Best reasonably-priced self cleaning litterbox?
Best reasonably-priced self cleaning litterbox?
cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/3610354
Looking to pick up a self cleaning litterbox but there are a lot of options. The coolest one I've seen by far is the CatGenie Automatic Cat Box, but it's nearly $500 and seems a little overkill.
I've also seen that the PetSafe Litterbox is a very popular choice, but it uses proprietary litter refills and crystal litter when I'd prefer clay litter.
I've been getting away with a $15 do-it-yourself litterbox just fine for a while, but I think I (and my cat) would appreciate something that doesn't require daily maintenance. Something as simple as an automatic rake would be interesting.
My main goals are:
- Requires as little maintenance as possible while keeping my cat happy and the smell under control
- No proprietary lock-in (I can use my own litter)
- Doesn't break the bank
- Built well, won't break / easy to fix / good warranty / cheap enough that I can just buy a new one if it breaks
While I am looking for budget friendly options, I'm also curious on the more expensive options. I can't imagine what justifies spending $700 on a Litter-Robot when emptying a litterbox manually isn't that bad and the CatGenie is $500 and promises zero-maintenance. Have you had good luck with premium options like that?
We have two cats and two of the Pet Zone ones. We've been pretty happy with them but when one breaks if it's anything more than an easy motor repair I'm upgrading to the Litter Robot.
I tried one years ago and it was a miserable experience.
First, you can't just put it where you want it, it has to be within reach of an electrical outlet.
Second, the noise scared the cats, they hated it.
Third, there wasn't enough time between the cat leaving the box and the motor running, so the scooper would trail through wet clumping litter that hadn't had enough time to clump, clogging the scooper and making it so you had to clean it all the time, completely defeating the purpose.
I use the PetSafe automatic box, but instead of the proprietary trays, I picked up a "Forever Tray" and you can then use any non-clumping crystal litter.
The biggest challenge I've had with it is that it turns into a big mess if your cat ever has soft poos, and one of my cats has IBS, so that happens more often than I'd like.
How old is your cat? How set in their ways are they? My cats have taken to the automatic box without any trouble, but my friend's cat completely lost his mind when she introduced the Litter Robot and he started peeing on laundry, etc. instead. She ended up getting rid of it, and 6 months later, he's still afraid to go in the room where the Litter Robot was.
That's very tempting, thank you! I think I might try that out.
My cat is 7+. She's used to automatic litterboxes from previous homes. Not sure how she'd react to a litter robot though, those are intimidating 😹
Oh! And as much as I hate cleaning up after those soft poos, I would never get one of the automatic boxes that totally disposes of the waste via toilet or whatever.
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Unusual eliminations are often the first sign that your cat isn't feeling well. If you never see their poo, you might miss the early signs that they need to see a vet.
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Sewage (and commercial composting) treatment processes in many cities are not designed to handle the microbes found in cat (and dog) poop, so their waste products should not go down the toilet or into your green waste bin unless you confirm that your city's processes are equiped to properly treat it.
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To be on the safe side with whatever automatic box you end up buying, I suggest leaving it unplugged for a few days while she gets used to the new box & litter. Once she's using the box consistently, plug it in and press the button to manually run the rake when she's nearby to see/hear it. If she seems stressed by it, unplug it and stick to manually running the rake until she's no longer stressed by it.