Automatic Litterbox Central

Seb -- Thanks for your post. I'm glad you have a Catgenie, and its working out. I was worried about you not having a box that works for your cat. Didn't realize you were talking about a past experience. I like the Genie but with the design of my house, odor permeates the whole house quickly and odor control is really important to me. Even the SF didn't do as good of a job as the Bot with the new litter. So, I am very motivated to keep it. And as I said, with my cats, they have both tested the waters with other cat boxes -- i.e., used other parts of the house in the past and the confinement stuff has worked with them but its not a solution for all cats.

Sixty days is a good trial period with the LR and with 90 for the SF, I can keep them both for now as I give the LR more time. (Nuba used it this morning on his own with no problems. He was watching it cycle, stepped on the step and stopped the cycle, and started to bat the waste down the hole and into the drawer! Great game but I hope it doesn't become a permanent one! Obviously he's still experimenting!)

Well, still nothing deposited in the LR2 yet!

The ScoopLess is sitting there pretty full and all the litter is piled up in one place on top of a bunch of poop! I have it disconnected to encourage her.

I have been easy on her, I let her out of boot camp the same day I put her in there! But, I keep the beedroom door closed at night and she stays in there with me and has access to the bathroom. This will minimize any damage that she may do. She has not done anything anywhere except in the ScoopLess.

I did catch her looking inside the LR2 today on her own........

Maybe she is getting the idea?

Hi AEA --

Hope she comes around. I took away all options for my two cats with I got the LR -- i.e., packed up the ScoopFree and put it away. If I had left anything out for them, it would have been their least favorite hand scoop box. My neurotic tendencies would have kept me scooping out that box though so the kitties had to go cold turkey!

Nuba hasn't made any messes in the house since the one on my bed... He was outdoors a day or so before that mess and used the snow at one point... I wondered if he thought, "Oh looks like that cold stuff... I'll just use this..." right before he pooped on the white covered comforter!! But I'm still being careful. He's in and out of litter box bootcamp depending upon my activities and I am watching him closely... Like right now, where is he?? (Ahhh... just in time... ) His little tail is still sticking out the LR door, though, and I don't know if I can get him to change that...

I started using World's Best Cat Litter, yesterday, and so far it seems to work better than the other litter I was trying... Isn't sticking to the insides of the LR and the cats are covering up their waste better with it. I bought some baking soda for odor control if this is needed. So a bit more experimenting. If this works (litter, odor control tactics, and LR), I am settled and these two kitties can breathe a sign of relief, "Thank god, she's done fooling around with the damned litter boxes!!"

Good luck. Hope the LR works out for you and your cat.

spaceshare.......

Do either of your two Bengal's have a soft/runny stool fairly regularly?

UPDATE: Early this morning ('o-dark-thirty) I was up and so was she......

I picked her up and took her to the LR2. I put her front paws on the step and Yippie-I-O-yayea !!!! She went in turned around and did her pee. Then she covered it up and came out chirping!

Those Bengals are"sumthin else".

I picked up the ScoopLess and put it in storage and dumped the badly soiled tray in the garbage that will be picked up today.

I am going to keep my eye on her closely now and every time I get out of the chair I will take her to the LR2 so she does not forget what it is. I will still close up up in the bedroom/bathroom to see how it goes.

Do either of your two Bengal's have a soft/runny stool fairly regularly?

Yes, both, daily. I had Zen treated with an antibiotic (??) at one point which seemed to help but it didn't completely do the trick. Also, putting them on dry Nutro Natural cat food for sensitive stomachs (indoor food) seemed to help a bit... They like that wet food packaged in foil and they get a bit of that each day as a treat and that's when the odor gets bad and stools maybe more runny... But, I haven't concentrated enough on it recently to solve it. These kitties hunt SPIDERS (Daddy Longlegs) in my house and they eat them. (Nube seems spider obsessed right now!) Personally, I think its a great way not to have to vacuum and dust for spiders. But, bottom line is I don't totally control the diet!

So, anyway, I'm not focused on it at this point although I am will likely take Nuba in to the vets to have him checked out...

By-the-way, glad to hear your kitty finally used the LR. These cats are very sensitive to changes in their environments. They notice stuff, they react... and they acclimate. That's been my limited experience based on Nuba and Zen.

Another update................

Nicki has been doing good peeing in the LR2. Today, she did another poop on the rug in the laundry room near the outside door (same as before).

I know what you may be thinking. That she wants to get outside to do the poop. That is not correct, as she is a indoor cat and does not even know that the outside World exists (except for watching birds thru the window).

Anyway, I caught her immediately, and with the rug in my hand I made her sniff the poop (did not rub her face in it, just got close). Then I put her in the LR2 and stayed there keeping her inside for about 5 minutes. Then I let her come out of the LR2 and she has been there in Boot Camp all day.

I have checked a few times and she has been back into the LR2 for peeing. She is going to stay in Boot Camp until I see some poop in the LR2!

With regard to the food....and the runny stools......
I have had her to the vet several times and he can find nothing wrong with her. I have been thru food changes more than litter boxes!

She came to me with Hills, I changed her to Proplan, then to something else and then to something else. All changed correctly, over time. I determined that these cats do not do well on anything that has Ground Yellow Corn in it.

I have finally ended up with what I believe is the best cat food money can buy. It is Eagle Pack Holistic Select (Chicken). I checked the Nutro Natural ingredients and found that they are almost exactly the same as the Eagle Pack except that Eagle Pack contains blueberries. It has helped her quite a bit. As before she would have a constant runny stool. Since Eagle Pack she has only moderate times with runny stool and the rest it's pretty firm. I attribute this to sensitivity as you said and things she may pick up off the floor that I am unaware of.

The sensitivity thing is the key with these cats as far as I can tell. I have to travel for work for extended periods (two Months) and she has to go to a kennel. So, this is not the best for her sensitivity.

I hope she starts pooping in the bot soon

I determined that these cats do not do well on anything that has Ground Yellow Corn in it.

Sorry your kitty has to spend so much time in the kennel. Thanks for the info on the corn in the diet.

Nuba made a mess in the LR, tonight, and I considered keeping the SF -- so much easier for him to use and for me to clean-up! I'm keeping that in the back of my mind in case this mess stuff turns into a once a week ordeal. I fed him quite a bit of his favorite food and he had a runny stool which he let go of near and on the rim of the door. The LR cycled and it ran up the inside of the box near the door, into the joint of the LR as well as out the door and even ran on the outside of the globe, perhaps dripped when cycling, and landed on the top of the globe somehow! Took forever to find it all and cleanup. I kept using Abbey's NOSE test.... And when it finally smelled clean inside, I quit cleaning...

All the clean-up did cause me to reconsider which of the two I keep, however, and I started an internet search for cheap crystals (may have found some not too far away, too!).

I probably wouldn't put any of my cats in the LR and make them stay for five minutes. That would likely freak them out and they would never use it again. Nuba is doing fine, now, with the LR. Today, he was totally out of the laundry room and free to roam about the house while I was at work. He did fine. He's laying his head on my lap trying to get some affection! So I'll close for now.

Don't let this litter box stuff become too much of an ordeal for you and the kitty. Remember, there are other options if the LR doesn't work out.

Best wishes to you and the cat!

Finally SUCCESS!

Well, after two days in Litter Box Boot Camp (and one more accident on the rug in the bathroom, now thrown away) I finally have achieved success!

Yep, today she deposited some poop in the LR2!

She has now been given a pass from Boot Camp and we will see how it goes!

I find that the crystals track less and even if they tracked more they are easier to find and clean up than those junky pieces of clay.

I had a years supply of trays already for the ScoopLess and I will use that litter in the LR2 and just throw the trays away!

BTW the Fresh Step Crystals from the ScoopLess Trays work great in the LR!

AEA -- Congratulations on the cat pooping in the LR!! Good for her! Good for you! I might keep her in LB Bootcamp for a couple more days until she is using it more regularly... but who am I? You know your cat best.

As per your post above, I checked the ingredients of the Nutro cat food (the kitten variety) I have been feeding the cats and found it does contain some corn meal! Decided to try a heavier "meat" type dry food so switched to Innova Evo -- 50% crude protein -- to see if it clears up Nuba's runny stools. In checking cat food ingredients I found that Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul lists blueberries (and no corn meal) if you want to give that one a try at some point.

You could try selling those empty cartridges to someone on the forum if you list them with no crystals... and the shipping shouldn't be too much... consider that in your charge.

New on this end of the LR trial, the LR passed the power outage test this a.m. The kitties used it during the outage and when the power returned, it automatically cycled and that was that. A very LARGE clump was produced but it broke up a bit headed for the drawer and went in with no problems.

The LR is much more challenging to keep clean than the SF (but we knew it would be). A wipe out once a week will be mandatory with my cats. I have "practiced" several times this week due to Nuba. I am using a small lamp to see the insides of the globe. I cycle the LR until all the litter is contained behind the screen, and the hatch is open inside to the drawer. I stop the cycle and use a wisk broom to sweep down any remaining litter and dust. Next I wipe out the inside of the globe with sanitary wipes and follow that with a damp cloth to remove the odor of the wipes, drying it with a small towel, cycle it back to its "use" position, and wipe anything I might have missed. I haven't timed it, yet, but I would guess it takes about 10 to 15 minutes. So far, the inside looks and smells clean afterward.

Anyway, I am glad to hear your cat has initiated the LR with its poop! Hope she continues and the LR works out for you.

UP-DATE on Innova EVO cat food. Cat that was having problems did well on it; caused diarrhea with the other cat so am trying some foods with less protein, no corn meal.

I have posted the ScoopFree Trays (no crystals) in the buy/sell forums of this Site. Giving them away for FREE (but no shipping). Face to face in North Texas.

I am also giving away my Littermaid LM500v and my Petmate Purrforma XL with hood!

Is that a deal or what?

It's a REAL DEAL!

My grandsons cat hates the ScoopFree Litter boxes will go on the floor. He had a Littermaid befor and loved it.
I think the crystals hurt his paws. He had been declawed. Anything would help. We have tryed it all.

Sweetheart,

You're probably right about the crystals.

Declawed cats often wind up with overly sensitive paws, and then litter issues. (Reason #23987492387492 to not declaw.) I've known people who resorted to shredded paper because of such problems.

My own suggestions:

--See a vet in case there's something that can be done surgically or medically. Often, these cats are in pain all the time, they just hide it well. Vets are starting to get savvy about pain control in cats.

--Try the Cedarific (non-clumping) or World's Best cat litter (clumping) to offer the softer litter.

--Crystals are the whole point of the ScoopFree, so I don't know what you could do about that. If you are looking for a different automatic cat box experience, I think the Litter Robot, which is very tolerant about the consistency of the clumps, might be the best bet in that situation. I use Cedarific and cheap clumping litter in my Robot, and it works great for odor control and litter softness.