Automatic Litterbox Central

I'd never heard of the Cat Genie until I wandered by here again, now that I have the time to surf the internet...

However, I think it has a lot of advantages. To me the biggest would be the way it's so self-contained. There isn't any bag to throw in the trash!

However, my heart still belongs to my three year old Litter Robot. Because it cleans the litter after every use. In my house, that means no smell at all, and multiple cats (I now have three) get a fresh litterbed every time they visit. I think that avoids a lot of issues, because we have room for only one litterbox, even if it is a big one.

The cats have learned the light system on the front, and I've seen them hanging around the 'Bot, waiting for it to cycle for them! Fresh litter every time must have a powerful pull.

Also, the globe rotates and "breads" anything they didn't cover, so I have few issues with anything sticking or hanging around inside.

The "fresh litter every time" thing so pleases my cats that it has become my own gold standard, both for their comfort and for our noses.

Those two reasons are why the LR is the one my cat needs. He expects a clean litterbox or he'll find someplace cleaner. I had to leave two regular litterboxes out for him -- just one cat!

That's probably related to reason two: he never buries anything. He carefully digs a hole and misses it completely. Then he'll kick litter around in random directions apparently trying to fill in the empty hole he dug. He probably wonders why his litterbox is so messy.

The LR solves these two problems by battering his waste in litter and getting it out of the box soon as possible.

Cat Genie hands down.

I've owned Scoop Free, Litter Maid and numerous manual cat boxes. Until another one that acually washes itself comes along that offers more than the CG I'll be using my CG. It's amazing and carefree!

Catgenie is all-powerful, all-knowing, non-stinking. Occasional clogs, but I'll take that over that litter drawer thing on the litterbot anyday. I'm pretty fanatical about this box. You should see some of the stuff folks have done to install these in their houses. One person even used an unused shower stall to place their CG. Others have created ventilation systems to the outdoors. I think Catgenie might even become a feline religion.

I'm on the CatGenie band too. If nothing less than I no longer have to carry liter from a store to home. or from home to dump. i don't care what other problems it may or may not have I don't have to carry litter anywhere!

I started this topic and thought I would add an up-date --

I hated the entire idea of having a litter box in the house but coyotes in the neighborhood made it a necessary evil. I became a fanatic about keeping the regular litter box clean and this compulsion was driving me nuts. It's been a little over a year since I made my decision and bought the Litter Robot for the two Bengals. Good decision on my part... The LR has run flawlessly and although one cat (Nuba, the silver) had some initial adjustments (didn't turn in the LR) and some mishaps over the year, at the end of it, he is a consistent user of the LR, turning in the LR, head out the doorway, doing whatever he needs to do, getting out, turning around, putting his head back in, covering up everything he left, and then happily going on his way. I was very surprised the day I walked in on him and found that he was facing with head out of the LR.... He sort-of grew into it. Zen who is currently in the closet pulling out her favorite toy, had no problems with the LR. She loves exploring appliances and boxes and open drawers (and most recently the heating ducts when the heat pump was replaced -- now THAT was a heart stopper!)... so getting in the LR was a new adventure for her. She has a preference for natural litters and both Nature's Miracle and World's Best have kept her using the litter box consistently.

By emptying the LR once to twice per day, wiping the globe out weekly and sanitizing it, doing a thorough litter change and cleaning every two months (globe and base), the LR has been a tolerable indoor appliance for me as well -- little odor, reliable, and user/cleaner friendly. I can even forget about the litter box once in a while, now.

Both cats recently took an eleven day vacation in the local cat friendly kennel while I was away. After I picked them up and brought them home, I was worried that they would have a problem adjusting to the LR... Not so. Nuba was the first to use it, again.

So, Cat Genie or Litter Robot? Well, I chose the LR and have no regrets. Its been a great appliance for this household and its residents.

I think both of these boxes have good reports.

For me the Litter Robot has kicked serious butt!
This thing is great!
It does require some care.
With two cats, I change the generic bag every 3 to 5 days.
I add litter.
This is so much better than scooping four times a day.

The good side for me is that the LR doesn't require plumbing.

If I was able to plumb toilets for my cats, I would consider the Genie.

Bottom line...

If you want a plug in box that will change your life, get the LR

If you can afford to set up a full plumbed toilet for your kitties, the CG might be the ticket.

The Cat Genie has exceeded expectations at my house and I'm thrilled with it.

After researching automatic litter boxes here and elsewhere on line, I decided to try the Cat Genie given the 90-day money-back guarantee. I read all the pros and cons of the different system, and figured the Cat Genie sounded the most ideal if only it worked and the cat would use it.

We set the Cat Genie up in the laundry room where the old (clumping litter) box had been. Very simple set up. Took less that 10 minutes to hook up the water, plug in the electric, install a cartridge, and fill with granules. We set it on manual to start, ran a cycle (without the cat in the room) to be sure it worked, then placed one "deposit" from the old box onto the Cat Genie granules to give our cat the idea, and left him with the new device to get acquainted. He started using the Cat Genie from day one, no problems. The first several days, we ran a daily cycle on manual, first without the cat in the room, then with him in the room. He was never scared or concerned. After about 5 days, we put the cycle on automatic, to run once daily. That's it, we have done NOTHING else for two whole months!

It scoops, it cleans, it runs. I checked the granules level last week, and it still does not need any replenishing. The cartridge indicator beeped a couple days ago to let us know it would soon need replacing. I have another cartridge on hand to swap it out this week when the first is finished. Other than that, we have done nothing. We've gone out of town and it's done it's job. The thing really does work.

The ONLY caveat I have is that the cat leaves his business on top of the granules and does not bury/cover it like he did with the clumping litter we used previously, so that is a tad unsightly. But it's in the laundry room so it's basically out of sight and out of mind. We do hear the cycle, but it sounds sort of like the washing machine and it's downstairs and the noise is not an issue. We're thrilled with the Cat Genie. No smell, no buying and lugging and refilling litter, no scooping, no lugging waste away, no clay dust and litter all over the laundry room floor, no smelly cat feet, no clay dust tracked into our bed, no getting someone to clean out the box when we travel.

What an absolutely fabulous invention. I figured, with the money-back guarantee and the big "upside" if this product worked, it was worth the try. If your cat will use it, it could be the answer to all your litter issues. It's working great for us.

Hehe, this has been quite the read!

Thanks, I learned some valuable info from this thread.

I currently have 10 indoors cats and have owned a LR before, but the motor broke and I was too lazy to send it in for repair - so I've basically always scooped the boxes, and I am SO done w/ scooping, buying all the litter, etc. I'm leaning towards the CG but found this site so I could do more research.

I don't have room for a Genie, Robot, or whatever they call that cabinet so the automatic can drop waste into a large bag. If I had room, my vote would be the Robot. A power source and reliable clumping litter being the only requirement have my vote. And it's enclosed (already hooded) which helps keep odor from seeping right after use. I do have a couple of suggestions for you before buying: 1) Do your best to find out if the machine will eliminate the need for multiple boxes? I sure hope so, after all isn't that the idea of an automatic? And 2) If you have a high volume pee'er or cats that immediately follow one behind the another, can the box handle a large volume of waste in a single cycle? I have a cat who waits until her bladder is full full full before going. When she does go, the clumps are huge! She's could easily replace 2 cats in that department is if me, I would want to know more about the disposal box door/opening.

I watched the Cat Genie video and it's very impressive. I'm writing to help give cat owners considering this machine a little feedback on what they might expect in life span before replacement. Something in our home that performs as close to this machine as one can get is our Sears Water Softner. It has an electronic panel that can be programed for a timed cycle, manual cycle or on demand (that's a close comparison!) needs both a water supply and dispoal line (our incoming plumming requires a higher quality but the drain is the same) free standing (same) requires a fair amount of space (softener takes up a little less room but taller) needs product additives (the salt & Cat Genie deoderizer would be a very similar schedule) performs a fill and purge cycle (a softner cycle lasts longer but wouldn't run as often) and looks like they are made out of the same sturdy materials. Three homes in my family have enjoyed Sears Water Softners and in all cases, we've all came to a point of replacement. Difference with the softners, you can get an extended warranty for service, and no matter how old the thing gets, always call for service. But the truth is, there is not a lot that can go wrong with machines that perform these functions. There is a little more risk with the Genie because the manufacturer can only back the thing as new for so long. After that, it's all about issues under normal wear and tear. Based on our three families owning exact same Sears Softner units, one went 10 years with no problems (Mom & Dad's first) but their replacement needed a repair in it's first 6 months. My first machine only went 2 years when the electronic panel failed which burned up another part because the darn thing couldn't shut off. The panel alone was a $200 replacement not including the other part. I did make the repair factoring the cost of replacement and age of the unit. So this thing is like buying a self contained water softener. It's a unit deal needing maintence and a time will come when it will need a repair that prompts you to decide if replacement makes more sense. Using 7 water softners as the example, don't get your heart set on more than 5 years. If you get 10, you really made out well! The average before it's best to expect something could go wrong is 3. I hope this information was helpful.