Rabbit Care Necessities: Litter

Rabbit litter has been mentioned and talked about multiple times on the blog, but I feel that finding the correct litter for not only your situation, but your rabbit’s too. It’s so incredibly important to find a litter that fits your lifestyle and budget, along with what will work for your rabbit.

Finding the Right Litter For Your Situation, & Your Rabbit’s:

The following litter options that will be mentioned below will be hay, wood stove pellets, cat litter, paper bedding (Carefresh), and wood-stove pellets.

Hay:

There are rabbit owners that will use hay as litter, so that your rabbit can eat the clean hay, and ignore the soiled hay.

Reasons: Simple, easy to clean, convenient, and functional, very cheap.

To take into consideration:

• Hay doesn’t absorb liquids
• The pee may omit odors
• The hay will be wasted
• The litter pan will be very dirty without any protection

Wood Stove Pellets:

Wood stove pellets are great for anyone who happens to live in the country where wood stove pellets will be more commonly sold.

Reasons: Cheap, very easily accessed, absorption is definitely there.

To take into consideration:

• May be dusty
• Doesn’t have much of an odor control

Cat Litter:

Cat litter is absolutely great for anyone who already owns cats because you don’t need to worry about the new litter to buy.

Reasons: Very convenient, not too dusty, very helpful as for odor control reasons, some are environmentally safe.

To take into consideration:

• Pretty expensive
• Must be wood/paper pellets (no clay or clumping litter)
• Has to be scent free to be safe for your rabbit’s respiratory system

Carefresh and Other Paper Bedding Brand:

Carefresh is great to get at pet stores for fun colors and different types of paper litter that is beneficial for the environment.

Reasons: Soft on hocks, very presentable,  makes exuberant and joyful themes.

To take into consideration:

• Expensive
• Isn’t very good with odor control, a better controlling litter will need to be underneath.
• Dusty/messy

Horse stall Bedding:

Horse stall bedding pellets are great for easy access picking up at almost any store, and for great prices.

Reasons: Very cheap, convenient, very absorbent, odor control is great, wood smells nice, often found in bulk.

To take into consideration

• The bag is often very heavy
• Can be a little dusty, but not terrible overall

The Point of Litter:

The whole point of litter is to absorb liquids, that’s really what the run-down is. Even though finding the correct litter for your rabbit is a bit of a task because the average person would say something similar to, “It’s just litter,” finding the correct litter could save your rabbit’s life, and prevent plenty of pain.

Litter is very beneficial for many pets, and should be taken seriously, like any animal product should. The correct litter for the appropriate situation is key, so look out for the little tips that I gave out above, in case anyone would be willing to reread a bit.

What Happens to Rabbits Without Litter & Litter Boxes?

Obviously, for those who don’t know, any litter is meant to absorb fluids from pets, the most commonly known pet to use a litter box would be a cat. Rabbits are very similar in the way that cats would also use a litter box, besides the more serious side effects that come with avoiding the supplying process of a rabbit litter box.

I realize that this would most likely be the same for cats as well, but I feel that all cat owners already know that cats should have litter boxes, yet many out there don’t realize that rabbits should too.

The side-effects that come along when a rabbit isn’t properly litter box trained, or if the litter box isn’t even supplied include:

• Potential indoor flystrike: Indoor flystrike is the same as usual flystrike, besides the fact that it is affecting an indoor rabbit. Indoor flystrike really is only possible if the rabbit has terrible hygiene, and if the litter and litter box isn’t properly cleaned and changed.
• Other parasites and bug infestations: Realizing how many bugs and parasites come into access because a rabbit wasn’t given proper litter is just disgraceful. Keep in mind, these different creepy crawlies are also coming for you, because your rabbit lives in the same area as you. Why would anybody restrict a rabbit’s access to a litter box though? That’s like telling someone that they can’t use the toilet, even though they’re so easy access.
• Matted fur: Matted fur isn’t all that bad right? WRONG! Matted fur can cause a rabbit’s set of stools to stick to it’s fur, which is a terrible situation to begin with, until the different illnesses that are more likely to occur show up because the stools are considered, it just makes everything even worse.

And the other side-effects that are guaranteed to occur and happen would be the terrible scent drifting around your house, along with the terrible hygiene that your rabbit was forced to live through. For most people, this alone would be enough to differ the person’s original perspective, but for others, maybe not. If this alone doesn’t persuade anyone, please read up on all of the predicaments that become major risks without proper litter and litter boxes.

Posting Dates and Times:

• Rabbit Care Necessities: Litter: 9/9/2019: 5:45 P.M. Central Time, (USA)
• Is a Pair of Bunnies Right For You? For Everyone? 9/11/2019: 6:00 P.M. CT., (USA)
• The French Angora Rabbit Breed: 9/13/2019: 4:50 P.M. Central Time, (USA)
• Rabbit Care Necessities: The Exercise Pen: 9/15/2019: 4:55 P.M. Central Time, (USA)
• Why Should Rabbits Be Kept in Pairs?: 9/17/2019: 5:25 P.M. Central Time, (USA)