Self Cleaning Cat Box

[violakat03]

I wish I could teach mine to use the toilet. I've got 4 and I swear they generate twice their body weight in poop each day. I wish a Litter Maid would work, but when I tried using my mother-in-law's, they clogged it up. They like to pile all the cat litter in one spot, and the litter maid isn't too fond of that, plus they pee on the sides of it (I have one cat that 'stands' to pee - he puts his paws on the edge of the box and stretches out as tall as he can - I blame it on having the box in the bathroom, he watched my husband too often and thought "oh, boys are supposed to do it this way.")

Until something better for multiple cats comes along, I just buy a tub of Sam's brand cat litter ($8 for a 35 lb tub) every week and a half and change the boxes twice a week (or sooner if they're particularly 'active').

 

[AlaskaDiver]

(I have one cat that 'stands' to pee - he puts his paws on the edge of the box and stretches out as tall as he can - I blame it on having the box in the bathroom, he watched my husband too often and thought "oh, boys are supposed to do it this way.")

 

[Wayward Son]

years ago, my son managed to get Buzz to use the toilet. It was going pretty good until one day his pee hit the water. That sound scared him & that was the end of that.

 

[CZ_Diver]

We had 2 cats and we used the Litter Robot. I wouldn't allow the 2 cats any other way.
It is bulky and loud but it did the job well... no smells!
You do have to be on top of it, meaning don't let the poop receptacle get too full
or you'll have serious clean up duty.
It never misfired while the cats were inside, it has a sensor that won't allow it to do so.
I highly recommend it, but do stay on top of it.

Wys.

We LOVE our Litter Robot!!! Our cats destroyed the Litter Maid within 2 months of purchase....not worth the money! But, the Litter Robot *works well*. (haha I just heard it start up...) It never misfires and the cats LOVE a clean $h!tter all the time! I really believe that they hold their urine when they have to use even a semi-dirty box, causing UTIs in males. I've had two cats w/ UTIs with regular boxes, and none with the Litter Robot. (My "anecdotal evidence" here for ya...LOL...but what do you think about that, SelkieDVM? Any truth to it or have I just been lucky w/ the UTIs lately?)

I also second that you must stay on top of it. With the two cats we have now, we have to change the liner in the drawer every three days, and (bonus) we go thru litter 30% slower than we used to. Saves litter and $$$.

 

[SelkieDVM]

I'm sure they don't want to use a "used" box if they can avoid it!

There's no question that held urine will contribute to urinary tract problems, you're right. It becomes more concentrated and can form sediment and even bladder stones. UTIs are typically secondary. The male's urethra obstructs more easily because it is longer and narrower, which is why they often present in a much more dramatic (and potentially life threatening) fashion.

You've made a good observation - it's important to encourage cats to urinate frequently, and a clean box plays a big role in this. Ever notice how cats just love to use the litter box right after you clean it? Other things include providing plenty of fresh water sources, feeding foods with a higher moisture content, and having enough boxes for the number of cats. Environmental enrichment is also important.

I guess I'm off to go scoop boxes now. . .

 

[CZ_Diver]

LOL...ever notice how cats like to use the box right after it's been cleaned, you ask? We actually used to (before the Litter Robot) do a little sing-song for one of the cats to let him know it was clean (yes--I am actually a bit embarrassed here). And, he would TEAR thru the house to get into it before the other cat. Too funny! Quite the personality, that one....

 

[fdog]

We have the CatGenie. I'll admit that when Janet bought it I was soooo sceptical.

It was fairly easy to install - one caveat is that it has to be within about 6' of a water supply and sewer access - and the first time we turned it on I went from sceptic to SOLD! It very carefully scoops all the solid poops, rinses the litter, air drys and fluffs the litter, and macerates the waste and flushes it. Totally cool and superbly engineered. We have two big cats, and at two flushings a day it handles them easily.

Since we leave on trips alot, it makes it easy for our friends that come every couple days to pick up the mail, check on the cats, etc - they don't have to clean the litter box.

Training the cats was actually pretty easy, we followed the thorough instruction manual. We just parked the old litter box next to the new CatGenie, and when the old box became nasty enough, they switched.

The IR eye thing actually works well, we tested it, and it won't even turn on if there's a warm body in the area. It runs the scheduled cleaning later after they've left.

We've had some issues: We placed the CatGenie in the laundry room to use the sewer dump for the washing machine. After making room for the CatGenie sewer line, the washing machine line wasn't seated as well as it was normally, and came out one day and flooded the laundry room. So we really reseated the washing machine line. However, the end of the sewer line for the CatGenie is soft rubber, and we pinched it by doing this! This inadverntantly plugged up the CatGenie. We added a short length of 1/2" copper tubing to the CatGenie line, and now all is good.

One of our cats is huge - a 25 lb Maine Coon. We got the extended sideboards for the CatGenie, and she tries really hard, but she still misses once in a while. Our other cat is big but not Maine Coon sized, and has no problems.

Not mentioned in the sales brochure is that every 3 months or so you have to take the CatGenie apart and clean it, a smelly mess involving rubber gloves and bleach. If you're a sympathetic puker I'd reccomend wearing a diving mask and breathe tank air.

Still, it has been so worth it! The cats got used to it pretty easily (and one of our cats is a "scaredy cat"), and it's good peace of mind that the litter box won't fill up on trips.


All the best, James