Automatic Litterbox Central

Is it a good product? ... It does have it's problems re "mess", but apart from the obvious need (a) to use GOOD litter, (b) to keep the reservoir reasonably emptied and (c) keep the litter basin full, the ONLY thing that makes me hesitate as to whether or not this was a good PRODUCT is the mechanical failure it is prone to.

This is a wise statement...

This is probably stated in another dozen threads in the LitterMaid section, but I don't mind saying it again... The LitterMaid is a machine. And although it is not as cheap as some things, it's pretty inexpensive as far as machines go.

In order to get it to a price point where people could tolerate buying one, I am sure that Applica (the manufacturer of LitterMaids) had to make some concessions on the manufacturing of these boxes. So what you end up with is a good idea and a pretty good machine for a price that actually is tolerable. It seems a big compromise really...

Spending the extra time and money to:

Get good clumping Litter (my fave is Arm & Hammer Essentials, and our own brand IN THAT ORDER) The Cheap Clay Litter Gets soooo heavy that it really puts some crazy strain on the motor

Keep the tracks clear

Don't fill your LitterMaid up all the way to the MAX FILL line. I am not sure why that sticker is there like that. That line is TOO FULL! And creates additional wear

Just like any machinery, it requires a bit of tlc and care to keep it in service for years. Even the newer crappier LitterMaids can be kept alive for longer by keeping these simple maintenance factors in mind!

I voted good product. If it were bullet-proof, it would be as expensive as a Litter-Robot, eh?

Daniel

mtlaz wrote:Are you aware that the current owners of the Littermaid product is Applica and they are a division of Black & Decker? Heck, if we can't get a decent response from a company as well established as B&D, what CAN we expect?

Is that true? I thought that Applica had licensed the name to make a couple of branded products....

That was an assumption on my part, and I had no real evidence to back that up. How do you know that Applica is owned by Black & Decker?

I would like to know this one for sure!

catman77382 wrote:I reviewed the site for info on the Litterworks cabinet and use. I saw the comment by My2cents below re: the fact the cabinet lifts the box off the ground and sets it up higher for others to see as I understood the post. I spoke to someone at Litterworks re: their cabinet and wondered what cover there was available for it. I was advised they are about to (within the next couple of weeks) make available a two-story cabinet for all makes and models. The lower will be like what they have now and the top will just hide the box. It will have a kitty opening for your cat to enter into. I am not sure like the other post here regarding whether my new cat (rescuing one from an 8 month pregnant friend from having to go to the humane society) will want to jump up and then into a cabinet to do her business. Any thoughts about that?

We didn't do this, did we?

We were toying with a LitterBox hider... I am not sure if that one is what you are talking about. Seems to me that it was a large drawer. I'll attach some pics, but we never really put this in production. It was more an experiment for regular ol' cat pans. I think the thinking was... if you only want a five dollar cat pan, then there is no way one will spring for a solid wood stained drawer cabinet for it. It would be like buying a mansion to store your big-wheel! This thing I have a pic of is only one story...




I am aware of another product though that does what you are saying (I think) but again, not for LitterMaids its for regular ol cat-pans...... http://www.outofsightlitterbox.com/

Should I try and dig up some info on this? Is there any interest in this? If that's what the people want, then that's what the people shall get!

Let me know!

the problem with littermaid is the disposable litter trays. as the poop fills the box it bows the verythin plastic and causes malfunction of unit. a permanent tray is the answer and i have found one on ebay called slide&toss. check thei webpage and see what you think

I had an original littermaid several years ago and then got a CatGenie. Our cat at the time changed to that right away and it was the greatest thing ever made for a cat as far as we were concerned. That cat died 1 year ago and we got 2 baby kittens. We kept them in regular litter boxes until they were about 7 months old. The male took to the cat genie. The female did not. I tried many other litters in it. The only one I found that worked was red millet seeds. Both cats used the cat genie. Great! Wait! Not so fast. They sprouted and I had a tangled mess in the Genie that clogged it all. I tried other thing, including back to the origiginal GC Crystals. Nothing. THe female would poo in the corner. That's it. First test how they like WBCL. Good, they like it. Get the LitterMaid MLE 9000. I've had it two days and they are both using it. Good. We go away in 6 days for 12 days and we needed something. But it won't hold waste for 2 cats that long. I have the litterworks system on order. Will it get here on time? I doubt it as this is the 3rd day and the order still shows confirmed. I'll do a modification of using a shopping bag to get over this period if I have to. I still whis I found a litter the female would like for the Cat Genie as that is the best system by far. Everything down the drain, everything washed and clean by itself. No erros at all. Except with sprouting seeds.I will still experiment with that but for now, the reliable Littermaid is the answer.