Automatic Litterbox Central

I received a littermaid litter box for Christmas. At first the cats were using it with little problem. A few days ago, I was in the kitchen and heard the littermaid start up. A millisecond later my cat Eddie came tearing out of the room the litterbox is in. Since then I have seen her approach the the litter box very cautiously, look inside, then run off. She also has started using the bathroom in places other than the litterbox.
Does anyone know anyway to get her comfortable with using the littermaid again?

cjway, I have been using LM for around 10 yrs. with 6 or 8 different cats. The best luck i had was taking solid waste wherever you find it and add it to the box. Carry or call your kitty close to the box and gently set him or her in it, making sure the nose goes close enuf to the little bit of solid waste that they will recognize their own sent. Leave the unit off for a while. I even had one kitty that i had to play next to the box for days to get her closer, lol. The next step for me was as I was scooping manually, (always careful to leave a little in there) I would turn the unit on once i was sure the kitty was out of the room. She came to the door and watched, then got closer and closer each time i did it. Finally i just left it on. Start to finish was about 3 weeks. You may also look into natural repelents for the spots your pet is choosing now. Good luck.

Hi! I had the same exact problem with one of my cats. She started going on my bed, on the couch...and would be terrified to go anywhere NEAR where the LitterMaid was. I had to stop using it and now I can't return it...it was a gift.

I had the exact same problem. Check out my post "littermaid killed my cat". I worked with 6 vets over period of years with no luck. In the end it cost me all my furniture, my carpeting and my cat. I actually had 2 cats. Both were petrified of the littermaid and after that experience. I removed it and put a regular box in but they were now afraid of ANY litterbox. One of my cats was an outdoor cat so she went outside and after 2 years she finally will use a box again. But unfortunately my other cat was indoor only and went everywhere, even in the magazine racks of my living room end tables. In my post was a reply that amitriptyline helped calm their cat down. I hope you have better luck than I did.

I just read your post on the loss of your cat, and am very sorry for your loss, although I'm not entirely clear as to what happened, but it's clear something did.

What I don't understand there and in this thread is:

Are you all using the optional hood for the LitterMaid so that they're trapped in it? I can't recall if I got one with my Mega, but I've never used it.

My cat's about as paranoid as a cat can be and never had a problem with it or the Purrforma that preceded it, but neither had a hood in which he'd get enclosed.

My unit's also been excellent at not starting when he's in the box. I can't recall it ever starting a cycle with him in there.