Can i put cat litter for a bunny?
Thursday, June 24th, 2010 at
2:18 am
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Filed under: Cat Litter
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According to the House Rabbit Sociery:
What types of litter should I use?
It depends on what’s available in your area and what your rabbit’s habits are. Keep in mind the following as you choose your litter:
most rabbits spend lots of time in their litter boxes
rabbits will always nibble some of the litter
rabbit urine has a very strong odor.
House Rabbit Society recommends organic litters, made from alfalfa, oat, citrus or paper. (Some brands to look for: Care Fresh, Cat Country, Critter Country, Yesterday’s News, and Papurr) For a complete listing of litter types, see the litter boxes and liver disease article.
Stay away from litters made from softwoods, like pine or cedar shavings or chips, as these products are thought to cause liver damage in rabbits who use them. CatWorks litter has been linked to zinc poisoning. Swheat Scoop Litter should be avoided, because rabbits will often ingest it. Because it is comprised of wheat, it is very high in carbohydrates and can cause obesity, excessive cecal production, diarrhea, bacterial imbalance, and other health issues.
Another approach is to place a handful of hay in each box, or to simply use hay as litter. It is helpful to put several layers of newspaper under the hay, to absorb urine so that your rabbit is not standing in the urine. Most newspapers today are using soy-based ink, which is safe for your rabbit, but check with your local newspaper to make sure first. Obviously, you need to change the hay fairly frequently (daily), since your rabbit will be eating it. This method often helps to encourage good litter habits as well as to encourage hay consumption, since rabbits often eat at or near the same time as they use the litter box.
Pros and cons of the various types of litter include:
clay litter is dusty–if your bunny is a digger, the dust can make her vulnerable to pneumonia
the deodorant crystals in some clay litters are toxic
clumping litters will clump inside the rabbit’s digestive and respiratory tracts (the latter if they manage to make enough dust to breathe) causing serious problems and often leading to death
pine and cedar shavings emit gases that cause liver damage when breathed by the bunny
corn cob litter isn’t absorbent and doesn’t control odor, and has the the risk of being eaten and casing a lethal blockage.
oat- and alfalfa-based litters (available from Purina, Manna-Pro, and King-Soopers groceries [not sure what the geographical range of this chain is]) have excellent odor controlling qualities, but if a rabbit eats too much, they expand and cause bloating; these, too, can be added, with the bunny’s waste, to compost
newspapers are absorbent, but don’t control odor
citrus-based litters work well, offer no dangers, and can be composted, but may be hard to get and expensive in some areas of the country/world
some people have reported success with peat moss which can also be composted
Many people have great success with litter made from paper pulp or recycled paper products. These litters are very good at absorbing and cutting down on odors. A litter called CAREfresh is available. You can find out about local places that carry Carefresh by emailing absorbs@absorption-corp.com or by calling 1-800-242-2287. A similar litter in a pelleted form is called Cellu-Dri 1-800-382-5001. These litters are harmless if ingested.
Compressed sawdust pellets: are inexpensive, highly absorbent litters used in many foster homes. They are made from softwood or hardwood sawdust, but they are not toxic because the phenolic compounds are removed during their manufacture. Their wood composition helps control bacterial growth and odors. Wood stove fuel pellets and Feline Pine are two examples of this product.
Litters made from Aspen bark are safe and good at absorbing odors. One brand is called GentleTouch 1-800-545-9853.
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/litter.html
cat littler works fine, I used the finest I could get (almost like a sand) and worked fine. Easier to clean than a cat too
No, you shouldn’t use cat liter. Cat litter has clay in it and can cause rabbits respiratry problems and can also give them a digestive block. You could use news paper, wood chips e.t.c have a search on the net type in "litter training rabbit" and for the odor you could use baking soda and / or white vinegar. You could also buy a spray here is a link…….
http://search.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=rabbitshop&query=litter&.autodone=http%3A%2F%2Frabbitshop.stores.yahoo.net
There as been at least 5 confirmed death of rabbits from zinc poisioning which is found in cat litter.
Good luck
It could be ok, but i wouldn’t risk it. The clay could really harm you rabbit, especially if you rabbit likes to eat things. I would go with all natural small animal litter that can’t harm your rabbit. I use Soft-Sorbent from Kaytee.
hope this helps!
yes you can. and they sell odor eliminating stuff at petsmart
You can but you have to put it somewhere where they can’t eat it in the cage