Automatic Litter Box Recommendations?

[Synomenon]

All you cat owners out there, is there an automatic litter box you'd recommend?

I see alot of people recommending the Cat Genie, but that's a little too much for me.

 

[Codewiz]

All you cat owners out there, is there an automatic litter box you'd recommend?

I see alot of people recommending the Cat Genie, but that's a little too much for me.

Well I don't think it is much cheaper but the Litter Robot just works.

http://www.litter-robot.com/

I have three cats and I sure wish I had gotten it years ago. We got it about a year ago and it is pure awesomeness. With three cats we have to empty it once a week. 40lbs of cat litter lasts about 2-3 months. And cats that are used to lumping letter won't have to adjust like they would with the Cat Genie.

I was pretty much trying to decide between the Genie and the Robot.

Pro/Cons for each

Genie Pros:
Never touch waste again

Cons:
Have to hook it up to a water and drain source
Horrible smell during cleaning cycle
Cats might not like the fake pellets


Robot Pros:
Uses normal lumping letter
Smell is well controlled with litter
Less adjustment for cats

Cons:
You have to change out the waste

 

[CaptnKirk]

The right wife or girlfriend will do it automatically.

 

[TwiceOver]

We have 3 cats and the littermaid couldn't handle it.

 

[alkemyst]

The automatic ones are ok for those that don't want to bother caring for the animal...then again some don't change their water everyday either.

We use feline pine and regular boxes, we have 4 cats and they get cleaned twice a day. We have 3 boxes.

the solids are easy to remove, for the urine that turns into sawdust we use a spoon like below and shake the litter into a gallon sized baggie. The pellets stay in the scoop and the dust falls into the bag. Every cleaning we basically fill the bag.

It's pretty unsanitary to have 'poop' just rotting in you home if you ask me, but more so if the cats had to wallow in it to use their box.

The scoop we use looks like this:

It only takes my wife about 10 mins to go through the 3 boxes.

 

[Codewiz]

We have 3 cats and the littermaid couldn't handle it.

Agreed. We tried one of those and it couldn't handle the load.

Not trying to sound like an infomercial but the litter robot uses a design that won't fail except for actual motor failure. Basically the entire globe rotates and the there is a screen in it. All the clean litter goes into a storage area through the screen. The lumped crap and pee continue as it rotates until it opens a hole during rotation and uses gravity to drop the waste into the bottom reservoir.

Pretty much the only thing that can go wrong is having it overflow(owner fault), sensor goes bad, or a motor goes out.

It is highly reviewed on places like amazon because it works. The biggest issue in our house is one of our cats is a total bitch. She will occasionally "guard" the litter box forcing other cats to either hold it or pee elsewhere. We used to handle that issue by having litter boxes in multiple rooms.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Litter Robot owner here, biggest problem is taking it to the car wash ever so ofter and spraying the damn thing down to get all the splattered cat shit off of everything...

Pro tip, keep your mouth closed when the pressure washer is spraying on cat shit.

 

[Synomenon]

Ok, so it looks like the Litter Robot is better than the Cat Genie. Still expensive though. We have four cats, is the Litter Robot good for four?

I have no problem cleaning a regular litter box multiple times a day if needed, but my work keeps me away for more than 12 hours at a time most of the week.

 

[TwiceOver]

Ok, so it looks like the Litter Robot is better than the Cat Genie. Still expensive though. We have four cats, is the Litter Robot good for four?

I have no problem cleaning a regular litter box multiple times a day if needed, but my work keeps me away for more than 12 hours at a time most of the week.

After losing so much money to various cat litter devices (as with the LitterMaid above), I eventually just went and got a large RubberMade tub and cut an access in the front of it. I scoop it once a day for my three cats. Hose it out a couple times a year. Nice high sides so they can't kick litter out.

Another thing I have found with litter boxes is people, including my past self, put too much litter in them. As you scoop large amounts of litter the urine soaked litter will break up into little pieces and leave behind cat piss smell. After a short period of time the litter smells so bad even though there are no clumps in it. If the smell is your issue, try using less.

But hey, at least I don't have to pick it up out of the yard with a plastic bag covered hand...

 

[alkemyst]

I have found the Pine style litter doesn't hold the urine smell even though my wife likes to over fill a bit due to one of our cats that likes to dig to china then poops on top of the pile she made

If one's cats are not neutered then the urine smell will probably over power any litter.

OP, 12 hours isn't a big deal with cats. Cleaning a box once a day is fine...we do it twice because we have the time (no kids).

Most that come over don't realize we have cats until they see one, I have been to many cat owner's home that just reek as soon as you walk in. At one home that I was doing some computer repairs in, I had to go pee in the same bathroom they kept their box in. They tried to hide it in the bathtub, but the ammonia and poop smell was so strong I couldn't shut the door. The box was almost full of poop and even had it down the sides. It was like a solid block of clumping litter.

 

[Rage187]

We had a littermaid for 6 years and it eventually died. We picked up another and the build quality was just awful. It burnt out after a year. We finally found another older model Littermaid that lasted longer than the cat did. Too bad the new models are complete cat shit.

 

[Codewiz]

Ok, so it looks like the Litter Robot is better than the Cat Genie. Still expensive though. We have four cats, is the Litter Robot good for four?

I have no problem cleaning a regular litter box multiple times a day if needed, but my work keeps me away for more than 12 hours at a time most of the week.

It will do fine with four cats as long as they aren't lining up all in a row. After each cat goes in, the litter robot will wait about 5 minutes then turn on. The cycle to empty the waste takes about 2 minutes. So if you have cats that are waiting to the absolute last minute and they all pee in a row, you could have issues as the litter robot could running its cycle when the next cat wants to use it.

Based on my three cats and emptying it once a week, I would imagine to stay safe, you would probably need to empty yours every 3-4 days. We use regular tall kitchen bags in the waste bin to catch the waste.

Another hint I would mention is that you have to use the correct amount of litter. There is a line in the litter robot that tells you how much letter to put in it.

 

[Texashiker]

Automatic Litter Box Recommendations?

House train your cat?

 

[alkemyst]

House train your cat?

LoL...yes, it's pretty much illegal to let you cat roam almost anywhere people are in the US.

I am possibly taking on 5 Feral cats in return for them spaying/neutering all the colony that lives here. Many of that colony are house cats that never get in the house.

Texas is a fitting SN though. YEEHAW!

you just won the internut.

 

[Rage187]

My parents tried to toilet train their cat. That cat made it to the 5th day before it finally crapped on their bed.

 

[Codewiz]

My parents tried to toilet train their cat. That cat made it to the 5th day before it finally crapped on their bed.

It would also be almost next to impossible to toilet train multiple cats.....

Especially if one of your cats is a bitch like one of mine.

 

[SagaLore]

None.

They get clogged up and it becomes a royal pain in the a-- to clean. And they're stupid expensive. If you don't want to sift through kitty litter, it would be more cost effective to just buy the disposable litter trays, use the clay litter with carbon in it, and toss the whole thing out once a week.

 

[Mike Gayner]

LoL...yes, it's pretty much illegal to let you cat roam almost anywhere people are in the US.

Really? Sucks for you. My cats do their business outside. Same with my neighbours' cats.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I have considered getting a cat genie or equivalent, as my cat is not really fussy with the litter and I think she'd do fine. The problem is, when you rely on a machine to do a task you normally do, it's easy to forget to check that it actually works. If ever it breaks down and you assume it works, it could be disastrous.

 

[lxskllr]

I have found the Pine style litter doesn't hold the urine smell even though my wife likes to over fill a bit due to one of our cats that likes to dig to china then poops on top of the pile she made

I like the pine litter a lot, but the cats I have now thoroughly rejected it. I gave up, and went to clumping litter. My old cat liked the pine fine. I used it per the bag instructions. Scooped out the turds, then shook the box so the decomposed pellets settled. Once most were decomposed, it got dumped on the outlying sections of my property, and filled with fresh pellets.

 

[Synomenon]

Is the pine style litter dusty like the clumping type? My GF is allergic to the dust from the litter so she never goes near the bathroom the litter box is in.

 

[lxskllr]

The pine has very little dust. Your cats may not like it, but it'll take a couple weeks to know for sure.