Automatic Litterbox Central

OOH OOH OOH!! I just watched the videos again, and here's a MAJOR plus I'm seeing.

No bulldozer effect. With the LitterMaid, I know I am throwing out a LOT of good litter with the bad, because the Littermaid pushes the waste/clumps forward - pushing GOOD litter forward as well.

With this design, and it lifting the litter rather than pushing/shoving it forward, that should be eliminated almost entirely.

I think that with this NOT wasting a lot of good litter, this will enable me to not have to do any modifications to handle 12 cats using it, because the bin won't fill up with unused litter. I should be able to empty it just once a day.

And for ANYONE who uses a LitterMaid and has the bulldozer problem, this will save $$ on litter.

I'm excited now. I'm going to definitely pick one up after the start of the year. Wish I could do so now.

Actually, with it costing half the price of a LitterMaid, I could buy two to handle a dozen cats, again making it possible for me to dump out the bins once a day.

I've had my Smart Scoop 2 months now - I love it! We've had a Cat Genie and a Scoop Free, but this is working out best for us - one of our cats refused to adjust to the Cat Genie and our Maine Coon has outgrown the Scoop Free.

Good News:
~No wasted litter - good litter is sifted out before the used is dumped in the compartment.
~Scoops towards the front - no buildup behind the rake.
~Very easy to clean - the motor/rake assembly is removable, so I can even take the tray outside to hose out if I want.
~High sides - a must with one of my cats.
~I can use a wider range of litters (just not clay). So far I've used Swheat and the kind you can get at Wal-mart that's similar to that. Both have worked well. I imagine you could use a crystal blend, but I haven't tried it yet.

Bad News:
~It does sometimes break up the clumps, but I haven't had one yet that didn't. Still, a con.
~There is a little sliding tab that covers the area to remove the rake. If it isn't closed, the rake doesn't work. One of the cats figured out how to open it which caused problems, but a piece of tape over that area took care of it.
~It is loud (or at least louder than the Scoop Free). This doesn't bother me because ours is in the garage.
~No hood/cover available. I'm using the original privacy tent from Litter Maid right now because it was the largest I could find, but I still had to remove 2 of the support bars from the frame to get the Smart Scoop to fit inside. I'm hoping the company comes out with their own soon.

This didn't really fit in either category - the waste compartment lifts out and has bags to fit it (nice, but not necessary - I use the same one 4-6 times just to keep the compartment clean). The ease of disposal is great, but it does have to be emptied every 2-4 days for us (we have 3 cats). Not sure how that stacks up against others like the Litter Maid.

Well, that's my two cents. We're actually planning on getting a second one to replace the Scoop Free the Maine Coon outgrew.

I haven't checked this thread in a while, but looking now at the last post, I see someone with positive comments about Smart Scoop. I just don't get it. It was a total disaster when I tried it. I have 2 of them (one brand new, still in the box unopened) and I've been thinking they were complete garbage. Now I have to wonder: Could I possibly have been doing something wrong?

To anyone who has had success with Smart Scoop, could you please take a look back at my posts in this thread and tell me if you have any idea why my experience with the product was so horrible? Please keep in mind that I have been using Littermaid boxes successfully for many years, so I have lots of experience with a similar product.

derman, I've noticed that the natural litters (like swheat scoop, world's best, etc.) tend to act a lot different than the regular clay types. I have a Purrforma and while many people complain of the rake getting stuck, mine has never had a problem, even if the cats pee in/on the rake. I think the natural litters are usually more sticky or don't clump quite as hard as the clay which can lead to more "bits" left of the clumps. If you're really up to a challenge, try a corn or wheat based litter to see how it works!

Is there a follow up for this ?

I have the littermaid right now and would love to try something better. I've seen some positive and negative feedback on this and would love to hear if anyone else has bought it and their story!

I called and talked to Smart Scoop yesterday and was told they have a fix for the poo flinging and the rake tines being to wide and that it should be in the boxes in about a month. They put a small lip at the ramp side to keep the poo from flinging out as the rake starts to turn over and they made a rake with 26 instead of 20 tines so there isn't as much space between the tines. I am thinking very seriously of trying one after the fixes are in since all my cats STILL refuse to adapt to the CG, and am going to start looking for a Wal-mart around here that sells them since they said a few select ones did.

Dawn

Excellent! Nice to hear a company that listens to feedback and makes changes! I remember talking to LM one time and just saying that it would be nice if they made a larger/longer litterbox than their current largest. The lady was just like - well we don't so I don't know what to tell you!

let us know when you get the new box and how it works!

Hmmm, I'm wonder if the new rake will be available for those of us with an existing box. And the lip that keeps clumps on the rake instead of down the ramp.

Well I would think so since the way I found out about the changes was by reading reviews on Amazon and someone posted that they were being sent the fix for the box and would update on how the performance changed with the new parts.

Dawn

Thanks, I emailed SmartScoop and was told I would be sent the lip right away and the rake as soon as they come in.

When I called, I also suggested a liner that could be left in for awhile than taken out and thrown away and replaced to keep the litter box from getting dirty, scratched or absorbing odor over time. The guy I talked to said he had suggested that and been shot down before, but since someone was showing interest, he would bring it up again at the next meeting. I recycle hard plastic and plastic bags, so I am covered either way they decide to go if they produce them. I am now becoming hopeful again for this box. In a few weeks I will call in again to see if the boxes have the new parts as he told me to and try one out as soon as they do! I am getting tired of rolling and pummeling the bottom of the Omega Paws 2 to 3 times every day...

Dawn

OMG - I finally got my SmartScoop.

I can't WAIT to get more!!!

I've been using LitterMaids for years. You can find posts by me in the LitterMaid forums on here wherein I detail how I made modifications to the bin system in order to use a single LitterMaid with a dozen cats.

I got my SmartScoop and started using it about 4 days ago. Right off the bat, I saw improvement over the LitterMaid.

I mention earlier in this thread how I anticipated the lifting action of the SmartScoop to help with the unfortunate "bulldozer" action I get from the LitterMaid. Most definitely this eliminates that problem totally.

With the LitterMaid, I was losing an incredible amount of good/unused litter with every scoop as the rake would shove the used litter forward which in turn would push "good" litter forward and into the bin, too. With the SmartScoop, this is NOT a problem - period.

I modified my LitterMaid with a "bottomless" receptacle. The LM sits up on a box that enables me to put a bucket under the bottomless receptacle to receive the used litter & waste. I have had to empty this bucket every couple of days or so with 12 cats.

I have had the SS for 4 days - and only today had to empty the receptacle. Matter of fact, it wasn't even totally at a point where it was full. And the litter in there was most definitely used.

I am using chicken layer as litter (again, see the LM forum for several threads about this). I am having NO problems with it sticking to the rake, or with "flinging."

The only problem I'm having is, like the LM, the rake doesn't go down far enough into the tray. So I'm ending up with a "sediment" of peed-in litter on the bottom of the tray below where the rake reaches. I will have to do manual follow-up with that.

But I had to do that with the LM too. Worse, even.

I read the above thread about the upgrade kit, and e-mailed a guy who had responded to an e-mail I'd sent a couple weeks ago asking where I could buy the SS in my area. Hopefully they'll send one my way.

I currently have a LM Elite Mega I paid $170 for. I plan to clean it up and sell it used for half of that, which will enable me to buy another SmartScoop. I paid $70 for mine on sale at Meijer's (Michigan), the regular price is still a deal at $90.

Bye-bye, LitterMaid. Hello SmartScoop!

I would really like to try one of these, but I was waiting till it had all the bells and whistles added to the boxes. Now it sounds like there is no way to tell what version you will get. Also, I am leery of buying something online since shipping to return is insane right now with gas prices. I wish there was somewhere local to pick one up and give it a whirl. They did tell me some Wal-marts carry them, but none around here seem to. Please give updates on how it works when you get the improvements. I am sooooo tired of the Omega Paws Roll Away right now that I am tempted to just order one anyhow and take my chances.

Dawn