Automatic Litterbox Central

Looks like it has a much easier to deal with design. Anyone know how it fairs compared to other similar boxes?

http://www.smartscoop.com/

I'm curious about this one as well. I noticed it about a week ago at Amazon.com. Only 2 reviews though. One bad, one good. The positive one reads like a marketing flyer.

Just measured my Litter Maid Mega (the old type) and the litter area is the same. I'm very curious as to how this new one works as I would like to relegate my new model Litter Maid to the trash heap. Drs Foster & Smith have it for $119.

According to SmartScoop's site, the SmartScoop box hold more litter than the LitterMaid.

http://www.smartscoop.com/comparisons.html

I just re-measured my Litter Maid - the inside of the box is 14 x 16. Hard to figure out how they get 14 x 12. The biggest advantage I see is the rollers on the outside of the box. "Quiet" is a relative term...how quiet is it! I am very interested in hearing from someone who used it.

I went and watched the video on their site and I don't see how the rake could fling anything. It does a slow roll over that tumbles the stuff into the waste area. I was wondering if the person who complained on Amazon had the rake installed wrong since apparently it flung when it rolled over.

I just called the company about stores that carry it and none in Texas do at this time. The lady said they will be in Wal-mart next year, but I stupidly didn't ask if that meant January or a more obscure time frame. I also told her about this site and suggested she get with Jeff to set up an area for this new box so maybe we can get some feedback from people who test it.

I love my Cat Genies, but the feral we took in still refuses to use it and I am getting tired of cleaning up pee and poo off the floor 2 to 3 times a day and she will use clay litter if it is absolutely clean at all times. That is why I am thinking I might give the Smart Scoop a shot and just have 3 boxes available since I have 6 cats anyhow. I am leery of the shipping costs to return it if the picky cat won't use it. I just wish more people had tried it or there was a few board testers to give feedback like how the Cat Genie did their box (thanks again Jeff for giving me your old CG tester box!).

The ease of cleaning, the simple pan design without all the crevices and moving parts attached, and the larger waste storage area are what I find intriguing about this box. Also the fact that you can use grocery bags if you really wanted or were out of the ones for the box and don't need to buy those horrible plastic containers like the Litter Maid uses.

Please, anyone who has this box give feedback on how it performs, clean-up, and anything else you think might be of interest.

Dawn

***I posted this on a different topic and probably should have put it here instead***

Mad Ol' Cat Lady, you just summed up a problem I had with the CatGenie, or rather one of our cats had with the Genie. We have 1 cat who would pee in it, but for whatever reason, he would not poop in it. He'd do that somewhere in front of it. Tried everything, so I had to go back to a regular box for him and we have 3 cats. So, if I'm going to have to scoop anyway it's pointless for me to continue using the CatGenie, unfortunately. I loved the thing, but there's just no point in going on with it.

The SmartScoop has me really curious.

I bought two SmartScoop boxes and set one of them up yesterday. After less than one full day of use, I fear there is going to be a problem with broken clumps and cats peeing on and behind the rake. I'll follow up with progress reports.

I've been using "Litter Clean" cat litter from Sam's Club for years with LitterMaid boxes and it has worked better than most brands. The fact that it is relatively inexpensive (under $10 for 35 lbs.) is a plus...

Day 1 with the brand new SmartScoop box (Saturday):

I filled the new SmartScoop with Litter Clean from Sam's. Opted to skip the no-stick spray this time. First thing I noticed was that there seemed to be a fair amount of space behind the rake, and it made me wonder if I did something wrong when putting together the SmartScoop (which seemed very quick-and-easy to assemble). It looked like it would probably be a mess if a cat urinated on the rake (e.g., with the clump forming mostly behind the rake and therefore being unscoopable).

A few hours later, and sure enough, someone peed in the back corner. There was a clump stuck behind the rake and a trail of broken clump bits in front of the rake -- with some broken bits having made it into the waste container. By the end of day one, the SmartScoop box was rather messy and looking anything but smart. This left me wondering if perhaps my Litter Clean brand of litter was not well-suited for the SmartScoop, so we'll try another brand for Day 2...

Day 2 (Sunday):

Dumped out the SmartScoop and did a full cleaning (which was very easy compared to the hassle of cleaning a LitterMaid). Dried it and then sprayed with the trial-size no-stick stuff this time. I'm about to fill it up with Arm & Hammer Super Scoop Fragrance Free and I hope it works better this time.

I'll follow up soon with progress. If anyone has comments or suggestions, please speak up.

I am very interested in your testing... please keep the information coming I have two Cat Genies, but the feral we took in refuses to use them and my old cat uses them some of the time. I am so damn tired of cleaning up pee and poo 2 to 3 times a day and am wondering what other kind of box I can set up with my Cat Genies to please the finicky ones and myself.

Dawn

Yes - I've been checking the forum this morning hoping for more updates! I've about had it with the ole littermaid! Every week it seems as though I'm switching to a different litter. One my cat's won't use, one makes the clumps SOOO hard that the rake can't even move, the other won't clump hard enough so it is a bunch of wet mess! I'm FED UP and tired of the manual cleaning every single day....[flash=]ARGGGGGGGHHHHHHH![/flash]

Ok - thanks for letting me vent there

It's definitely NOT looking good...

Day 2 (Sunday) [continued]:

After filling the SmartScoop with A&H Super Scoop litter, I was really hoping for a better result (but not holding my breath). Within a couple hours, it was more of the same. In fact, the results seemed even worse with the A&H litter -- more broken clumps, mess stuck to the rake, etc. I did manual scooping of all the broken bits. More of the same a couple hours later. I guess here's something positive to say about SmartScoop: My cats aren't afraid to use it.

Day 3 (Monday):

Woke up Monday morning to find more mess, broken clumps, sticky litter stuck to the rake, etc. Had to do more manual scooping and scraping to clean it up.

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At this point, I'm thinking the SmartScoop is pretty much a disaster. In fact, I'm thinking back to those 2 comments about the product on Amazon -- one positive comment and one negative. I have to figure that the 1 positive comment was total nonsense (fraud?) and the 1 negative comment was sincere. After using the SmartScoop for 3 days, I don't see how it could possibly work. It creates a mess almost every time it runs. Maybe there's some other brand of litter that would work better, but I just don't see how it could possibly work well, given the design flaws that look rather obvious from where I'm standing (and I can go into more detail if anyone wants to hear more).

The obvious advantage that SmartScoop has over Littermaid is that SmartScoop is MUCH easier to clean -- but at least the Littermaid usually (more or less) scoops out most of the waste without creating a mess (but when Littermaid creates a mess, it's really a pain to clean).

I'm thinking about contacting the SmartScoop company to see what they have to say about all this. I suppose the biggest problem has to do with the rake design. Maybe it could work better with redesigned rake, but I doubt it.

I'm so disappointed.

Rake design seems to be one of the biggest problems with these units in general.
David.

I just wanted to thank you for posting your info on the litterbox. I was seriously considering purchasing one, but I think I'll stick with the Purrforma.

Gaak. My post disappeared before submitting.

I'm not retyping all of it. Here are the important bits:

This is available at Meijer's for $89.99 (Michigan). On sale right now for $79.99. Just saw it today.

I use Chicken Layer in my LitterMaid Ultra and it has made using the LitterMaid almost perfect.

I plan to pick up the Smart Scoop early next year.

A tip from the LitterMaid forum was to tape a plastic hanger with hook backward and bottom part outward so that cats can't back up to the rake. This is poossible with the Smart Scoop - you'd have to tape it to the lid that flips up when the rake goes to dump into the bin. This should solve the problem with cats peeing behind the rake.

I'd like to see anyone who has thie Smart Scoop right now try that and let us know if it does help.