Self cleaning Litter Box
 

I am debating whether or not to get a self-cleaning litter box for my two Maine coon cats. The main reason is because no matter how often I clean/scoop the litter boxes Cozy (yorkie) still finds whistles (poop) to play with. I have tried using baby gates to keep her out but you can only jump a gate for so long before you want to through the gate against a wall. Also, so people refuse to put the baby gate back up after taking it down. I keep one box on each level of my home- 1 in basement, 1 in main floor bathroom, and 1 in upstairs bathroom. She only generally gets into the main floor's bathroom's litterbox which is the one the cats primarily use.

Before I spend an excess of $100 on a litterbox I what to know how well they work and if anyone else has any experience with them. I know petstore will tell you almost anything to sell them, so I want honest opinions. I have been treasure hunters since I was little so I don't mind continueing the hunt. I just don't think poop is healthy to eat or play with.

Thanks for the help.

Wouldn't she still eat the litter? I'd be worried about that..

I've never really heard anything good about automatic litter boxes, especially the cheaper end ones. While I personally have never had one, I have heard they are very finicky- you can't have to much or to little litter, waste gets stuck in the teeth/blades.

I'm sure if you Google the particular one you are looking at, you'll find plenty of reviews for that brand/model.

I've always had an automatic one for my cat. We had the old version of the Littermaid and it was awesome, until it finally broke after 5 years. my ex bf got the newer version of the littermaid and it sucks. So i wouldn't recommend getting that one. For my cat we now have the litter robot which is amazing, but pricey. http://www.litter-robot.com/

i wouldn't have it any other way.

I got a Littermaid one about 7 years ago. It lasted about three years I think. It was really great while I had it. I don't remember really having any problems - just had to remember to dump the waste recepticles. I was in highschool then so I remember the waste recepticles being kindof expensive. It was really convenient though. You just have to use a clumping litter (I use Nature's Miracle now - it's a nonclay litter), and I believe there is a line that shows you how full to fill the box. I'd love to have one again but just don't want to spend that much money on one right now. I guess I can't really recommend one over the other though since I haven't had one in a few years.

I LOVE my self cleaning litter box and wouldnt be without it!! I am not sure what brand mine is but it slowly turns all day long and is just great!!

Dawn

You read my mind girl, I was thinking about posting a thread just like this one last night because I'm about done with my littermaid. Don't get me wrong I don't have a problem with it, but I've had this one for about 4 years and I'm ready for a new one. I don't like buying the receptacles that by the way are still pricey, then it's not seal very well between the receptacles and the actual box and litter gets underneat the receptacles. I'm ready for a new one that uses plastic bags. I'm still doing my research. I'm not in a hurry to buy one(:rolleyes: , yeah right) that is what I tell my husband and he is the only one who believes me:p , but whatever you buy is going to be much better than the manual litter box. I don't go back to cleaning those, no way!!!

I also have a litter robot--------I love the thing and don't regtret a single penny spent on it!

LOL you don't have to keep buying the plastic bins. you can use one plastic bin and cover it with a plastic bag or a small garbage can bag. litter goes in the bag and when its full just pull it out and put a new one on. :) problem solved.

We have the one they sell at walmart!! We are actually on our 2nd one, but we LOVE it!!

I have 4 cats and have used automated litter boxes for years. I suppose you can consider me an expert? Littermaid: Don't buy one. I had two. Each one died the day after the warranty expired. The thing is hard to clean as well.
I also tried a knock off of the Littermaid. I can't remember the brand. It had the same issues. With either one, you have to buy special collection containers. They can get pricey to operate.

Litter Roundup. I have this one now. It is OK but not totally automatic. The human has to press the button for it to cycle. Again, you need special bags to put in the collection area. Overall though, it is a pretty good product.

With either the Littermaid or Litter Roundup, you can get covers for them. My cats would not use them with covers.

Litter Robot: My favorite. I found it difficult to get it adjusted to cycle, but once I did, it was great. It died a few months after I got it. The company was great, sent me a replacement part which was easy to install, and no further problems. You can use cheapo kitchen trash bags in the collection area, which is very large. You can use cheapo litter which you cannot do with Littermaid. My only complaint really is that once the collection container gets sort of full, or, if a cat gets rambunctious and knocks the globe off kilter, it won't cycle. Or, it will cycle part way then stop. With this box, if it stops mid-cycle, there is no place for kitty to go until the human fixes it. I always kept an old fashioned box near by just in case. The cats loved the litter robot. I finally got rid of it when the cats scratched a hole in the rubber liner. I have been tempted to buy the new and improved model, but they are pricey. I hear the new model has a stronger motor and is less likely to stop mid-cycle or fail to cycle.

Any questions, just ask!

so far we haven't had that problem with our robot. we got it in the beginning of the year and no problems so far what so ever. :)

Helloooo!! where have I been??? I never thought about that:embarasse Thanks for the tip;)

We had a Littermaid that didn't last even a year. I wouldn't buy another one!!

I tried that but to make it work, need to have the edges of the bag hang out. I have a cat that shreds plastic so that was a no go for us. I did stretch the plastic bin over two weeks by dumping it out in-between, but after two weeks the odor was really bad.

bailey chews on plastic too. i take a plastic grocery bag and wrap it around the bin. then i tie it in a knot on the bottom and = tuck all the plastic inside when i place the bin back in the box so the least amount of plastic is sticking out where he can get to it.