Automatic Litterbox Central

I am so grateful for this forum. With all the glitzy advertising and promises for a happy scoop-free, smell-free, hassle-free everafter it's so easy to get sucked in. After using a Litter Robot for 6 months, a Litter Maid for 3 years and reading this forum I can see that though automated litter boxes may cut down on some scooping (maybe), they ususally come with their own set of aggravating problems and annoyances that might be worse, not to mention a very high cost.

I never scoop litter anymore since I settled on two Van Ness large, framed 19" x 15" x 4" sifting litter pans I got at Walmart for about $13 each for my 2 cats. They come with a high frame that really cuts down on litter getting kicked out. They come with 3 pans, 2 regular pans and a sifter pan.

Ignore the instructions for use that come with the litter box. Instead, place the sifter pan inside one of the pans and place the other pan with the frame already attached on top of the sifter pan so the sifter pan is sandwiched in between the 2 regular pans. When used this way, clumps rarely get stuck in the grate of the sifter pan. Add enough litter (use a really good clumping litter; I use Arm&Hammer) to fill the top pan to about 1-1-1/2" from the top. This makes it rather heavy, but it helps stop clumps sticking to the bottom, and my cats love it because it's nice and deep.

I never scoop litter anymore. The last time was when one of my cats used the Litter Maid I keep as an extra, which is rarely now because they love these boxes so much. It takes about 5 minutes to clean them. Have ready a garbage/receptable wide enough for the width of the pan. Take off the frame first. Carefully poor the dirty litter into the sifter pan sitting inside the bottom pan. Nothing should stick if you keep enough good clumping litter in there. If a clump sticks to the bottom, hold it upside down with the clump over the center of the bottom pan and whack the bottom of the pan with the clump with your fist and it should pop off. Pick up the sifter pan out of the bottom pan and let the litter sift through to the bottom pan. Carefully dump the clumps left in the sifter pan into the garbage/receptable. Place the sifter pan inside the empty pan. Put the frame on the pan with the clean litter and then place it on top of the sifter pan so the sifter pan is sandwiched inside the two pans again like before.

I keep a stick sweeper near to pick up any litter I spill. I wash everything with soap and hot water and replace the litter about once every 1-2 months. You could place these on a sturdy table or box at a level to make cleaning easier.

Whenever I'm tempted by one of the latest automated litter boxes (my latest dream being the CatGenie) I come to this forum for the truth and to bring me back to a sense of reality again, at least for me.

Thanks

1) How often do you go through the 5 minute cleaning and sifting process?

2) How is this cleaning and sifting process better or easier than scooping out the clumps?

Well, I have tried Littermaid (3 of them...broke and was hard to clean), LitterSweep Ultra (discontinued, but loved it and would have bought another after some tines broke off), ScoopFree (I have a side "pee"er, which I fixed using the recommendation on this forum, but my cat seems to hate the crystals and won't pee if they aren't new out of the bag), and the OmegaPaw Large rolling sifting box (I used this when I lived in England because automated cat boxes were unheard off). Well, after the ScoopAway which is what I am currently using (sending it back for the 90 return policy), I decided to go manual for a while until I can get my cat to start urinating in the box and not along my walls and corners (bad habit he picked up way before the ScoopAway, but SA made it much much worse). I bought another OmegaPaws because it is a good sifter, the only problem is my cat is not a "turner-arounder" in the litter box. He just steps in and goes regardless if his backside is in the box or not. At least he is in the box, I will give him that, but I am tired of mopping the floors every morning. Well, with the OmegaPaws, he did the same thing...first time it in, he didn't turn around. I poked him repeated in the behind while he was peeing trying to get him to turn, but nope didn't work he just kept going, regardless of how much I poked and pushed...if I had thought about it I could have spelled his name in the litter (a guy thing...sorry bad joke, but you get the idea..he was not budging once he started). So this means that the OmegaPaws will probably have to be returned. So..there is my idea...based in part on the post above.


I did look at the Van Ness sifting pans mentioned in the post above, but they seem too small for my cat and he has the problem of hanging his bottom over the edge like I mentioned earlier. Walmart had Sterlite 58qt plastic box containers for $5 each. Going on the typical design of those 3 tray sifters that cost $28 or more, my idea is the get 3 of those 58qt containers or even taller (but not larger if you know what I mean). Cut out the bottom of one leaving a small 1" ledge. Get the smaller guage hardware cloth (galvantized metal grating from Home Depot) and cover the hole so it is a sifter box. That is it. Put the sifter box inside of another box and fill it with 5-6" of litter...I know that seems deep but my goal is to keep the urine from reaching the bottom, and another user on here mentioned something similar. To clean you just lift the sifter out and dump the waste. Put the sifter into the 3rd bucket and pour the litter back in. Either leave the top open or cut a hole in the top big enough for cat to get in (might need a taller plastic bucket for that). Another box might be needed for the cat to get up to the litter box.

jfs1234 wrote:1) How often do you go through the 5 minute cleaning and sifting process?

2) How is this cleaning and sifting process better or easier than scooping out the clumps?

JFS1234 -

Sorry it took me so long to get back to this.

I guess it's best to go through the cleaning and sifting process at least once a day, but even if you let it go a few days it still takes the same amount of time to clean them. I guess I should have mentioned I have 2 cats that weigh about 7-1/2-8 pounds and 11-12 pounds. I have 2 Van Ness sifting litter boxes and 1 littermaid, that's 3 litterboxes for 2 cats. 5 minutes, or less, is about the time it takes me to clean the 2 Van Ness boxes but I'm not a young person.
About once or twice a month I use a rechargable sweeper I keep down by the boxes to vacuum the utility rug I keep the boxes on and that takes a little longer. My cats rarely spill litter anymore (unless they use the littermaid, which is rarely) but I spill it sometimes when I'm cleaning the boxes. If I have to clean out the littermaid too that takes longer, but it rarely gets used anymore, so that's not often.

For me the work is much less and easier and things are less stressful than when we had a litter robot and just the littermaid. Something was always going wrong with the litter robot, it smelled bad and the cats hated it. During the time we owned it one of my cats took to peeing on the living room carpet. My husband maintained the litter robot and he hated it. After we got rid of it he started using a regular litter box he felt was easier. The littermaid was always a mess and hard to keep clean. I used Arm and Hammer in the littermaid once, which is litter the littermaid company recommends, and it turned to cement and clogged everything up. I had to take it apart to clean it. We had to scoop the littermaid which is exactly what they advertise you shouldn't have to do. They even supply a scoop with it. My cats take to the Van Ness boxes more than the automated litter boxes I've had in the past and even the regular boxes I used before. It may not work for everyone, but it works well for us and I wanted to share it.

I think can see how a larger cat might be a tight fit for the Van Ness boxes. Kpence 3's idea sounds great.

WoW Great ideas about The tripple sifter box & Making Your Own bigger Version From


Sterlite 58qt plastic box's Awsome Idea ,,, Thanks ...

Am Considering Buying a Model 60 CG & Hopefully one of the Cartridge / SmartChip

Resetter's If I Can Find one ??? ,,, I See theres no hope of fixing up a Model 120

CG Short of a Major Refit / Hack ??? I'm Sure there must be some way to Fix it up

So i Don't Have to Buy new Cartridges every 5 minutes ? LoL

I Love The Idea Of A Truly " No Touch " Litter Box ,,, We Have 3 very active

& Very Poopie Kitty's ,,, I Love them Alot But Am Very Tired Of Always Buying

Lots Of Kitty Litter & My Very Lazy Roomie Not even scooping out our boxes &

They Are Tech Her Cats ,,, I Don't Wanna be The one doing all the work ,,, I Work

3rd shift & Her Kittys Poop & Even Pee all over the Apt ,,, Becaust she won't keep

the Litter boxes scooped Out & clean enough for Her Baby's ??? any Ideas ???

Please Help !!!! ..... Kitty Lover ... Tom

To:
tekwho1 » Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:29 am

Sorry to try to answer your post this way (I've never done this before). Since reading your message I've been trying to locate the Van Ness litter box with two regular boxes and 1 filter box. The store I found that carried Van Ness boxes has never heard of a three part box or a filter box! Do you have the name of the box(es) you bought? I'd sure like to try doing what you did.

Thank you,
Rainy