Automatic Litterbox Central

Hello All,

I've been lurking for a while on this thread but haven't had much to contribute so decided not to post until now.

I have been using CG's for several years now. I've had 2x CG60's running for 3 years and just recently I replaced one with a CG120. I have two domestic short-hairs who are now 5 years old. They get regular checkups at the vets and (fingers crossed) currently have no visible problems. They have grown up around the CG's and i've seen them with the granules stuck in all kinds of places that they will shortly be cleaning. My cats do clean almost straight after leaving the CG, and I agree, i'm not sure anyone could generalize about the behavior of cats, each to his own.

Its always hard to hear that something that we have allowed into our homes may be causing harm, but at the moment, we don't have any proof of this. I am saddened to hear about cat_amore's babies, Its hard enough when only one cat is sick, so i'm sure we can all imagine how hard this is for you.

A message to PetNovations - You have a lot of loyal customers, both active and in-active, in this forum. When topics like this appear it starts to make even the most loyal customers wonder. It would certainly be nice if PN offered some kind of official response, or an official way that these issues can be discussed. We are all aware that PN doesn't want negative press, but seeing a topic like this listing on a forum that is a top ten hit for "cat genie" on google is surely bound to do that, unless an official response appears.

The life of my cats has been improved since I introduced them to the CatGenie. They are now so used to a clean box that they won't go if there is even a footprint in the granules!

I hope this thread can remain on-topic and provide useful information to other CG owners.

cat_amore I am praying especially hard for you and your babies right now.

I just talked to someone who knows some things about chemicals. He gave me a name of a company and a phone number that may do testing. He said, which I never thought about this, even if it is producing a carcinogen, it would have to be a known carcinogen. He did say that it would probably be very expensive. I will try to call the company and inquire of them. I will post what I find out after I talk to them.

Cat-amore I hope that your cat is doing well. Please post and let me know.

I called the company that I was given information about. They do not test for what we would be wanting to know. The gentleman did tell me that companies are required to provide MSDS, material safety data sheets, to other companies who purchase their product. He was not sure if this would apply to a company in Israel, or any other company outside of the US. He advised me to call my vet and see what they would recommend. I called my vet and they said that they thought the best place to call would be Ohio State. They said that that was were they referred people who needed their pet food tested last year. I have not been able to call them yet. The vet's office did mention about the Swiffer Sweepers, which I had actually forgotten about. For those of you don't know, there was a chemical in the Swiffer Sweeper that was making the animals sick. The vet's office said that it was causing problems with their kidneys. I am not sure if it was just the wet clothes or if it was the WetJet too. I am not sure if the company changed the formulation or not. I don't know it that could be the cause of cancer or not. If anyone else has any information on testing or knows anything about chemicals, please post and let us know.

this is part of why i refill cartridges. i use enzyme cleaner (approved safe for use around pets and children) and seventh generation dish soap.

se7venty- I know that this is a bit off of the thread topic, but do you know how to refill a 120 cartridge?

as of right now, you can't refill cartridges for the 120, only the 60. the new RFID chips in the 120 cartridges prevent people from "hacking" the code that lets you reset it.

back in the day, lol, people made these little resetters that you line up with the shiny metal connector parts and it would reset the cartridge, you refill with whatever solution you want, and you're good to go. i got in just before CG started to crack down on the people making these resetters and bought a one for $50.

when CG found out that these resetters were more and more common, they sent ugly letters to the makers of the products and made them stop selling. now the resetters go for upwards of $200 on ebay . CG loses money to those who refill, and normally i wouldn't do something like this, but i do in this case b/c i feel their sanisolution is a defective product. it doesn't clean well, it's sticky, the scented version smells worse than death, and it's potentially unsafe to my pets and future kids (my main beef with the solution).

Hi, My cat has been using the CatGenie for the past 2 years and she was diagnosed with liver cancer. She never had a problem prior to the CatGenie, she has never gone out of the house (indoor cat), is not over fed. Now that I think of it, her cancer could be attributed to the CatGenie, has PetNovations responded to their customer base concerns to date? Have the CatGenie people had their product fully tested for carcinogenes? Thank you

frankiecrisp - I am so sorry to hear about you cat. You both are in my thoughts and prayers. I haven't been told anything other then when I called and asked them about it. I did read the material data sheet. It is a bit confusing to read. It does sound like it is toxic, but I think that there needs more info as to after the solution has been heated. I just don't know how to go about finding out the answers to what we would be looking for. I think we would need a chemist. I live in Ohio and my vet said possible OSU might be able to help. I've looked up who to contact there, but I am not even sure who that would be. If I have some time, I may start contacting people down there to see if there is anyone who can help. I was told that it would be very expensive to run tests. If you find out anything, please post so that way we can know. I know that it hard to get things done as one, but maybe if we all ban together we can get a definate answer.
Again, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your cat.

frankiecrisp wrote:Hi, My cat has been using the CatGenie for the past 2 years and she was diagnosed with liver cancer. She never had a problem prior to the CatGenie, she has never gone out of the house (indoor cat), is not over fed. Now that I think of it, her cancer could be attributed to the CatGenie, has PetNovations responded to their customer base concerns to date? Have the CatGenie people had their product fully tested for carcinogenes? Thank you

I’m not familiar with the ill of the cat but I guess it is better for you to find a vet who can give you an advice for cat. In that way vet will assist you to find a good treatment for your cat. I’m sorry to hear about the condition of your cat which has cancer.