What to purchase next?

artgecko

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Hey folks,

I thought I'd get a few opinions before making a decision... so here goes.

Situation:
I have three cats, two 8-month-old kittens and one ~4 year old fat cat (15lbs). My brother and sister-in-law's cat is also staying with us.

The kittens are hyper and I'd like to get them somewhere to vent that hyperness (i.e. a nice cat tree), even though I don't have much room right now.

At the same time, my schedule has been really tight and having to scoop their box 2x a day is becoming a pain... Especially considering that although the visiting cat has her own litterbox, she, of course, prefers to use the one for my cats (my brother doesn't clean out her box very often).

So, my question for you guys, is which would you get first, an automatic litter box (I'm thinking litter robot) or a nice cat tree (I'm thinking the lotus: http://www.therefinedfeline.com/lotus-cat-furniture.htm )?

I can only afford one of the above at a time and will have to save up the ~$350 to get either. So, which would you choose if you were in my position?

I have attached a pole to help me judge your responses.

Thanks!
Art
 

harlowquin

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Well, I have a litter robot(just got it two weeks ago) and a cat tree/scratcher/climber. I would get the climber if you don't have a scratching post of any kind. Our two kittens just love to scratch on the sisal. One cat occasionally sleeps on a high post. I feed both cats on the climber at different levels as we have a dog that would eat their food. I just love the litter robot. It has little to no smell, ( only smells right after a poo, before it cycles.) and my cats are enjoying a clean litter box every time. I also like the fact that is uses less litter, and you can use plastic shopping bags in the bin. I had a purrforma litter box and the rake was always getting yucky and you could see little poop pellets mixed in the litter. I like the fact that it is more sanitary. I am so worried about spreading illness from one cat to the other. I had a cat last year die from FIP and in reading found that it is transmitted from saliva and poo.
So I guess I would take in to account all the good points about each and then deciede. If you are having any scratching problems I would go for the climber. any pooing/peeing problems go for the robot. If my robot died today I would be purchasing a new one tomorrow. I held out for as long as I did because of the price tag. Wish I would have had it long ago.
 

momofmany

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I've never owned an automatic litter cleaner. I'm just assuming that mine would burn out the motor in a few weeks. With 4 cats, they will put a strain on one. With 2 kittens in the house and I'm guessing that your 15 pounder might be on the heavy size (not being judgemental, that is above average weight for most cats) and needs more exercise, a cat tree is a perfect solution.

If my cat trees were to topple tomorrow, I'd be out buying another of those.
 

goldenkitty45

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I would get the litter pan first, only cause most cat problems are due to not enough pans to share. And its a lot easier to avoid those problems at the beginning.

Then save for the cat tree and get ASAP.
 

hurdyburdy

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I'm kind of torn.. but I'd probably get the cat tree first -- something that the cats could have fun with.
 

jen

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Cat tree would be my opinion.

Have you tried searching craigslist.com, or freecycle or local yahoo groups for automatic litterboxes and cat trees? I found my trees that way and even some litterboxes too. I would personally just add a few more regular boxes and skip the automatic one. I also use wood stove pellets as litter which costs $5 for 40lbs which lasts about a month and that is for 6 cats... I scoop it once a week or so to get the poo out and I have 6 litterboxes.
 

laureen227

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i have littermaids & armarkat trees. both are less expensive, so i'd probably get those again - that way i can have both! if you're dead-set on the lotus & the litter robot, then i'd get the tree first, because the cat will be more excited about that!
 
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artgecko

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Thanks for your votes and replies!

The only reason that I am focusing on the "lotus" is because it is one of the very few cat trees that I wouldn't consider hidious... No offense intended, but I've always hated the way the carpeted ones look. There are a couple other mostly wood trees out there that I know of (one being the newer petco line), but they don't look as sturdy.

My reasoning behind the litter robot (instead of the cheaper models) is that it is the only automatic that I've read consistently good reviews about (with most problems being due to the cat's rejecting it, not mechanical issues).

My decision will be a while off yet, because I will probably need to save money into the summer (I am also saving for a vacation right now). The fact that the LR has a payment plan is enticing, but I'll put off making a final decision until I've got close to the total amount saved.

I look forward to seeing what others opinions are and thanks again for your input!
Art
 

jenniferd

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That's an interesting cat tree. I've never seen it before. I would get the tree.
Because I don't think I could use litter robot on my scaredy cat. He'd probably freak out and never use the litter box.
 

okiron

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I pick the litter box because my cats will find other things to climb and I'm ok with that. Not quite ok with them finding other things to go potty in.

Lol I know what you mean about them being hidious, my boyfriend has it set in his mind to get this. Help!
 
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artgecko

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blagh! okiron- I guess that *could* work if you had a rustic looking house (think log cabin) but definately not my taste

Art
 

audiocat

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Originally Posted by okiron

I pick the litter box because my cats will find other things to climb and I'm ok with that. Not quite ok with them finding other things to go potty in.

Lol I know what you mean about them being hidious, my boyfriend has it set in his mind to get this. Help!
LOL...well those platforms do look very comfy for the cats.
 

robertm

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I voted for Neither or Something Else. I honestly can't understand the appeal of/need for an automatic litterbox. Maybe it's just me. I scoop out the boxes about 3-4 times a day and I don't mind doing it in the least. I'm actually just thankful that they're using the box at all. And at the risk of dragging this thread into TMI territory, I know exactly what my cats' normal daily "output" looks like, and I can tell right away with conventional boxes if something seems amiss. Who knows how long it might have taken my wife and I to discover that our RB cat Shane was peeing blood if we weren't able to see that the clumps were red tinged?

That being said, I have heard mostly positive things about Litter Robot, so if you are so inclined, I suppose that's the way to go.

Originally Posted by artgecko

The only reason that I am focusing on the "lotus" is because it is one of the very few cat trees that I wouldn't consider hidious... No offense intended, but I've always hated the way the carpeted ones look.
I've seen that condo before. I agree that it looks nice but I can't imagine how wood surfaces can be comfortable for a cat compared to carpet or faux fur. Then again, one of my cats sleeps just as much on paper or cardboard as he does on seat cushions or the carpeted cat condo, so maybe I'm just going based upon what *I* would be more comfortable with. Which is obviously completely irrelevant!
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by RobertM

I agree that it looks nice but I can't imagine how wood surfaces can be comfortable for a cat compared to carpet or faux fur.
That's what I thought too


Hard decision, but I'd probably get the cat tree first - give them something fun to play on.
 
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artgecko

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Thanks again for the replies!
RobertM- the tops of the ledges and the curved perch are carpet covered and the top of the "cubby" on the bottom comes with a pad and cover... It's just that the rest of the tree (the verticle areas) don't have carpet. Another attraction for me, with the lotus, is that all of the shelves (the two flat ones and the curved top) are replacable, as is the sisal scratching board, etc., so I can replace them when they get worn. I have a friend that got a carpet covered cat tree about 4 years ago and it's already looking very worn in places so she will have to replace it soon. I'd hate to spend that much money only to have to replace it a few years after purchase.

On the LR side of things, the place where I've got their current litter box is great... it's in the waterheater room off the garage. Accessable by a door for me to clean and accessable via a cat flap for the cats. However, it not being in the main area of the house makes scooping take a while longer than it should. We don't have anywhere else to put a litter box in the house, so atm, only room for one and I worry about it getting too dirty, even being cleaned twice a day.

Thanks again for your feedback!
Art
 
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artgecko

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Well,
I took your advice and decided to surf around ebay.

And, yes, I have placed a couple of bids, one for a LRII (which I know I probably won't get because it still has days to go and I didn't bid that much for my max bid). and one bid on a cat tree, which should close today.

Although the cat tree is a carpeted one, it is not that hidious... Here's one like it (but not the auction): http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Deluxe-42-Ca...QQcmdZViewItem

Please feel free to give me your opinions on it...my only concern is a max holding weight of 25lb... so will fit two of my cats, but not all three, and the small base size.

I figure that I can go with the much cheaper, less appealing cat tree and keep it in my room, which will allow me to save up for the LR (so I get both things instead of just one).

Artgecko
 

littleraven7726

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I voted neither or something else. We've never had an automatic litterbox. I've read about the various issues each one has. And personally I'd rather clean a regular box than have to get stuff off of the tines they use to rake through the litter.


For cat forts, well for years we just had 1 and 2 story cat condos. Like the Wal-Mart ones.
Kitty was totally ok with that. Last summer, when Raven was diagnosed with cancer, DH built the ultimate cat fort.
It's pretty cool. 2 of the base posts are wrapped in sisal (Stimpy's fave), 2 are wrapped with carpet (Raven's
fave), it's 4 levels, 5 if you count the 1 story condo we set on the base. It's sort of based on this one, but it's a lot taller and with more perches. We used some berber remnants and fur, and one perch has a regular carpet remnant.

>>>Our homemade tree<<<
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/littleraven7726/Cat Tree Project/finishedtree1.jpg

For us, waiting and eventually making a homemade tree was so worth it. The cats like it, and I'm satisfied with the sturdiness of the tree. All of the ones we saw at the stores rocked, and Stimpy is 17 lbs. When he launches off a fort, the little ones can go flying. I didn't want a big one tipping over. Really the cats didn't mind the little forts while we waited. They still play on the little ones.
 
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artgecko

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littleraven- that is an awesome looking cat fort! I am all thumbs when it comes to power tools, so if I can find a good one pre-made it would be worth it for me.

The auction closed and I got the cat tree (like the one in the link in my last post) for $30 including shipping, so not much of a loss if it doesn't work out.

Although I am concerned about the weight it will hold, it will be sitting in a corner no matter what, so hopefully that will help stabalize it somewhat.
 
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