Litter odor control

nobunnynoclue · Apr 12, 2012

I clean litter boxes once a week on the weekends. 7 days of urine collecting is just too much for Fiona. She drinks water like a defcon 4 diabetic living in the Mohave desert. And she pees like Seabiscuit.

Besides cleaning the litter box more frequently, what do you all do (or what can I do) to minimize the potent urine smell produced by Fiona's epic bladder?

I have searched the archives here for litter suggestions. This led me to many recommendations to a brand called Woody Pet around 2005. I went looking for it. My search led me to a company called Guardian (same company) and a product for horse bedding (same product). That led me to Gardian Angel cat litter (still same product) which led me down a rabbit hole (pun intended) and to Feline Pine (still same basic product as Woody Pet).

I'm going to give Feline Pine a try. But I also read about litter additives including putting a layer of baking soda on the bottom of the box.

There are other, more chemically, additives but I have no idea if these are safe to use with a rabbit. Or if Baking soda is safe either for that matter.

Any tips anyone can give would be greatly appreciated.

LaylaLop · Apr 12, 2012

I think baking soda would get clumpy and may not be good if they ate it. I use Good Mews (cheaper version of Yesterday's News but works the same) and change twice a week. Nothing but more frequent litterbox changes will help.

I wouldn't try anything chemically. Prevention of odor is your best bet!

nobunnynoclue · Apr 12, 2012

Assuming cleaning the litter boxes more often than once weekly is not an option (altho making it a chore for the kids Isn't a bad idea), what other tricks or suggestions do you guys have?

Also in your archives I have read about adding vanilla extract to the bunny's drinking water. Or adding tea to it too. I don't know if these are frowned upon these days, but they weren't a few years ago.

caustin4 · Apr 12, 2012

Some people say adding a little bit of apple cider vinegar to the rabbits drinking water helps combat the bad smell of their urine.some rabbits won't drink their water if it's in there so make sure the rabbit is still drinking plenty of water. I don't have rabbits with an awful urine smell (and I can't stand te smell of apple cider vinegar), but my sister tried this and it seems to help a little bit.

ZRabbits · Apr 12, 2012

I swear by ACV (apple cider vinegar). It has worked for all our bunnies. Caustin4 is right, if the ACV is a little strong, your bunny might back off drinking it. Dobby did it for awhile but is back drinking it again.

Introduce it slowly so your bunny can get used to the taste. Mine all love it. A few drops a day in their water. Increase a drop a week.

Example: Dobby and Willard - 15 drops in a 12 oz bowl.
Kreacher - 10 drops in a 8 oz bowl.
Neville & Luna - 5 drops in an 8 oz bowl.

Also ACV has the ability to adjust PH in their digestive system. To keep away arthritic minerals that they do not need.

Know about the ton of water being drunk and being released. We change litter boxes every 2-3 days. And there is only a slight odor when we change.

It doesn't remove the urine smell but it does definitely taper off. All our bunnies live inside so we really needed to do something because we were change litter boxes every other day. It definitely helps the odor and the bunny. And it's good for people too! Does the same identical thing to our metabolism. Believe it or not, it can wipe out any heartburn issues in humans. Better than tums.

K