Automatic Litterbox Central

So the coroplast sounds pretty good but, may be hard for those of us who live in small towns to get. What about using those sticky square pieces of linoleum? Just another idea!

Can you tell me where on Ebay you purchased the "forever" permanent replacement cartridge or do you have the name of the person you purchased it from? I just purchased the scoop free litter box & would like to get one of those filters but couldnt find any info on Ebay..

Jack 'n Stans Dad wrote:My two little guys seem to pee more than any cat I've known, so I was looking for something to fix this.

I got one of the "forever" permanent replacement cartridges off of Ebay. Made of PVC.

No more leaks.

And it's paid for itself already just being able to clean and refill instead of buying cartridges all the time

HERE'S a link to the tray on ebay. Jack n Stans dad makes them. If the link doesn't work, just search for 'forever tray' on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/FOREVER-Litter-Tray ... dZViewItem

thanks for the info & the link abbeytoo...I will get one ordered pronto...

I don't have a SF, but I am an engineer and enjoyed reading this post. I like the carpet protector idea...and I thought of something even easier to obtain. What about that press-n-seal glad wrap stuff? seems like you'd be able to line the cardboard try with it, and it would provide a barrier and also ahdere to the tray.

Good luck! I've had failed attempts with the cat genie, and the Litter robot...back to using a regular scoop box.

tjl153 wrote:I don't have a SF, but I am an engineer and enjoyed reading this post. I like the carpet protector idea...and I thought of something even easier to obtain. What about that press-n-seal glad wrap stuff? seems like you'd be able to line the cardboard try with it, and it would provide a barrier and also ahdere to the tray.

Good luck! I've had failed attempts with the cat genie, and the Litter robot...back to using a regular scoop box.

That could work, however, I see problems that may be an issue. First, the press n seal is not wide enough to cover the width of the box so you would have to use either 2 pieces lengthwise or (what I would do) 3 pieces width wise. I would use pieces on each end, wrapping around under neath the box ends and pushing it into the inside corners real well then use a 3rd piece for the middle-overlapping the pieces on the ends. Be sure to 'seal' the seams good to protect against leakage. With the big overlap from teh middle piece, it should work...unless your cat is a digger. They will snag it and pull it up. WHere as the carpet protecter stuff has a stronger adhesive on the back to prevent lifting. But, heh, its worth a try.

Also, I think the cats claws could tear it, making it ineffective for preventing leakage. That carpet stuff is a lot more sturdy and really sticks to the box like a second skin. It shouldnt be a problem to find it. Home Depot type stores carry it, any carpet place would surely have it, maybe even car dealership or mechanic places. I think I remember someplace putting it on the rugs in my car once or twice to keep the rugs from getting cruddy while they worked on my car.

Whatever you use, it has to be flat on the bottom and fit firmly against the sides so the rake doesnt snag it.

Since this box came out, we have all come up with lots of ideas to make it work. Too bad the company didn't do this much thinking before they put it out to market. I still cannot believe they missed the boat by not offering a permanant tray.

Oh, and welcome to the litterbox!

I have some experience with the coroplast tray I built as well as the forever tray. I thought I'd share with everyone my recent email to the maker of the forever tray.

I had been using the Scoop Free Litter Box for some time and it's been impressive. Equally impressive (if not more) is your forever tray. Now I was one of the pioneers of Scoop Free and immediately saw the Achilles heel of the system as the cardboard trays. I collaborated with others on the forum years ago and built my own corrugated plastic tray. That combined with Mimi cat litter which was available at my Walmart reduced the ongoing cost of this system. But my home-made tray never seemed sturdy enough. Especially during litter changes, it often buckled or popped a corner rivet if not handled very carefully. I later learned of your forever tray. The price kept me away for some time but when my last homemade corrugated tray buckled, I decided to break my wallet for your tray. Now it's been almost a year of using your tray and I am impressed! It's clearly more sturdy than my homemade tray....I have no issues when changing the litter. It's quality made and appears to show no wear and tear (other than some harmless staining caused by my cats "favorite" part of the box to pee in). I just wanted to let you know (though I suspect you already have been told this many times) that your product is impressive and despite my pre-purchase concerns.....it has exceeded my expectations.

Thanks again for a great product!

Thanks again so much John for the very kind words.

Please do let me know if I can be of any help at all -- and if you have any more ideas and suggestions!

I'll be adding your "side pee-er" fix to the website this coming week.

Hope you and yours had a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

r.

Jack 'n Stans Dad - I had seen previously on your website a solution for 'back pee'ers', can you possible re-post that solution here? I wasn't able to find it on your website anymore...my kitty pee's against the back of the box causing it to leak and I'd love a solution. Thanks!

Here you go! You can contact me directly off-line if I can be of any further help -- always happy to do so. I hope this is clear enough. The idea is to glue the corner protectors along each side, so that one arm of the protector hangs down into the box and effectively shields that seam where the tray and the box come together, and that pee can then just drip down into the box.

Does your tray seem to be leaking?
Most commonly, this is due to a cat who is a "side pee-er"..............!
Sorry....I just couldn't figure out a more delicate way to describe this situation -- but if you have a male cat in your house who prefers to urinate on the side of your box instead of into the litter.......well...you've got a side pee-er!
More than a few folks have contacted me with this experience -- whether it's with the Forever Litter Tray or with one of the cardboard cartridges.
What happens when a cat urinates on the side is that the urine tracks down and manages to seep between the very small gap between the top of the tray (or cartridge) and the litterbox. The result is a puddle of urine underneath -- very annoying!
Well, Stan has decided to offer his help in this research by becoming a side pee-er (thanks buddy). So now I've had a very "real world" way to test this and develop something to help others solve this problem.
The solutions are quite easy, inexpensive, permanent, and (most importantly) theywork! And it virtually becomes a part of the Scoop Free -- so is no hassle to clean at each litter change. There are actually a couple of different ways to approach the problem. Below is the solution I've developed, and following this is another solution figured out by long time Scoop Free owner John from Georgia.
Option A -- using side protectors:

Step 1
The first step is to ensure the Scoop Free unit is resting squarely on top of the top edges of the tray or cardridge. If your unit is on an uneven surface (carpet for example, or as one person had it with part of the unit inside a closet with one edge resting on the tracks) you will get small gaps which will allow urine to leak around and under the tray if your cat pees on the sides.

Step 2
If you're still getting puddles, the next step is to go to your local hardware store and purchase a piece of thin clear plastic corner protector. (Make sure to get the thin stuff -- it works better). It usually comes in an 8 foot length, and is 3/4" per side. Cost at my local Ace Hardware was $3.49. The angle on it is 90 degrees (to protect corners, of course) so you want to lay it on a flat surface and push it apart to about 120 degrees. (This is why you want the thin stuff). What I do is to lay it flat on a table, and then pull it down towards me across the edge of the table to spread the angle out.
Any glue will work, but I've found a really great glue that will work for other things than this as well -- called GOOP -- available at Home Depot and most hardware stores. (It's also great to have around the house for mending other things as well!)
Cut your pieces to length for each side (they don't need to go the whole length due to the door at one end) and glue in. I put a small bead of sealer along the top edge to prevent urine and crystals from clinging there or sneaking underneath the protecter.
And you're done!
Now when your favorite friend pees on the side, it will now just drip right down into the litter instead of tracking back under the tray.

Option B (John's solution) with packing tape:
"I do have a side-pee-er and while I saw your recommendation on your site about that, I found an alternative which saved me a trip to the hardware store. I simply took shippingtape(the wide roll). I adhered thetapealong the length of the side rail and folded it upon itself so no sticky part was exposed. This made for a perfect flexible flap which covers the area between the tray and the litter box frame where the pee would escape. This has worked perfectly for me for over a year. I thought I'd share the idea with you as you may have some folks interested in an even lower tech solution to their side pee-er."

Another alternative is a product that I'm in the process of developing. This particular post is full of the people that should evaluate its validity and effectiveness. Check out the "ScoopFree Liners Beta Testers Needed" post for more info. Thanks.

As a fellow "tinkerer" I salute your idea! However just as an fyi it won't fix the "side pee-er" situation as discussed in this thread. This particular issue is related to how the SF machine itself is made, and how it allows for tiny gap between the machine and the top edge of the tray.

So no matter what tray or liner you have, a cat peeing on the side will allow some urine to track out through this small gap and puddle underneath.......

The only options are the fix mentioned in this thread, or to purchase one of the newest SX3 or SX4 versions of the SF machine, that now have a ridge (similar to my fix) built into the machine itself.

DONE with buying scoop free overpriced cartridges. Measured carefully the dimensions of the cardboard cartridge. Go to Hobby Lobby (or whatever is close to you). Purchase plain old foam core ($1.99). Cut to appropriate size, score on the back to enable the folded sides, cut away corners. Use regular old contact paper (find some at Dollar Tree) - cover inside of foam core before you fold it. Fold box, bunching contact paper in the corners - tape together. Add small piece of foam core 2" in from the "poop end" to keep crystals from bunching up at the end. DONE!
$1.99 foam core
$ .50 contact paper (roll from dollar tree enough for two boxes)
Half bag of crystals from WalMart.
Disposable tray for wayyyyyy less than scoop free's outrageous price.

I also have a "side pee-er". With my homemade box, I was able to make it a tiny bit wider so that it fits under the "ledge" better. Not as many leaks as before. As a fail safe fix, I use a disposable bed pad under the whole box. When it's time to change the box, it's easy to pick up the whole thing with the plastic backing on the bed pad! (BTW - bed pads are cheaper than "puppy pads")