Automatic Litterbox Central

I've been using the same Littermaid box for about 4 years now. I find that it requires too much maintanance. Clumps are always stuck on the bottom and on the rack. I have tried coating it with oil and using Pam but it doesn't seem to make a difference. It also gets stuck quite often and I have to go fix it. I decided it was time to get a new box.

I only have one cat. He's a chubby boy but doesn't have any problems fitting in the Littermaid. I'm looking for something that requires low maintainance, low odor, and less mess.

Thanks!

I can't recommend the Scoop Free highly enough! I'd suggest reading the reviews and other posts. Additionally, there are over a hundred product reviews of the SF posted on Amazon (just select Scoop Free and click on the reviews).

I have two friends who were also tired with their Littermaids and came over to check out my SF. One bought on-line the next day, the other couldn't wait and went to a store and picked hers up on the way home.

And no I don't work for Scoop Free.

There are just so few products on the market anymore that not only meet but exceed expectations.

All the best in your search -- just wanted to post my vote.

It's more expensive, but it's worth the money.

You need a water supply and a drain. A toilet and/or a washing machine hookup should suffice. I keep my CatGenie in a laundry room closet. No smell, no noise and two happy kitties. Obviously the doors are open to the inside of the house proper. I've been through three Littermaids, each of which failed after a year. I've also had a few problems with my CatGenie, but their fine customer service and continuous product improvement philosophy have left me a very happy customer!

Your best bets are Litter Robot, CatGenie, Scoop Free, or Pet Safe Simply Clean. The LR, SF, and Pet Safe seem very reliable. CatGenie is very innovative. The people making this product are doing their best to iron out the bugs and have many happy, happy customers. Take a look at each over the internet... there are videos out there of cats using the products, read the posts on this forum, and determine what will work best for your cat and you!

Have fun!

<withdrawn b/c of discussion re http://www.outdoorlitterbox.com in another discussion>

Litter Robot and Cat Genie (I've used the former and bought the latter.. still haven't had the chance to set it up yet) are good for multiple cats, I think. Depending on your needs, there are some interesting differences in cost.

LR scoops in 7 minutes, and with one cat, probably only needs to be emptied 10 to 14 days. Pain to clean. Large both horizontally and vertically. Largest upfront cost, but lowest maintanence cost (litter and bags). So if you have the space and the money, but don't want to be paying a lot in the future, good to go. I think I paid 14 bucks for 1000 7-11 gal bags and we only used two rolls in one year (6 more to go). Litter is cheap if you use cheap litter - Worlds Best Cat Litter (WBCL) or crystals would up the continuous cost.

CG is a little more complicated to set up (depending on the space you have in your laundry area or toilet/sink areas) but it's self washing. It's got a pretty large footprint, but it doesn't come up as high as the LR (about the same floor area though). Slightly less cost than LR (and you can get free shipping), higher monthly costs on litter ("granules") and sani-solution but you get a cleaner unit. With one cat, your costs might be comparable to an LR with WBCL or crystals. Needs to be washed occassionally but should be simplier to clean because only one area in the box is not self cleaning.

Scoop free is interesting. I only read a bunch of reviews and posts about it, but I did a cost comparison and with two cats, it wasn't worth it for me because of the cost of the crystal replacements. One cat, on the other hand, makes it comparable to LR and CG. It's also probably the easiest to maintain, and since it's less complicated than the aforementioned boxes, theorically should last longer. Not sure the size of it. Even if it was the same footprint as the LR and CG, it probably would be the shortest. It's also the cheapest up front cost and probably the most familiar to your cat, if you used Litter Maid. There's been talk about making your own trays to reduce monthly costs, but personally that'd be going too far for me with the LR and CG available.

As for customer service, CG seems to have the best.

Good luck!

I have tried many boxes. Littermaid, catgenie, litter robot, and simply clean.

I now use just a catgenie and have a simply clean in the box as a back up if ever waiting for parts.

I thought litter robot was pretty odor free and cheap to use but catgenie wins on every comparison. But I have one cat.

If you have many cats I expect litter robot would be cheaper to operate.

Catgenie is clearly the least odor and easiest to use. I have to clean it manually about every 6 to 8 months but it is much easier to do than cleaning the litter robot.

Today I'd pick catgenie over anything else with up to two cats. With several cats I'd go back to a litter robot I think due to costs.

I'd be worried about the CatGenie's reliability. Cat waste alone is bad enough but cat waste plus water plus chemicals plus a clog is not something I'd want to think about. It's good that they're addressing the reliability problems.

Reliability was an issue for me with catgenie. At this point it is working far better than my litter robot ever did. And that was the best of the others I've tried.

I've had well over 2 months now of flawless catgenie operation. My litter robot never worked over about 2 weeks without triggering the error light. Mostly this was due to my cat digging all the litter to the back or front and throwing off the weight sensor but still required manual intervention.

Catgenie is far safer now if I go away on a trip for a day or two.

The other box I used most was littermaid and that would jam the rake in this time period and need extra cleaning every few days.

Catgenie had minor problems when I got it but now that it works right I expect it to go for a few years trouble free. It should have about the same reliability as a washing machine, except for possible cat damage.
I do worry about that! My cat likes to pick up stuff and move it and do things like cover her food bowl or water bowl. If she starts doing that to the cat genie bowl that could become an issue.

But for now I only touch the catgenie about every two months to change cartridges. After two of these I plan to top up granules. And after 6 months I plan a good manual cleaning. Otherwise I don't have to touch it at all.

Litter robot required very minimal maintenance but was far harder to do.
Lugging home pails of granules. Topping up every couple of weeks and emptying the waste drawer. I changed the clay litter fully about once a month. I adjusted the weight sensor about once a week as the litter level changed. etc. But worst of all was the full washing with a hose was splattering everywhere and I couldn't get into some of the places that needed cleaning. I did that at 6 month intervals.

So to me the catgenie is most reliable. To me that means it runs the longest without me having to think about it or touch it in any way.
I do agree there's more to break over the years than with a litter robot, but parts are easy to replace and many have reported needing new circuit cards etc for the litter robot too.

You mention clogging. Easy to fix, and much easier than a washer. With a washing machine you have far more to disassemble to get a sock say out of the drain pump. It just isn't a big issue now. If it clogs I can give it a burst of air to clear it in about 10 seconds. But it has not happened since I got everything working right.

I got my Cat Genie last week and I went out of town 3 days after getting it for a 4 day trip with my husband. I ran it 3 times a day with 4 cats (I think 2 are using it reliably and the other 2 might be using it here and there) and it ran flawlessly. It hasn't clogged or given me an error even if there are two cats worth of poo in there when it runs. Now if I could just get my arthritic old kitty and the stray we took in to use it reliably I would be in cat slave heaven; however, neither cat used the Scoop Free very reliably either so I am just working on it any way I can think of...

Dawn

jhe wrote:I've had well over 2 months now of flawless catgenie operation. My litter robot never worked over about 2 weeks without triggering the error light. Mostly this was due to my cat digging all the litter to the back or front and throwing off the weight sensor but still required manual intervention.

You know the sensor is very easy to adjust in the LR2.

You mention clogging. Easy to fix, and much easier than a washer. With a washing machine you have far more to disassemble to get a sock say out of the drain pump. It just isn't a big issue now. If it clogs I can give it a burst of air to clear it in about 10 seconds. But it has not happened since I got everything working right.

I'd be concerned about the clogs happening when I'm gone for two days.

Regarding the sensor on litter robot it is easy to adjust but when it needs adjusting it will stop till it is readjusted. My cat used to wake me up in the middle of the night sometimes to fix it!

I've never run Litter Robot much over a week without having to do something! Not bad but not as good as catgenie.

My catgenie has now run about a month and a half without needing to be touched to add granules, clear clogs, or anything else. All I do is add a new cartridge about every two months, add granules expected at 4 months, and full cleaning at 6 months. Otherwise it runs itself.

I had some early trouble as many have had with both catgenie and litter robot. Company support is good with both companies. But once they are working right the catgenie just keeps on going and is now proving to be more reliable than I expected.

jhe wrote:Regarding the sensor on litter robot it is easy to adjust but when it needs adjusting it will stop till it is readjusted. My cat used to wake me up in the middle of the night sometimes to fix it!

You usually only need to set it once, then it's good forever. I've heard of people needing to readjust it after three years or so since the spring will lose some tension, but that's not bad.

But if you don't have it set correctly, it can be a disaster. The last thing you want to see when you come home from a weekend trip is the LR stuck half way through a cycle.

looking for a new box now too. I have heard of the cat geenie but my box is in a hall closet. i have heard that the rake on litter maid jams. I just want something that will work good and require less cleaing with my 2 cats than 2 or 3 times per week. also less odor would be great. they are using a softing box now with a ring to keeep the litter in. I use the scoopable litter from sams club that comes in big square pails. I was most intrested in litter robot how well has it worked for you all here that have it? is it worth the $300?

I read that the supplies for the Scoop Free were very expensive - something like over $200 for 6 or 7 month's worth. Is that true?