This article is from the Summer 2002 AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales news-magazine.

By Nichole Royer

This last issue we will finish looking at New Beddings on the market.

Many of these new beddings have not been tried by Southern California fanciers. We cannot tell you any more about them than what the manufacturer states. We d love to hear from our members that have tried these new products and their results with them.

WOOD’N FIBER Pet Litter

WOOD’N FIBER Pet Litter. Crumbles on the left, pellets on the right.

WOOD’N FIBER Pet Litter (pelleted or crumbled) is made from cherry and maple hardwood sawdust from northwest Pennsylvania. Dale McLain found with her rats the cherry wood pellets had a pleasant odor when the bag was opened. The pellets were just a little larger than Gentle Touch™/ Aspen Supreme™, but it seemed to hold odors down very well. It broke down to a powder the same as Gentle Touch™/ Aspen Supreme™. (See the “Critter Critique” in the Summer 2001 issue.)

Dry Creek Products, Inc. [2-15-2012 company no longer makes this product].

Bio-Flush®

Bio-Flush® Small Animal Bedding is a pelleted bedding made from recycled newspaper printed only with soy-ink; contains baking soda as an odor controlling agent.

Ampro Industries Inc. [4-4-2012 company no longer makes this product]

FLUSH-It

This product is short paper fiber pellets with an odor control compound added.

Xorb Corporation [4-5-2012 company no longer makes this product]

Litter Lite™

Litter Lite™ is a natural cellulose paper by-product pellet from the paper milling industry.

Manufactured by Wysong Corporation, 1880 North Eastman, Midland, MI 48642, (989) 631-0009, Fax: (989) 631-8801, e-mail: wysong@wysong.net, http://www.wysong.net/products/cat-litter-lite.php. [3-31-2016 company no longer makes this product]

Kozy Korner Ferret Litter

This is a pelleted product made from recycled newspaper and treated with natural enzymes to help prevent odors.

Sheppard & Greene Pet Products [4-4-2012 company no longer makes this product]

Litter Love

This is another pelleted product made with aspen bark pellets.

The Barnaby Company [4-4-2012 company no longer makes this product]

Aspen Shavings/Bedding

Diamond Star Wood Shavings makes a lab grade dustless aspen shavings from virgin hardwood aspen logs or an Aspen Chip Composition Bedding from virgin aspen hardwood logs.

Diamond Star Wood Shavings, W9191 Hwy CS, Poynette WI 53955, 1-800- 235-0561 or (608) 635-4200, Fax: (608) 635-4209, e-mail: thistle@execpc.com.

PetsPick™ & Premier Pet™

PetsPick™ & Premier Pet™ aspen beddings.

Contact American Wood Fibers, Inc., 9841 Broken Land Parkway, Suite 302, Columbia, MD 21046, 1-800-624-9663, (410) 290-8700, Fax: (410) 290-6660, www.awf.com.

SWHEAT SCOOP® Small Animal Litter

SWHEAT SCOOP® crumbles.

This product is made from naturally processed wheat, looks like coarse sand, and is a clumping litter. Wheat litter is non-toxic, biodegradable, and safely used with cats, kittens, birds, rabbits, ferrets, and small animals.

Manufactured by Pet Care Systems, Inc., 1421 Richwood Road, P.O. Box 1529, Detroit Lakes, MN 56502-1529, 1-800-SWHEATS (794-3287) or (218) 846-9610, Fax: (218) 846-9612, www.swheatscoop.com.

Premium Litter Plus

Premium Litter Plus is made with 100% organic plant material (peanut shell meal).

Natural Animal® Health Products, Inc. [4-5-2012 company no longer makes this product]

Critter Litter

This product is pelleted oat hulls.

Contact Da-Mars Equipment Co., 14468 Industrial Parkway, South Beliot, IL 61080, 1-800-95-BUNNY (1-800-952-8669), (815) 624-2672, (815) 624-2670, Fax: (815) 624-2883, e-mail: DaMarsEqip@aol.com.

Country Fresh™ Cat Litter

Country Fresh™ Cat Litter is pellets made from corn stover-post harvest residue.

S.S.M. Environmental Technologies [4-5-2012 company no longer makes this product]

CatWorks®

CatWorks® is another product made by Absorption Corporation. It is grain by-products pellets.

Contact Absorption Corporation, 6960 Salashan Parkway, Ferndale, WA 98248, 1-800-242-2287, (360) 734-7415, Fax: (360) 671-1588, e-mail: absorbs@absorption-corp.com [Is now Healthy Pet, 3-23-16] [Product now known as Healthy Pet™ Cat Litter.]

As you can see, we have come a long way from using cedar and pine. There are now many options to try and alternatives to use (if you have one that I did not mention, please send it in so we all can try it).

So, does it work? Did cedar and pine really cause health problems for our animals? Does switching bedding really make a difference? To be honest, we have no laboratory studies, and no solid proof. All we have are the stories told by those people who have switched.

Though it is far from scientific proof, let me tell you about my experiences with beddings. Many long years ago (before 1993), I used both cedar and pine as bedding materials. My animals were healthy, and rarely suffered from any kind of illnesses. They all lived active lives right up until they were about 1½–2 years old. At about that time they would begin to show signs of old age. They would lose weight, muscle tone, and eventually just kind of “fade away.” The average life span of my rats was approximately 25 months.

Now, I use no cedar or pine (strictly Sani-Chips®/Aspen Supreme™). Otherwise, my rats are cared for much as they always have been. They are still healthy, active, and rarely suffer from illness. They still eventually develop “old age symptoms” and fade away; however, now I almost never see this until the rats are 28 months old. The life span of my rats has increased to 32 months, and I currently have a rat who is 3½ years old.

So, does your choice of bedding for your critters make a difference? Well, it sure did with my animals. How about yours?

Part 1: Hardwood Beddings.
Part 2: Paper Beddings and Pelleted Beddings.
Part 3: Miscellaneous Beddings and New Beddings.

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