, but that doesn’t mean that there have never been any present. It seems like it might be difficult to make your own litter, although torn or cut up newspaper is a homemade litter that some people might use.  It’s free if you already take the newspaper or know someone who would pass along theirs.  Unfortunately, newspaper has little to no odor control and the urine can puddle up at first before it soaks into the paper, giving bunnies wet feet, so it’s not a very good litter.

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