Important litter question!!

[lena]

We are getting our first rabbit tomorrow, and we have never had to buy litter before. Of course, the pet store only sells the cat varieties :rollseyes. We spent around half an hour in the store trying to pick one based on multiple different online sources that contradicted one another. We finally settled on Pestell's Easy Clean Pine Cat Litter. This is what it says on their website:

"Pestell Pine Cat Litter is made from 100% natural recycled products. The litter is made from pine shavings, is cleaned and kiln dried to improve the purity and absorbency of the product then compressed into pellets for ease of use and convenience. Pine has a clean, natural smell which helps mask odors normally associated with litter pans.
Pestell Pine Cat Litter has the capacity to absorb three times its weight in water. This absorption capacity is the key ingredient in controlling odor in the litter pan and providing longer product use. And because Pestell Pine Cat Litter is 100% biodegradable, it is easy to dispose of, unlike other clumping litters."

From what we gather, kiln dried pine pellets should be fine, right? There are several articles out there on the net that say pine shavings are an absolute no. We considered a wheat litter option as well, but read on the internet that rabbits tend to eat it and it is not good for them. The corn cob ones also make me nervous...help?!

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

It should be find. It is a wood pellet litter and many people use it without problems. It is probably on the expensive side though.

Try a feed or farm store for litter. They usually have large bags, about 40 pounds, for $4-8. A bag lasts me about 2 months with 4 rabbits, so it should last much longer with just 1. You can buy multiple bags at once so you only have to make the trip once. As long as it doesn't get wet, it will stay usable.
Wood stove pellets can also be used, but they are usually only avaliable during the winter or at speciality stores.

 

[kirbyultra]

:yeahthat:

As long as the pine has been kiln dried it's fine. If you decide to go with wood stove pellets (if you can find them near you) it's DEFINITELY cheaper, but make sure they don't have any "starter" added to it. Should be straight pine wood compressed. Feed stores also have horse stall bedding which is basically the same type of compressed wood pellet.

I am unfortunately not located near any place that sells this good cheap stuff, so a lot of time I buy Feline Pine (the natural pine kind, not the clumping/scoopable kind) which is pretty widely available in pet stores and supermarkets.

A fellow member on RO met up with me once for a bunny event and she set me up with Equine Fresh which is a horse stall bedding product -- 40 lbs! And I'm still using it! Suffice to say it's way more economical than buying cat litter, if you can.

 

[Amy27]

Just wanted to ditto the previous posters about the farm store. I use to use Yesterdays News and it was about $16 for a 30lb bag. I switched to horse pellet bedding and a 40lb bag is about $6. It works just as well as the Yesterdays News with smell. I love it.