Cat litter box

Has anyone used a cat litter box for their rabbit? I'm wondering if it would work the same.

Almost all of ours have cat boxes--various sizes and we even have some on the floor filled with shredded newspaper so they can dig and play in them.

We have 2 cat boxes for the rabbits (and some of the sad tiny corner ones for them too). The only time I've seen issues with them is with arthritic buns- they may need the cat boxes with lower lips.

I just use a wal-mart storage box - bigger and cheaper.

When u change the rabbits litter you empty the whole thing right? And this is done every 2-3 days. Doesn't this get expensive? Sorry for all the questions, I am getting ready to get a bunny and I'm Learning a lot from this site by seeing how people do things

Questions are great! It's the best way to learn!

We clean out and empty our big ones once per week and the small ones every other day. It definitely can get expensive, but, in my opinion, that simply comes along with owning a pet. Unfortunately.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001411SK0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I'm wondering if something like this would work for a rabbit. Like keeping the smell down without having to change the litter every other day.

Well, you won't be able to use the tidy cat litter that comes with it. Most cat litter contains clay particles, which aren't good for rabbits. I don't know effective the taller sides would be for keeping the smell down. For the most part with rabbits, what smells is the pee. With Pippi (she's a 4 pound Holland Lop), she's just so small that she doesn't produce much, so going a week without emptying her litterbox is fine. Butterscotch and Ellie are twice her size, and theirs needed cleaning twice a week. (Plus, Butterscotch is a guy, so his pee just naturally smells stronger) So, really, it depends on the individual rabbit. Also, the presence of odor would depend on if it's a guy or girl rabbit, and if it has been spayed pretty neutered. All three of mine have been spayed and neutered, and Pippi doesn't smell at all. Ellie doesn't like using her litterbox, so of course, she smells a bit. And Butterscotch is a dude, so he can be a bit smelly too.

Frankly, even with the worst smelling rabbit pee, they don't stink nearly as much as dog or cat pee...

And, though the description on that litterbox says it's not the "traditional clay litter," when you expand the description box, at the bottom is a list of specifications, and the litter is still clay based.

A lot of us here use recycled newspaper litter, but others have had good success with wood pellet litter. I don't know much about wood pellet litter, so someone else would be better suited for that, if you have any questions. ^_^

Any clay or clumping litters are a big no-no with rabbits. There's really no need for such an elaborate set up.

I've used lots of different litters over the years for rabbits but the pelleted litters (either paper or wood) work best both for ease of cleaning and for odor control.

Personally I prefer the wood pellets over the paper pellets (though the paper would be a close 2nd choice). The wood cost less and (my opinion) are a tad better at odor control.

A 40 lb bag of wood pellets costs between $4 and $7 (depending on where you live). One bag would last up to two months (with two rabbits). So it is super cheap. It took me awhile to adjust to the wood pellets and I wasted quite a bit early on. They expand like crazy. I finally realized I only need a small amount to start with.

I changed the litter twice a week with two rabbits, once a week now that I'm down to one rabbit. There is no smell at all unless I go past a week. I explain on my website how I maintain the litter box between cleanings with lots of hay. You can see photos of this at my website (just click here).

I'll definitely be looking into this. ^_^

I use newspaper in the bottom of my litter boxes and pile the hay on top. It's cheap and it does the trick. I don't feel bad about throwing the newspaper out every 2 or 3 days and it works just as well. Also, like said above, shredding newspaper can be fun for the buns as well ^_^. I really wouldn't worry too much about the smell because rabbit urine hardly smells at all. Really, you'd have to stick your nose right up in it. What you will smell is hay which most rabbit lovers find kind of nice.

I also recommend wood pellets. If you can get wood STOVE pellets, even better! Here in Toronto I only pay about $4 USD for a 50 lb. bag. You can choose between softwood (pine etc.) and hardwood. I use hardwood because they don't have the oils that pine, spruce etc. contain. Get the kind that contain NO additives or flame accelerants. You can get them at Home Depot and similar stores.

The only catch is that they only sell them from September/October until around March. I just stock up when they're available. I find 4 bags do me for the whole year for two small/medium rabbits. I put newspaper on the bottom of their litter boxes, then enough pellets to just cover the paper, then the hay. The pellets expand and break down into sawdust when damp, but they're not dusty. I use plain litter boxes from the dollar store.

Thanks everyone that's very helpful!

I use plain cat litter boxes from Walmart for like $3.50
I use aspen shavings in them.

BlackRabbits said:

I also recommend wood pellets. If you can get wood STOVE pellets, even better! Here in Toronto I only pay about $4 USD for a 50 lb. bag. You can choose between softwood (pine etc.) and hardwood. I use hardwood because they don't have the oils that pine, spruce etc. contain. Get the kind that contain NO additives or flame accelerants. You can get them at Home Depot and similar stores.

The only catch is that they only sell them from September/October until around March. I just stock up when they're available. I find 4 bags do me for the whole year for two small/medium rabbits. I put newspaper on the bottom of their litter boxes, then enough pellets to just cover the paper, then the hay. The pellets expand and break down into sawdust when damp, but they're not dusty. I use plain litter boxes from the dollar store.

Click to expand...

let me ask,
IS there a possibility that rabbit would eat some wood while eating hay?

I have some wood stove pellets from last year but I don't like them. Maybe I use them wrong?

Thumperina said:

let me ask,
IS there a possibility that rabbit would eat some wood while eating hay?

I have some wood stove pellets from last year but I don't like them. Maybe I use them wrong?

Click to expand...

Good question!

I have never seen any evidence that they eat the pellets (like sawdust in their poop). Wood stove pellets are bigger and heavier than something like Yesterday's News cat litter pellets (which I've also used when I can't get the wood pellets). The wood stove pellets are heavier than the hay, have a slick surface, and tend to fall down to the bottom of the litter box. Once they get damp they break down into sawdust, which also seems to stay underneath the hay.

I don't use many pellets, just barely enough to cover the layer of newspaper. They swell to two or three times their size when wet. I guess if you were concerned about them getting eaten by mistake, you could put them underneath the newspaper.

One thing to avoid is cat litter made of ground walnut shells. I used it for a new kitten once and found it was sticking to her feet and she was ingesting it. I had similar problems with a wheat based litter called "Swheat scoop".

BlackRabbits said:

I also recommend wood pellets.

The only catch is that they only sell them from September/October until around March.

Click to expand...

I'm surprised they are only available for that short a time in Toronto. You'd think they would stock them longer in cold areas (where people are using the wood stoves).

Our Home Depot's don't carry them ever because it is too hot where we live.:sunshine: I usually have to resort to feed stores and get the horse pellets. (I was able to stock up from Home Depot once when we traveled to the mountains -- they had them there.):clapping:

I use a regular square cat litter box for my rabbit. She prefers it over her metal grated litterbox.

I put about 1 inch of feline pine in the bottom of the litter box and cover it with Aspen then put hay on one end. The feline pine absorbs most of the urine and keeps the smell under control. I can go a week before it gets rank. Been doing this for 11 years. My 11 year old bunny still uses the box.