What’s Your Favorite Litter?

[bbbunzo]

Hi guys! I’m moving to a new place and figured it would be a good time to litter train Allen. Right now he has a setup of puppy pads in the corner where he goes to the bathroom. I have no idea what kind of litter to get him! One person recommended Back2Nature paper pellets and I’ve seen that other people use newspaper. I don’t get the newspaper so that’s not really an option. What do y’all use?

Also, I’m going to research litter training to make sure I do it the best way. Any recommendations on resources to use? Thank you!!

[DanaNM]

I use compressed pine pellets, with a layer of fluffy hay on top. Many here do the same.

They are sold as either horse stall pellets, wood stove pellets, or feline pine (they are much more expensive if sold as feline pine).

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Kitkatebarr]

I use small pet select’s Soft Paper Bedding in bulk. (100$ for 3 bags that are 178L or 52L compressed, the bags are huge!). It sounds like a lot but so far has been one of the best deals for me since my bun goes through litter fast. I got a cat litter box set from the pet store. The set had two trays, the bottom layer is solid and the top layer has holes in it. I put the litter in the bottom tray and fill the top tray with hay. The day I started to use that set up for a litter box, was the last day Nova ever peed anywhere other than her litter box. it’s been wonderful!

[kurottabun]

Wood pellets. They’re great at odour control and has better absorbency than most (if not all) paper based litter and is also super cheap.

[Bunny House]

I agree with Dana and Kurotta, pine pellets have been the only thing to control the odor (especially with a 10 pound bun, really helps control the pee odor). But make sure they are kiln dried so the bad toxins are taken out of it. $6 a 40 pound bag lasts me 2 weeks.

[princessbookworm]

I use paper pellets (yesterdays news or off brand versions that are unscented) or pine pellets from the tractor supply store that have been kiln dried

When I first got Jake, I tried really hard to get carefresh to work. But he always tipped over his box. Plus now that we have a really large (store bought cage base as a litter box) tray, its more economical to get the pellets I notice no odor and I only change the litter once a week. No staining to the bunnies’ white feetsies either (which I did have with carefresh)

[Sirius&Luna]

I use Back2Nature – I’ve tried pine pellets but my buns refuse to use them. I find it’s good at absorbing odour and easy to clean.

[joea64]

Carefresh here. It’s fairly expensive, but it’s also good at controlling odor and Panda and Fernando find it so comfortable that they’ve taken up napping in their litterbox in the late afternoons in recent months. I can save some money by buying the plain variety from Friends of Rabbits when I go to get the bunnies’ monthly hay rations.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I`ve used Yesterday`s News for over 15 years.

[bbbunzo]

Thanks so much for the replies y’all!!! 

DanaNM I’ll look into where to get kiln dried pine/horse stall/wood stove/feline pellets to start with. Allen can be verrry particular so hopefully he wont turn his little nose up. 

Kitkatebarr I’m glad you’ve got it figured out! Hopefully Allen will catch on but I think he might be a little too used to the puppy pads. I wasn’t going to get the litter boxes with two levels, but I haven’t ordered them yet (I want to go with Petmate brand since they are US made and recycled). Does anyone else find the two trays particularly helpful?

kurottabun are wood pellets the same as pine? Do you get them from a pet store?

Bunny House I love hearing that you have a 10lb bun! Allen is 9lbs The price for pellets seems so cheap! Is $6 for 40lbs about what I should be expecting to pay or do you get them somewhere special?

princessbookworm that’s so good to know about the foot stains. Since Allen is white and loves to sit in his pee it’s been a problem trying to keep his feet and butt from turning yellow (part of why we’re trying the litter box). I looked for a Tractor Supply Co but they’re all outside of town. 

Sirius&Luna I’ll keep Back2Nature in mind as a backup since I have no idea how this will work out.

joea64 what is carefresh made of? What makes it more expensive?

Littlepuffytail I think that’s what I would probably do too. I’m not sure it’s worth me ordering the paper, though. Do you wad it up or lay it down or shred it somehow?

[LittlePuffyTail]

Yesterday’s News is actually a paper pellet litter brand. It’s made out of recycled newspaper. If you decide to try it, make sure to get the unscented kind. 

[Bunny House]

Yeah, big bunnies produce a lot of pee and poop? if you live in the us, tractor supply has them and they are $6 may be more depending on which state you’re in but it’s a great deal, now you’ll pay more for big brands because they have the power to charge more for less. But amazon is always a good place to look for wood pellet bedding!

[kurottabun]

Yes wood pellets are the same as pine pellets. But not all wood pellets are made of pine – some are made from other types of wood. Most of them are safe though as long as it’s not clumping and are actually pellets (not shavings).

I get mine from a pet store because it’s only available there where I’m from

[Azerane]

I also use wood pellet litter. It’s probably my favourite consumable pet product. Great odour control, good price if you get the horse stall brands, and lasts forever

[bbbunzo]

Thanks for the tip LittlePuffyTail! I totally thought you meant the newspaper! 

Bunny House, do they ever! Allen is my first bunny and I was kinda caught off guard by how frequently he goes. It’s like a poop factory in here! Thanks, I’ll look into getting stuff on Amazon if they don’t have it at our Tomlinsons store. The Tractor Supply stores are a little too far away to travel to.

kurottabun thanks for clarifying! I think I may be in the same boat going to a pet store if they have it.

Azerane I will look for the horse stall brand. Thanks for being specific!

In case my pet store doesn’t have horse stall pellets, do y’all know any other brands I should look for? I’m not moving until the end of next week so I’m just trying to plan right now for when the potty training begins. I’m so nervous!

[Layla the Bunny]

It’s a little late, but temporary, I would use paper shredding. Doesn’t have great odor control, but it works for a while. I’d just use it if you don’t have anything else to use

[joea64]

Tractor Supply not only sells pellet litter (and other types of litter), but also offers Standlee timothy hay by the bale (compressed) for – at least this was the price last time I was there – $20. The wording on the package claims it’s for horses, but it’s universally known that it’s suitable for bunnies – in fact Friends of Rabbits re-sells hay sourced from Standlee.

[bbbunzo]

I found a place here that is a farm store so I’m gonna call them tomorrow and see if they have the pine pellets.

Layla the Bunny I might need to do something like that if I end up ordering pellets online. Since we’re moving, I have a lot of packing paper. Do you think that would be ok? Is there an easy way to shred it all?

joea64 it didn’t occur to me that I could get hay at the farm store too and maybe save some money. If they don’t have the Standlee brand, are other brands not suitable for buns? I’ve only ever bought oxbow so I’m not sure what the difference between hays would be. Is Friends of Rabbits another store?

[bbbunzo]

Well I just called the farm store and this guy said they have pine pellets but I had to explain to him what kiln dried is and he said he thinks they are. He didn’t know if any of their hay was second cut and I’m pretty sure he didn’t know what I meant. I don’t really have a lot of confidence in buying from this place since the guy didn’t seem to know much about what they’re selling. So I’ll check what the pet store has when I go today, but I’m assuming the pellets will be marked up.

I’m looking at Amazon and there are a lot of options brand-wise and most of them seem expensive. I’m ordering litter pans from PetFlow and they have Feline Pine at 7lbs for $7. Should I just get that? I don’t want to get a huge bag at first in case Allen doesn’t like it.

Do any of you buy pine pellets online?

[Boing]

Carefresh! It’s the litter that finally made Cincinnati’s volume of urine manageable. I get the white stuff so I can easily clean boxes. After almost five years of litter box woes, his box is totally okay. It’s the best stuff ever!

[EmeraldDove]

I use ferret litter! Haha. It’s just paper but it controls odor so well and it soaks up a lot. I throw it into their bin and put hay on top. here is the link

https://www.chewy.com/marshall-premium-odor-control-ferret/dp/122502?utm_id=272255476&msclkid=e287e84e5b14111b6937b3c66257bf99&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping-Product%20Targets-Consumables-NB&utm_term=4584757331454744&utm_content=Small%20Pet%20Litter

I found out recently that it’s cheaper at tractor supply than on chewy.

[bbbunzo]

Hi guys! Just wanted to give an update:

First, thank you for all the replies! I really feel like I went into this litter training with some good knowledge because of everyone on BinkyBunny and it’s gone so well! I decided to start out with the pine pellets and had a hard time finding some close to me, but I did find a 20lb bag of Feline Pine for like $20 at the pet store, so we went with that first. Yesterday I made the trek to Tractor Supply and got the 40lbs bag for less than $6!

I got Allen peeing/pooping on a pile of litter on top of his regular puppy pad spot while we waited for the litter pans I ordered to come. Sometimes he peed next to the pile, but close enough.  We moved houses and Allen kept the same potty routine. His litter pans arrived (I got two) and I put them in his potty spot in the closet on top of puppy pads. It only took two days, but now Allen is going potty only in the pans! He uses both of them, so I’m hesitant to take one away. 

Do you guys think it’s okay for him to use two? They are side by side.

[LittlePuffyTail]

If he’s pooping and peeing in them both and you don’t mind cleaning them, I don’t see the problem. Who wouldn’t want a 2 bathroom home?

[bbbunzo]

Lol! He IS living a life of luxury now: two “bathrooms”, a new bigger yard, and a bedroom all to himself. Thanks for the support LittlePuffyTail! I lined the pans with a puppy pad, so the clean up has been easy. I’m dumping the litter contents into a compost pile in the backyard, so I can’t wait until months away when it’s ready to use! 

[Coco]

I just asked the same thing basically! I put a sheet of newspaper down ( I have friends save them for me) and cut a small puppy pad in half to put on top. I change this daily. My bun doesn’t go anywhere else. I had one that left his poo all over, but used his box for his pee thankfully. My new bun only goes in her litter box for both. It’s so easy to potty train bunnies!?

[bbbunzo]

Yay I’m glad someone else is in the same noob boat Allen’s so big and goes bathroom sooo much, before I had an area for him to use with FOUR puppy pads! It was probably overkill lol He would mostly only go on one of them but there was usually some crossover. My main issue was stains on his booty. I don’t know what color your bun is, but Allen is white and the yellow butt and dirty feet was not a cute look. He likes to sniff and sit in his pee after he goes D: The pellets are helping so much with that and his stains are fading really well. Now I’ve got ALL this litter he used and my compost pile is getting super big – I think I need to start throwing some away.

[BuckyLuna12]

I have angora rabbits so litter tends to stick to them ! I use pine pellets for them, and they do not stick to their fur like other litters. (As you may have guessed it is a real pain to try to pull out aspen wood shavings from their fur while grooming). I buy these pellets at my local farm store, fifty pounds for five dollars.

[bbbunzo]

Awww your angora is soooo cute! I love how fluffy they get, though I’ve never seen one in person I heard you can brush them and sell the fur on etsy or something. Have you ever done that? So nice to hear from another person using pine pellets. It helps me feel like I’m on the right track!

[Author]

Messages