I have 3 siamese cats and want to get an automatic litterbox box(es) for them. For those of you who have used one, can you give me some recommendations about which one I should/ should NOT buy? There are so many options out there (and they are expensive!) so I want to make the right decision. NOTE: I want to be able to continue using my current litter, world's best (which is all natural, clumps, scoops, and is flushable). Some auto litterboxes require using a certain litter, but most commercial litters are full of harmful chemicals that I do not want my cat touching/ingesting.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Automatic litterboxes- which is best?
- Thread starter highnote
- Start Date
I just wanted to add in that I knew of someone who used an automatic litterbox for there young kitten, and somehow the litterbox didnt "register" the tiny kittens weight that is was still inside, and the automatic brush caught on to the kittens tail and actually crushed the kitten to death.
This was quite a while ago, many years, so mabye modern automatic litterboxes are safer now, but I thought it's something other people should be aware of.
This was quite a while ago, many years, so mabye modern automatic litterboxes are safer now, but I thought it's something other people should be aware of.
I have a littermaid plus....I'm not exactly happy with it. I'm not sure it's it's the brand or size or what, but it gets stuck a lot which means you have to reset it (which is a pain) or it will constantly rake and clean the litterbox (and you have to reset it)! It's a tad annoying!
I have read a lot of negative reviws about the litter-maid and the delux version.... also you have to buy the replacement bin things quite often. (not the 30 days they promise), and that gets expensive
I have the litter robot and could not live without it (have two actually)
Hi guys,
Sorry to hear about your Problems with the LitterMaid Plus boxes---I have (3) of them and haven't had any Problems. You have to be careful not to put too much litter in the box as it makes it hard to rake, I have done this before. All in all pretty happy with the Product.
Take care,
Ginnie
Sorry to hear about your Problems with the LitterMaid Plus boxes---I have (3) of them and haven't had any Problems. You have to be careful not to put too much litter in the box as it makes it hard to rake, I have done this before. All in all pretty happy with the Product.
Take care,
Ginnie
Jim and I second Brittany all the way. We tried Litter Maid twice, with very poor results and service both times. We would never use one again.
Last month we got the Litter Robot for our three babies, and our only regret is that we did not learn of it years ago. Having at least three cats most of our lives together these near 50 years, we smile in chorus every time the Litter Robot does its thing. Not only is it clean, but it is clean-smelling at all times, although we need empty it only every two or three days. We have convinced ourselves that our babies now occasionally trigger it just to see it go through its drill. You can find it at www.litter-robot.com.
Read the comments of the satisfied users on the website. We second all those as well. Some might say it is not cheap, but Jim and I feel it would be cheap at twice the price.
Ann & Jim, cared for by their Turkish Vans, on a beach in Texas
it's still not recommended for really small kittens. also, the type of litter that works best in them is also not the best for small kittens.
that said - i currently own 4 Littermaids: 2 Elite, one Plus & one that's a basic model of some sort. i actually like the basic model the best - you can get them at Walmart for about $90.
the 2 Elites i got at Target for $101 each.
i work all day, & live alone, so i like coming home to a house that doesn't reek of pee or poop smell. i've heard the Litter Robot is the best, but it's $300+ per box, & i need more than 1 box since i have 5 cats. doing the little maintenance the Littermaids require is less work than scooping a regular box, at least with this many cats!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #10
Thanks for all your help, everyone! Going on your advice, I bought a (slightly used) litter robot, and love it! I have 5 cats and plan on buying a new one from the company, so I will have two (one upstairs, one downstairs). Thanks again!
if you have a walmart or target locally, they both carry them for less than the company wants.... i have 4 for my 5 cats.
Are we sure we are all talking about the same thing here? If the real LitterRobot is retail marketed at WalMart or Target it must be fairly new on the inventory. But, if it indeed is, at a more reasonable price, and I do hope that it is, we should all run out and get at least one. Ann and I love ours, as do our furbabies. Ann and I particularly love being able to leave our furbabies alone for a longer period of time to have a little vacation without "the children."
Jim, with Ann and the Vans, on a Texas beach
Jim, with Ann and the Vans, on a Texas beach
no, i mis-read - thought it said littermaid instead of litter robot.Originally Posted by Beach Bum
Are we sure we are all talking about the same thing here? If the real LitterRobot is retail marketed at WalMart or Target it must be fairly new on the inventory. But, if it indeed is, at a more reasonable price, and I do hope that it is, we should all run out and get at least one. Ann and I love ours, as do our furbabies. Ann and I particularly love being able to leave our furbabies alone for a longer period of time to have a little vacation without "the children."
Jim, with Ann and the Vans, on a Texas beach
i looked into the litter robot, but i have a 16 pound LARGE boy, & it sounded like it might be a tight fit for him. so i got 2 littermaids instead.
Laureen,
Our Samwise is also a big boy, almost 16 lbs. as well. The LitterRobot is no problem for him. In fact it is amusing to see him climb in slowly and then hop out in one big leap. It is even more amusing to see him in the Robot with his big Turkish Van golden tale hanging out the door, although he does usually turn around inside as is preferred.
We have read of owners of those huge Maine Coons happy with the Robot, but I am sure they will speak for themselves if they are with us here.
Just so there is no confusion which might endanger kittens, one or more of our gentle readers have quite correctly pointed out that while there may be a limitation in the "size" of larger cats, the limitation for smaller cats is their "weight." The manufactuer does not recommend the Robot for young kittens of less than 5 lbs. or so (can't remember -- a potential purchaser should confirm this). The weight of the cat, as it enters the Robot, turns the mechanism off, and it will not function until some 7 minutes after the cat exits. If a curious cat (and we have one very curious cat) tries to get into it as it is rotating the weight of the cat again turns it off.
Best,
Jim, with Ann and the Vans, on a Texas beach
Our Samwise is also a big boy, almost 16 lbs. as well. The LitterRobot is no problem for him. In fact it is amusing to see him climb in slowly and then hop out in one big leap. It is even more amusing to see him in the Robot with his big Turkish Van golden tale hanging out the door, although he does usually turn around inside as is preferred.
We have read of owners of those huge Maine Coons happy with the Robot, but I am sure they will speak for themselves if they are with us here.
Just so there is no confusion which might endanger kittens, one or more of our gentle readers have quite correctly pointed out that while there may be a limitation in the "size" of larger cats, the limitation for smaller cats is their "weight." The manufactuer does not recommend the Robot for young kittens of less than 5 lbs. or so (can't remember -- a potential purchaser should confirm this). The weight of the cat, as it enters the Robot, turns the mechanism off, and it will not function until some 7 minutes after the cat exits. If a curious cat (and we have one very curious cat) tries to get into it as it is rotating the weight of the cat again turns it off.
Best,
Jim, with Ann and the Vans, on a Texas beach
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2006
- Messages
- 469
- Purraise
- 12
I have a 17 pounder who uses the robot with no problem.
Wish I could help, Art, but we have never used feline pine clumping litter. The manufacturer advertises that it works with "any clumping litter."
http://www.litter-robot.com/default....FT6NOAodankMfw
I would suggest that you drop them an email, at [email protected]. I found them to be very good about accepting and answering questions.
Jim
http://www.litter-robot.com/default....FT6NOAodankMfw
I would suggest that you drop them an email, at [email protected]. I found them to be very good about accepting and answering questions.
Jim
well, then, when my next littermaid dies [they seem to all die, eventually] i'll look into replacing it w/a litter robot.
I hope you are pleased with the Robot, Laureen, when the time comes. They are expensive, but so are our cats and our peace of mind.
Ann and I have always been ready to pay a bit more for a product when it lets them provide good customer service.
I noticed your comment about the Littermaids. Same here. Yours are bound to fail. We tried two of them and they both failed, with unacceptable customer service. Ann and I actually had more liberty to take a little vacation with plain old scoop-em-yourself-litterboxes, because we always had to keep our eyes on the Littermaids. They loved to get all messed up when a cat was seriously occupied with his or her business. Not the Robot. We just turn it on and put the litter bag in the trash every third day, and this is with three large cats. Always clean litter; no horrid smell.
Keep the big box it comes in until the cats adjust, since the company has a terrific return policy if it doesn't work out for you for any reason. You may have to use some ingenuity getting your kids to adjust. If you do, drop us a note, and we may be able to help.
(You'd think we owned stock in LitterRobot, but we really don't.)
Jim
Ann and I have always been ready to pay a bit more for a product when it lets them provide good customer service.
I noticed your comment about the Littermaids. Same here. Yours are bound to fail. We tried two of them and they both failed, with unacceptable customer service. Ann and I actually had more liberty to take a little vacation with plain old scoop-em-yourself-litterboxes, because we always had to keep our eyes on the Littermaids. They loved to get all messed up when a cat was seriously occupied with his or her business. Not the Robot. We just turn it on and put the litter bag in the trash every third day, and this is with three large cats. Always clean litter; no horrid smell.
Keep the big box it comes in until the cats adjust, since the company has a terrific return policy if it doesn't work out for you for any reason. You may have to use some ingenuity getting your kids to adjust. If you do, drop us a note, and we may be able to help.
(You'd think we owned stock in LitterRobot, but we really don't.)
Jim
