Automatic Litterbox Central

Dear Readers,

I contacted SmartHome in our quest to find out what is happening to the LitterFree Company - Petcentric.

SmartHome doesn't know, but they have discountinued the product. A bad sign?

They do, however, have the pellets in stock still. So, if you're looking for some try there.

cas

SmartHome's web site says as much, yet I found no way to actually order anything. Do you have to call them? Anyway - I managed to get three from PetSmart before they vanished from their web site a couple days ago so my selfish concerns center on the cleaner.

I have ordered a gallon of Roccal-D and will be trying it out as soon as my single cleaning fluid bottle runs out. In order to facilitate a relatively easy-to-open container I thought I would try one of two tihings:

1) Filing down the three tabs that hold the plastic lid on so the cap can be more easily removed, though someone mentioned a spring that it sounds like might easily get lost when removing this cap

or

2) Installing a separate screw-cap receptacle on the bottom using the top of a plastic bottle and some hot-melt glue

Has anyone yet figured out what a good water to Roccal-D ratio might be? Figured I would try getting it right by smell but if anyone has tried to figure it out mathematically I'd appreciate the advice.

Filing down those three tabs may result in a leak. I have a decent supply of solution at the moment, but I tried removing a cap on an empty container (I'm saving those containers!) just for practice - try depressing a tab with a small screwdriver while pulling up on the cap - it seems to work. The "spring" is not really a spring - just a piece of metal with a tab that sits in the mouth of the cartridge and does not pop out, but can be removed and replaced easily.

As for the Roccal-D, a Google search lists the dilution as 3/4 fluid ozs (~ 22 cc's) of Roccal-D to 1 gallon of water. It's probably easier to just mix up a gallon in a container, and then fill the cartridges as necessary.

I think that people should check with their vets to make sure Roccal-D is safe to use before mixing anything!

I ordered a three pack yesterday so I'll have a few more bottles to expirement with.

As for the roccal - I would think that the dilution ratio would be different than when using it directly as a cleaner, since the litterfree mixes it with water itself. It dispenses 1/60th of the contents of a bottle each time (how often? Only on a single cycle?) which is then mixed with the water it fills the box with... so maybe it should be used full strength?

Anyway... I'm going to do some kind of basic whiff test to see if the straight roccal is obviously more concentrated.

What you say makes sense mathematically, but...

These compounds are relatively TOXIC at full strength. When used to disinfect cages, etc., in vets office's, the dilution is 3/4 oz per gallon of water. I am thinking that for use in a litter box, the dilution should probably be even greater - perhaps 1/4 oz per gallon.

We are not trying to kill disease-causing organisms here, just plain fecal bacteria that occur naturally in the digestive tract - primarily e. coli, which is generally harmless.

Roccal-D is not designed or meant to be used at full strength for any reason!

Please research this.

I am also beginning to question the need for any cleaning solution at all; I have two boxes, and I have been running one without solution for about a week - there is no odor, and it appears to be just as clean as the other one which is using solution. Perhaps the solution was just a way for the company to ensure a steady cash flow? There is nothing in the box that has the ability to absorb anything, actually, and both feces and urine are water soluble.

Point is - the litterfree mixes it with some amount of water (a gallon?) when its used! The litter box is filled with water and a tiny amount of solution from the bottle. If I dilute in in advance, then the net result will be far more diluted.

So- the question is what is the right strength to match the strength of the factory solution.

Well, this is a relatively straightforward calculation - just measure the amount of water in the box (empty out the pellets, measure the water depth and the height and width of the filled portion of the box to get volume), and you should be able to arrive at the true dilution.

I am still wondering if it's even necessary.

OK, I understand I can calculate the correct "Litterfree Solution" to water ratio. But I have no idea how concentrated "Litterfree soltution" out of the bottle is to "roccal-d" out of the bottle. That's my fundamental question: How much do I need to dilute (if at all) roccal-D to match the strength of the Litterfree solution in the bottle? That's why I am pondering things like going by smell.

Is it necessary? Well, only if I want to brew my own cleaning solution out of necessity or penny-pinchingness, or possibly environmental concern to minimize non-reusable plastic bottle waste Although if in fact the Litterfree stuff is as concentrated as Roccal-D there's probably not much price difference. But, I think it _is_ necessary to actually use some kind of cleaning solution. Cold water alone is not going to kill any invisible creatures living in the catbox.

Somehow I didn't read your comments about why you don't think it's necessary before..

I dunno, but I imagine the cat box getting pretty nasty without any detergent. Perhaps it doesn't need to be anti-bacterial but I would think after a couple weeks just a plain water rinse is going to leave behind unpleasant residue. I suppose an alternative might be just to wash it by hand once in a while, which they say you should do anyway.. or use some kind of non-toxic cleaner. No question it's got to be a good money maker though...

With all due respect, I think that "going by smell" is going to get you a solution that is far too concentrated - and possibly harmful to you and your cats. That 3/4 oz per gallon of water for Roccal-D is derived from the manufacturers directions for an effective cleaning solution.

The fact is that nobody has any idea exactly what is in the factory solution, and at what concentration, so it's going to be pretty tough to duplicate it precisely, and probably unnecessary as well.

As for the "little creatures" - the box I am using with just plain water STILL does not smell and has no discoloration. Yes, the water is cold, but it contains chlorine, and plastic is not an ideal growth medium for bacteria.

The correct dilution, as specified by the bottle, would be 2/3 Roccal-D 1/3 water in the old litter free solution bottle. However, after using Roccal-D for about 3 months, I would say you could probably do 1/5 to ¼ (or maybe less) Roccal-D to remaining parts water. The Roccal-D even when diluted to ¼ Roccal-D ¾ water is far stronger than the original litterfree solution.

I suspect that different dilutions do different things. If you are trying to kill canine parvo virus, then a strong solution is probably necessary. If you are simply trying to kill some bacteria in a litterbox, a relatively weak solution is probably all that is needed (or wanted).

I am concerned about the safety of this stuff for both our cats AND ourselves.

Ok, no smell in the box using only water, but I decided to use a little bit of Dawn dishwashing detergent anyway. I used a bit too much and had to cycle it 3 times..

If you are going to do this, a few drops are more than enough!

I would think a couple drops of Roccal-D would be much safer than Dawn dishwashing liquid, since it's what vets use. I have just started trying the Roccal-D, and have added a capful per container.

Unfortunately I only have one container because I just found out they went out of business by reading this board. Anyone know of where I can get a few more containers? You would think they would stay in business at least as long to charge us premium prices on that.

Susanna

I am very sure the Roccal-D is not safer, since the Dawn liquid is made for dishes - all I did was to put it in the box, and then cycle it 3 times. Kind of like - washing the dishes. None of it stayed in the box.

The Roccal-D is actually quite toxic. See:

http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/HTMLdocs/Roccal.htm

I presently have 10 unopened cartridges of the original cleaning solution. I also have 3 empty containers.

Would you be willnig to sell 1 or 2 of the solution containers (full or empty)?

Thanks

shfwilf wrote:I am very sure the Roccal-D is not safer, since the Dawn liquid is made for dishes - all I did was to put it in the box, and then cycle it 3 times. Kind of like - washing the dishes. None of it stayed in the box.

The Roccal-D is actually quite toxic. See:

http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/HTMLdocs/Roccal.htm

I presently have 10 unopened cartridges of the original cleaning solution. I also have 3 empty containers.