Cat owners: Self cleaning litter box?

[Liesje]

In college I had two cats and my house mate had two cats. We had 4-5 boxes and one of hers was the self-cleaning. I think it worked OK but some of the cats didn't use it. Her cat has always had trouble using a box and she just found out he has arthritis so he doesn't like pawing in cat litter

[Lauri & The Gang]

I have 3 cats and one litter box and I clean it about every 2-3 days.
Now before everyone starts calling AC on me for not caring for my cats - their litter box holds 80 POUNDS of litter at one time. It is about 3 feet long by about 2 feet wide and deep and they have about 4-5 inches of litter in there.

That is the secret to making litter box cleaning easier on yourself - BIG box with DEEP litter. That way the cats aren't moving around (and breaking up) previous leavings around when they go in and start scratching.

You also don't use up as much litter since the clumps stay clumped - you just scoop those out and the rest of the litter is still good. I add more litter to the box when it starts to get low.

I was once out of town for work for 8 days and DH had hurt his back so he couldn't clean the box. The cats were happy when I got home and cleaned it but it didn't smell - even having gone 8 days without being cleaned.

Again - since it's big and deep and there's lots of litter the clumps don't get broken up - and that's what causes the smell (unless your cat doesn't cover their poop).

This website has the best information on cat litter, litter boxes, and problems with cats using litter boxes.

This is an example of a good litter box:

[stealthq]

I have two burmese and a Litter Robot that I've had for 2 1/2 years (I think) with no problems that couldn't be solved by adjusting the sensitivity.

I decided to get the automatic cleaner is because one of mine feels he must dig to the absolute bottom of the box to pee no matter how big the box and how deep the litter. This means that every time the thing needs to be scooped, it needs to be completely emptied and washed, which is expensive and time consuming. This is compounded by the fact that if he does not 100% approve of his potty, he will find a potty that he does like elsewhere in the house . I read the same site as Lauri and tried a similar set-up, but it did not help me.

The Litter Robot is fairly big - a similar footprint to a regular litter box, but it's tall - and a bit noisy, but I love it anyway. My picky cat has not had an incident since I got it. The cats get in, do their business however they like, and 9 min later the whole thing rotates and the mess drops into the base that I've lined with a small garbage bag. No smell at all, even though the gasket that is supposed to prevent odor escape fell off long ago.

If I change out bags and refill the litter every 3 days, it works like a charm and I never touch litter or a scoop. If I forget, eventually it fills enough so the waste gets smeared on the outside of the rotating top portion which is disgusting and requires scrubbing the whole thing. You do not make this mistake more than once, trust me.

[RocketDog]

Originally Posted by Lauri & The Gang

I have 3 cats and one litter box and I clean it about every 2-3 days.
Now before everyone starts calling AC on me for not caring for my cats - their litter box holds 80 POUNDS of litter at one time. It is about 3 feet long by about 2 feet wide and deep and they have about 4-5 inches of litter in there.

That is the secret to making litter box cleaning easier on yourself - BIG box with DEEP litter. That way the cats aren't moving around (and breaking up) previous leavings around when they go in and start scratching.

You also don't use up as much litter since the clumps stay clumped - you just scoop those out and the rest of the litter is still good. I add more litter to the box when it starts to get low.

I was once out of town for work for 8 days and DH had hurt his back so he couldn't clean the box. The cats were happy when I got home and cleaned it but it didn't smell - even having gone 8 days without being cleaned.

Again - since it's big and deep and there's lots of litter the clumps don't get broken up - and that's what causes the smell (unless your cat doesn't cover their poop).

This website has the best information on cat litter, litter boxes, and problems with cats using litter boxes.

This is an example of a good litter box:

Lauri, did you make that? Can you buy those?

[Lauri & The Gang]

That's not mine - it's from that website. SHE made it buy cutting the hole in the side of a 39 gallon container.

I use something like this:

Sterilite 50 Gallon Plastic Storage Container - Walmart.com



My cats have no problems jumping in there. Some day I will either cut a hole (for a door) or (most likely) build them a ramp.

[jprice103]

I've had two automatic litter boxes. They worked great in the beginning, but then started to clog and not work. Plus, the little bins don't hold much, and I was emptying very often, and making a mess, spilling litter everywhere.

Also tried the one that you roll over then just empty...not worth it! Litter got everywhere, and it never collected it all! Ugh! Spent more time trying to get it back together and everything cleaned out! So not worth it, in my opinion.

Now the boxes that I have now...that I LOVE, are the Tidy Cat Breeze. Breeze® Litter System from Tidy Cats® They have pellets that sit on the top, and a pad that goes on the bottom that catches the urine like a diaper. I LOVE it! I bought a litter genie, Litter Genie and just scoop out the poop and put into the litter pail every other day, and then replace the pad once a week. Makes cleaning litter SOOO much easier for me! And I just replace the pellets once a month. No more litter everywhere, and surprisingly, no smell! I thought it would cost a fortune, but it actually costs less than buying litter every 2 weeks! Wish they had this back when I had 7 cats!!

[3dognite]

Originally Posted by Zeeva

I've never tried them but I've heard they clog and aren't worth the money. Am interested in what others have to say though...

Ditto. We've had 2 different kinds, one was the kind you roll, the other was the automatic one. NOT worth the money we spent. The auto was the Littermate.

[Syaoransbear]

When I worked at petsmart almost every person who bought a self-cleaning litterbox would end up returning it. I was chucking them in the garbage daily. They seem to be junk.

[stealthq]

Originally Posted by Zeeva

I've never tried them but I've heard they clog and aren't worth the money. Am interested in what others have to say though...

Should add - the ones that use a rake do clog constantly. The Litter Robot does not. As the top turns, the clean litter falls through a screen and the clumps roll through a sizable door into a bottom container. The thing is expensive, but it does work as long as your cat isn't afraid of it.

[Shaolin]

Originally Posted by Lauri & The Gang

I have 3 cats and one litter box and I clean it about every 2-3 days.
Now before everyone starts calling AC on me for not caring for my cats - their litter box holds 80 POUNDS of litter at one time. It is about 3 feet long by about 2 feet wide and deep and they have about 4-5 inches of litter in there.

That is the secret to making litter box cleaning easier on yourself - BIG box with DEEP litter. That way the cats aren't moving around (and breaking up) previous leavings around when they go in and start scratching.

You also don't use up as much litter since the clumps stay clumped - you just scoop those out and the rest of the litter is still good. I add more litter to the box when it starts to get low.

I was once out of town for work for 8 days and DH had hurt his back so he couldn't clean the box. The cats were happy when I got home and cleaned it but it didn't smell - even having gone 8 days without being cleaned.

Again - since it's big and deep and there's lots of litter the clumps don't get broken up - and that's what causes the smell (unless your cat doesn't cover their poop).

This website has the best information on cat litter, litter boxes, and problems with cats using litter boxes.

This is an example of a good litter box:

That's brilliant! I will definately have to try this. Our youngest kitten, Gigi is a litter flinger as well as a digger and I'm tired of cleaning up the litter she throws. We just turned over said bin and put it over the normal litter box. Cut down on the spray just slightly, but this looks like it would be a bit better.