FRUSTRATED

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FRUSTRATED

Postby tessmom » Thu May 31, 2007 8:40 am

I have a Bengal cat named Tess - she is just under a year

AND she is driving me CRAZY

I have a Litter Robot and i recently sent the note below to the manufacturer

I am HOPING AGAINST HOPE that someone can help me!!!

Please help

I ordered a litter robot - i think through amazon - i would have to check my records - maybe directly through you. Address below. I have had it about 2 months

Here is what is happening!

My damned cat apparently stands with her head IN the robot, facing the back wall, and proceeds to pooh ALL OVER THE STEP!

She did this at first - and i thought it was because she did not want to step in her other business - i had to operate it manually for a while when i first got it because EVERY TIME she heard it cycle she would run and peer in - and the unit would end up stuck upside down with no litter available - she managed to trip it so many times that i guess it would get stuck - and since i am away from home all day - this was a problem

I called your hot line and the person suggested i cycle manually until it was no longer novel and she stopped running to it and peering in every time it cycled. she did the pooh on the step bit back then - and i assumed it was because she did not want to step in her pee

she got over the novelty and i was able to turn the unit on - and all was hunky dory until just this week -when she started poohing on the step again

I just went to check on the unit and found at least two, maybe three packages on the step for me. GROSS!!!!

She pees inside OK - or at least i think so - there are always plenty of pee clumps in the drawer. there are sometimes pooh clumps too. This errant behavior just started up again this weekend and i am ALREADY ready to SCREAM.

Do you have bigger units out of which her butt COULD NOT PROTRUDE even if she continued to face the back?????

Please help!!!!

Thank you,

C Theisen
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Postby lilcaspol » Thu May 31, 2007 5:02 pm

Sometimes female cats can just be pains in the rear. Sometimes just for no apparent reason to us, our Lily will just poop right in FRONT of the Robot. Have NEVER found that she's peed outside of the box just sometimes decides that she can't be bothered to poop in it. When it first happened I assumed it was Pollux, because he has tummy issues and I thought perhaps he just couldn't make it into the box. But then three days in a row, I caught Miss Lily in the act and the box was clean all three times. It doesn't happen as often, but she still gets this attitude sometimes. I hope that Tess, stops for you soon and permanently. I wish I had some REAL advice for you.
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Frustrated - but hoping!

Postby tessmom » Thu May 31, 2007 9:21 pm

Hey - going to try the "duct tape" trick to see that cures my little mess = i mean miss : :D

Will keep you posted on progress
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Postby spaceshare » Thu May 31, 2007 9:28 pm

I have two Bengals, male and female. In a side-by-side trial with the LR and the ScoopFree what I found was they peed in the SF and pooped in the LR. They seemed to prefer two places to go... So, I got a box and used crystals for them to pee in and kept the LR for the pooping. This has worked well since about March although both cats, in recent weeks and warmer weather, seem to be using the great outdoors.

Also, the male would climb in the LR and not turn around ending up pooping close to the door or, at the beginning, on the step. I would sit by the LR when he would get in and gently push him until his rear was in the LR and more to the side... This seemed to help. And, one more note, he seemed to have the most trouble when he had very soft stools, like he couldn't quite make it inside the box.

He is doing fairly well now -- no more step accidents.

[/i]
Kitties: Zen & Ariel. Litter Box: Litter Robot. Remembering Nuba, Ceba, and Yang Su Ling.
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Postby Scott Larson » Fri Jun 01, 2007 11:23 am

The duct tape trick has been working for years with my cat. Whenever I think he's "learned" to turn around, I try it without the tape. Within a week I discover he's not the kind of cat that learns things.

I don't know how they could design the LR to solve this problem other than maybe making it longer, like an egg-shaped globe. I guess they could offer an adjustable clip-on barrier to reduce the size of the entrance.
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Postby tink » Fri Jun 01, 2007 11:40 am

i have 2 bengals, they love the box, one is quite a bit larger than the other, and she turns around in the litter robot just fine. she starts out with her but hanging out, and then makes the turn, when she was in there at first i use to go downstairs and then call her name so that she would look out at me. you might try treats to get her to turn around. or make the view a good one, because we all know how curious they are. good luck, it is totally worth it once they get the hang of it, because bengal poopies are very stinky
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Thanks much!

Postby tessmom » Fri Jun 01, 2007 10:31 pm

i will let you all know how it goes with the partial barrier

i am glad you told me that bengal poops are stinky - i thought it was the food i am feeding her - which i really like as it keeps her coat v v v v shiny - and is all natural with organic ingredients.

later gators!
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Postby spaceshare » Sat Jun 02, 2007 3:17 am

Food makes a difference, even with Bengals.
Kitties: Zen & Ariel. Litter Box: Litter Robot. Remembering Nuba, Ceba, and Yang Su Ling.
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Re: Frustrated - but hoping!

Postby aprylb » Sat Jun 02, 2007 8:40 pm

tessmom wrote:Hey - going to try the "duct tape" trick to see that cures my little mess = i mean miss : :D

Will keep you posted on progress



What exactly is the duct tape trick? My female cat also pees on the step and all over the floor. It is very frustrating. I joined this forum hoping to find a solution.

Thanks!
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Duct Tape Trick!

Postby tessmom » Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:55 pm

i found the suggestion below on this site - and i just completed the "wall"

Good Luck!

Put a strip of duct tape across the very bottom of the entrance
then stick another strip to the sticky side of it so your cat won't
get stuck on it. Put enough duct tape strips ( about 1/3 of the way
up) so your cat will have to leap into the LR, making it more likely
that'll he'll turn around. For more agile cats you may need to duct
tape up to half the entrance! Ever since I've done this, he's always
stuck his head out once he jumps in as if it were some sort of reflex.

HERE IS MY MODIFICATION

I actually went to home depot and got a square of self stick vinyl as i was not too keen on the idea of duct tape - I cut two partial circles to fit the lower 1/3 of the opening - stuck them together - and for now i have duct taped in - just cant get away from that duct tape! as soon as I can confirm that this does the trick i am going to make holes in the vinyl and the LR lip and use electrical click ties to secure the barrier to the lip.
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Re: Duct Tape Trick!

Postby aprylb » Sun Jun 03, 2007 8:02 am

tessmom wrote:i found the suggestion below on this site - and i just completed the "wall"

Good Luck!

Put a strip of duct tape across the very bottom of the entrance
then stick another strip to the sticky side of it so your cat won't
get stuck on it. Put enough duct tape strips ( about 1/3 of the way
up) so your cat will have to leap into the LR, making it more likely
that'll he'll turn around. For more agile cats you may need to duct
tape up to half the entrance! Ever since I've done this, he's always
stuck his head out once he jumps in as if it were some sort of reflex.

HERE IS MY MODIFICATION

I actually went to home depot and got a square of self stick vinyl as i was not too keen on the idea of duct tape - I cut two partial circles to fit the lower 1/3 of the opening - stuck them together - and for now i have duct taped in - just cant get away from that duct tape! as soon as I can confirm that this does the trick i am going to make holes in the vinyl and the LR lip and use electrical click ties to secure the barrier to the lip.



You are the bomb !! thanks so much for replying. I am certainly going to show this post to my dh and have him modify the litter robot! again - many thanks!

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Re: Duct Tape Trick!

Postby Scott Larson » Mon Jun 04, 2007 1:33 am

tessmom wrote:I actually went to home depot and got a square of self stick vinyl as i was not too keen on the idea of duct tape

I've used gaffer's tape at times when I can't find the roll of duct tape. It's vinyl, wider and won't leave a residue on the globe. However it's more expensive.
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