Automatic Litterbox Central

For many years I have tried to find litter Nirvana. I have had the ScoopFree now for 4 weeks and I must say, it is the best engineered device for automatic litter cleaning I have used, and the closest to the Promised Land i have encountered. I have been an owner of Littermaid (7 years), Purrforma (7 months...threw it away), Litter Robot (3 months...threw it away with vengeance) and the manual, OmegaPaw Roll Away (2 years+, still kept in attic for emergencies, but I am too lazy to use a manual system). By far, the ScoopFree outperforms all of these devices.

RAKE: The beauty of ScoopFree is both the ruggedness and simplicity of the design. The rake, for example, is a thin metallic one, as thin as the one on the Purrforma and new Littermaids, but the comparison stops there. Unlike the latter ones, the ScoopFree rake is closed ended on the bottom, so it can never act like a "prong." The prongs of the Littermaid and Purrforma both routinely trap some cat waste (think of a fork) and just move some waste from one end to the other without ever actually throwing it into the waste bin. The ScoopFree rake has yet to have anything stick to it. Teflon could take lessons from ScoopFree's rake. ScoopFree rake = 5 stars. Littermaid rake = 3 stars. Purrforma rake = 0 stars.

SELF-CLEANING: Unlike the Littermaid and Purrforma, after the ScoopFree rake returns from the waste holder, it does a half spin of sorts (quite an elegant bit of engineering!) and aims the rake in the opposite direction. Think of a cow catcher in front of a train, and that's how the ScoopFree is always efficiently aimed -- that is, it is never "backwards" when going to the home position like Littermaid and Purrforma. So, the ScoopFree rake cleans itself on the way back home much more efficiently than the Littermaid or Purrforma, and leaves a very nice, even and leveled surface every time. ScoopFree self-cleaning, self-leveling ability = 4.5 stars. Other devices = 2 stars or less.

DESIGN QUALITY: The entire ScoopFree mechanism is entirely housed and sealed in tough, very thick and high quality plastic. ScoopFree's housing looks and feels like a tank...virtually indestructible. By contrast, the housing of the Purrforma is a joke...thin, low quality and flimsy plastic on its outlayer, that unless you have clipped together correctly in multiple steps the last time you cleaned, it will, guaranteed, malfunction and make a mess. Purrforma, in fact, comes in awkward layers of plastic that you must remove in order to clean anything, and, you always have to clean the Purrforma since it is constantly stuck in its own quagmire of wet waste clay. While LitterRobot is very ruggedly built (the plastic is probably equal to that of the ScoopFree), the tub part of the LitterRobot is totally free of its motor and rides on a track, which, in my experience is subject to unending and ceaseless malfunction. There is literally nothing that I have had to do the ScoopFree, except replace the litter cartridge once in 30 days. ScoopFree design quality = 5 stars. Littermaid design quality = 3 stars. Purrforma design quality = 1 star. LitterRobot = 0 star.

CLOG AVOIDANCE: Unlike the Purrforma, the rake of which is notorious for accumulating stuff behind it and cramming some waste exactly where the rake can't get to it (if you ask me, somebody should make those engineers do penance and come over and actually clean the Purrforma at your home!), the ScoopFree never leaves any waste remnants at all. It's as if the litter was as clean 30 days later as the day I put it in! And so is the rake! I always had to maintain the Littermaid, especially, the LitterRobot and Purrforma, because they were constantly clogging somewhere due to bad engineering. The ScoopFree has yet to clog, and is so "simple" in its engineering, that I am now totally convinced it won't. ScoopFree clog avoidance = 5 stars, Littermaid = 3 stars, LitterRobot and Purrforma = 0 stars.

WASTE RECEPTICLE: The waste receptacle on the ScoopFree has been completely problem free. It is a very simple device. Just a plastic (thick and good quality) cover that magnetically clips (very strong magnets) to the cardboard cartridge. It has stayed attached, has completely covered the waste and has not spilled or leaked, not even once. All other devices that I tried failed multiple times in this department. For example, the LitterRobot's waste receptacle goes into a drawer that you line with, what it 's maker trumps as, "any" old garbage liner. Regardless of which brand or size I used, the LitterRobot alway dumped some litter outside the liner and into the plastic drawer (this causes big smells), and, worse, did not always deliver the waste even into the waste drawer (i.e., it left some in the tub, aka, the box). Littermaid flimsiest plastic disposable waste receptacles are a joke...spills and smells all the time, impossible to remove without getting soiled clay everywhere. Purrforma is the worst in this department, because it constantly fails in opening or closing the lid properly (i.e, it goes off track), the rake often jams or delivers the waste exactly 1/2" too short of the waste bin, and, worse yet, removing the waste receptacle is designed only for a contortionist. Also, Purrforma requires plastic liners for the litter tray, which also annoyingly manage to actually get soiled clay under the liner, which, if accumulated enough, causes the rake to jam yet again. ScoopFree waste receptacle = 5 stars, Littermaid + 3 stars, LitterRobot = 2 stars and Purrforma = 0 stars.

NOISE: The ScoopFree motor noise -- if you can actually call it that -- is truly minimalist, and by far the quietest of any of the automatic ones I've owned. LitterRobot being the decibel king, in my opinion, with an annoying gear grinding when the tub spins, closely followed by the loud noises (usually woke my out of town guests) generated by the Purrforma and Littermaid. My very unscientific comparison is that the ScoopFree produces less than half the noise of the other devices. And the noise is actually almost a pleasant hum on the ScoopFree (not too different from a fan), with only a thump when the rake reverses itself. All of the prior automatic devices I used could be heard throughout the house. On the ScoopFree I actually get excited the once a week, maybe, when I actually detect its operation and run up to see it moving. In fact, for the first couple of days, I thought Todd wasn't using it because it was so danged quiet. Upon inspection, however, it was clear he used it and liked it. ScoopFree noise = 4 stars. All others: 1 star or less.

SMELLS: The best thing about the ScoopFree -- no odors. I mean none! That Freshstep Crystals litter is miraculous (why I never tried it before buying ScoopFree is just plain stupid on my part). The ScoopFree box is in my den and very close to my favorite chair overlooking the TV where I probably spend the most time in the house. You could always smell Todd immediately upon doing number #2 with any litter box, but not with the ScoopFree. I mean that is one of the frightening things about it when you first use ScoopFree: that double combination of no smells and little noise, and, well, I thought Todd wasn't using it and wasn't liking it, when in fact he was very much using it and seems to love it. And the other thing, is that it seems illogical that it doesn't smell when the rake doesn't operate for 20 minutes after the cat leaves (time needed for the magic crystals to actively absorb the liquid waste and dehydrate the solid waste), but I swear, no smells whatsoever. By contrast, the LitterRobot seemed to take the normal yucky smells and multiply them at least times two. The LitterRobot seemed to somehow take the liquid waste and leak it into its robotic, unseen, innards, forever causing a gigantic stink that was impossible to wash away. Littermaid and Purrforma both smelled, especially when they clogged or malfunctioned (which was pretty common for both, at least once a week). ScoopFree odor control = 5 stars. Littermaid and Purrforma (when working) = 3 stars. LitterRobot = 0 stars.

ELECTRONICS: The ScoopFree light sensing mechanism (i.e., the beam that tells the rake that the cat has entered, done his thing and then count to 20 minutes before operating) has worked flawlessly. While I didn't have any problems in that department with the Littermaid or Purrforma, ScoopFree does the other two better by putting the control in, well, a logical place where you can actually see it (on top of the ScoopFree housing). By contrast, the controls for the Littermaid and Purrforma are on the bottom and sides, where you have to crouch to see if it is operating correctly (i.e.,blinking lights, etc). LitterRobot does have its control facing you in a logical fashion, but it has by far the worst mechanism to detect the cat...weight based. For the LitterRobot to function properly, your cat's weight + the litter weight must be accurately calibrated, and, if not, it will malfunction, guaranteed. Also, at least my cat, Todd, could scratch hard enough (or throw a raucous party in the LitterRobot, for all I know), to throw the LitterRobot off of its required tracks, and, again, that causes it to definitely malfunction (I think 3/4 of my experience with the LitterRobot was spent seeing it malfunctioning). By contrast, no problems of any sort in the ScoopFree detecting my cat and, for me, in operating and seeing the electronic controls. ScoopFree electronics = 5 stars. Littermaid and Purrforma = 4 stars. LitterRobot = 0 star.

OPERATING VALUE: The waste disposal on the ScoopFree is, as much as this can be, a joy. Lift up the housing, slide out the cartridge, and, throw it away. No smell! No looking at waste when you remove it, either, because if you lift the plastic housing correctly and separate the magnets, the cardboard housing covers the waste and you never need look at it all when changing the cartridge. Did I mention that you can bring it up to your nose and not detect a smell! I am serious...where did the dang smell go?!? Also, you don't have to change it for 30 days (that's not just from the advertising, that is actually from my experience when I had to change it), and that is absolutely, to paraphrase Amex, priceless in my book! I have read a lot of people on this site gripe about the cost of the ScoopFree cartridges, and, while I am one intensely frugal guy myself (I drive a Miata, for Pete's sake, and always eat all the fridge's leftovers!), have you people not priced out the Littermaid's waste receptacles? And the Purrforma's useless (impossible to put on even if you have seven hands) litter liners? And the highly dysfunctional, putting it mildly, LitterRobot that is double the price of the trouble-free ScoopFree. The last I checked, for one cat, Premium Choice clay litter which lasts me a month cost me about $11, and Littermaid's 12-pack waste receptacles cost about $20 (or about $5 for a month worth of 4 receptacles) = $16 monthly cost for the Littermaid. Isn't that roughly the same monthly cost for one cat for ScoopFree?!? I could go on and do an Excel spreadsheet and calculate the comparison costs of all these electronic ones, but I don't think I really need to because the real bottom line is that the other ones don't work consistently no matter how much money you throw at them, while the ScoopFree does. If you are really frugal and you have a child, you can save a lot of money by washing diapers and avoiding the disposables. So, if you are really frugal, don't buy an electronic cat litter cleaner and scoop it yourself. But if you want something that works, then you need to calculate the functional costs. In my experience, in terms of operating or functional value for the money, ScoopFree = 5 stars, Littermaid = 2 stars, Purrforma and LitterRobot = 0 stars.

DIMENSIONS: The ScoopFree seems, without measuring and just going by feel, to be similar in size to Littermaid, which I am fine with. The Purrforma was ridiculously larger without any measurable benefit whatsoever. And the LitterRobot's size is a total joke. The thing is like three feet tall and designed by some clutz. If you put it in an open room, it seems to command attention for its insane ugliness. So, ScoopFree is an acceptable, and on the compact size for an electronic litter cleaner. Size: ScoopFree and Littermaid: 4, Purrforma: 3, and LitterRobot: 0.

CAT ADAPTABILITY: I was a little worried about trying out ScoopFree due to its use of crystal litter, since Todd had never known this. Need not have worried as adaption time was zero. I followed the directions on the ScoopFree and sprinkled a very light layer of a little clay litter on top of the crystals. Todd only needed that one light sprinkling and then had absolutely no problems with it without any clay on it. Todd, however, has used an electronic litter cleaner since he was less than a year old, so he understands rake mechanisms like Littermaid and Purrforma. The only one that he had trouble with was the LitterRobot, which from day one he hated, even though he begrudgingly used. I don't believe Todd like the small opening of the tub in the LitterRobot, and, especially the intense and mysterious smells of the unit. But Todd has taken to the Freshstep crystals from day one, and, I know he loves the lack of smells. Adaptability: LitterRobot = 0, all others = 5.

PROBLEMS The one minor quibble I have with the ScoopFree is due to my not using the top on it. Todd is a ferocious litter scratcher and can throw a grain of sand across the room. While I applaud ScoopFree for providing nice height walls (a good seven inches in height and higher than the Littermaid), without the top on, Todd manages to get crystals on the floor. In my bare feet, these can pinch (but not sure if a pinch is any worse than the thought of stepping on a bit of soggy clay!) So, I definitely will buy the top for the ScoopFree soon. But, this is a minor quibble. Did I mention, this is the only quibble! And I don't even attribute this quibble to engineering, as I certainly would not want them to build a bigger unit.

If I was a judge in Sweden handing out Nobel prizes, the Best Automatic Litter System Prize goes, hands down, to the engineers of ScoopFree. ScoopFree is the Gold Standard, and, unless Littermaid, Purrforma and LitterRobot fire all of their engineers any time soon, ScoopFree is bound to retain the crown for quite sometime.

This is a really great review. I would have loved to have bought the ScoopFree, but the price of replacement cartirdges is too much for me. With 2 cats, that means replacing the cartridge every 2 weeks ($30/month). That's just not realistic.

My solution: Use the Littermaid with Frest Steps crystals litter. This is working out ok for me. And the waste receptacles will take a long time to fill up this way.

Still, the design of the ScoopFree sounds much better. I have to wonder how many sales ScoopFree loses because of their cartridge system (like me, for example). If there was some other more affordable method to replace the crystals, I would have purchased this for sure.