Lets talk about - cat litter boxes!

[AgentMama]

For everyone with cats, we have two. We have four litter boxes in our home, two on the first floor and two on the second floor. We scoop litter every day. I'm tired of scooping every day (and the kids aren't that helpful with it). I'm thinking about investing in the robotic litter boxes. I have a million questions for those who have them.

I'm worried I need at least two since the cats are already used to the two locations (not excited about the double cost). For those with multiple cats, have you had issues with cats sharing the same litter box if there is only one option? How well do they help prevent a cat smell in your home? Does the tray the litter dumps into need to be emptied every day? How does this compare to scooping? Is it the same effort? For those with the robotic ones, what brand do you have, do you like it? Do you wish you had bought a different brand?

Any other helpful insights I didn't ask about?

 

[sam_gordon]

We've used a couple of robotic litter boxes as well as standard. When we had two cats (down to one now), we had two litter boxes. They seemed to share them with no problem.

Our first robotic one scooped the litter into "tubs" and then you just replaced the tub when it got full. We used that for a number of years before it died on us.
Our second (current) one uses a box of special litter (we get our refills from Amazon), and fits "over" the box. (like this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/PetSafe-ScoopFree-Ultra-Self-Cleaning-Cat-Litter-Box/27397858). When it's time to change, you swap out the entire box. This usually lasts a couple weeks now that we're down to a single cat.

 

[crisi]

Three cats (currently four as we are on vacation and my youngest is housesitting and brought her cat). Two Litter Robots. The cats all share without issue (well, the old cat is going through litterbox avoidance, but that's because she's 17). Since the robots autoscoop, there isn't a need to clean the box (empty them every two days, yes - but we wash them once a year in the Spring.)

The Litter Robot branded ones are large, but two of our cats are Maine Coons and we need big boxes. They've worked well and we are quite happy with them.

 

[Judique]

For everyone with cats, we have two. We have four litter boxes in our home, two on the first floor and two on the second floor. We scoop litter every day. I'm tired of scooping every day (and the kids aren't that helpful with it). I'm thinking about investing in the robotic litter boxes. I have a million questions for those who have them.

I'm worried I need at least two since the cats are already used to the two locations (not excited about the double cost). For those with multiple cats, have you had issues with cats sharing the same litter box if there is only one option? How well do they help prevent a cat smell in your home? Does the tray the litter dumps into need to be emptied every day? How does this compare to scooping? Is it the same effort? For those with the robotic ones, what brand do you have, do you like it? Do you wish you had bought a different brand?

Any other helpful insights I didn't ask about?

I've scooped litter for up to 5 cats, have 2 that use boxes right now, a 14 and 15 yo. MY DD wanted to get an upstairs Litter Robot but hasn't pulled the credit card out for it yet. At these ages, I'm reluctant to invest in such an expensive box. But I'd happily agree to DD putting out the cash as I can see her getting another cat once ours move on.

I'm always asking if people can smell 'cat' in my home. I think I'm nose blind, but that's not just to litter, I think my sense of smell is just gone. Litter is scooped everyday in my home and if I see something in there I tend to scoop it as I see it. Both cats use both boxes. I've eliminated all carpet and just have hard surface flooring.

Oh, and after watching the ad for the LR, I can't even imagine having a box in my living room.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Not sure how helpful this will be, but here goes. We have two cats…boy and girl. They are littermates and we adopted them at about six months. We only have one litter box but it’s pretty large. They have never had an issue with sharing but I don’t think it’s anything we did. We just got lucky. Dh scoops every day. We use Dr. Elsey clumping litter from Chewy and use the arm and hammer litter deodorizer or just straight baking soda. I don’t think we have had issues with odor. But the box is in DH’s gaming room/the office which I don’t go in that often.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We only have 1 cat but 3 litter boxes. Our cat does have his own room upstairs but it's the first room right off the stairs.

We have an open one that we got later on and a closed one that you roll it and the clumps accumulate in a drawer that you pull out so you really don't have to scoop for that one. The closed one that rolls we originally got a smaller size (they come in 2 sizes) but our cat is a big one and eventually we upgraded to the larger one and that's the one he uses, leaving the smaller size for the very rare one off instance.

Here's the rolling one we have, it's from Omega Paw


Our cat vast majority of the time uses the open one to go #1 and the closed one to go #2. Before we got multiple litter boxes he didn't have this behavior, clearly he's decided he likes to keep separation

I've thought about the automatic litter boxes (either the tray style or the more bulky round ones) but I think our cat would get scared and apprehensive about using it. Like another poster I've worried about about pet smells. I've asked people who come over (and whom I trust will give me an honest answer lol) about cat smells and they all say no we know you have a cat but it doesn't smell like a bad smell aka it doesn't smell like a cat's litter box. Conversely when we go over to my mother-in-law's house that smell hits you like a brick in the face part because they have too many cats (7) part because they do not clean well enough.

They typically recommend 1 extra litter box per every cat so 1 cat=2 litter boxes. I think if you're considering switching litter boxes keep the old ones out at first and do a transition there. I know those robot ones are very expensive but I would hesitate to just get one for 2 cats.

 

[mom2rtk]

We had an automatic one many years ago, but honestly the frequency of needing to change that pricey plastic receptacle so often was jut too much. We have 2 traditional boxes for 3 cats (one upstairs and one downstairs).

When the 2 young ones were kittens, we had a smaller box just for them, but after about a year, I started moving it from where it was closer to the older cat's box, a little every few days, then just took it away. It's been fine since and they all 3 share now.

 

[BrianL]

My cat doesn't like any kind of litter box with a cover, so the robotic stuff is out. I really don't know why. Your mielage may vary depending on the cat, but mine is particular.

 

[3rd_time_the_charm]

We've stayed with traditional. Our two share 1 box and no smell. We've talked about the robot, but just not sure it's worth it. Thanks for posting. Helping us make the decision, too.

 

[ak517]

We have two cats in a tiny NYC apartment. We got a lidded enclosure disguised as a cabinet for a regular high walled litter box after switching from two top entry ones due to “their” room becoming our son’s nursery. They do fine with sharing, but we adopted them together as kittens and they’ve shared ever since. My husband wants to get a robot but we had an issue where our one cat would pee on the sofa when he was a kitten (I think it was a separation anxiety thing though), and I worry about how a motorized litter box might affect him. We use unscented clumping grass litter from chewy and recommend it to all our friends with cats.

 

[summerlyangel]

We have 3 cats and they all share the same box. 1 older cat that we rescued in 2019 and 2 wee sister kittens we rescued in 2020. We had 1 box per cat for about a year when we first got the kittens, but after a couple of months, they all used only the 1 box exclusively so we just stopped using the other ones. We do have a small ranch style house, so they're never very far from the litter box that is centrally located. My 26yo dd still lives at home and she scoops the one box 2x/day or more often if it needs it. Yes, the one they chose to use is the one in her room, lol.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Litter Robot. Love that thing so much. I empty it out once every 8-10 days or so (1 cat). Never had any issues at all with smell. Would buy it time and time again without hesitation.

 

[monsterkitty]

For us it depends on the cats. We had two cats who shared the litter boxes with no problem. With these two, we had two litter boxes in the "litter box room" and one downstairs. We tried the Litter Robot with these two and they refused to use it.

Monsterkitty would poop in one box and then go to the box right next to it to pee. He would not poop or pee in the same box, but would poop where his brother would pee, and pee where brother would poop.

When we moved to this smaller house, but two different cats, we cut back from 3 boxes to two with no issues. We did have to put our 20-year-old cat to sleep last fall, but we still have two litter boxes.

 

[monsterkitty]

BTW, when I was in college, our band director and his wife had 14 cats. I took private flute lessons from his wife and when I walked into their home you couldn't tell they had 14 cats.

I would house sit for them when they traveled. Cleaning 20 litter boxes everyday was kind of a pain!

 

[Chuckers]

My cat doesn't like any kind of litter box with a cover, so the robotic stuff is out. I really don't know why. Your mielage may vary depending on the cat, but mine is particular.

Actually, no, it's not. The Popur X5 litter box has no cover. It's an awesome box.

I have had MANY auto boxes in my lifetime of owning cats. The best two I have used are the Litter Robot and the Popur X5. The Litter Robot, while very good, is VERY pricey. It is also very hard to clean, but you can buy generic litter bags. The Popur X5 is great. It's an open air litter box and very quiet. It's also not as expensive and easier to clean. However, you do have to buy litter bags from them because the receptacle is specially designed.

They say you're supposed to have one more litter box than you have cats. I have always had two cats. Until recently, I had two litter boxes, but they only really used one. I am down to one box now, the popur X5, and because it cleans the litter both cats use it without issue.

 

[Tuffcookie]

I have 2 cats and use both a PetSafe automatic litter box and regular litter boxes. It took a while for the cats to trust the automated litter box. They both use the same boxes. Even with the automated box, I still scoop the poop out when I see it. I use clumping litter in the regular boxes I must scoop 3-4 times a day because I never want to have that odor that comes with having litter boxes. I also invested in the permanent tray for the PetSafe automated litter box, rather than the disposabIe, cardboard one that came with it initially. I use Nature’s Miracle to clean the plastic tray when I change the crystals in it.

 

[LindyDis]

La! Two cats- no litter boxes. Both of my kitties are literally toilet trained and all we do is flush.

Before that we had a litter toilet box thing that would run automatically after use. It had small plastic pellets in it. It would clean itself and liquefy the waste then dump it into the toilet. It was really easy too, very little maintenance and all we had to do was flush.

 

[DisneyOma]

4 cats, one huge litter box downstairs, one litter robot upstairs.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I have two cats and one traditional litter box (the covered kind.) We got them together as kittens, and they've just always shared. I think both would be scared of the automatic kind.

 

[BrianL]

Actually, no, it's not. The Popur X5 litter box has no cover. It's an awesome box.

I have had MANY auto boxes in my lifetime of owning cats. The best two I have used are the Litter Robot and the Popur X5. The Litter Robot, while very good, is VERY pricey. It is also very hard to clean, but you can buy generic litter bags. The Popur X5 is great. It's an open air litter box and very quiet. It's also not as expensive and easier to clean. However, you do have to buy litter bags from them because the receptacle is specially designed.

They say you're supposed to have one more litter box than you have cats. I have always had two cats. Until recently, I had two litter boxes, but they only really used one. I am down to one box now, the popur X5, and because it cleans the litter both cats use it without issue.

Interesting - I've never seen one like that. She might actually tolerate it. She's weird though, so it's hard to say. It is good that it has no cover though - she won't go in those!

It's always funny that they say you should have one more litter box than you have cats. My friend and I always joke that since he has zero cats, he should have one litter box! It only makes sense, right?