tried Feline Pine, now he’s wheezing ???

[TronicAndMrPeepers]

 I have been trying to find a good inexpensive litter for my 2 rabbits.  I haven’t been happy with the odor control from a lot of the paper beddings, and read that Feline Pine would be good to try.  I’ve had it in for about a week, and I’ve noticed my Holland Lop, Mr. Peepers was sneezing a bit.  Whenever we come into the room, Mr. Peepers runs around and hums, today his hums are squeaks, it sounds like he just can’t get the hum out.  I’ve switched the litter back to a paper I’ve used before, could the Feline Pine be the problem?  If so, will he get better on his own, or should I get him to a vet?  There aren’t really any good rabbit vets near me, and the one that does treat rabbits doesn’t seem to know much about them so I’m not even sure how much help it would be!

 

 

[Monkeybun]

Was it the scented or unscented?

[LoveChaCha]

Litter wouldn’t make your rabbit squeak. Perhaps sneeze but there seems to be a medical condition under neath. Rabbits don’t show there is something wrong with them – due to being a prey animal.

How far are you willing to drive? Have you tried the house rabbit society website for vet recommendations?

[bunnymum16]

maybe because Feline Pine turns to dust/powder when peed on??do you have the original formula of Feline Pine??im using Feline Pine on 2 of my bunnies and they never had a problem with it.

Hope your bunny’s ok.if you think its the litter,switch him back to the old one and see how he will react.if he gets worse,a vet check would be very helpful.

[TronicAndMrPeepers]

I’m not sure if it was unscented or not, I think it was but I poured the bag into the rubbermaid tote I keep litter in and threw it out. I know bunnies don’t really show they are sick, but he’s running around binkying and being as playful as ever, and I can’t imagine he’d be doing that if he felt bad. The litter does seem to be really dusty when it’s wet, so I’m hoping its just the dust bothering him. My other rabbit is fine, but Mr. Peepers is not as hardy as her (he overproduces cecals and has a sensitive stomach). He also has always been very good about his litterbox habits, no matter what I changed it to, but the first time I used FP he had an accident and I had to mix a little old litter in to get him to use his box. Maybe an allergy???

[bunnymum16]

just keep using the old litter just to make sure he will be fine.

[MimzMum]

I will say that I noticed some of my bunnies (especially my Holland Lop) had some unexpected sensitivity to Feline Pine, Mimzy can’t even have it in the room with him. I’m sure the litter is just fine, my bunnies just did not do well with it. My Mini-Rex was eating it and it was giving him poopy butt because he’s on a restricted diet and eating litter of any kind is a no-no…but try telling him that!

I think the lops just in general have more nasal problems. At least that’s what I’m finding with Mimzy. I don’t think the litter is bad, just some bunnies can be sensitive to it, unscented or no. In fact I find even the slightest hint of scent will set him off, that goes for my soaps and washes also.

[Michelle&Lolli]

I ended up switching to Yesterday’s News permanently just because the Feline Pine does dry down to dust when they use it. Plus Eddie was eating it. And while that was probably fine, it worried me. lol But it is possible that the dust is bothering him. If you can find a good rabbit vet, I’d take him in for a checkup just to be on the safe side. I’d also do what the others suggested and switch back to the old litter if possible and see how he does then.

[KatnipCrzy]

I use Wood Stove Pellets- but I am always careful to avoid as much of the “dust” as I can.  Any pelleted litter product is liable to create some “dust” as it small particles reformed into pellets.  So I like to try to pour it into the litter bin outside- and when I am towards the end of the bucket- I find more “dust”  there that I discard.

I would recommend a vet visit if he continues to wheeze.  How long have you had this bunny?

[jerseygirl]

Hopefully it was just an irritant and will clear up on it’s own/ Of course, observe and get him in if it’s not improving. Even if you don’t have good rabbit vets at hand, most will carry baytril and this is often the first anti biotic given to rabbits. A good place to start.

You could try Aspen Supreme if you want to try another wood pellet litter. I might be harder to find then pine pellets.

[TronicAndMrPeepers]

I took Mr. Peepers to the vet today to be safe… he has a fever and a respiratory bug. I’m not sure if the litter had anything to do with it, but I’m not going to use it to be safe. They gave me Baytril to inject for the next 5 days since the tablet can cause tummy problems – and he already has enough of those! I hope this works out for him, his sneezing has gotten really bad today. He’s still acting very happy and playful though so I guess we caught it early. Not sure how I’m going to handle giving him shots though!

[Sarita]

Vibes to Mr. Peepers. I wouldn’t think that the litter caused the upper respiratory infection – it could very well have been a coincidence but better to be safe than sorry.

Did the vet show you how to give injections?

[cactuspancake]

yeah uh… sounds like it would take three people to give bunny an injection!

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