# Best Rat Litter?



## writingonwalls (Oct 1, 2016)

My two girlies are in a double critter nation lined with fleece and have three litter boxes. I was using aspen but it gets all over the fleece, making it very difficult to wash. I spent an hour and a half at a few pet stores today trying to find a better alternative and got overwhelmed. I have a few questions:

I ended up picking up Oxbow Eco-Straw made of wheat. It seemed harmless other than the fact that the rats might eat it. I think they think it is food, too. Have you heard about this stuff? I tried to do some research but found nothing.

The alternative I wanted was Yesterday's News but the bags were HUGE and lacked a price tag. I've heard many rave about it but then saw some people saying it may contain soft woods and other bad bits of stuff. What's the overall verdict/truth?

I heard paper pellet bedding is good but all the ones I found had baking soda in them which really worries me. What brands do you like that are safe, without scent and baking soda?

My top concern is safety of what's in the bedding. My second concern is them knowing it's not food.


----------



## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

A good percentage of Yesterday's News is potentially softwood sawdust. From what I've read, anywhere from 30% - 50% of the product is something other than recycled newspaper.

I've been happy with Fresh News recycled paper pellet cat litter. It's heavy enough that it doesn't really get tossed out of the litter boxes and it's decent on odors when changed regularly. It's also available in two sizes if you don't want to purchase the gigantic bag.

It does contain baking soda to help neutralize odors. I think this is a good thing. 

There's a girl on youtube who likes to claim that all sorts of benign things are super dangerous and will totally kill your rats. Baking soda is one of the things she seems to think is highly toxic. I simply don't think she has facts to back up her assertions.

Baking soda is a powder so it could be considered "dusty" (which is always best to minimize) but if the baking soda is contained within tightly packed pellets, there's really no loose dust. Baking soda can be lethal for rats if they consume it in large quantities. Baking soda can also be harmful to people if consumed in large quantities but that doesn't mean that it's bad in small amounts. I really wouldn't worry about a little bit of baking soda.

I think there are other things that are more worth avoiding like fragrances and excessive dust.


----------



## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

I really like using Fresh News in my litter boxes too. 

Goooooooood stuff.


----------



## ray (Nov 4, 2015)

I use Blue Buffalo walnut based non-clumping pellet litter. You can get it from petco. I find it very effective and not dusty.


----------



## anilec (May 2, 2016)

I just use 100% hardwood pellets. They are technically for stoves but as they have no accelerators or anything else added they are safe and efficient to use. I live in Canada and get a 40 pound bag for $5 CAD, Since I also use the pellets for my ferrets, cats, and rabbit I usually go through a bag every 2 to 3 months but if I only had the rats I could see it lasting for close to a year.


----------



## Danes'n'Rats (Nov 13, 2016)

I use cat litter instead of rodent litters because it's always cheaper and normally works better plus one bag of cat litter is nearly 3 bags of most rat or rodent litters. I use Purina Yesterday's News unscented. It supposed to be almost dust free like 99.9% and it's veterinary recommended.


----------



## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

Danes'n'Rats said:


> I use Purina Yesterday's News unscented. It supposed to be almost dust free like 99.9% and it's veterinary recommended.


...just to mention it again, around 30% of Yesterday's news is sawdust.


----------



## writingonwalls (Oct 1, 2016)

ray said:


> I use Blue Buffalo walnut based non-clumping pellet litter. You can get it from petco. I find it very effective and not dusty.


This sounds very enticing. I'll look into it! 

I still don't feel comfortable going near anything with baking soda. I'd prefer YN to it. 

I'll look into the hardwood pellets, too. Where do you find those?


----------



## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

writingonwalls said:


> I still don't feel comfortable going near anything with baking soda. I'd prefer YN to it.


What concerns you about baking soda?


----------



## Lara (May 15, 2017)

CorbinDallasMyMan said:


> What concerns you about baking soda?


I would think that in most cases it would be okay, especially in a pelleted dust free litter. However, if enough baking soda was loose, it could be ingested by the rats via grooming off fur.


----------



## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

I believe that the concern about baking soda comes from a "homemade DIY rat poison" using baking soda. 



> "Rats can be killed using baking soda in the powder form or by mixing it with other ingredients, such as flour and sugar, which the rats can eat. When ingested, baking soda acts as a poison for the rodents by creating excessive gas in their stomachs. Since rodents cannot belch like humans do, they are unable to expel the excess gas that builds up after consumption of baking soda. The built-up gas ultimately kills them."


Apparently this is done either by leaving baking soda for the rats to run through and groom off of themselves (thus ingesting it) or by mixing it with other stuff for them to ingest. I don't know how well that works but I saw that there were quite a few results on it. I never really thought about keeping baking soda away from them, myself.


----------



## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

If it is consealed within the actual pellet then it should be fine. Most rats recognize litter as an inedible substance. I've never had a rat eat litter. They may nibble it first just to find out what it is but once they realize its not food they will leave it alone. 

Interestingly, baking soda has the opposite effect on people. Its actually a common home remedy for bloating and gas because it reacts with your stomach acid and creates carbon dioxide, making you burp so the gas escapes. But since rats can't burp, it must make it worse.

Besides, I highly doubt a rat would even eat a large quantity of plain baking soda in one go, simply because it isn't very appetizing or nutritious which is probably why they mix the powder with a bunch of tasty food when creating poison so the rat will gorge themselves.


----------



## writingonwalls (Oct 1, 2016)

CorbinDallasMyMan said:


> What concerns you about baking soda?


Mostly it's my preference. I don't love baking soda as an additive, and looking at the brands/types of litter that include baking soda, they are often low quality- either with added fragrance or it just doesn't seem as reliable (Kaytee, Carefesh, etc). Considering a rat's life span and the fact that they probably won't eat much of the litter, I think it would be okay to use. It's hard knowing exactly what is in a litter, but I'm looking into cat litters still. So far the wheat stuff is working okay by Oxbow.

I'm kinda surprised I haven't heard from more people on YN. A lot of rat owners raved about it like they do with litters that have baking soda. But I haven't heard as much about the bad "ingredients."


----------



## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

Fu-Inle said:


> If it is consealed within the actual pellet then it should be fine. Most rats recognize litter as an inedible substance. I've never had a rat eat litter. They may nibble it first just to find out what it is but once they realize its not food they will leave it alone.


Ugh I have this one rat who's always eating the litter pellets, everyone else ignores them but there's no way to stop her. I think she does it because she always seems to be kinda sick, and I think she probably has nausea all the time so she eats inedible stuff (as they do when they're having digestive upsets, since they can't vomit it). I swear every time she goes to the bathroom I can't tell if she is eating the pellets or pooping.



> I'm kinda surprised I haven't heard from more people on YN. A lot of rat owners raved about it like they do with litters that have baking soda. But I haven't heard as much about the bad "ingredients."


Some people were talking about YN having softwoods or something (like, the sawdust being of pine/cedar), I didn't get to look into it much since I like Fresh News more, myself. Maybe someone else can investigate it since I don't know where to look to find that kind of information.

Edit- I found this that someone shared of a customer service email from the makers of YN



> _Thank you for contacting Nestlé Purina PetCare Company.
> 
> We appreciate your interest in our products. Yesterday's News(r) brand is made of recycled newspaper and wood pulp. It consists of 50% Recycled Paper (Newspaper, Magazine, Office Paper, Kids Homework, Corrugated Cardboard Material), 50% Wood Pulp (Hard and Soft Wood), Myacide - An antimicrobial agent to "Prohibit the Growth of Odor-Causing Bacteria", Unscented - Of course has no fragrance.
> 
> ...


----------



## writingonwalls (Oct 1, 2016)

Thank you Coffeebean! I looked into it a bit last week but couldn't decide for myself since a lot of the posts were from over five years ago. If it is in pellet form I'm not sure if that reduces the harm, like baking soda.

I'll look into FN next time I'm at the pet store, especially if it has been working for your rattie that likes to eat it. Tink is a big BIG chewer, but she also tends to stash food rather than eat it so it's hard to tell if she's simply chewing or indulging.

Regardless I know rat owners have had good experiences with both. I just want the best for my ratties. It makes choices hard 

We need a poll of rat litter choices or something.


----------



## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

I just wanted to pitch in and say that I use Yesterday's News. I know it gets a bad rap now due to its softwood content, but its honestly been the best bedding for my girls. I originally housed them on carefresh, and for some reason it was always super dusty. After I had to treat several URI's, I decided to switch the bedding to Yesterday's news. I haven't had problems with URI's since, but this doesn't necessarily have to do with the bedding itself.

I really would love a rat litter poll. It'd be nice to see what others have had success with.


----------



## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

Shadow <3 said:


> I just wanted to pitch in and say that I use Yesterday's News. I know it gets a bad rap now due to its softwood content, but its honestly been the best bedding for my girls. I originally housed them on carefresh, and for some reason it was always super dusty. After I had to treat several URI's, I decided to switch the bedding to Yesterday's news. I haven't had problems with URI's since, but this doesn't necessarily have to do with the bedding itself.
> 
> I really would love a rat litter poll. It'd be nice to see what others have had success with.


I think YN is definitely a lot better than some other beddings/litters. I'd use it over a dusty alternative any day. Loose messy bedding ended up driving me crazy.


----------



## writingonwalls (Oct 1, 2016)

Coffeebean said:


> I think YN is definitely a lot better than some other beddings/litters. I'd use it over a dusty alternative any day. Loose messy bedding ended up driving me crazy.


Yes! The only reason I'm getting rid of my aspen is because it would not get off the fleece. I'm using the rest of the aspen up in a foraging bin. They love it!



Shadow <3 said:


> I just wanted to pitch in and say that I use Yesterday's News. I know it gets a bad rap now due to its softwood content, but its honestly been the best bedding for my girls. I originally housed them on carefresh, and for some reason it was always super dusty. After I had to treat several URI's, I decided to switch the bedding to Yesterday's news. I haven't had problems with URI's since, but this doesn't necessarily have to do with the bedding itself.
> 
> I really would love a rat litter poll. It'd be nice to see what others have had success with.



Hi Shadow! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I follow your channel (Jess Ann) and never noticed what litter you used. I've heard terrible things about Carefresh so I made sure to steer clear. It's terrible that all the stuff geared towards rats are usually bad for them. Right now I'm going to use up my Oxbow pellets and then see if FN or YN would be a cheaper and still safe option. Pellet form seems to be a safer bet. What made me nervous was reading forums where people sprinkled actual baking soda into their litter, making their rats sick. I wonder if the softwood in YN still significantly interact with the rats' respiratory systems.


----------

