Automatic Litterbox Central

I'd just like to share my cat story with everyone. We have two kittens and before we ever brought them home we ordered the Litter Robot. Turned out the kittens were sick so we had to keep them in a cage for a couple months (ringworm and the like). So, we had to put the Litter Robot aside and use a conventional box (The Litter Robot wouldn't fit in the cage).

When they got better, it was time to convert. We had both the Litter Robot and their old litter box out. We allowed the old litterbox to get messy (well, I would scoop out the poop but leave the urine. I had to live here too!) and right away our little girl (Sable) went into the Litter Robot. She is one of the most fraidy cat kitties I've ever seen. It took her a long time to get used to us, a long time for her to get used to the Roomba, and it even took her some time to get used to me mopping (she'd always run when she saw a mob or broom). But, she used the Litter Robot a day after we let the old litter box get dirty because she's a complete clean freak. She'll spend ten minutes digging around in the old litter box to cover up the smell, wiping her paws every thirty seconds (we kept the litter box on a big piece of paper or on a towel). The first couple times she used the Litter Robot, her little legs were shaking but her need for hygeine overwhelmed her fear of new things. I'm happy to say that she is no longer afraid of the Litter Robot (it's been about three months though she overcame her fear after a week or so) and she's even smart enough to know to go into the Litter Robot AFTER it's finished rotating.

Sabre, our boy kitty and her litter mate, isn't the same sort of story. He is NOT a clean freak so he was content to use the dirty litter box even after it was more urine then litter. Finally, I just took away the litter box completely and he happily switched over to the Litter Robot. One of these days I'll put the old one back in the room and see what they prefer, but I think I'll leave that for a rainy day. Unfortunately, he doesn't know to wait until the Litter Robot is finished rotating and sometimes likes to go into the Litter Robot while it's trying to do its cycle. It starts to rotate even if he's in there if he hasn't moved, but he usually jets out once it starts to move. To tell you the truth, I think he doesn't realize he has to go to the bathroom until it starts moving at times. I've seen him look in the Litter Robot many times and as soon as it stops spinning, he'll do his thing. (Before it stops spinning, I'll be standing there distracting him with his favorite toy). Oddly enough, has never made it give up (three blinking lights) when I'm not around, but he has done so twice when I have been around.

But there you go! Three months later, both our kittens (they're nine months old now) use the Litter Robot with no problems (well, Sabre's fascination with it is a little problem but like I said, he hasn't confounded it when I haven't been around and that's enough to make me happy). We bought 1000 7-9 gallon bags from Sam's Club for $13 which should last us a good ten years. We change out the waste drawer about once a week, and about three days after we've changed it out, I start checking it every other day for piles and levelling. We refill it with about 3 and a half cups of litter every time we put in a new bag (We use World's Best Cat Litter), throw in some baking soda and hardly every smell anything except at close and low proximity. If we forego the baking soda, I can catch a whiff while standing across the room. The only real problem is dust on their paws and adhering to the walls of the Litter Robot so that they get some on their heads or sides, but using WBCL Extra Strength brought down the dust. Sometimes the litter gets stuck on the floor of the Litter Robot. Usually gravity does the trick but sometimes I have go to in there with pusnh it off with a napkin. Luckily, our kittens turn around so there's no problem with urine spray. Sabre likes to stand halfway in and dig around a bit so some litter does fly around but I have a Roomba which I run daily and the Litter Robot is on a large piece of plastic (the bottom of the aforementioned cage was detachable) and I wrap a towel around it and clip it on with binder clips so Sable has something to wipe her paws on.

Well, that was a lengthy story but it covers my experience with the Litter Robot. I have to say, I'm very happy with the product. Having to clean out their old litter box for a few months has given me a deeper appreciation for it, I'm sure. I hardly ever have to think about that aspect of cat care and with the Roomba and our water fountain, the only "maintenance" I do on a daily basis is feed them.

Nice story!! Glad your cats are using it.. It took me 2 weeks or so to get mine to use it but it's the best ting ever I love it.. One of my cat still doesn't turn around sometimes and sprays the wall when she pees but it is great to have.. I have 2 cats one about 14 and one about 5 or 6 and I change my bag every 4-5 days then add a cup of litter... Rose

I've used the Cat Attract (well not personally, but my cat has). It helped to induce him to urinate, but he's still pooing outside. Suggestions?

but he's still pooing outside. Suggestions?

Is he pooing outside the box in the house or outside the house in the yard? And, if outside the house, is this a bad option?

I gave the cats a second litter box -- with crystals (very low maintenance). One cat used the crystals box for pee, the LR for poo. Anyway, he no longer uses the crystals but is satisfied with the LR for all functions, now. (I think this option might be preferred over the cat using the floor, carpet, or leather couch while the pet slave stubbornly attempts to force the cat to use the pet slave's preferred litter box.)

I have used Cat Attract in the LR. It helped attract him to pee, but he still won't poo in it!
Awthur

When I first got the LR I put Cat Attract Litter in the globe and to make sure of success
using the LR the cats had a second box beside it and I let it get real dirty for almost 2
weeks. I did empty some of the "baseballs" every few days but didn't change the litter.
When I finally removed the regular box they looked for it for a few seconds but went
straight to the LR. Have not had one issue with them and now they use their favorite litter.
You have to try to make the LR more attractive than another alternative. Dirty litter is
very offensive to a cat,so is citrus and perfume.

I have two cats. Albert is a domestic/siamese mix, most resembling a snowshoe and weighs in at around 15 lbs. He's a very long cat, though, so if he's overweight, it's not significant. He used the first and second littermaid we've purchased faithfully. Elsa's a black, long haired mutt weighing in around 9 lbs. She's rather skittish, but did use the littermaid at one point. One day, she decided not to use it anymore and decided to pee on the couch instead. We ended up getting a covered litterbox for her, while Albert continued to use the littermaid.

I picked up an Omega Paw Roll N Clean for Elsa a little while back. She switched over to it rather painlessly. Shortly thereafter, the second littermaid died. I still had my first littermaid and put that in place and ordered the Litter Robot. The first littermaid's sensor wasn't working, so it wouldn't auto-rake. After receiving the Litter Robot, I set it up near the littermaid and let the littermaid get dirty. Eventually, the littermaid got so dirty, Albert started using the Omega Paw, but would not touch the Litter Robot. He poked his head in it a few times, but just would not use it. I eventually threw out the littermaid, so it was down to just the Omega Paw and the Litter Robot. I placed the Litter Robot next to the Omega Paw. I tried treats, "seeding' the litter with old litter and petting him him near the Litter Robot, but he just wouldn't use it. The rubber/vinyl in the litter robot has a very strong odor, the step is kind of unstable and the whole thing sits rather high. I picked up some Cat Atrract Litter and that got Albert curious enough to poke his head back in the Litter Robot right away, but a few days passed and he still didn't use it. During this time, I let the Omega Paw get dirty. I figured the Litter Robot and the Omega Paw are both self-enclosed, so I might be able to get Elsa to use it, as well.

Thinking that the cats might be unsure of the height of the Litter Robot, I took the globe off and placed it on the ground. I "chocked" the globe with a towel to keep it from rolling over. I sat the Omega Paw on the Litter Robot base. Sure enough, both cats used the Litter Robot globe when placed on the ground. A day or two later, I moved the Litter Robot globe back onto its based. I grabbed a couple of cinder blocks and placed the Omega Paw on it, which placed both entrances at right around the same height. I used some plastic totes to create steps for both boxes. Albert, in particular, likes used shower towels. I wrapped one of my used shower towels around both steps. That got Albert interested in it and he started nudging the towel and rolling around it. That was this last weekend and I woke up on two occasions this morning, witnessing each of them using it. I've been dutifully scooping out the Litter Robot, while the Omega Paw remains disgustingly filthy.

Eventually, I'll move the Litter Robot out of my bedroom and back to where the old littermaid was. Hopefully running the Litter Robot won't freak them out. It's strange because Albert's always been curious and took to the two old littermaids without issue. We had even build an enclosure for the old littermaid, thought he entrance was wide open. I thought he'd take to the Litter Robot right away, but that wasn't the case. With the entrance to the Litter Robot being very similar to the Omega Paw, it may be Elsa who is the easier convert. If we can get both cats to use the Litter Robot while it's plugged in, the price of the box will be well worth. I'll update with results as they come.

I started manually running the LR a few times, first, making sure they were not around. Then, I ran it with them around, petting and encouraging them when I did it. I removed the Omega Paw and did the manual running of the LR a few more times. I then left the LR on, but kept the sensor cranked so low (high?) that they wouldn't set it off, but so the light would stay on. I eventually adjusted it and am happy to say that both cats are using the LR on a regular basis. I've woken up a few times to the LR running through its cycle as it is only a couple of feet from my bed. I'm going to attempt to eventually move the LR into the other room/office and then it will be mission complete.

Hi all,

I got the litter robot about a month ago and have been trying to slowly wean my three cats off the manual litter box. I put the LR next to one of my old boxes (I had two) and then kept the LR clean while letting the old one get dirty. It took a minute for them to start using the LR - I had to prop open the area where the waste comes out (it was either too dark or the new smell was too strong and needed ventilation) and that seemed to get one in. Then I built a platform (per a previous post) out of a cardboard box and propped up the old litter box to the same height. That seemed to produce more activity. Finally I sprayed the pherimone spray, which also seemed to help a little, and stopped scooping the other box altogether. BUT, when I took the old box away I found that two of them seemed fine with using the LR but one, my very, very skittish (hides under the bed most of the time) seems to be all but refusing! Every morning I wake up and find that she is using the couch instead. I have since been covering with plastic and but she just goes on the plastic. Last night I slept on the couch and woke, petrified that she would just go on my bed, to find the bed clean but she went in the shower! I know it was her because I saw the other two going in and out of the box before I fell asleep and I saw her go in the box just an hour or so ago, but she ran out of it like a bat out of h---. I then discovered the shower and I think she only forced herself to use it because the shower was dirty. Do I need to go back to a manual box just for her??? I tell you, I am loving the LR otherwise and would really, really like to find a way to get her comfortable with it.

thanks for any suggestions,
H

Some cats are more skittish and have a little difficulty dealing with changes. Any chance of putting the cat in a room with the LR and close the door
with the cat in the room so there isn't a choice of going anywhere else? If that isn't an option you might have to put the old litter box back down
for a while longer. It may be quite a while before the cat is confident with the LR. Remember there is a rocking motion when they get into it which
is different than the other litter box plus the shape and enclosure is something cats need to get accustomed to. I have a scardy cat and it took him
quite a while to be confident getting into the LR but now he jumps right in. Be patient.....it will work out.
Some cats need 6 months to get use to a new litter box. I have my fingers crossed and am wishing you good luck! Keep us up to date with the
outcome.

I purchased the LR II around the first week in December '08. I read many many posts on this board and implemented many of them to a degree. I did NOT however do what it says in the manual or what many others have done, by letting their boxes get really dirty and stinky or taking their other litter boxes away too quickly. I didn't do this for particular reasons involving one of my male cats and problems I had with him and litter box issues in the past. Rufus has anxiety problems and when I brought my 4th cat home who was male (Rufus had only been with two other female cats at this point) awful litterbox problems errupted where he would spray floors and sides of doorways and I had to put him on Prozac for a while to stop it and Feliway. So to me, letting boxes get dirty was just asking for trouble. It could be that this method works for others but I decided since I had two months to try this and still be able to return if necessary, slow I would go.

First off, I did what the manual and many others have posted.... I had 5 hooded boxes for my 5 cats so I threw out one of them, and put the LR in its place leaving the remaining 4 as is. I left the LR turned off for at least the first week, just so they wouldn't get spooked. I actually didnt' even run it each day manually but instead would scoop it and I would only run it if they weren't near by. They hadn't been around automatic boxes for years so didn't want to scare them. I did put a few dirty contents from their old boxes along with some litter from their boxes so they could smell something familiar. I also put catnip on the step to try to entice them. This worked for the first couple days and then they got smart and stopped hopping in the LR and just ate the catnip off the step!!! However a few of them were hopping in it and peeing. The LR really has a bit of a "rock" to it when the cat enters the globe and I think this can spook them as well. One of the other members posted that she placed some plywood under the step to keep it from rocking. I didn't have any plywood but I did put a 3 ring binder under the step,with the binder part sticking out so it wouldn't rock. After the first week, I moved it out slowly every other day so that it would rock just a teeeeny bit. I also adjusted the sensor underneath to the least sensitive so it wouldnt rock. By the first 10 days each cat had gone into it and done some business, so I took this as a good sign. Each week I would eliminate a hooded box. I didn't let the other boxes get nasty, but instead of scooping them every day I DID skip to every other day, I didn't want any problems to occur but I did want the LR to look more clean and appealing. I never forced any of my cats to go in but a few of them that werent really investigating it, I would watch them and when I saw them head to the regular box, I would lift them so that they were on my thigh and put their feet on the step to the LR so that it would perhaps get them to venture inside. And it did! LIke I said, if they seemed hesistant I would let them scurry away, but mostly they would go inside the LR and forget about the old one.

So basically after the first two weeks I would let it cycle with me in the room. I didn't leave it on automatic until after a month. I would cycle it manually each day after the first two weeks. I also used tape like other members have mentioned because I found that no matter how much I cleaned the inside of globe weekly, or change the bag, which is basically every other day because I have 5 cats, the odor would travel thru the holes in step. Once I taped the holes, the smell vanished. There is a lot more litter scatter since the holes have been taped but I have a small hand broom in the closet where the LR is and it just takes a moment to sweep up the small scatter.

I'm not sure if this made any difference but I took other's suggestions and cleaned the inside of globe with Clorox wipes every two weeks to keep it smelling nice. Their faces are a little closer to the stink inside top of globe than a hooded box. I think another good point to introducing them is if your cat does not currently use a hooded box try switching to that BEFORE trying the LR otherwise it may be way too unfamiliar to them and switching too many factors at once could traumatize them. What we humans see as no big deal, to a cat is a huge deal. I think in the pet store I saw a Booda box which is a similar shape to LR.

Anyway so those are basically my steps I used. I took my time and after week 6 i had eliminated all of the litterboxes but one. I still keep one in my bedroom which is pretty far away from the LR because sometimes they all have to line up and go after eating a meal and I didn't want any accidents to occurr and also it seems that the timer gets tripped on the step and the red light flashes if too many cats step on the step during the 7 minute countdown.

But it is fantastic to only have to scoop one box every other day instead of 5 boxes every day. The smell in my apartment is so much better now and the cats seem happier. I eventually pulled out that notebook and the LR does its small rocking motion but the cats are very used to it now. I also am able to leave it on auto all day. It probably took me about 5 weeks to get them all adjusted. Some people have posted they did it in a day or a week but I personally did not want to leave anything to chance with my male and his litterbox history.

Shea

I need a new globe for my old LR base (1st edition) If you have a globe you are not useing can I have/buy it from you? My cats finally scratched through the bottom of our original one and I hate to get one from the site as it is so $$ it is almost worth just getting a whole new machine but money is tight so not an option right now.

Please let me know.

I wish this forum would let you send private messages!

Tiffany

Just wanted to share how I managed to train my cats - in part through help from this list, and in part through new tricks.

Background: They are 10 years old. One of them is VERY nervous and jumpy, and the other, if he doesn't like the litter box (e.g. too messy), will pee on clothes, cushions, anything he can improvise a "dig" into. So this was not going to be easy...

STEP 1: just set it up in the place of their old one, left it off, and let the other one get dirty nearby. BINGO - seemed to work!! (Took about 3 or 4 days, but then i began finding clumps there).

STEP 2: Being overexcited, I decided I could just turn it on. They saw it run, and wouldn't go anywhere near it EVEN after I turned it off again, regardless of how dirty other litterbox was. I was scared to take it away, cause I didn't want pee in laundry...

STEP 3: Ideas from this thread - removed the globe from the base (so it looks different to them), sprayed it with feliway, and let the other box get dirty again. Used Cat-Attract litter in the box. Within a couple of days they were using the globe. THIS TIME, I left it as is FOR A WEEK, at the end of which, I *took other litterbox away*.

STEP 4: 3-4 more days of globe only (leaning on stuff), no old litterbox, just checking all is well. It was. I was cleaning it twice a day the whole time.

STEP 5: Globe went back up on base, in same spot. I left the unit off FOR 5 days. It was clear both cats were using it - and I was still cleaning it twice a day.

STEP 6: *perhaps MOST important step* - went to store and got LOTS AND LOTS of smoked turkey breast. Their favorite. Cut into small single treat size. Sat next to LR with a bag full of little chunks, and them salivating around me, and YES, TURNED IT ON!!! As soon as it was on, they watched it in fear and began to retreat, but then I lured them back with turkey (wave a small piece of smoked turkey under a cat's nose, and you WILL get their attention). It was actually quite funny - they kept going back and forth between the meat, and watching the box turn. The whole time, I kept praising them. Idea was - GOOD things happen when the box turns...

STEP 7: More of the same. KEPT THE BOX "OFF" Whenever I was not around, and twice a day repeated step 6. By the 4th or 5th time, they started feeling more courageous, and approaching the LR as it was turning. Of course it stops the cycle, but it begins again 30 seconds later. They seemed confused by it, and still curious, but by the end of 5 days of this, they were no longer scared!!! The whole time, they kept using the box, although a few times there was hesitation. They'd sit next to it for a while before going in for instance.

STEP 8: This is about 3-4 weeks after day 1 - the cats' attention was now 90% on the turkey and 10% on the LR when I ran a cycle. I decided they are ready and left it on. Sure enough, it's been almost a week of the LR operating normally, and guess what!!! No pee in laundry or anywhere else that is not the LR!!!

GOOD LUCK

Allelujiah!

My younger male cat was inquisitive when I installed the LR. It didn't take him but 10 minutes to hop in, look around, come out, look around (the box was off).

My older female cat wasn't remotely interested. So I resigned myself to getting her an automated litter box that you don't have to GO INTO . . . so I got one of those PetSafe ones. She was just fine with that for months.

A couple months go by . . . one day the male cat was on the "outside" of the LR looking in and he looked confused??????

As I craned my neck to see around the corner, all of a sudden a see a little white cat (the old female) come hopping out of the LR. You can imagine my surprise.

So . . . after a few more days of making sure both cats were using the LR, I dismantled the PetSafe box, cleaned it and put it away. Both of my guys are now happily using the LR and I am very happy too. Whoever said, "You can't teach an old CAT, new tricks" (wink, wink)