Automatic Litterbox Central

I thought it would be nice to have our own litter survey on the LR forum, since the general board doesn't get much traffic. Please use this thread to post just your experience -- it's better not to get too bogged down with debate on any one litter. PM me if you think of questions I should add.


What brands have you tried and rejected? Why?

What brand are you using currently? How long have you used it?

How much odor? How much tracking? How well does it clump?

Any issues with sticking to the LR walls?

How many cats are using your LR?

How often do you empty the drawer? How often do you completely change the litter?

Where do you purchase it? How much does it cost?

Although I haven't gotten my LR yet, thought I'd answer my own survey:

What brands have you tried and rejected? Why?
My cat rejects the Pearl and Crystal type litters, as well as the LitterFree. I think it's the texture he objects to.

What brand are you using currently? How long have you used it?
I've used Arm & Hammer, and Cedar Fresh scoopable for several years.

How much odor? How much tracking? How well does it clump?
Both clump well, with Cedar Fresh being a bit better. I find after about a week there are little mini-clumps that form that are too fine for a scoop. I think the odor from these is part of Gabby's litter issue, although I can't smell much. Cedar Fresh seems to have better odor control.

Any issues with sticking to the LR walls?
Don't have my LR yet, but both stick to litterbox walls quite fiercely. Tried spraying Olive Oil (instead of Pam) for the first time this week and it helped a lot, although it isn't perfect.

How many cats are using your LR?
2 cats

How often do you empty the drawer? How often do you completely change the litter?
Currently I scoop daily, and completely change the litter every 2 weeks. Gabby still poops outside the box about 50% of the time. When I get the LR, I expect to empty the drawer daily.

Where do you purchase it? How much does it cost?
At the supermarket. Around $7 for the 14 lb box

Which brands rejected? World's Best Cat Litter because Harley hates it.

Currently using? Pet Gold Plus from PetCo. Jeff's used it for about four years at least.


Odor & tracking & clumping? Odor isn't much of a problem; tracking happens with all litter; clumping is very good.

Sticking to LR walls? No unusual issues to report.

How many cats? 3

How often do you empty drawer? Completely change litter? twice a week; once a month

How much? Where do we purchase? 10.99/30 lbs.; purchase at PetCo.

What brands have you tried and rejected? Why?
I used to use Tidy Cat Multiple Cat formula, but the clumps broke apart too easily.

What brand are you using currently? How long have you used it?
I now use Fresh Step Scoop because it clumps like granite. This means that when I scoop it I pretty much get all of the cat waste out without it breaking up into smaller, unscoopable portions. I have used it for about 3 or 4 years now.

How much odor? How much tracking? How well does it clump?
Odor is not bad unless I am not timely in scooping the litter box. As mentioned above it clumps very hard. I do find granules of litter sometimes even on my bed so the cats obviously carry it with them quite a way.

Any issues with sticking to the LR walls?
I will find that out when I get mine, but it does stick hard in some places on my conventional litter box.

How many cats are using your LR?
2 cats, but again I have a regular litter box for now.

What brands have you tried and rejected? Why? WE've been through a lot of litters- Sebastian is very picky about his box.
Swheat Scoop he liked- but something about his eliminations and the litter mixing made the smell completly unbearable.
Tidy Cat Crystals- Were too big under his paws.
Generic pet store clumping litter- I guess he's just too much of a litter snob.
Fresh Step must have offended him- he threw it out of the box with glee and used the box sans litter. Freak.

What brand are you using currently? How long have you used it?
Tidy Cats scoopable crystals blend for multiple cats. We've been with this one for about a year and a half. (Sebastian will be 4 next month... it's taken us this long to find the perfect litter!)

How much odor? How much tracking? How well does it clump?
No real odor. It tracks... but not unbearably. Tracking is much better than him using the rug in protest. It clumps beautifully!

Any issues with sticking to the LR walls?
Just ran through for the first time (arrived today!) and the clumps rolled here and there and avoided the waste holes- but they didn't really stick.

How many cats are using your LR?
Jsut the one- although we'll be getting a second this fall.

How often do you empty the drawer? How often do you completely change the litter?
I'll empty it out every other day and change it once every 2 weeks- a schedule that worked pretty well with the other litterbox (the changing.. nto the dumping)

Where do you purchase it? How much does it cost?
Pretty much anywhere they sell litter. The price varies greatly based on where I buy it- the grocery store considers it premium litter and charges accordingly- the pet store charges significantly less... but you can't buy new litter at 2am there

I'll weigh in on this one. The replies to these questions are in reference to Scoop Away Multiple Cat Formula. I did a litter "test" and reported my results in a post you can see at viewtopic.php?t=131&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

You'll notice that my current litter is not mentioned in these tests because I hadn't planned on using it. Because I ran out of litter late one night (I thought I had more in my closet, but underestimated my supply). I picked up the Scoop Away on sale at the local 24hr grocery store, and LOVED it. It's a bit more expensive, but worth it. There's NO odor, even when I pull out the drawer to change it. Anyways, here's my feelings on that. BTW, looks like Scoop Away is on sale at Petco right now. Yay! I'm stocking up.

What brands have you tried and rejected? Why?
Tidy Cats Crystal Blend only total reject. It got gummy and left "goo" all in the globe.

What brand are you using currently? How long have you used it?
Scoop Away multiple cat formula. Less than one month, but plan on continuing.

How much odor? How much tracking? How well does it clump?
No odor, even from the drawer when I change it. Same tracking as all litter. Clumps great!

Any issues with sticking to the LR walls?
Not with Scoop Away

How many cats are using your LR?
6 total (Five 8lb or under, 1 twenty-pounder)

How often do you empty the drawer? How often do you completely change the litter?
Empty the drawer daily. Change the litter every couple months... maybe.

Where do you purchase it? How much does it cost?
Petsmart. 31 lb bucket for $9.99 (on sale)

HokieGirl,
This is really good! I hope you don't mind if I cut and paste from your thread to this one...

Zetta

Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2004 10:04 am Post subject:

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I'll weigh in on this. Since I got my 'bot 5 weeks ago, I've been experimenting. I want to maximize my "enjoyment" of this wonderful machine. I've purchased various types of clumping litter, and used them for a week. I clean the globe before switching types. (I have patient, non-picky cats.) Here are my results so far.

Arm & Hammer Super Scoop ($5.99 for 14lb box @ Petmsart). Great clumping, great odor control. Some tracking and "kick-out". A little perfumey. Did not stick to globe or liner.

Sam's club ($7.75 for 40lb bucket, store-type brand @ Sam's). Great clumping, great odor control. Large particles help minimize tracking. Light fragrance. Did not stick to globe or liner.

Tidy Cats Crystal Bland ($7.47 for 20lb jug @ Wal-Mart). OK Clumping, good odor control. So far, the worst for tracking and "kick-out". Small sticky clumps stuck to globe, mesh, and liner.

Exquisicat ($8.99 for 40lb box @ Petsmart). Great clumping, good odor control. Some tracking and "kick-out". Did not stick to globe or liner.

Pestell ($5.75 for 40lb bag @ local pet store) Good clumping, good odor control. Some tracking and "kick-out". Did not stick to globe or liner.

**That's all the testing I'm doing. Right now, its between Sam's club and the Pestell. Low price with good results. It will probably come down to convenience. I use about 60lb a month (with 6 cats), so it will just depend on which store I will be closer to when I need litter. My usage will probably go down after I finish experimenting.

What brands have you tried and rejected? Why?
Worlds Best Cat Litter... can't say it was bad... but I had to use Cat Attract to get all the cats in the LR. Upside is it's cheaper the WBCL.

What brand are you using currently? How long have you used it?
Dr. Elsays Cat Attract

How much odor? How much tracking? How well does it clump?
Minimal odor, some tracking, which I actually think is because some of our cats (6) have a tendency to kick litter out of the LR while finishing up. Absolutely 0 problems with clumps and no problems with litter sticking anywhere inside the LR.

Any issues with sticking to the LR walls?
Nope!

How many cats are using your LR?
6

How often do you empty the drawer? How often do you completely change the litter?
Once every 36 hours on average. I went 4 months without having to completely empty/clean the LR and that was only because we were moving and I had to transport the LR.

Where do you purchase it? How much does it cost?[/quote]
Direct, ~$10 for a 20lb bag at the local Petsmart.

What brands have you tried and rejected? Why?
I have tried many brands of litter and found none worked much better nor much worse than the others.

What brand are you using currently? How long have you used it?
I'm using a mix of 80% Arm and Hammer Scoopable and 20% Fresh Step non-clumping clay litter. If I use only clumping litter, my cat will create baseball sized clumps that will never fall through the holes.

How much odor?
He stinks up the house for about twenty minutes but no odor afterwards.

How much tracking? How well does it clump?
This mix creates clumps that crumble into golfball size clumps.

Any issues with sticking to the LR walls?
Not really.

How many cats are using your LR?
Just one but he drinks a lot of water (no health problems).

How often do you empty the drawer? How often do you completely change the litter?
I empty the drawer at least once every two days and give it a shake at least twice a day to keep the back of the drawer from filling up. Sometimes he can fill the drawer in one day so I have to check regularly. I have to add litter about every two days. I use an entire 14lb box every week. He really goes through the stuff.

Where do you purchase it? How much does it cost?
I get boxes of the A&H at a drug store for something like $6. I hate the double hulled cardboard box they use. Lots of litter falls between the two layers of cardboard and you have to rip it apart to use it all. I'm thinking about switching to litter that comes in plastic jugs.

I have switched to "Cat's Pride", one of the many random cat litters you'll find in non-pet stores.

Recall my problem is that my cat has a bladder the size of a baseball and will regularly generate clumps that will fall part way into the drop holes then get ground up and smeared all over the globe. My temporary solution has been to mix nonclumping litter in to make the clumping litter less clumpy.

This "Cat's Pride" is clumping litter but is already less clumpy straight out of the bag. I think the key phrase on the bag is "Flushable" (instead of "Hard Clumping!"). Obviously you don't want cat litter clogging up your sewer system so this stuff breaks apart pretty easily as the LR rotates. I've had no need to add non-clumping litter to this stuff at all and I've had no problems with clumps not falling through the drop holes or getting smeared on the globe. In fact the clumps crumble and fill up the tray evenly solving another problem. I've had no odor problems with it and it's cheap.

However everything else about this litter sucks! It's the dustiest litter I've ever used. It actually generates a visible cloud of dust when the LR rotates. The cat has tracked this litter into places in my house I've never found litter before. I need to sweep his room every other day or everything will get covered in it. It's also a very dark color so you almost need a flashlight to see if you need to add more.

What brands have you tried and rejected? Why?

Fresh Step Crystals. Biggest problem is it is too light, so when cat gets in it she kind of has to wade through it. It also is a bit slow absorbing, and things can be gooey when robot rotates, leaving some sticky stuff that drops down later.

It sort of works but might not with multiple cats! Does cut need to empty drawer in half.

What brand are you using currently? How long have you used it?

Fresh Step Clumping Clay Litter Plus Crystals. Works great.
Only down side is tracking and dust from clay.

How much odor? How much tracking? How well does it clump?

No odor problem if drawer emptied twice a week except right after cat goes in. Tracking not too bad. Clumping is great.

Any issues with sticking to the LR walls?

Not so far. In a month of use had one little clump stuck to screen. Wiped it off with a disposable wipe.

How many cats are using your LR? one.

How often do you empty the drawer? How often do you completely change the litter?

Empty drawer twice a week. Change litter monthly, so far, but may try to go 2 months.

Where do you purchase it?

BJ's

How much does it cost?

? didn't notice.

What brands have you tried and rejected? Why?

I used Shweat Scoop prior to getting the LR, and it works well for normal litter boxes. However, it tends to clump into very large, long shapes that will not filter out of the LR hole and stick to the walls.

What brand are you using currently? How long have you used it?

I've been using Cat Attract cat litter for most of the time that I've been using the LR - maybe four months. It is not flushable, but obviously this isn't a problem with the LR. I've been very happy with it.

How much odor? How much tracking? How well does it clump?

I'm not sure about odor - so it must be pretty good. I don't think it tracks per say, but the cats kick it out of the LR, and it gets all over the place. It clumps very well.

Any issues with sticking to the LR walls?

No.

How many cats are using your LR?

2 cats, and they're both big boys. Well over 13lbs.

How often do you empty the drawer? How often do you completely change the litter?

I empty the drawer about once a week. Less often than this causes big problems.

I change the litter every 2 - 3 weeks.

Where do you purchase it? How much does it cost?

Litter-robot.com in July 2005
$329.00
(+S&H $370.33)

ethernight wrote:

Where do you purchase it? How much does it cost?

Litter-robot.com in July 2005
$329.00
(+S&H $370.33)

Hah. I just realized you meant the litter.

I get it at Petco or Petsmart. Recently ordered it from petsmart.com, although it's heavy for shipping, and the poor delivery guy carrying it. If I order online again I'll probably only order one bag at a time.

It's $11.99 for a 20lb bag on petsmart.com. About half a bag is what you want for the LR. It's an extra $4.00 for shipping.

Just used up my old Fresh Step litter and now have the new version with charcoal.

Really seems to make a difference.

I have modded my unit to hold big bags. Emptied once a week odor was not a problem but going two weeks I started to notice it.

With the new litter I can tolerate two weeks no problem.

What brands have you tried and rejected? Why?

World's Best Cat Litter. The cat liked eating it and so wouldn't go to the bathroom in it.