Cat owners: best automatic/self-cleaning litter box?

[Golf4food]

Our cat has a Littermaid automatic box that is about 2 years old and we are in the market for something new. We were considering the newer Littermaid Mega Elite for large cats/multiple cats, but after reading literally dozens of horrid reviews we've decided to look in a different direction.

Anyone have a self-cleaning litter box that they like (that their cats like, too)?

 

[mudnuri]

Mines 10 years old, and it's cleaned every day.....


oh wait- thats my daughter thats 10 and she has to clean it every day LOL

Brandy

 

[Laz]

My wife claims any well trained husband or child is the best.

 

[yeartolate]

After 15 plus years my cat can't pee in the box half the time - she would probably miss (again) and electrocute herself.

Wait, where do you get one?

 

[Brianne]

I have a great one: my DH. And sorry but he's not for sale. Yet.

We've never had luck with any of the self-cleaning boxes so we went back to box liners & cheap litter. I got tired of cleaning the "teeth" on the Littermaid box!

 

[smartestnumber5]

GF and I were thinking of asking this very same question.

We saw a self-cleaning litter box (a littermaid I believe) at Kmart today on sale for $63 and were very tempted to buy it. Luckily we decided to wait and check out reviews because it doesn't get very good ones.

 

[Icats]

Our Littermaid was great when it was just our dainty little boy. Then we adopted a little girl that is so messy, the Littermaid became more of a hassle to clean than it was worth. My husband eventually did some searching on the internet and found the Litter-Robot. Our boy cat uses it, but is a little wary of it and still prefers the traditional litter box. But our girl doesn't have a problem with it.

 

[Imzadi]

I got tired of cleaning the "teeth" on the Littermaid box!

I was afraid of that. I have a cat who won't cover her poo. I can just see that it would get all over the teeth because the poo didn't have a covering of dust & litter.

 

[Brianne]

I was afraid of that. I have a cat who won't cover her poo. I can just see that it would get all over the teeth because the poo didn't have a covering of dust & litter.

Yep, my baby boy doesn't either so it got rather gross after awhile. Good thing I love him because he can be quite the stinky cat. Never mind the fact that he gets wiggy while in the box & flies out of it like a bat out of you-know-where so we end up needing a covered box to keep some of the litter in. I know Littermaid offers a tent but it seemed a steep price after spending so much on the box originally so we never bought it.

 

[Imzadi]

Good thing I love him because he can be quite the stinky cat. Never mind the fact that he gets wiggy while in the box & flies out of it like a bat out of you-know-where...

Wow, you described my cat too. She comes running out, like she couldn't stand to be in that stinky litter another second. I can always tell when she's gone because a couple of mintes later, I'll smell it in the other room. I love her all the same.

 

[Diva of Dragons]

We've had a Littermaid for years! Multiple cats and no problems!

 

[Mr. Malaprop]

We had an original Litter-Maid for quite some time with no problems. It finally bit the dust and we bought the new Litter-Maid Elite. That is a piece of garbage. The "teeth" are thin metal that don't rake well. After a few weeks, the rake started running continuously -- back and forth -- never stopping. Our poor cats thought the thing was possessed!

We've gone back to the original "Litter-Maid" -- me with the pooper-scooper!

 

[Fitswimmer]

I had a littermate for a while, but with 3 cats the motor just didn't last. I'm back to the old fashioned covered box and I clean it myself.

 

[DVCLiz]

2 words - Litter Robot. The best invention ever.

 

[JESW]

We also have the Litter Robot for our two younger cats. I change the bag
2x a week. No problems so far and we've had it for over a year.

http://www.litter-robot.com/Default.aspx?ac=1

Jill

 

[Temair]

I'm another fan of the litter robot. I've had it for almost 3 years now and still love it. My DH was sceptical at first especially with the price tag of about $300, but has agreed that in 3 years we have saved alot of kitty litter, and time. We have 3 cats and only clean it out 2x a week. In my opinion its well worth the money you spend.

 

[rhanditresmom]

DH and I just happened to be watching some show on HGTV (can't remember which one, but one about new gadgets) and we saw the Cat Genie. Looked like a dad-gum dream come true! Immediately ordered one and we LOVE it!

This one comes with granules and cleaning solution. You hook it up to your water and drain it either into your washing machine drain or the toilet. This little gem scoops, grinds, and flushes kitty waste right into the sewer. I think it is a gift from God. The granules and solution are a bit pricy, but they last for a long time. We have 2 cats and have had no real problems. One of our cats is a heavy shedder, so we have to clear out the griding mechanism every once in a while, but it is no big deal.

Here's the link:

http://www.catgenie.com/


Yeah Cat Genie!!!!!

 

[Golf4food]

DH and I just happened to be watching some show on HGTV (can't remember which one, but one about new gadgets) and we saw the Cat Genie. Looked like a dad-gum dream come true! Immediately ordered one and we LOVE it!

This one comes with granules and cleaning solution. You hook it up to your water and drain it either into your washing machine drain or the toilet. This little gem scoops, grinds, and flushes kitty waste right into the sewer. I think it is a gift from God. The granules and solution are a bit pricy, but they last for a long time. We have 2 cats and have had no real problems. One of our cats is a heavy shedder, so we have to clear out the griding mechanism every once in a while, but it is no big deal.

Here's the link:

http://www.catgenie.com/


Yeah Cat Genie!!!!!

It looks kind of smalll... and our cat is quite fat. She's around 20 lbs. and has quite a badonkadonk butt, if you know what I mean.

I'm worried about her fitting in the smaller boxes, which is why we were considering the Littermaid Mega Elite - it's just so much bigger than the others. But the reviews for it are terrible.

The Cat Genie sounds interesting, but I'm afraid of spending $330 on something too small for our lard butt cat to want to use.

Also, how much are the replacement cartridges and such? Do you find they last as long as advertised?

 

[rhanditresmom]

It looks kind of smalll... and our cat is quite fat. She's around 20 lbs. and has quite a badonkadonk butt, if you know what I mean.

I'm worried about her fitting in the smaller boxes, which is why we were considering the Littermaid Mega Elite - it's just so much bigger than the others. But the reviews for it are terrible.

The Cat Genie sounds interesting, but I'm afraid of spending $330 on something too small for our lard butt cat to want to use.

Also, how much are the replacement cartridges and such? Do you find they last as long as advertised?

Our cats are pretty big. We have one Maine Coon, he weighs about 20 lbs...he is a lardbutt for sure! The other is a domestic shorthair, she weighs about 13-15 lbs. Eating is pretty much their job....that and pooping!

As far as fitting, they do very well. I keep some of those dog training pads around the Cat Genie to catch any accidental spills, but I rarely have to change them. Mostly my big butt cat just scrapes the granules over the side. The pads help catch those so I can just dump them back in the box.

The replacement cartridges are kinda expensive, $15 each. They are supposed to last 120 washings. Now, the lasting-power depends on how often you clean the box. We find that once a day works well for our cats (keep in mind, we have 2). Occassionally we run it twice or three times a day. I have found that they are lasting about 2-3 months each, which is about right. I have yet to add more granules to the box, those are 23.99 a box. When you buy the device they send 2 solution cartridges and 2 boxes of granules.

We have ours in the laundry room, which is perfect. We used some of the crystal-type cat litter for a couple of weeks prior to installing the Cat Genie...so the cats would be used to the granule texture. Once we removed the regular box, the cats immediately started using the Cat Genie.

I think they like it. Mostly because the box is usually really clean. My fatty had started squatting on the laundry room rug instead of using the box....now he is using the Cat Genie.

Like I said, the biggest problem I have had is the clogging of the grinding mechanism due to cat hair, but that is easily taken care of. If we ever have a clog in the hose, we just tap it out and the things goes right back to work.

It is pretty cool.

 

[yeartolate]

2 words - Litter Robot. The best invention ever.

If this was my cat, it wouldn't be the head sticking out........well you get the picture......

Reminds me, I need more clorox.