Automatic Litterbox Central

I read a great review on the machine, but lots of negative feedback as well. I've read much of the postings on these boards, but I wanted to ask my question in my own way. My cat has established a horrible habit of peeing and pooping all over my dining room, unless the box is PRESTINELY clean. An automated box would appeal to just about anyone (who wants to mess with waste every day), but how much of this device is GOOD IDEA, and how much is GOOD PRODUCT?

I understand it's not perfect, but if you had to boil it all down to Yes, I'd buy it again, it was worth the investment, or No it's a peice of crud I want my money back. Which would it be? I know it won't be perfect, i'm left with clumps now when scooping by hand, but does this device do a reasonable job of keeping the box clean? Is it very difficult to dump out the old litter wash the box and put in good litter (my cat's very picky about that, every so often the box must be washed and changed or she won't use it even if it's been scooped)

I'd not even consider throwing $300 into a Litter Robot.. but also is the bigger box (LM900 vs LM500) worth the large sum extra? (~$60)

thanks =^..^=
andigirl and her kitties Sebastian and Samantha (the picky one)

When the littermaid worked it did a pretty good job of keeping the box clean. I was very happy with it. Even though the rake got clogged with stuff, many times after it dried out a little the rake would come clean on its own and it was still way better than a regular cat box. I still checked on it every couple of days to add litter and clean it up a little. I found that Fresh Step or Tidy Cats works best in it. I have the LM900 with a 8# and 18# cat. My first LM worked for about 6 months flawlessly and then quit. I got it replaced without a problem. The second one worked for about a week and it's currently broke. I'm not sure why they both went bad. I'm thinking a contributing factor is that it's right next to the washer and when it gets to the spin cycle the floor shakes badly. Not sure if the shaking from the washer ruined the Littermaids. If you do decide to try one a good idea is to raise it off the ground about three or four inches. I have mine sitting on a cardboard box. Cut the bottom out of one of the plastic collector containers and then line it with a plastic grocery sack. The containers fill up very fast otherwise. This way it last for about a week and you don't have to replace the containers, which get a little expensive. You might want to try the bigger of the two simply because it will hold a little more litter. Good luck, I'm gonna try the Litter Robot next.

I forgot to answer the cleaning question. It's very easy to clean. The motorized part of it actually disconnects from the lower portion that holds the litter. The rake also comes off with little effort. Once per month I would dump the litter clean the pan and the rake and then reassemble with new litter. Probably takes about ten minutes.

Well for wahtever reason my litter maid started to work today. It hadn't worked for the last week or so and just started back up. Two of the biggest factors in how well it works are the type of litter you use and how much litter you use. It's best to keep it just above the fill line. Stay away from the maximum fill line.

Long ago in another lifetime it seems, I used show and breed cats. The females had the run of the house and the couple males were in runs. I tried all kinds of litterbox cleaning solutions since my idea of a fun time is NOT scooping about 15 litter boxes morning and night. This was back when the LitterMaid FIRST hit the larger consumer market.

Alone, scooping up after so many cats I simply could not keep up and worried about possible health risks. Unacceptable! Solution? Automatic litter scooper. When I found the LitterMaid, I waisted NO time. I bought 5 of them. Placed them in the "litter box room" solarium. Oh the benefits! Sanitation being paramount, reduced smell being secondary, and cats who were once again happy to use their new clean litterboxes referring back to first and second reasons. Everything was being addressed and worked wonderfully, with only maintenance work on my part. JOY!

The problems I ran into are the same ones mentioned here - mainly the rake getting gunky and then breakage. These machines were rediculously fragile. I do not know of this has been addressed, but the machines I had featured a tiny electrical cord that ran from the motor to the rake and it was through this single exposed (apparently tasty) wire that the rake got its power from.

While I had NO problems getting the cats to use the boxes, I did have problems with the cats being HIGHLY entertained by these units. A few of them would jump in, wait a moment, then jump out, and proceed to play attack the rake while it was in motion. While this was vastly amusing, this activity also provided ample opportunity for one massive problem - that exposed wire would EITHER get wrapped around the rake teeth (somehow, someway) and get broken OR a cat would decide it was tasty morsel.

Within 3 months, my lovely battery of LitterMaids were all dead. In every case save one, the culprit was the breaking of that little wire.

Tips I learned the hard way: I tried several types of clumping litter. The dustier the litter, the more things are going to get gummed up. The lower the litter level in the main bin, the more things are going to get gummed up. The lower quality food your cat is fed, the more things are going to get gummed up (diahrea... eeeu). Finally, being curious, I tried those fancy-dancy new fangled Pearls (I did say this was a while ago...). Granted I had to hunt around for pearls small enough for the teeth to actually rake THROUGH rather than rake OUT, but once I found them this was an AWESOME solution. Let me back up a step to the pearls we used. Only the PetSmart brand of pearls, can't remember the name, were small enough and they worked wonderfully! Now forward again - the problems using the pearls with the LitterMaid solved were as follows: since the urine got soaked up instantly there was (a) no smell (save for the other "business" in the receptacle, see quality catfood comment to reduce this problem) AND (b) no gooey goopy-clay-urine mess for the teeth to get befouled with, AND (c) this reduced fillage in those itty bitty reservoir compartment trays so I not only did not have to empty them morning and night but also didn't have to replace them as often. As for going with the regular clumping litters, we found Tidy Cat worked reasonably well and (as long as the litter pan was kept at full) things remained neat, clean, and functional.

The THOUGHT of using anything but a clumping litter (or pearl) with this unit is enough to give me nightmares. *LOL* Just kidding, but definitely, do not consider that the LitterMaid will work even remotely well with non-clumping litters. It's very simple - the higher quality litter that is used, the more the urine is locked into the clump. The more urine that is locked away, the less mess you get.

As for cleanup... Easy. Take off the motorize part, hose the bin or soak in bleach, run it through the dishwasher, whatever you want to do. As for the rake ... I don't remember any problems. Once I discovered how to keep them clean, I didn't really need to clean the teeth. But when they did start looking a little icky, I just put fresh litter in and then ran the teeth through the clean, dry litter several times and found that did the trick for me.

So to the question of "Is it a good idea?" Unequivally, undeniabley a RESOUNDING [b]YES![/b]

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. While I no longer breed or show cats, I once again have recently found myself with 2 cats. I'm currently researching automatic cat litter cleaning solutions and am leaning towards giving the LitterMaid another try. Why? It's been at LEAST 4 years since I first used them. If they have not gotten the hint they need to "beef up" the product's mechanical stability, then I hate to say but their consumer research/response is sadly lacking. I would imagine the issues their first models had have been at LEAST improved, if not outright corrected.

But this time around, if my new LitterMaid has the temerity to break down without due cause (or that stupid cord breaks), it will get not only repaired but "souped up". heh.

I hope this helps in some small way at least.

We went through two LM500s in two and a half, or so, years. In each case the motor eventualy burned out. Though I honestly think this is more due to my habitualy lack of care with the litter fill level ( I overfill too often! ) and that we had four kitties to one box. The rale would get gunky the cheaper the litter was.

We bught a 700 recently and are happy with the small improvements in power and design.
We've been expiementing with the corn and wheat based litter and are *Really* happy with that.

The biggest problem that I have found with my machine is that the first one that I bought, (first one of six replaced units) the rakes actually were longer and actually touched the bottom of the waste pan. All of the newer units the rake, at its lowest points, are still about a quarter of an inch above the waste pan the unit does not scrape up the waste effectively. There is always some physical scraping that I have to do to clean the machine. All of which I didn't have to do with the first unit. If I were to do any modifications to the machine I would make the rakes touch the waste pan and I would make the motor stronger and more durable. I don’t dislike the machine I just wish that the manufactures made it more durable.

We have 2 littermaids (don't ask me what model) and 5 cats, all around 12lbs. Both littermaids have been purchased off of Ebay for less than $60 including shipping. I don't think there is any way we would have been able to have 5 inside cats without the littermaids. In addition, if it weren't for Ebay, we probably would not have been able to afford the littermaids.

I do not use the top cover for the waste receptacles. I found that they got in the way. Instead, I use duct tape over the holes - a strip across the top and across the bottom. Litter normally does not stick to the duct tape, but if it does, I just replace the piece of tape. Sometimes I line my waste receptacles with the cheap scented bags from Wal-Mart, but more often then not, I just dump the receptacle and reuse it. I sprinkle some baking soda and carpet freshener in the bottom of each receptacle after I empty it. This help out with odor and with any litter sticking to the waste receptacle.

My biggest ordeal is probably the humidity issue. I want the littermaid to be off of the carpet, so this limits the locations I have for them. I don't want them in the kitchen either. We now keep them in a hallway that leads to a seldom used spare bedroom/storage room. To keep down the humidity and help with clumping, I have a fan pointed down the hallway. This seems to make the litter clump much quicker, which is a necessity since our cats seem to enjoy taking their potty breaks all at the same time!

Since I started using the fan, I rarely have to do any maintenance except for checking the corners for any hiding clumps or goo.

When it comes down to it, I am very pleased with my littermaids. I do wish they had more power and that the box were deeper (I have some felines who LOVE to dig and kick litter).

I've had 4 or 5 LitterMaids over the past several years. The first one lasted nearly two years, the last several considerably less.

The current one is one of the new 950 Megas, and it looks like LitterMaid finally got it right. The motor seems a lot stronger -- what it should have been in the first place. I've only had this one maybe 7 or 8 months, so we'll have to see what the long term durability is, but I can tell you that it strains a lot less than any of the old ones did.

I see a lot of people here recommending not keeping the litter filled to the full line. It's been my experience that it scoops a lot more completely the fuller it is. The only reason to underfill it is to prevent jamming, but with the stronger motor that's much less of an issue. That may have a lot to do with the cats involved. The new cat here has a tendency to spray the rake, which doesn't help much with smooth raking. I've now implemented the hanger trick. We'll see how much that helps.

I've only once had a littermaid and it broke two weeks ago (6 months old).

I _love_ having an automatic litter box, since one of my cats (I have two) must have a completely clean litter box before he'll go (or he finds someplace else).

The problems with the littermaid were these:
1. The tent. The box is in the corner of the living room (very small apartment) so covering the box and not having to look at it are important. The tent made it hard to empty the litter box, time consumining since you had to completely undo the zipper etc, and VERY messy.
2. Pee position. One of my cats (the fussy one) would always stand at the very back of the litter box to go. This meant he almost always went on the rake, and on the power cord.

Number two is why it broke I think, because of the sparks flying out of the side of the power plug and the black marks all over it.

Just very glad the house didn't burn down.

Bought a Litter Robot today, am anxious to see if it's as good as the littermaid with those two pesky problems solved.

-I've had my LitterMaid for years and years - so long I can't remember how long, but I'd guess 4 or 5 years, and that's with heavy use by two totally indoor cats. Other than the spring breaking once, which I was able to fix at no cost because it broke at the end of the coil, the other problems I've had seem to be related to the brand and quantity of litter. I like the litter with the turquoise lid/white bucket that Sam's Club sells - I can't remember the name because I took the label off because it clashed with my laundry room decor. Many of us have found that less is more, keeping the litter level just above the "Add Litter" mark, rather than at the "Full" line. If too much litter dust gets on the sensor, the box won't work either, but that's an easy fix. I did purchase 2 springs for future breakdowns, or to help a friend in an emergency, but haven't had to use them. My friends seem to just toss the box instead of attemping to find out what's wrong; guess they're not as tight-fisted as I am.

I bought the LitterMaid tent, but that was a total waste of money. First, it made cleaning the box a real pain, and second, my 18 pounder thought it would be nice to nap on the top which promptly broke one of the plastic supports. I was almost relieved not to have to struggle with the cleaning hassle any more. I have a little 4-section folding screen set up around the box (2 sets of those little louvered window shutters hinged together), so that, along with a "tacky" paw mat, pretty much keeps the litter away from the washer and dryer. How many times have I dropped a piece of clean laundry on the floor while transferring from the washer to the dryer? I seem to have cats that prefer to jump out over the side rather than politely leaving via the carpeted ramp, and the screen prevents this behavior. One of the new wisp-dispensing air scenters would top off the area nicely.

Yes, I'd definitely buy another LitterMaid box if I really couldn't fix the present one. $300 just seems like a whole lot of money and apparently the Little Robots have their problems too. And I used to think $100 was absurd for a catbox! But I can't imagine going back to an unautomated arrangement, so I'll stick with LitterMaid.

I just bought a new LM900, my other one is 1-1/2 years old. HUGE difference in motor noise! This one is much quieter than the older one. I am a breeder and bring in new cats regularly. I have the litter robot and my foundation cats wil use it but the new ones prefer to go on the floor. So, instead of trying to train a cat that won't be staying long I bought a few littermaids to take care of that problem. I have seen the LM500, LM 700, etc. they are much smaller and weaker than the LM900 or LM950. I think it's worth the extra money. And get one on Ebay, they are going at a buy-it-now price of $95 + shipping for a new LM900... Much better than the $189 + tax I paid the first time...

I have been reading comment after comment about the lm900 lm500
all the lm except the one that I just purchased, LM700 and it has the tuffest time making it all the way through a cycle without getting stuck and making the infamous clattering sound. Was the model that I just purchased from Target recalled or maybe even it was retired and replaced with a newer model. None the less how am I supposed to get customer service if some of their newer phone operators have not even heard of the model? I do have to say that when it works I do find that I am happy with the results but again 'WHEN IT WORKS" [/code][/quote]

I received my current LM for free, but yes, I would absolutely go out and buy another one. I have found it to work very well. I'm probably going to buy a new one this week.

Honestly, a lot of the complaints I read are problems I just don't have, and some seem totally invalid. Some woman said it was "shoddy" because her cat jumped on top of the tent and it didn't hold him up! She complained because it didn't do something it wasnot designed for. That's ridiculous.

I've also seen claims that the ramp doesn't stop tracking- but mine stops it perfectly. Also, a lot of the reviews you find are on the early models when they were still working out the kinks- those reviews should be taken down or revised, imo. A lot of people seem to not follow the instructions and then get angry when it doesn't work for them- people who overfill or underfill it, etc. Then there are the ones who say it fills up too fast- Littermaid has no control over how much your cat relieves itself. I would bet money that the ones complaining about how fast it fills are feeding dry, bulky, grain-based food.

Disclaimer: I only have one ten-pound cat. But a close friend of mine has two large cats and does not have these problems, either.

Someone posted here awhile ago about a company called Litterworks that makes a cabinet that the littermaid sits on top of and then there's a permanent chute that goes where the receptacle is and sends all the poop down into a huge bag.

Well I had never heard of this company, I guess they might be new, but I bought one and it was worth every penny! I now only empty the bag every 2-3 weeks with 2 cats, and there is less odor than I had with the littermaid alone. Have since seen them advertise in Cat Fancy. I also like that they specialize in cat litter box stuff only, rather than those stores that sell whatever. The website is http://www.litterworks.com

Good luck to all!
Beck