Automatic Litterbox Central

by **Cleo** » Thu May 25, 2006 8:26 am

I just tried something that I think will cut down the cost of this thing.

I put an extra large litter box liner (with a drawstring) in the cardboard tray -- working it up and over the poop container. The mechanism still works great, and the cats seem not to care. I do not yet know how easy it will be to replace, but I don't think that it will be difficult -- we will see.

Cleo

by **abbeytoo** » Thu May 25, 2006 2:49 pm

If your cat digs, it will get torn up then the cardboard tray itself will get torn. WHen that happens, it gets wet and will probably get stinky.

One of my cats tries to dig down to the center of the earth and it took no time at all for her to shred the cardboard. It got wet as did the floor. I solved the problem by cutting a piece of coroplast, which is the corrugated plastic that signs are made from, to fit the bottom of the litter tray and put that down then the litter on top of it. She can't rip that! When its time to toss the box, I simply slide the insert out and put it in the new tray. If it needs to be rinsed, that is easily done too.

by **Cleo** » Thu May 25, 2006 3:11 pm

That would be a problem.. Thankfully, my cats do not dig and I am hoping that I can just throw out the plastic liner and reuse the tray. Replacements are just too expensive.

by **Freedom** » Fri May 26, 2006 11:19 am

Maybe I missed this but, if I scoop out the poop and some of the pee crystals and add more after a week or so, (before it can effect the cartridge) will that make the cartridge last longer? I would have no problem buying the cartridges if they lasted closer to 2 months for 1 cat or sold for $10-$12.

by **alicious** » Fri May 26, 2006 9:40 pm

Maybe I just spent a lot more on litter than most people. I guess I might have been a bit compulsive about changing the box, so I went through 3-4 jugs of litter per month at $7-8 per jug. I probably was averaging $25-$30 per month in litter. I had two big boxes ( two big cats ) and used to dump them and refill twice per month, plus topping the boxes off after scooping. For me there's not a big cost difference between two inserts a month and what I was paying before. I hate scooping, so to me the extra few bucks a month is very much worthwhile.

Was I just going overboard with the litter before? How much did you guys typically spend on litter before? I'm just curious.

by **Cleo** » Sat May 27, 2006 4:36 am

Well, I have two cats and spend about $15/mo in total for silica litter for both cats. I love the idea of the scoopfree, but I am seriously thinking about returning the unit because of the price of the cartridges. My local retail price for the cartridge is $20 per cartridge. My guess is that mail order price would be close to that when shipping is included. So, assuming two cartidges per month, it would cost me $25 more per month or $400 per year, every year, in addition to the cost of the machine.

by **jfs1234** » Sat May 27, 2006 12:20 pm

Amazon.com sells them for $95.94 for six refills, with free shipping.

I have twenty extra for less than that I need to sell.

by **abbeytoo** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 10:47 am

It really isn't necessary to buy new cartridges. If your cat digs, you need to put something in the tray before the litter goes in, to prevent the cat from tearing the cardboard. Just refill it with store bought silica litter. As long as the cardboard stays intact, you can use it indefinately. It isn't a problem to just empty the used litter and refill with your own.

by **stacyinhi** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 11:21 pm

In answer to the above question of how much we spend on litter:

Before the Scoop Free we spent roughly $15-20 on silica litter. That's about 2 of the larger jugs of the stuff. We've got 2 cats.

At roughly $20 per cartridge and changing it once a week, thats $60/month. By then it is soaked through and completely full of poo, lights flashing and rake at wrong end- my poor cats, I know! $60 is way too much, BUT, the Amazon deal was great and I really like abbeytoo's suggestion. So, I'm keeping the Scoop Free for a while longer and who knows, maybe it will win me over again.

by **Rudy's and Daisy's Human** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 1:23 am

Cleo, what brand of liner did you use?

by **Cleo** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 6:44 am

I don't remember the brand of liner. Nothing special or unusual. It did not work very well. The liner did not lie close to the cardboard and it would get a bit tangled in the rake.

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