Reviews please—Self-Scooping Cat Boxes

[kyounge1956]

Does anyone here have an automatic litter box? I'm thinking of buying the Litter Robot. It's expensive, but made in USA (unlike some other well-known brands that are stocked at my local pet supply store). If you have one, how do your cats like it, and how do you like it? What should I know about it before buying?

 

[Katsmeow]

I really wanted it to work. We had two of them (4 cats). One of my cats would not go in it at all. The other 3 cats did. However, both of them broke after awhile. They were under warranty and could have been shipped back but they are huge and very expensive to ship. I did like the concept though and it has been about 4 years so they may have improved them.

 

[kyounge1956]

Hi Katsmeow, was that the Litter Robot or one of the other brands?

 

[Katsmeow]

Litter Robot but it had to have been no later than 2004, probably 2003 so don't know how the models have changed since then

 

[Rustward]

We use a LitterMaid. Seems to work well. Have had as many as three cats and it did fine. The first one lasted six years. The second one is six years old now.

 

[Martha]

I have a friend with one, which they like a lot. When the box goes through its scoop routine one of their cats always runs over to watch.

 

[unclemick]

We use a LitterMaid. Seems to work well. Have had as many as three cats and it did fine. The first one lasted six years. The second one is six years old now.

One cat but he can piss up a storm creating large clumps making the Litter Maid I bought at WalMart jam.

Went back to manual.

heh heh heh - plus it made a lot of noise when cycling.

 

[tmm99]

I had a littler robot about 5 years ago, but at the time, I had two cats - one cat with renal failure so way too much pee for it. The other cat was fat - barely fit through the whole.

I gave it to someone who had just one smallish adult cat.

 

[Katsmeow]

Although I realize some of this sound a bit discouraging I will probably try one of these again (not sure which brand). The thing is that when it works it really is great so if your cat will use one and it functions properly then it is so worth the money. If it doesn't work for your cat, then so be it, but on the chance that it will I would try it.

The litter robot when we used it was huge. The pictures don't do it justice. Theoretically because it is enclosed you don't get smell and there is no litter outside of it. (In practice, litter still sticks to their paws so they still track some of it out). The litter maid is probably less likely to spook the cat. I don't know which one actually works better though.

 

[CuppaJoe]

Here's a link with photos of cats inside, they look like they are wearing space suits. The one-star reviews are informative, the device is too tall to fit under a standard sink and requires a lot of space so I'll stick with putting two standard litter boxes under the sink, giving "Fluffy" a choice. Hope the neighbor cats don't tell her about it.

Amazon.com: Litter Robot LRII Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Beige: Kitchen & Dining

 

[kyounge1956]

Here's a link with photos of cats inside, they look like they are wearing space suits. The one-star reviews are informative, the device is too tall to fit under a standard sink and requires a lot of space so I'll stick with putting two standard litter boxes under the sink, giving "Fluffy" a choice. Hope the neighbor cats don't tell her about it.

Amazon.com: Litter Robot LRII Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Beige: Kitchen & Dining

Thanks for the link. I read all 18 pages of the reviews, and they seem to run pretty heavily on the positive side, with many glowing "how did I live without it". I will have to check if where I was planning to put it is actually large enough.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I'd like to hear your thoughts on it if you get one--I've toyed with the idea but think my grown cats would be opposed to a change. Mine are indoor/outdoor, so at least I have a chance that all but the darned tortishelle will not actually come back in the house to take a pee!

 

[Rustward]

Before we got the LitterMaid we had a litter box inside a cabinet base in the garage. The cats accessed the litter box through a kitty door in the wall between the utility room and the cabinet base in the garage. This allowed "servicing" of the litter box from the garage.

The LitterMaid is in the house. As I recall we just showed them where it was and they instantly knew what it was for.

 

[Cattusbabe]

I have gone back to the low tech method of litter disposal. The Littermaids work great in the beginning but die after a while because of the litter clogging the tracks and the motor. It is also not easy to keep the device clean. They are just too expensive to keep replacing.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Cattus, that is how I felt about my beloved Roomba. Same problem keeping the hair out of the wheels. I loved it, but in the end when it died, I did not replace it.