Less messy litter

[Liung]

So after a LOT of work I’ve made an epic condo for my buns in our new apartment. Previously Lahi and Delilah had to stay with my parents since my fiancé and I were living in a one-room basement apartment that wasn’t okay with pets. Furthermore, he has a strong asthmatic allergic reaction that fur, so I resolved that when we got a place with a spare room I’d make that the bunny room so their fur and smell would be mostly contained and they’d still have plenty of room to themselves.



The plan is to eventually allow them to occasionally run around the entire apartment but have their permanent residence stay in the room. To that end! I’ve tried to design everything to be as contained and mess free as possible. Their previous enclosure at my parent’s house had them constantly tracking shavings out of the litter box and cage all over the enclosure, and quickly out into the main area.



(That is not actually how bad it got, Delilah managed to squeeze behind the mirror, tear a hole in the bag of shavings, drag it out everywhere and proceeded to look exceedingly proud of herself for “helping”. But I had to vacuum the entire area about once a week because wood shavings got literally everywhere.

So when designing the condo I said “I’m going to minimize the amount of shavings I have to use. Litter in litter boxes only, no bedding areas”, and put the litter boxes at the bottom of the enclosure with the thought that gravity would help keep the shavings contained. I also designed hay boxes to go right next to the litter boxes, to keep the hay contained. Instead of a hay rack where it falls all over the floor, it falls into the litter box! Everything is contained!



And within the enclosure, it is. But what I didn’t foresee: that the litter cupboards would be the most convenient way for them to come in and out of the condo. Basically those doors are never shut, and my floor looked like this:



I just came back from a three day trip and without me cleaning the room meticulously every day, there were shavings everywhere, poop scattered all over the floor, and a very strong smell. And I’ve watched, the buns rarely poop outside the litter. But as they jump out of the cupboard to the floor, somehow their feet flick poop into the air to follow them out. It’s truly bizarre.

And meticulously cleaning the floor everyday isn’t easy. I don’t feel comfortable vacuuming every day and potentially stressing Lahi out with the noise, but sweeping carpet doesn’t work well. I can’t put any kind of grid/grate on the litter, because he’s got sore hocks. Maybe a lipped litter would work better but I sort of screwed myself by designing the litter cupboard to the measurements of the litter boxes.

Is there a litter that is less horrifically messy than wood shavings? Right now I do a layer of aspen wood shavings covered by a layer of orchard grass hay with the intention of preventing the shavings from doing its spreading thing, but the buns seem to prefer the orchard grass over the timothy in the hay box and eat through it in a day.

I work at a pet store so I’m in a unique position of being able to have most anything made by a company ordered in for me, and I’m willing to try something new.

I’ve seen people talk about wood pellets but always I’ve only seen pine pellets, and pine = softwood = bad (though someone assured me that the pellets don’t have the aroma the shavings do). Would something like this work?



Aspen pellets, $16.49 CAD for 18.5 lbs

Alternatively, any other suggestions? I’m working both day shifts and night shifts on top of managing a severe circadian rhythm disorder, trying to keep the room clean and ensure my fiancé doesn’t have an allergy attack feels like it’s taking up so much of my time and energy, I’m really hoping someone has a better way.

 

[Popsicles]

Yeah shavings are the absolute messiest and I hate them for that reason! Never again. I use paper pellets, specifically back2nature, but I know there’s also yesterday’s news and other brands. And the wood pellets that a lot of members on here use are simply the wood stove pellets you can buy in hardware stores etc. As long as the wood is untreated and no scents added etc it should be safe for bunnies!
The added bonus is that paper and wood pellets are way better at absorbing smells than shavings and so your room should also smell much fresher!

 

[samoth]

Not sure about Canada, but here in Michigan we have Tractor Supply Company stores that carry wood pellets. I believe they're untreated pine intended for horses.

Has your fiance tried any OTC allergy drugs? Allergy-induced asthma isn't super common with rabbits. Has he been tested for rabbit dander? Might it be the type(s) of hay causing the reaction?

 

[Liung]

I definitely think I’m going to try the wood pellets. They don’t seem to me to be comfortable for buns to sit in but since moving into the condo they don’t seem to prefer hanging out in the litter boxes anyway. And I am SO SICK of trying to pick tiny wood shavings out of the carpet.

My fiancé’s allergy is to all fur, and it’s more contact-based—he has to actually touch or be touched by fur. Or actually it is probably the dander/saliva, since he reacts to hypoallergenic dogs like poodles the same.

He pets a dog and he breaks out in hives, he enters a house with cats and his throat tightens and he has trouble breathing. Delilah hops on the couch between us and after petting her for a while his eyes are streaming and his nose is running.

My mum has an asthma-type allergy to the saliva in the fur, but it’s slow and it takes a couple days in the same space with an animal before she has trouble breathing. And her allergy is to feathers as well. His allergy is much faster and more severe, but doesn’t happen unless he either touches an animal or it’s an animal like a rabbit or cat that has drifty, airborne fur.

However it also seems like he can develop a tolerance to individual animals. His dad’s dog Bubba only provokes mild itchiness if he pets him, and the two of us were staying with some friends who had two cats every weekend for a couple months, and now we can visit them and he doesn’t even need to take allergy meds to prevent his throat from completely closing up. So fingers crossed that happens with the buns too!

Usually when we know we’re going somewhere that will have a lot of fur (especially cat fur!) he’ll take some Reactin, and then as long as he doesn’t actually pet the animal he’s fine. But he’s against taking medication long-term. Our current arrangement of having the spare room be the bunny room means he hasn’t had too many problems in the months since we moved in, but I notice him getting congested if he’s in the bunny room for more than a few minutes. As it is I’m looking into air purifiers to see if that can help.

I don’t know if he’s allergic to hay or shavings, but since he’s already dealing with breathing problems with their fur I want to make absolutely sure the litter smell isn’t making it worse.

Also, it was a pretty big concession of him to be okay with sharing a living space with them when he risks his throat closing up, so I really don’t want him to have cause to complain about something like smell or mess.

 

[Blue eyes]

The best way to maintain a litter box that has either the wood pellets or the compressed paper pellets is to top it with hay. The hay gives them something soft to lay on (instead of just the pellets) and it has the added benefit of keeping odor down in the pellet layer (and not wafting up into the air).

Here's a full, used, about-to-be-cleaned-out litter box that has wood pellets at the bottom and has had hay added to it twice per day for a week (1 rabbit). You can see how the hay gets tamped down and while this one has plenty of poo (hence the need to clean it!) it can be lain in without bunny being directly on the wood (or paper) pellets.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

Don't use the pine shavings! They are too messy and (I read somewhere) that the smell can cause cancer. I would try the paper or wood pellets as other people suggested. Don't use timothy hay to line the litter box. Use straw, if you use timothy hay it will be wasted. Timothy hay is too expensive to be wasted.
BTW- AWESOME condo!

 

[JBun]

Don't use the pine shavings! They are too messy and (I read somewhere) that the smell can cause cancer. I would try the paper or wood pellets as other people suggested. Don't use timothy hay to line the litter box. Use straw, if you use timothy hay it will be wasted. Timothy hay is too expensive to be wasted.
BTW- AWESOME condo!

It depends. If you buy timothy hay by the bale at a feed store, it's pretty cheap. I throw out loads of timothy hay that my rabbits have wasted. It's just part of having rabbits, and I don't mind because it's not very expensive.

 

[Blue eyes]

Don't use timothy hay to line the litter box. Use straw, if you use timothy hay it will be wasted. Timothy hay is too expensive to be wasted.

Timothy hay is just fine -- preferred actually -- to put on top of the pellets. The reason for this is that it encourages the rabbit to go in the box to eat the hay. Rabbits may eat straw which has zero nutritional value. Eating straw may discourage them from eating hay but we want our rabbits to eat LOTS of hay!

A bale of timothy (or any other grass hay -- mine get bermuda grass hay) is quite cheap and lasts a long time. A bale of hay can last last two rabbits for 8 months but only costs about $17. (probably cheaper in other areas) And that is with me adding generous amounts to the box twice per day.

 

[samoth]

I definitely think I’m going to try the wood pellets. They don’t seem to me to be comfortable for buns to sit in but since moving into the condo they don’t seem to prefer hanging out in the litter boxes anyway. And I am SO SICK of trying to pick tiny wood shavings out of the carpet.

I recommend going the route Blue Eyes posted. That seems to work well. The wood pellets will disintigrate after being soiled, so having a layer of bedding and hay keeps the pellet mess at the bottom of the litter box.

My rabbits didn't like sitting on plain pellets at all, but they're just fine wtih what Blue Eyes posted.

However it also seems like he can develop a tolerance to individual animals. His dad’s dog Bubba only provokes mild itchiness if he pets him, and the two of us were staying with some friends who had two cats every weekend for a couple months, and now we can visit them and he doesn’t even need to take allergy meds to prevent his throat from completely closing up. So fingers crossed that happens with the buns too!

Age can also help. I had horrible allergy-induced asthma as a kid and couldn't be around anything with fur or feathers . I was also allergic to dust, pollen, and pretty much everything outside. However, it lessened in my late teens to the point where it was almost gone in my 20s. Now in my 30s I have house rabbits and no issues whatsoever with them.

Usually when we know we’re going somewhere that will have a lot of fur (especially cat fur!) he’ll take some Reactin, and then as long as he doesn’t actually pet the animal he’s fine. But he’s against taking medication long-term. Our current arrangement of having the spare room be the bunny room means he hasn’t had too many problems in the months since we moved in, but I notice him getting congested if he’s in the bunny room for more than a few minutes. As it is I’m looking into air purifiers to see if that can help.

I don’t know if he’s allergic to hay or shavings, but since he’s already dealing with breathing problems with their fur I want to make absolutely sure the litter smell isn’t making it worse.

Also, it was a pretty big concession of him to be okay with sharing a living space with them when he risks his throat closing up, so I really don’t want him to have cause to complain about something like smell or mess.

Certain types of hay can be much easier on allergies. Timothy's usually one of the worst, and orchard one of the better tolerated for those with allergies/asthma.

I was thinking that if an allergy panel was available (and free through insurance), it might be worthwhile for him to see what his body reacts to the most and work from there. When I was a kid, this involved a paint roller full of needles... but was helpful for my parents to target the biggest trigger for my allergies.

I wish you guys the best of luck! And that condo is fantastic

 

[Liung]

This is what I woke up to this morning. Oh, Delilah. What a horrific mess.

Right now I’m using aspen shavings with orchard grass on top—they have Timothy hay in their hay box but I find it’s very stabby, and the last thing I want is for a piece of hay to stab Lahi in his sore hocks. Only, they seem to prefer eating hay out of the litter, rather than from the hay box, so it doesn’t last that long. As long as the hay is on top it keeps the shavings mostly contained, but once it’s gone...

All the hay you see in this mess is Timothy hay that’s been pulled or fallen out of the box. Is Timothy hay significantly healthier for them? If it’s not going to make a huge difference I feel like I should switch full-time to orchard grass. They seem to prefer it anyway and it’s not messy like this.

 

[Blue eyes]

Orchard grass is just fine. Timothy isn't necessary. As long as it is some type of grass hay (not legume).

If they eat the hay from the litter box anyway, then you could remove the hay box if it is making a mess.

As I mentioned earlier, the pellets (as opposed to shavings) aren't going to spill out like shavings. You can see in my photo above that even after a week, everything in that box is contained. I'll see if I can find a photo of the cage too after that amount of time to show extent of "mess."

 

[Blue eyes]

Found a photo showing the cage after a week's worth of mess...


They have their cage door open all day every day. The cardboard they were chewing on seems to have made as much mess as the hay. (Some of the hay 'spill' may be from me too when I refresh the hay and it doesn't all make it in the box.)

 

[Liung]

@Blue eyes but what about the pine? Softwood = phenols = bad for them. The wood pellets I found in the catalogue are aspen and I’ve ordered them, but I’ve found cat litter that’s pine pellets, and I’m wary about that. I haven’t found any hardware stores that sell the wood stove pellets people keep mentioning.

 

[Blue eyes]

Pine pellets are safe. The process used to compress them removes the phenols. Same with kiln-dried pine shavings. The kiln-drying renders them safe. (I just find all shavings annoyingly messy.)

 

[Liung]

Used the aspen pellets for the first time last night. About an inch layer, covered them with the last of my shavings for familiarity purposes, topped it off with orchard grass hay. Woke up to this:



DELILAH WHYYYYYY

It looks worse than it is because the aspen pellets are only a slightly lighter shade of brown than their poop. That is not ALL poop. But it is still a tremendous mess.

 

[Liung]

Thankfully they are actually easier to sweep up from the carpet than the shavings. So that’s a success at least.

 

[JBun]

Try a screen over the pellets. A soft screen should be ok for sore hocks, especially with a layer of hay over it. I made mine from pet window screening and it completely solved the digging problem. You can see in the picture below that it's just the plastic pet screening for windows, then I secured plastic panel edging around it. If you're interested in making one I can repost the instructions here, including photos.

I also provide a dig box full of crumpled up newspaper as an alternative, so they can still use their natural instinct of digging, with very little mess as it's contained to mostly the box.

 

[Liung]

I have a bunch of shredded paper that I put underneath a bin that they’ve been enjoying rummaging through, it makes a mess that gets strewn around everywhere but I’m a little nervous that if I put the bin upright they’ll decide it’s a new litter box. I use paper as their litter after surgery to make sure particles don’t get in the incision, so they’re familiar with paper as litter material.

Pet window screening? Can’t say I’ve heard of it. The picture is showing as a broken link for me.

Delilah LOVES to dig in the litter box and the amount of hoops I had to jump through last time to keep the mess contained were extreme and not really repeatable this time.

 

[JBun]

See if the photo is showing up now.

If you're in the UK here is the pet screen that I used.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001VCC4DW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Liung]

Oh, so that just looks like an ordinary window screen to me. Is there something about it that makes it a “pet” screen?