Automatic Litter Boxes? Who has used them??

[benburch]

Hi!

We are considering an automatic litter box to solve the problem of our dog deciding he has to dig stuff out of the cat boxes.

Who has experience with these?

Do they work?

What brand do you have?

Did you have a hard time getting the cats to accept it?

Thanks!

[NMDemDist2]

1. you'd probably get a better respons in the Pets Group

in fact IIRC, they already have a thread in there on this subject. Do a search over there perhaps?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=243


edit to add a link on the subject as i notice you did post over there

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=243&topic_id=8688

[EFerrari]

2. I think they're a big pain because they are always breaking down.

Have you tried just a covered box?

[benburch]

11. Our dog is smaller than the cats.

And would just climb in.

Probably would use that to ambush the cats and scare them off ever using the box, too.

[LA lady]

3. I kind of liked mine - cats LOVED it

I had one but was surprised at how little litter you could actually use. My cats LOVED to watch it scoop. They would wait the 30 seconds and just stare as their little gifts went into the container. My biggest problem was emptying the box that held the used litter. It was diffficult to extract and I usually spilled it!
I had mine quite a while and liked it but it finally died and I did not replace it. Can't remember the brand but it was the one you see everywhere.

The noise of the motor would wake us up in the middle of the night.

[SnowGoose]

4. We tried one.

The cat was too intimidated by it. We even tried to ease her into using it (you can turn it off, and then just cycle it manually by turning it on a couple times a day when kitty's not looking so as not to alarm her).

Kitty's a bit neurotic, your results might be different.

We also weren't crazy about the design - it was one that uses a plastic "rake" to remove materials, while leaving the litter in place - the litter tended to get all up in the moving parts.

Good luck.

[AllieB]

5. Our dog was obsessed with the litterbox too

we love the automatic litterbox.

[Dr. Jones]

6. Eh, not so great.

We tried one a few years ago for our cat. It was one of those flat ones with the automatic rake, forget the name of it. I think we got it from WalMart (yuch).

Things I didn't like about it:
1) It's noisy. A heat sensor automatically senses when the cat has left the box, and the rake drags across the litter and scoops the poop into a plastic tray. The motor was noisy and scared kitty, causing kitty to be wary of the box.
2) You frequently have to change the plastic tray, which can get expensive. I changed ours every 2-3 days because it would start to stink, and picky kitty doesn't want to go into a smelly litterbox.
3) The level of litter you put in there is very shallow. Cats love to dig around in the box before they go, so they need a lot of litter in there. The automatic box we used didn't satisfy kitty.
4) The poop always got stuck in the damn rake! I had to take a toothpick or other tool and scrape the crap off the rake, EVERY DAMN DAY.
5) You are forced to use clumping litter. I use this type of litter anyhow, but you have no other choice but clumping litter in this machine.

I finally gave up and realized that it's far easier to get a cheap box and scoop it out every day. BTW, once I used a litter called "World's Best Cat Litter" and it was fantastic. It was a natural corn-based clumping litter that worked like a charm. Very expensive stuff though.

[Bill219]

8. Our cats do not use litter boxes anymore...

About two years ago..my wife and I bought several of those toilet training seats for cats. It took about 6 months to train them but all 6 of our cats use the toilet. We have an xtra bathroom in the basement that belongs to our cats. Everybody that comes over seems shocked when we tell them that we have 6 cats because they say that there is absolutely no litter smell and we have helped a few of our friends train their cats as well

Now if we could just teach them to flush the toilet we would really be all set

[benburch]

10. No second toilet here.

Though there is a place in the basement where a stool used to be installed. We're reluctant to allow them in the basement as the male marks and has marked our laundry in the past.

[LynneSin]

20. I would love to train my cats to do that but there's a weight limit

The device that you use to help train them says less than 15lbs and Abbott is 16lb. I don't want to come home with poor Abbott covered in pee water

[Taverner]

7. We used one

It worked great until Sophie caught her paw in it while trying to attack it.

Since then we had to use a standard lb...and we couldnt return this one

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. Making unavailable the Tootsie Roll treats is mean spirited to your dog

Your dog might just start jonesing then he'll be down at the corner trying to score cat poopettes off the nasty Tom that howls all night on your back fence. Pretty soon it will be obvious that your doggy is going through withdrawals, slinking around sandboxes, hanging by flower gardens, waiting for a cat to come and bury what he so desperately craves.

If you REALLY cared about your pooch, you would let him eat all the cat doots he wants. Then let him lick your face.

Call it "The price of ownership" Or being owned, one of the two.

[realisticphish]

13. PWNED!

:P

[Janice325]

17. You know my dog!!!

She especially likes to go after the green goose poop they leave in our backyard. We have a lake in our backyard, and the geese and ducks frequently relieve themselves on our lawn. Our silly puppy must think this stuff is the caviar of poop. I have a hell of a time getting it out of her mouth, then I wait hours and hours before I'll let her get affectionate with me.
Oh, and to the OP, we also have 2 cats who use the Litter Maid Plus. It's ok when it works (from Walmart-bleh). The dog goes after the poop there, too, if it doesn't scoop up fast enough.

[realisticphish]

12. Haven't used one

but i'm against them, at least concerning lazy people (your concern is obviously a different matter). Unless you're a quadrapolegic, i think you can manage to empty a litterbox. Again, that wouldnt be an issue with your situation.

[amitten]

15. He IS a quadriplegic, you asshole.

:P







(not really)

[realisticphish]

16. well then

guess i'm in the clear, aren't I?

by all means, buy the electric litterbos :D

:P

[flamingyouth]

14. I have four cats

I use a Litter Maid Mega and love it. In fact, my cats hate any other box now. I tried the Litter Robot (very expensive) but it freaked out all but one of my cats.

It does get stuck sometimes, but the cats really do like it.

[Love Bug]

18. I've had one but your dog will probably be able to lift the lid

that covers the container the "leavings" go in. That might defeat the purpose of getting one. Also, they are expensive ($80-$90) and mine quit working after a year. YMMV

[LynneSin]

19. In the past 6 months I've been in line next to someone returning one

I've had very negative feedback about these things

[peacebaby3]

21. We really like our auto litter boxes. We got one for each cat.

Our cats refused to go in a used litter box so if you didn't clean it at least 2-3 times a day,they would start going in other places.

You still have to clean the auto boxes, but not nearly as often. You have to empty the plastic receptacles every few days or they will fill up and smell, but they can be re-used several times if you just rinse them out and spray them with a little "urine gone" or a similar product.

The important thing you need to know is DO NOT use too much litter in the auto boxes. This is what makes them jam and stop running because the rake cannot sift through too much litter. Just put a small layer down (enough to fully cover the bottom) and you should be fine. Do a test and make sure there is no problem with the rake trying to sift through the litter.

Our cats used them within about 2 minutes of them being set up. They get a thrill out of new litter!! Strange, but I guess if I were a cat, I would understand!

It did solve the problem of the dogs in the litter box as well. We didn't have a big problem with our dogs, but it did happen a few times.

On edit: We have had the same units for over two years now and other than jamming because we have put in too much litter, we've had no problems. You can plug them in or run them off batteries. We have always plugged them in so I'm not sure how long batteries would last. They are both "Littermaid Plus" models. I think we paid about $70 each.