Does anyone have any experience with self-cleaning cat litter boxes? I’m curious if any particular model of self-cleaning litter box is any good. We now have 4 cats and it would be nice to not have to clean litter boxes manually 1-2 times every day.
Do they separate pee/poop from litter well? Are cats afraid to use them? Do they stink more than regular litter boxes because pee/poop are in them for longer periods? Are they a hassle to clean? Do you have to buy propietary supplies (custom litter? special trays?)?
Thanks for your input.
I have a Litter Robot (that’s the actual brand name) and it’s worth the money. Completely eliminates smell other than right when they do the deed. Incredibly easy and clean to empty, but that’s all besides the point. They ha e the BEST customer service ever. I’ve had parts replaced for free, experts on the phone guide me step by step on how to fix it if it malfunctions, and once they even replaced the entire dome for free (plus shipping). I’ve had this for several years and it’s amazing. Truly.
I’ve had other automatic litter boxes too but none of them have been as durable, clean smelling, or easy to use as this. Plus I get phone notifications when it’s full and it won’t cycle anymore so I can change it.
My cats took a week to get used to it but now they love it. They offer their own litter but you can buy your own as well. There are certain restrictions on litter type though, check that out before you buy litter.
It separates the waste well, and there is hardly any wasted clean litter in the waste bag when I take it out.
And it actually stinks LESS than a regular box because of how it stores the waste and the fact that it seals it away a few minutes after cats go, using a weight sensor to tell when a cat has left the box.
Edit: reading this sounds like an advertisement, but I swear I’m just a dude who loves my litter box a whole lot.
This sounded fantastic until I looked it up and it’s A THOUSAND DOLLARS???
I love my cat and I hate scooping litter, but definitely not a grand worth of either…
What dollars is that?
Mine was £350 which is under $500 US, just looked at the site and the brand new model is $699.
Ah, that’s $999 Canadian. Right now our exchange against the US$ is brutal.
My friends bought me a litter robot, too. I have mixed feelings. I seem to have to reset and fiddle with the thing too often, but when it works, it’s really good for keeping the smell down. My guys use it more often than the other two old school boxes, so I guess two paws up from them?
Sounds like it needs a cleaning. Also update the firmware just in case. Customer service can help if you need help figuring out how to clean it or if a motor goes bad or something. They’ve replaced motors and stuff for me a few times for free. When one of the sensors broke or was damaged, it was finicky for me too. Sometimes worked sometimes didn’t. Replacing it fixed it instantly. Though the same happens if a sensor needs to be cleaned.
Have you broken it down to clean? Issues in mine usually mean there’s dust build up under the bowl, particularly the pinch sensor. If I get that sorted every few months then it goes back to fine.
I have not, and I will check! If that’s all it is… It’s been finicky for years!
I have one arriving today. Fingers crossed that my scaredy cat will be able to make the change.
How’d you get your cat to try it? We’re struggling to get ours to even look at it, any pointers would be appreciated!
I put the old litter box next to the litter robot and let the old litter box get super gross and didn’t scoop it at all for over a week. Once it got gross they opted for the clean litter robot. I then removed the old litter box and now they just use the robot.
This is exactly what we did with our cat and it worked like a charm. We tried leaving a path of treats into it before that, but she just ate the treats and then walked away. We didn’t want to just shove her in there because we were afraid she would associate the trauma with the Litter Robot.
