Automatic Litterbox Central

Hi All,

Its funny to see some of the common problems everyone is having with the Littermaid. While there are other alternatives around, and while the Littermaid is not perfect, I think its the best bargain around.

I, too, have experienced all the problems everyone has noted in this forum, and I too was this close to trashing my Littermaid after 1 month of use due to all the isuues folks have been noting, namely:

1) Waste get stuck on rakes
2) Waste gets stuck on floor plan
3) Motor is too weak and gets stuck when there is too much litter

And all the problems that results from the three problems.

I've read through all the ways folks have attempted to deal with these problesm, and wanted to share with you my 2 step simple formula for dealing with the above issues.

1) Silicone Spray - Every month or so, clean out the rakes and floor plan, and spray them down really well with silcon spray. It works miracles, let me tell you! Once the Silicon Spray wears off in about 4 weeks, then you'll need to re-do it again, but if you perform this task as part of your 4 week cleaning maintenance routine, you should be fine. (Littermaid actually lists this as a tip in their instructions, but for some reason they don't emphasize it. For me, this was like night and day).

And yes, wastes will sometime still stick to the rakes and floor pan, and if it does, just leave it there, and eventually it will dry up and drop into the litter and get picked up the next time around. And since the waste that gets stuck is already covered with litter, and since there shoudn't be too much of it, the odor should be minimal. The only problem is that it is unsightly, but if you have a covering for your littermaid, like I do, you don't even notice it.

2) Despite what the instruction say, fill your litter up to only about 3/4 of an inch, and not to the red fill line. That way, the engine never gets stuck, which causes back ups, and which leads to a big mess.

Just by doing those two simple things, I have gone from hating my littermaid to loving it. I went from having to check it every day (which defeats the whole point of having a littermaid in the first place), to only checking it when I either refill the litter our change out the waste container.

Try it, and let me of this formula works for you all.

thanks for your suggestions.....i actually have tried this but still isn't working for me. my cat backs up and sprays directly on the rake or so close that it always clogs. They continue to do that so even if i wait and hope that it "gets hard" and falls off, it only adds more to the clump. now they are also spraying right in the grid that the rake follows.

Honestly they need to not only make a better box, but make a BIGGER box. I have the Mega and it still needs to be wider and longer. i would love to take 2 boxes and glue them together! Right now i have 2 boxes...one that works and the other that has shorted out so the rake only moves 1x a month. When the other dies i am considering the Robot.

No major probs with my Littermaid, I have the largest one & empty it at night when the "kids" go to bed. I need to get something for the basement as they are using a regular box down there. I wanted something that stayed clean since it has to sit in my kitchen! I'm in the process of drawing up plans for a cabinet to disguise the littermaid. I want it to have function for something else. Like an oversized buffet/hutch that stores shoes (in a separate area of course!) My spare bath has no wall outlets (save for the one next to my vanity) the 8 D size batteries lasted two weeks with three cats so keeping it in the shower stall is not an option for me.

One thing I did figure out - you can't use the Low Track litter in the machine, it's too heavy and bogs the motor down. I switched back to the regular Ever Clean and it works like a charm.

Danniemac,
Yeah, because of the way your cat sprays directly into the rakes, I'm not sure how to solve that problem, aside from having Littermaid make a bigger box. But I do think that for regular sized cats with normal spraying habits, this suggestions should work. Sorry, I couldn't help ya.

Justjen,
There already a 2 companies that i know of that already manufactures cabinates that hides away the Littermaid. They are a bit pricey though. Hope that helps.

http://www.catlitterfurniture.com/
http://www.hidytidy.com/

I have a couple of comments on the Littermaid... this is my second one. I had the smaller one years ago before the rake and basin were removable. I'm moderately happy with it, though I just got a litter-robot and I hope to retire the littermaid and keep it as a back up, assuming i can get my cats to use the LR ... HOWEVER, and I haven't seen anyone else mention this... my cats are raw fed and produce a lot of urine... the urine balls are large enough that they push the lid of the recepticle over center so that it falls open when the rake makes its run... with the recepticle left open, the cats cannot get in the box. I mentioned this to customer service, but got no reaction. I've rigged a cardboard stop so that the lid cannot go over center and fall open... I also just found that size 4 gallon trash bags fit perfectly over the lip of the recepticle and it not only keeps it clean, but you can easily empty it and reuse it almost indefinitely. I'm still not happy with the relative mess made by the littermaid, none of the litters I've tried are working as well as I'd like, plus the rake and the rake holder end up with large clumps of mud on them from the balls of litter squishing up against the recepticle lid before they drop in....but it's better than no automatice litterbox.

Hi there,

I have a Mega-box with the "privacy" tent and it's being used by six adult cats. Obviously, we ran into the same problem as stated in the first post (clumps on rack, engine too weak to collect when 3-4 cats have gone between cleaning), and we do need to empty the receptacle quite often (every day or every other day).

I have never tried the silicone spray, and I don't intend to as I have purchased the littermaid to decrease my maintenance obligations, but we solved our problems changing two things:

1) do not under any circumstances fill the litterbox as suggested by Littermaid, it'll get stuck for sure;

2) use QUALITY clumping litter. As stated by Littermaid, the LM500/900 have been designed to work with PREMIUM Clumping litter. Ever Clean is the best litter out there, but we use a less expensive brand that works just as well (with six cats, you get very motivated to find less expensive stuff), it's called City Classic. Basically, any expensive conventional clumping litter will do.

The Littermaid is doing miracles for us, but it still gets stuck at least once every three days (if not every other day, but hey, give it a break, I don't think it was designed for six cats!).

If someone has any idea where I could find a bigger/better automatic litterbox, I would really appreciate it if they could post a reply here.

I'd give the Littermaid 8.5/10.

Thank you very much for your help, I might try the Silicone, but I'm so lazy I don't know how long I could keep up the effort

Hi, well my LitterMaid just won over the LitterRobot, because my cats really didn't like the LR, though I thought it had great possibilities. So, the LR went back and the cats have their LM again and they are happy... During this experiment, though, I started using Dr. Elsey's litter and found it so much better in the LM that it's just about solved the gunky rake problems... I tried all of the Premium litters they suggest in the manual, and they all fell apart too much, or globbed too big...yes, don't over fill the box or the motor bogs down... and I use PAM, cooking spray on a paper towel to wipe down everything before I fill the box and I think that helps. I'm thinking that for the Price of the LR, I could afford a second LM, but for now it's fine with 3 cats... for your 6, you might consider a second one? Just a thought.

Lately I've been buying small bags of the Worlds Best Cat Litter and using it with the premium cat litter that I've been having issues with for a while.

WBCL seems to have oil in it so that even if it does get clumped to the rake it just slides right off and doesn't stay there long. It's been the best thing I've done for my LitterMaids.

What kind of silicone spray are you using? I just looked out in the garage at the silicone spray I have (it's a dry lubricant for mechanical use), and I think I'd be afraid of toxicity for my cats... or are you talking about a cooking spray? The Littermaid manual suggests a cooking spray such as PAM, but I don't remember it suggesting silicone?

Molly

Take a noramal Plastic Coat Hanger.

IT should fit from the back of the machine (hook end over the battery compartment) and triangle out to either side with the straight end forming a "BAR" about 3-4 inches from the rack.

Tape it down with Packing Tape or some other tape the cats won't eat. I don't normally crazy glue things because the cats sensitivity is much higher than ours.

Viola! No more cats backing and peeing into the rake or the corners.

I JUST discovered this myself about a week ago, and since then it's been working FLAWLESSLY. Most cats are too BIG to fit inside the triangle of the coat hanger. Next stop, trying that silicon mat idea to stop the clumping at the Dumping side! Any other idea's?

Thank you

Yo Grark
Canadian Bred With American Buttering.

I'm new to this site - and went looking for a forum to find answers to just the problems I'm reading about:

• My big baby pees in the same spot EVERY time - right in the corner on the rakes.
ª That causes the rake to clog and dump a fist full of clean litter into the tray because the combs are clogged and create a larger 'drag' area.

I just heard of the silicon spray idea. Can someone recommend a brand?

Thanks!

I was vary uncertain about the LM but decided to buy it locally in case I needed to return it. I have 3 cats and I am pleasantly surprised with the LM performance. I did not return it. In fact, I may buy another just because we have the 3 cats.
The one great thing about this box? The smell is gone - completely !

As with the rest of these messages, I had some minor issues that I had to overcome. If you want a maintenance free little box, you better move on. This one will require some regular cleaning and a few tricks in order for it to run smoothly.

One issue in particular I had was the cats kicking the sand out of the box. We bought the canopy and that stopped the back and side messes, but the entrance was still a problem. I finally ridged up a slat (a piece of 1/4 inch panel I had in the garage) at the end of the lid, it is the width of the lid and about an inch and a half high to help keep the sand from coming over the top of it (cats just step over it). I literally duct taped this slat in place. This helped with stopping the sand from being licked onto the ramp and lid, but I also found that the cats were raking the sand up to the lid to the point that quite a bit was actually being pushed into the pan as well as falling between the pan and lip (pan doesn't always fit well under the lip after I've emptied it a couple times). So I built a similar slat down from the front edge of the lid (again, duct tape and panel) so it was the width of the lid entrance but not too low to interfere with the rake when it moved to open the lid - kind of like a mustache.

Now I just need to figure out a way to more easily dump the pan. Anyone try the BAG-It retainers found on eBay?

Update:
Be careful when cleaning the LME5000. I recently gave it a good rinse and it don't worky anymore. Man, are the cats pissed at me! I suppose I should have checked prior to doing this cleaning but the power electronics is unprotected from the elements. I made an assumption that it would be enclosed like the motor assembly - NOT ! You get too aggressive with the shower head and - well electronics and water don't play well together, do the math. My suggestion, do you’re cleaning with a damp rag. :0)
I also purchased one of those BAG-it retainers and as soon as I get a replacement LM I will try it out and report...

Update:
Good news on the BAG-it retainer. It works great. I still have to empty it too often, but unless I am willing to snuff out a cat or two I'll just have to keep changing it. The BAG-it retainer does make it easier.
I also made a modification to rig at the entrance on top of the lid. It originally was only about 1 1/2" deep. One of the cats found it could kick the sand over that barrier and create quite a sand pile out on the lid, so I built a bigger barrier. This one is more like 6 inches deep. The cats still just jump over it to get in but it forces the cats to do their business in where the sand is and does not allow the cats to kick the sand onto the lid at all - nice ...

If it's simple, people will do it...