Automatic Litterbox Central

Hello all.. I just found this site yesterday and was interested to see many folks still pondering if they should purchase a litter-robot or not. I thought I'd share my experience as a litter-robot owner for something near a year now. Heck, maybe more. I've flat forgotten how long it is now. Like many people, I love my cats. For 15 years I was the owner of a lovely mongrel outdoor cat and never once thought about litter boxes or oder control. A few years after she died, I found a couple of kittens. Usual story.. (Insert $STORY_OF_LOVE_AT_FIRST_SITE_HERE) But something had happened to me in the intervening years - I discovered my neighborhood was absolutely inundated with cats. I pledged that I would keep my new family members inside, where they were safe and happy, flee free, and territorial-fight-scar free... So, two little kittens. How much poop can they make? Snicker. We all know the answer to that, even a naive soul like myself, now. So, the search began for a cure. I totally side stepped all the 'other' cures on the market - mostly inspired by tales of woe, but also by the fact that I've actually encountered two - not ONE, but TWO of the 'raking' variety as junk beside the hiway in my travels. Doesn't say much that something that runs over $100 is just discarded along the roadside. So my searching around finally landed me at the litter-robot site. I was hooked as soon as the operating principle became clear. Nothing to get stuck! No batteries! No ALARMS! So I ordered one.

Now, I've heard tales of sensitive cats, and I suppose there really are cats like that. Happily, I have rather well adjusted and happy cats. They took to it EMEDIATELY. Heck, they liked it so much, that it was a problem getting them OUT OF IT. Sheesh. I took to putting it on a wall timer so it wasn't so dog gone clean inside in the hopes that it would stop being a toy!

So, what's the long term verdict? I couldn't possible give this device a higher rating. It has worked flawlessly day in and day out for the (approximately) year that I've had it. Well, okay - actually, when I went home yesterday, it was dead. But that wasn't much of a suprise as we'd had a freak lightning storm (in Oregon ANY lighting is a freak event!) that did much in the way of electronic damage through out my neighborhood.

Which brings us to the next topic - SERVICE. I called up Automated Pet Care Products in a panic. I've used this thing so long and with such reliability that I'd given away all my 'standard' litter boxes. Lauren Ford was quite nice and went out of her way to assist me in getting a replacement controller post haste. (I'm tech savy, so I'm told, so don't mind a little troubleshooting..) I even decided to step up for the 'kick'n Kitty Guards' and she graciously included them in my overnight shipment of a replacement controller.

So, you have this really well designed device featuring stout construction and stainless hardware that works without fail for over a year. You have a company that is still around and WAY pleasant to deal with in terms of warranty. I could EASILY make the case that a lighting hit is beyond the warranty, but you know what? The controller was FREE, all I paid for was expedited shipping.

You think $300 is a lot (Heck, I thought $300 was a lot!) - forget it, beg borrow or steal the money and just buy one. Now. It simply works!

Now, having given that rosey dialog, I do have a few totally trivial critisisms.

1) It is noisey - but apparently much less noisey than other automated devices as noted in this forum. The motor is similar to any 12VDC device, say like a cordless drill - and makes a very similar sound and noise level that is somewhat compounded by being attached to a large hollow plastic base. I've put mine on a wall timer that turns it off around 9pm, so I don't have to listen to it go off in the middle of the night. What could help? I haven't taken the gearbox appart, but I bet it's straight cut gears. The gearbox is bolted to a big plastic box without any vibration isolation (think of a drum or guitar) - so there's just not much you can do about it at the consumer level.

2) A built in timer vs. time-since-stepped-in controller would be way cool - set the time and tell it NOT to work at night?

And, ONE LAST THING, in case you're not convinced. It does NOT STINK. It's so nice, so clean, etc, that I occasionally forget it's even in use. All I can say is, DON'T. An overfull condition is something of a chore to clean up!

To get a feel for how often you need to empty it: I have two medium sized cats - the most efficient catfood to cat hair and cat poop converters I've ever seen. I empty it twice a week. It can go for 5-6 days, but that overfull condition threatens! Eeeewe..

Now if I could just get them to stop treating it like a playground and scattering litter all over the dang place... That was the kick'n kitty gaurds reference mentioned above.. They should just be a part of the unit from what I can tell..

I'm looking forward to many more years of happy hair&poop machines with their litter-robot..

(Oh, I do wish there was a return to colored versions! I've seen pictures of a yellow one that looks outstanding!)

Eric Timberlake