# Kaytee Clean and Cozy



## Vicats (Dec 8, 2012)

Let me first say: I know that Kaytee has a reputation for making poor cost/benefit decisions for animals when it comes to their foods. As a brand, I've avoided their products completely due to this issue, as I don't care to support companies which make products that are unhealthy for animals... if I can vote with my dollar, I will. However, I've recently treated my mice for respiratory issues, and this has caused me to look pretty seriously at my current bedding. I had selected Carefresh Colours because I had read once it had less dust than original, mixed with Aspen. It's not as bad as some reviews online have claimed (no "inches of dust") but it isn't perfect. I rebag it to freeze which removes some dust but not all.

From what I've seen on gerbil, hamster, and cavy blogs, some people feel that Kaytee's Clean and Cozy is FAR superior for being low dust. They have cited a great reduction in nosebleeds, (I don't know gerbils, is dust is the issue?) less sneezing, and general better comfort. I've found several comparisons of the two, and most complaints include that Clean and Cozy is less absorbent and sometimes sticks to their animal's fur. It also ends up in the food bowl - but I feed foraging-style anyways, so this is not problematic for me. (And I mix substrates, so the absorption isn't a big deal either.)

Has anyone had experiences with Clean and Cozy? Any ideas of alternatives? Megazorb and Aubiose are not options for me - they aren't available in my area of Canada. Right now it feels like I have to search for a good reason to not use it.


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## Seafolly (Mar 13, 2012)

I'll definitely be watching this thread for input! Yesterday's News was a bedding that I found incredibly effective (though expensive) but many feel the mice might ingest it and get impacted bowels. I didn't experience this, but stopped once I read that. Sure was great for dust though!

I did notice that URI's can be next to impossible to avoid though. I say this because my rats (many of which had URI's) lived in Ferret nation cages lined with fleece. Needless to say, it wasn't the bedding. They're currently on Carefresh but I think I'll be changing to the pain-the-butt fleece in a rabbit cage as I've heard sneezes and they're so dang young. I once had mice solely on pine shavings (before I knew better...I was 14) and those mice were URI free (and completely healthy and long lived). I wish I knew the answer and hope others can shed some light on their experiences.


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## Aussie_Dog (Dec 1, 2010)

I've been using this, though always mixed with something else. Right now, just one cage (Zeddie's) has the Clean & Cozy mixed with either the brown Carefresh shredded paper or regular Carefresh. I tend to get whimsical when I'm cleaning cages, and no two cages end up the same, lol, and I can't quite remember off-hand what Zeddie's got in his cage.

It seems to be okay, I haven't really noticed any problems with it. There's no dust and it's really soft. However, if you drop some on the floor, you're probably going to be tracking it around (it's so light and you can blow it around with just your breath) and it'll end up on the opposite end of the house, on the opposite floor. When my Marcy cat was a kitten, she found the bag of the bedding during the night and had the time of her life, digging like a dog. I woke up in the morning to a white, fluffy, snowy floor. (I gasped, laughed, took a picture, and went right back to sleep, lol) We were finding white pieces all over the house for the next couple months. She very much remembers the joy of that night, as she tries her hardest to get at that particular bag. It gets stored in a big cardboard box, so if Marcy gets at it, her digging will keep the mess contained in that box. However, aside from the possible mess-containment issues, I find that I like it enough to keep using it. I hesitate to use JUST that bedding alone: I always mix it with something else, to give it a bit more body.

Just 'cause the memory of this always makes me laugh:


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

:lol: :lol: :lol: 
The contentment on that face!


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## ThatCertainGlow (Jun 23, 2012)

:lol: Oh my gosh! How fun! Well, clean up might be not as fun, but I'd be laughing non-stop, even while cleaning.


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## TwitchingWhiskers (Feb 2, 2013)

Oh, cats, will be cats. :lol:


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