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Vicki October 23, 2008 12:38 PM

Personally we prefer the old fashion clean it yourself type of litter box. It just seems to me that it is a much cleaner way to keep the litter box clean. My cat would not have a clue about automatic litter box cleaners.

renegade cowgirl October 23, 2008 1:27 PM

The care of a pet is a full time one. I myself like to be able to know how my cats are truly doing. If not for cleaning my cats pots twice daily I wouldn't have found when 2 of my kitties had kidney problems. (Years apart) I also have seen how automatic items can also mess up. The neighbor had an automatic waterer for her horses. It automatically quit working while she was gone to work. I guess she trusted this item as the horses water tank was bone dry! If not for their constant banging I would not have known they were completely out of water. And how long was this for? I became her automatic horse waterer. At some times even feeder. Animals are our responsibility. Hard enough to keep toilets clean for people. Could you imagine sitting on one your pet used? Just my opinion!...and clean that kitty litter twice a day! Thanks from your kitty! ~rc~

Kathy October 23, 2008 3:21 PM

My favorite "automatic" story is about the cat of a reporter here in Washington, DC. When she first showed her cat the box, after it "self-cleaned", the cat freaked and seemed to refuse to use the box. Late one night, she heard the box and assumed the cat was willing to try it again. She heard the box cleaning over and over again and began to worry about a kidney/bladder problem with her cat. She got out of bed and found the cat, sitting next to the box, pushing the manual trigger, while enjoying watching the box work. The cat had decided that the box was really a wonderful toy!!

Since my cat is in old age kidney failure, I have to watch her output carefully for any signs of a problem. Automatic boxes will not work for me.

Kathy

Donna October 23, 2008 5:16 PM

I have 5 cats, and one regular kitty litter pan in an unused bathroom. The only other pan is a Mega Littermaid (the upgraded one)...I had the older model and it wasn't NEAR as good as this one. The motor is louder than you would imagine, but all the cats have readjusted to it and love it. I know the litter is clean while I'm at work all day long...this upgraded model works like this...

Kitty gets in, does his thing....The electric eye sees cat and turns on air ionizer to clean air. This goes on for 10 minutes UNLESS another cat steps into the box, then it resets to 10 more minutes. After that 10 minutes is up, a steel rake (much better than the old plastic one) comes slowly down the way and scoops the pee balls and poo into an container at the bottom of the pan. You can pop the lid down on the full container (I just empty mine until they won't stay in the slots any longer to save money.)

You have to use a GOOD quality clumping litter. I've had good luck with Scoop Away and Tidy Cat.

Anyway, that old adage "litter boxes = # of cats + 1".

If they prefer the litter pan (which is really a 15" tall clear storage container for my Mouse who tends to pee "high" LOL, I use a clumping, flusable litter because the box is very close to the potty. (it's the smaller bathroom in the house.)

If you've never used an automatic pan, I'd definitely leave all the others in place until they've gotten used to it. Flakey (rest his soul) would never go to the Littermaid, but my remaining 5 seem to prefer it...there's never much to clean out of the bathtub pan.

::throws in 2cents:::

One downside...they're not cheap, but get quality...invest in Littermaid.

Skylark October 23, 2008 6:58 PM

The bottom line is that you have to provide whatever type of litterbox your cat will actually USE, no matter how hi-tech or lo-tech it happens to be. Same with the litter. If they won't use it, what does it matter if it's a clean-it-yourself model or an automatic?

I have two kinds of litterboxes for my cats. One is a very large Sterlite storage box (my male cat, Nick, uses this one...he's very enthusiastic in the litterbox!); and the other is a LitterMaid automatic, which is the personal domain of my female, Princess Grace. However, occasionally Grace will sniff around in her litterbox and then walk over to Nick's box and use it instead of her own. I think this is just to make a statement as to who actually is in charge here!

Amy October 24, 2008 5:20 AM

Having 7 cats is a handful as you well know. I have 6 "roll over" litter boxes. This means you can roll them over on their tops and the clumps and whatever are deposited in a tray and the rest of the litter is returned to the boxes when you roll them back. I tend to go through a great amount of litter using them. I also have 2 covered litter boxes. To be honest I prefer the standard covered litter boxes because I can keep track for any changes. As for "automated" boxes I am afraid they would scare the cats then I would have major problems.

Cheryl Gorder October 24, 2008 7:50 AM

That's a great point Jo, about the babies and their health.

I've done both the regular litter boxes and also I did try the automatic litter box. I did really like the automatic litter box, but my dog attempted to eat the blue litter crystals.

I had the auto box set up on a table and my cats are Persian, so a few of the blue crystals would drop on the floor.

I figured since I had to keep a close eye on the situation, I may as well go back to the old fashioned litter box.

Cheryl

Stella Gaynor October 24, 2008 10:32 AM

The automatic litter boxes to me is a waste of money, I have Maine Coons and when they go they would clog up the rake that removes the clumps. My guys make boulders not pebbles. And burn out the motor in no time.

Plus it has to reset forthe next user. I had a friend who use to breed and used them, they were fine as long as it had time to reset. But if one cat jumped in after the other was done what a problem that became. The rake would start and scare the second cat.

She ended up with a potty issues one not using the boxes at all. And she had a kitten who got stuck behind the rake that was in motion. Not good either.

I don't know how quiet they are either. Most cats would not like to hear that motor going. But I am sure they can adjust.

I have better things to spend my money on and I that the time to scoop, and I would have to empty the tray that catches the litter anyway. Another expense buying the trays.

So no I don't want one nor do I suggest that people buy them. And I am not a big fan of scooping either.

Stella