Washable puppy pads

Has anyone used/made these for their rabbits? My guys have litter trays, but Freja is a nightmare and still has a habit of peeing where she fancies (we won't even mention poos!!). Downstairs it doesn't matter cos there's straw pellets on the floor, but upstairs (midsleeper bed) if she misses the tray then it is soaking into the wood floor. Currently got puppy pads down but hate the environmental aspect of using these longterm - but I was also thinking that if I made some washable ones then I could make them a little thicker to hlp protect their hocks too.
Not sure what would happen on the chewing front, though if I make it carefully it will cover the whole platform and have no edges exposed, and they don't chew the mats in the outside loft.

You could paint the wood (any leftover household or shed paint, a couple of coats). Then use some offcuts of lino on top, with a bit of an overlap up the sides. It's much easier to wipe down daily, or as often as needed. It may also help with litter training, as she may not like sitting in a puddle. You can always put fleece on top, and wash it regularly. I use newspaper in areas that tend to still get wet (mainly corners under litter trays).

Washable incontinence (ico) bedding and mats are readily available from the usual sources online - essentially a washable puppy pad.

Sounds a great plan, I've never liked the idea of puppy pads for the same reason & if its extra hock protection thats even more incentive

Shimmer said:

You could paint the wood (any leftover household or shed paint, a couple of coats). Then use some offcuts of lino on top, with a bit of an overlap up the sides. It's much easier to wipe down daily, or as often as needed. It may also help with litter training, as she may not like sitting in a puddle. You can always put fleece on top, and wash it regularly. I use newspaper in areas that tend to still get wet (mainly corners under litter trays).

Washable incontinence (ico) bedding and mats are readily available from the usual sources online - essentially a washable puppy pad.

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There's a couple of other reasons for not just treating the wood - it is slats rather than one piece as we just used the slats from the bed itself pushed together. I cannot use lino as it is simply too slippy for them and makes it dangerous - they are big rabbits, and if their feet aren't stable under them when they move around, even slowly, it gets very dodgy for their joints. Even more so when they are moving up and down from a surface.
I'm not bothered about her not being entirely trained, they are outside bunnies and I think a lot of it is still settling down and maturing, as she has improved recently, it seems to get worse when something else has triggered Odin's anxiety so I think there's still a bit of a battle of hierarchy going on. I just want to make sure their legs are protected - hence also not wanting them sitting in puddles either.
I might have a look at incontinence pads and see if there is a cheapish one the right size, never thought of that so thank you! It's not hard to make them though I don't think, I have loads of fleece, waterproof cloth, towels and absorbent cloth for inside, just wondered if there was any feedback on using them for rabbits specifically. Then I can make them that bit thicker too.

I don't like unfinished wood for animal housing, precisely because it absorbs urine and can't be cleaned properlylo1ik. In the case of rabbits, there is the added risk of EC contamination / reinfection cycle.
Lino - you can get non-slip lino (bathroom / specialist settings), although it may still not be entirely suitable.

Ico mats - have a look at what they are made of and copy it to fit? I've used a standard waterproof under sheet (matress protector), turned it into a large cushion cover for a folded up duvet, and made an outer fleece cover - all for a dog bed. Then the fleece cover gets washed and the waterproof layer wiped down. Maybe something like a fleece / waterproof sheet / fleece sandwich would work for your bunnies. It could all go in the washing machine as needed.

I am interested in this thread too. It is getting harder to get newspaper and with my lionheads some litter materials get tangled in their fur. I was thinking of mattress pads that could be doubled so a waterproof liner (shower curtain type material) could be put between the layers so it cannot be chewed/eaten.

I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know washable pads existed, I use puppy pads so will look to get some washable ones from now on!

I can no longer get newspapers so have started using puppy pads but the amount I am getting through with only two bunnies and two piggies is horrendous. The piggies shuffle them up and the carpet gets soaked too (it's an old one that has been chewed by bunnies so needs dumping really but I don't want the urine to soak the floorboards). The piggies are worst than the bunnies as I have to use puppy pads for their whole area whereas with the buns it's only their litter trays.

I wish someone would invent litter trainable guinea pigs!!!!!! I have just got home from work, cleaned them out and before I had even left the room a puppy pad had been wet.

Rhianna said:

I can no longer get newspapers so have started using puppy pads but the amount I am getting through with only two bunnies and two piggies is horrendous. The piggies shuffle them up and the carpet gets soaked too (it's an old one that has been chewed by bunnies so needs dumping really but I don't want the urine to soak the floorboards). The piggies are worst than the bunnies as I have to use puppy pads for their whole area whereas with the buns it's only their litter trays.

I wish someone would invent litter trainable guinea pigs!!!!!! I have just got home from work, cleaned them out and before I had even left the room a puppy pad had been wet.

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Interesting you say this- I have good friends in Russia, and they had a house guinea pig. It was not an ideal situation, but she was never restricted, she lived on the floor in the living room in their flat, had 2 trays basically, one with a house in and the other had a towel and hay in, and the front half of this was where her fresh food was put. She never ever toileted anywhere except in this tray on the towel - they say they never trained her at all, she just did it.
It was a bit odd, because she only really came out of the house when called for dinner, or at night you heard her running around a bit, which makes me wonder about her mental health, but she was most definitely toilet trained.
My last guinea pig also trained herself - when she was the last remaining, we move her into a pen under the kitchen worktop, but she had freerein of the house whenever it was safe. She pood behind the sofa mostly, where it was like a dark tunnel, but she decided for herself that the downstairs toilet was her peeing area - she'd run from anywhere in the house to go behind the toilet door, and all we had to do was put a box there for her to go in. Really strange, she'd lived in a large hutch and run all her life before this, so no idea what motivated it!