# Grated litter box



## pani (Feb 25, 2015)

Hi all,

Has anyone seen anywhere in Australia that sells anything similar to this product?

http://store.binkybunny.com/litter-box-screen-kit-p181.aspx?widget=mp







Clemmie won't stop digging in the litterbox so I'd love to get one with a grate to separate her from the litter, but all the ones I'm finding are either waaaay too small (and cheaply made, on eBay) or outside of Australia and don't seem to ship here.

Help!


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## Azerane (Feb 25, 2015)

I use one that has a grate but it's essentially two whole trays stacked. It's large, though expensive if bought new (I bought mine secondhand on gum tree, which surprised me to even find, but given initial cost I can see why people re-sell them). They're the oz-pet brand, I've seen them in a few pet stores, but you can also order from their website I believe: http://www.oz-pet.net.au/

Alternatively, I know several people on the forum have made a grate themselves, which might be worth looking into, as it would probably be much cheaper


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## pani (Feb 25, 2015)

Thanks!  They are pricey but they look pretty decent. Do you use the Oz-Pet litter they recommend and put it above, or just put all the litter in the lower tray? I'd ideally not like to have Clemmie having access to any litter just because she'll toss it all out!


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## Azerane (Feb 25, 2015)

I it put both above and below, but there's really no reason why you couldn't just have it below and in fact I have considered trying it, but just never have for whatever reason. I only keep some above so Bandit sits on more than just poop. I do use their litter as well, not because it's the "right" litter for the tray, but it's the only wood pellet I could find at the time. If you're only putting it below, it really probably wouldn't matter too much what you used. Because the grate isn't just a fine wire but bits of plastic, you may get a tiny bit of pee sitting on those ridges, but I wouldn't think it would be much.


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## Watermelons (Feb 25, 2015)

Holy crap you guys!
We have things that look the same as that over here for 1/4 to 1/3 that price!
http://www.petsmart.ca/cat/litter-b...ng-litter-box-zid36-23014/cat-36-catid-200094

Have you thought of just making a grate out of eggcrate with PVC or eggcrate leg posts?
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/showthread.php?t=48510
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/showthread.php?t=62893


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## pani (Feb 25, 2015)

Thanks Watermelons! I might head over to Bunnings to see if they have eggcrate.  

Prices in Australia are always ridiculous...


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## JBun (Feb 25, 2015)

You could even easily make a wire grate like binkybunny's. It looks like 1/2 or 1/4 in welded wire with some sort of plastic edging to cover the sharp wire edges. So just buy some welded wire, cut to size, and zip tie some sort of plastic edging on there. You can also make a riser grate that sits higher above the liter and allows the poop to fall through as well. 

I don't like the wire grates though, just because my buns eat their hay in their litter box, so spend a lot of time in there, so I don't want them sitting on a wire grate for so long. Plus my buns are prone to sore hocks. I made a soft mesh screen to cover the litter in my buns litter boxes to prevent digging. I'm pretty happy with how well it has worked out. It's made from fly screen made to be resistant to pets scratching at it, so a bit tougher than regular fly screen. Then I found a type of j trim plastic edging that slips around the edge, and I zip tied it on. I can just pick up the screen to dump the poop and soiled hay each day, and have wood pellets below it to absorb the pee. The only thing that could be a problem with it, is if you have a very determined chewer, then it might not last. But so far none of my buns have wanted to chew the screens. You could keep a layer of hay over the screen to deter chewing. If you didn't(or couldn't) want to make this, you may be able to find a premade window screen that would fit in your litter box. That may work, though if you can get one with pet screen in it, that would be better, as I don't know if regular fly screen would hold up.

I've also used plastic cross stitch canvas as a screen over litter, that works fairly well, and all you have to do is cut to size. Only problem with it was that my buns eventually started chewing holes in it.


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## Azerane (Feb 26, 2015)

Haha, yeah. That's why I bought second hand 

I don't think Bunnings sells egg crate, but the store I work at isn't very big, so you may find it


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## pepnclo (Feb 27, 2015)

I prefer not to use wire when the plastic mesh grates which do the same thing without the pain.

If you're keen on the oz pet ones then you should check this site out, they do a really good knock off for a really reasonable price:
http://www.petandgarden.com.au/cat/cat-litter/cat-litter-trays.html

Also an ebay shop just got some but they seem small unless you have a dwarf:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Dwarf-ra...15?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item5d55401c37

I'm trying to find the ones I got from ebay but it seems to have disappeared. Good luck!


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## pani (Feb 28, 2015)

Thanks everyone!! 

JBun that screen looks like it'd be way more comfy for their feet over the eggcrate, I'll definitely have a look into it. Were you able to cut it down to size with regular scissors or did you need something specific like wire cutters or something? Sorry, I'm not a very DIY person so I don't know much about all this stuff! 

pepnclo, that eBay one is the one I saw, but I've got two buns (a dwarf and a mini lop) who use the same tray so probably a bit small!


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## Azerane (Feb 28, 2015)

It looks mostly like fly screen mesh to me, you can get it in fiberglass, aluminium and a more heavy-duty pet-mesh one. All can be easily cut with scissors.


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## pani (Mar 1, 2015)

Thanks Bec!  I'm going to head to Bunnings to look for some on payday! Just wondering what material I can use for the edges now. I was considering a heavy-duty tape, however thinking back I've used that before to fix a problem on the xpen and Clementine chewed it. :headsmack


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## Azerane (Mar 1, 2015)

If you were feeling particularly handy, you could also buy a length of the metal frame work too. If you get that, you'll have to cut it (obviously), then if you use it just like making a new window screen and push the mesh into it with the spline (and have that side down) you would have a screen that couldn't be chewed. However... well I had a however, now I can't think of it. It's obviously a bit more effort, but I'm currently stumped on any other border material too. There's the white plastic capping/edging for gyprock type things, but you would still have to pack it with something to get the fly screen to stay.

I don't know if any of that made sense, but often if you explain what you're trying to do, someone at the store might have other suggestions.


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## JBun (Mar 1, 2015)

Yeah, it's the heavy duty pet mesh. Cut with scissors. It really needs to be attached to some sort of frame to keep it from shifting, being dug out of the way, or edges chewed on. I made mine from 8 ft plastic j trim edging. It has about a 1/16" channel. I cut the edging pieces with heavy duty scissors, then punched holes using a leather punch so I could secure the edging onto the screen with zip ties. I had thought about just using a normal window screen frame, but it would have been more expensive than what I used. If you are only doing a single screen, it might not be worth it to you as you probably have to buy a whole roll. I got a 7 ft. roll at walmart for $13. I had several screens to make, so it was worth it to me, but might not be for you if you only need one screen. If you could buy by the foot, then it might be worth it. If you really want to give it a try, I can post some pictures of the supplies I used and how to assemble.

If you want to try something a bit more simple, the plastic cross stitch canvas is cheap and easy to fit. All you have to do is cut to size with scissors. And it's not too rough on bunny feet. I gave them a try and still use one on a litter box, but ended up making the pet mesh screens because some bunnies decided it would be fun to chew the cross stitch canvas ones  So that could be an issue for you, but you wouldn't be out much to try it even if it didn't work. I found I liked the 5 count canvas best, with the bigger holes for good urine drainage, and you want the stiffer canvas. This is what I used.
http://www.joann.com/plastic-canvas-13-1-4inx22in-clear/1971258.html


ETA: Yikes!!! Just looked the pet mesh up on bunnings, and it's quite expensive. If you can find the cross stitch canvas, that might be the best thing to try. Then if it doesn't work out, the welded wire screen, though I'd probably layer hay over it to make it soft for little bunny feets


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## Azerane (Mar 1, 2015)

You're right it is, and I can't find the pet mesh sold by the meter on the website. Might be that the aluminium and fiberglass only are sold by meter. In which case it wouldn't cost you much because you'd not need more than half a meter, so somewhere from $2.50-$4. Worth having a look anyway. There's bound to be something that would suit.


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## JBun (Mar 1, 2015)

I've tried the aluminum screen, and my suggestion would be, DON'T use it. The wire edges are really sharp and difficult to cover over. I worried about my rabbits somehow getting poked with them or even possibly ingesting them. Don't know about the fiberglass screen. I can't imagine it would hold up, and don't know how safe it would be if some accidentally got ingested. You could try it though if you felt it was safe enough.

If you can't find another option and would really like to try a screen like mine, I would be willing to ship all the necessary parts to you. Don't know if shipping costs would make it worth it at all though. PM me if this is something you want to try.


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## Azerane (Mar 1, 2015)

Well, it turns out that the $29- for the pet mesh was per meter, definitely pretty pricey


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## pani (Mar 1, 2015)

JBun, thanks for the advice and kind offer!  If all else fails I may take you up on it, but I expect shipping would probably work out to be quite pricey anyway unfortunately!

To be honest I'll pay $29 for a meter of the pet mesh. If it stops Clem from digging soiled litter all over the place it'll be worth it! ullhair:


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## Fuzzyfurrylover (Jun 26, 2015)

I use a dish drainer set I found in Daiso store. It has a rectangular tray at the bottom, with a fitted insert with holes. The holes aren't big enough for droppings, but drains urine away. Bun happily uses it. I used to line it with hay too, but she happily uses it without hay too. Dad uses a tray and found a plastic mesh to go over the top, so his bun can sit on it, and poo pellets drop through too. My new bun is too jumpy to use that arrangement, since it's not attached/fitted, but just a "lid" placed over the top of the rectangular box. Bobby tends to run, jump, bump into things and after too many times knocking the lid off, I've revered him back to the dish drainer, where the inner drainer nests inside. He's yet to be desexed, so still leaving droppings everywhere. :/


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## SarahWA (Jul 4, 2015)

I'm thinking a baking cooling rack over a litter tray would work too? Like this one from Coles?


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## Chester1_andblueberry (Jul 4, 2015)

Hmm no reason its shouldn't just make sure the openings are big enough for the poo to go through or else there's gonna be poop on the top! Also make sure it attached right and securely.


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## pepnclo (Dec 22, 2015)

Sorry to bump the thread but I was trying to find grated litter trays again but not wanting to pay the ridiculous price for the Oz Pet one and the imitation ones are out of stock. Then suddenly out of no where the idea hit:

WHEATGRASS TRAYS!

For example if you bought the grow tray and drip tray from this ebay shop which both sell 4 for $20 then you pretty much have the litter tray.

Sorry if this wasn't useful to anyone. I was just stoked and felt like sharing


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## Azerane (Dec 23, 2015)

That's a great idea  It would be too shallow/small for Bandit, but I'm sure they could be found in different sizes.


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## LittlePanda0 (Dec 23, 2015)

Anyone know a great product to use for a litter box I tried litter but she doesn't like it


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## Azerane (Dec 23, 2015)

LittlePanda0 said:


> Anyone know a great product to use for a litter box I tried litter but she doesn't like it



Litter options for rabbits include shredded paper, newspaper pellets (such as breeder's choice), wood pellets such as oz-pet, or carefresh type beddings. I personally love the wood pellets, they're great for absorbing odors. If your bunny is super fussy, you could use litter and then line it with a layer of hay over the top.


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