Making a Rabbit Litter Box

It is time to replace the grates in my bunnies' litter boxes.  

When I started litter box training my buns I just used plastic boxes with pellet litter in the bottom.  Then I noticed they would track the sawdust around as it was damp and stuck to their feet.  Not fun and made litter training a mote point.  

I saw plenty of bunny litter boxes on rabbit sites with a grate or grid to keep your rabbits feet out of the mess.  But boy rabbits like to pee fling and high-pee.  Short or low sides were not going to work for them to help keep the cage clean.

I had a spare stainless cat litter box and thought I'd try the grate idea to save a few bucks.  

Well!  It worked!  So I got a few more stainless litter boxes and my hubby and I got to work making grates for them.

Since we have been using this method for a few years and the urine and the regular cleaning has caused the grates to rust a bit.  Now it is time to replace the grates.

I gathered my supplies and got to work again!  You can follow along and make your own.

Supplies:

• welded wire (I use 0.5" x 0.5" PVC coated from the hardware store but rabbit wire is 0.5" x 1" 16 or 14 ga. I didn't want to wait so I went cheap.)
• flush cutters or tin snips (Depending on the wire you use you will need some tough snips.  My hubby recommends aviation snips made for sheet metal.)
• scrape wood (I use this to help bend the wire.  It makes neater bends than doing it by hand.)
• litter box  (I use stainless steel because rabbits will chew plastic.)
• pliers (These are optional but I use them to make flatter bends.)

Getting to work!

I started by figuring out how tall I wanted the grate from the bottom of the litter box.  Our first set were 1" off the bottle and were a tad large for the box so they didn't sit on the bottom.  This set I decided to got 1.5" off the bottom.

I did notice that each litter box is slightly different so taking measurements of one and thinking you can mass produce these is not going to work.  You will need to tweak each grate to fit well in the box.

Taking the time to check and recheck your cuts will save you from having to redo the whole thing.  

I cut the corners out so I can bend the wire and not have bulk making it hard to insert in the box.

I use a piece of scrap wood to help bend the wire and keep it neat.  This can be done on larger projects like cage building or for transport holes.  (I will be making a few of these soon) All four sides are folded over to be double the wire and help support the rabbit's weight while they sit on it.

Once you have folded all four sides and checked to see if it fits firmly you are done!  I put a scoop of pellet bedding in the bottom to help with the pee.  Sometimes I have a rabbit who is drinking a lot of water and their box looks like a swimming pool.  just add some more pellet bedding next time you clean it.

To clean it just remove the grate and hose off.  If there is urine mineral build up you can use white vinegar to remove it.  The boxes look next to new when I let them sit with a little vinegar while I continue my cage cleaning.