Automatic Litterbox Central

Hey guys! I am new to the board... but DEFINITELY not new to the CatGenie!!! My husband and I have discovered many fabu tricks for ours...

seeing at this is the pellet posting... check this out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/25-POUNDS-OF-PLASTI ... .m20.l1116

If you search for PVC pellet on Ebay there is a company called Empire Wire and Supply that sells them... it's $75 for a 25# box...and $18 for a 5# box... my hubby and I bought a 25# box last MARCH and we STILL have a TON of them left. We have 3 cats and we foster homeless kitties...(not to mention they track those little suckers all over the house..) so... I would say the a $75 investment is WELL worth it, considering they ding you about $22-25 for each little box of those other pellets.
We also found that fewer of them get "Eaten" by the box.. (you know how they get all pushed up behind the bowl and the you lose half of them to the CatGenie monster...)... These pellets seem to only be slightly larger than the others.
Another thing is that they are softer, more rubbery..and seem to be more comfy for the kitties (I guess?)...
AND another thing... We have fewer clogs (I think I have had to deal with maybe 3 or 4 clogs due to pellets) in the last several months.
They don't float around, so I know they are getting cleaned.. they don't trap any odors (that we have noticed).

They don't mess with our plumbing at all (my husband IS a plumber.. and if he thought that it would screw anything up, he would be diametrically opposed to it..).

Check it out..you will be glad you did.

bobgreer wrote:hi all
i use SAFFLOWER SEED ,I FOUND ON EBAY !
works very well ! use bleach as my sani as solution ! 1 tbs per 1 qt water!
PROVIDENCE HOUSE MFG INC
more data at http://www.smartcatbox.com

SAFFLOWER SEED ???
Really... does that work?

If it goes through the sifter and doesn't rot or swell up over time I'd be willing to give it a shot.

I don't like having to wait for things to come in the mail, so we started trying "Colorfill Vase Filler". My wife and I just got married so i'm still current on those types of things. Anyway, there's a store here in town called "Michaels", it's a craft store, which sells it which makes it very convenient. But I'm sure there's quiet a few craft stores that would carry it.

Hmm.... no reply on the Safflower seeds.
Now that I think about it... if someone uses bleach to fill their cartridges I should take what they say with a grain of salt

xyxoxy wrote:Hmm.... no reply on the Safflower seeds.
Now that I think about it... if someone uses bleach to fill their cartridges I should take what they say with a grain of salt

Whats wrong with bleach? In small amounts even I have used it. It does a great job of sterilizing the cat box.....

I would probably look for a better long term solution but bleach and water is an effective solution.

again only my .02

xyxoxy wrote:Hmm.... no reply on the Safflower seeds.
Now that I think about it... if someone uses bleach to fill their cartridges I should take what they say with a grain of salt

I've been using safflower seeds for about 2 months, since I saw it posted here. They work great.

peterkronenberg wrote:I've been using safflower seeds for about 2 months, since I saw it posted here. They work great.

THANKS! I'll try it.
I have a friend who's one cat won't use the CG due to the granules so maybe he can try this instead.

As for my bleach comment... I would not use it in my CG cartridges. There are many posts here that discuss the health risks to cats and the possible effects of it mixing with other chemicals.

That said... I might consider using it during a full manual cleaning. I just wouldn't want it used during a regular cleaning cycle where it would be left to dry on the litter.

xyxoxy wrote:

peterkronenberg wrote:I've been using safflower seeds for about 2 months, since I saw it posted here. They work great.

THANKS! I'll try it.
I have a friend who's one cat won't use the CG due to the granules so maybe he can try this instead.

That was the main reason we tried it. One of our cats didn't like the CG litter. We thought the seeds would be smoother and perhaps the 'natural' smell would be more attractive. The jury is still out. Our cat is very stubborn (another one of our cats, on the other hand, absolutely loves it. He attacks it when it is in it's cleaning cycle and sometimes tries to prevent the other cats from using it. He wants it all to himself)

Do you buy the Safflower Seed in the bird seed section or do you buy the special stuff off the internet? I looked at the bird seed and I wasn't sure if it was large enough to stay in the bowl without going through the bottom slots. How does it hold up being washed and dryed repeatedly?

dc3886 wrote:Do you buy the Safflower Seed in the bird seed section or do you buy the special stuff off the internet? I looked at the bird seed and I wasn't sure if it was large enough to stay in the bowl without going through the bottom slots. How does it hold up being washed and dryed repeatedly?

I got it from here: http://www.smartcatbox.com/index.asp?Pa ... Category=4. But now that I see what it's like, next time I'll try to find it in the bird seed section. It holds up fine under the washing. No problems so far.

I bought from Empire Wire on EBay, and they shipped really quickly and the cost was reasonable. But - I did have an episode ever of the hopper being so full of granules it would not flush. It was without a doubt the most nasty clog-clearing episode ever.

Could just be a coincidence, but the granule sizes are not consistent, and some of them are softer than the original. Just a "YMMV" note, not a warning off for this vendor or product. I'll probably buy from them again.

I tried the safflower seed for a couple of days now ,I'm finding some of the husks are splitting ,runs through great though.I don't know about anyone else but I find an odour comming from the CG, Could it be the smell is coming back through the tube from the drain?.I don't know I'm kind of on the wall about the seeds,I don't think their hard enough.I have also tried the pellet from ebay also.Maybe I need to thimk on my solution, using pet zyme ,I would like to learn more on that grapefruit juice

I started running low on granules and started trying seeds a couple days ago. So far it looks like it works fine and at least one cat took right to them. But not sure how they will hold up over the long haul. I got mine at the pet store, bird feed, and the quality was poor, there's a lot of garbage in them, including other seeds.

I have a friend that designed some granules and I'm going to be testing them out for her. I told her there might be a big market for them in the catgenie. As soon as I get them and test them I'll let you know. She said they would be a lot less then CG brand and better then the ones you get on eBay....

I have found a really inexpensive alternative that has been working very well. I starting searching for alternatives because of the unbelievably high price that CG is charging for their pellets. I was going through a ton, even before their little washer addition (which doesn't seem to make a bit of difference).

At just about every crafts store, brick & mortar or online, they have poly pellets. They are small round pellets used for filling dolls and bears. I have been buying them mine from www.crscraft.com. They are only $1.99 a pound with price breaks at 5 & 25#. The shipping is also less for 5lbs than what CG is charging for one box.

They wash and dry very well.

bobgreer wrote:hi all
i use SAFFLOWER SEED ,I FOUND ON EBAY !
works very well ! use bleach as my sani as solution ! 1 tbs per 1 qt water!
PROVIDENCE HOUSE MFG INC
more data at http://www.smartcatbox.com

How are you filling the sani solution containers?