The SmartCatBox got used already!

http://www.smartcatbox.com/smartcatbox.aspx


Someone used the SmartCatBoxtm this morning!! I'm pretty sure it was Tolly, my oldest cat. The reservoir still has plenty of room.

It takes up more space than other boxes, so that will be a challenge for me to figure out, as I would like to have three of them for four cats. They are used to four or even five boxes available, but since the pee doesn't stay in the box, three should be sufficient.

I ordered the side extensions too, but they still are not quite as high as I would like for Mazy cat. I've already figured out a way to add side extensions myself, and if my idea works, my next SmartBox purchase will not include the side extensions

There are other possible inconveniences, I will continue in this thread as my adventure with the SmartBox continues. But I really think this is going to work for me.

I have sprinkled some of the safflower seed over the clay in the other boxes to get the hold outs used to using the seed.

And again!!

Not sure who it was this time, I think Queen Eva, since the amount was so small.

Just pee so far, no one pooping in it.

It got used again yesterday morning too, but not since then. I'm going to buy a bag of cheap safflower seeds to add to the regular litter boxes to help with the transition from clay to seed.

One of the drawbacks is the size of it. Space could be a problem for some people, and it is for me. I can only fit two of their regular boxes down there with the SmartCatBox..

And arthritic senior cats would have trouble getting in and out of it. Some kind of ramp would have to be built. Tolly is senior. Not arthritic yet, but is something I am thinking ahead to.

They don't like the bouncy bottom. The grated bottom needs to be a bit firmer I think.

I'm thinking all the time about how to make the reservoir emptying and cleaning more efficient. As it is, I still have to bend over, take the thing out, dump it, and bring it upstairs to wash it.

That's not very handy, so I am thinking of keeping a couple of spray bottles downstairs. One with plain water one with cleaning solution. And a bucket.

Empty reservoir into bucket. Put reservoir back, lift top part of box. Spray bottom surface (where pee drains) with cleaner, let cleaner drain into reservoir. Empty cleaner from reservoir, spray with plain water to rinse, empty reservoir again.

This would have to be done once a day. Reservoir may need to be emptied twice, but the spray down could be done only once.

The seeds too, will need to be sprayed down with something. They recommend clorox clean up. I might consider using that, with a rinse of clear water.

It sounds like a lot of work, but the benefits still outweigh the cons. No litter dust. No endless scooping. No seven 15 pound bags of smelly dirty litter to haul to the dump every week. No soaking and scrubbing of four litter boxes (some traditional some large totes) in the bathtub, which is back breaking work.

I just have to figure out how to fit three of these things in the tiny space I keep the litter boxes in.

Right. Clorox Anywhere. The seed packets come with a little paper inside with cleaning instructions and they mention Clorox Anywhere right on the instruction sheet.

The inventor uses it herself, with her diabetic cat.

I can't really answer these yet as it's not being used regularly. Currently I am emptying it and rinsing it any time I find pee in it, simply so that I can keep track of how often it is being used. The reservoir has a strong smell after I dump the pee and open it to wash it. It doesn't linger after washing.

But then I remembered that the middle piece, under the grating, where the pee drains before draining into the reservoir has to be cleaned daily, too. Maybe most people wouldn't bother cleaning that part daily, but I think I can make it fairly easy on myself. I don't want pee smell of course. Its a smooth plastic, the pee doesn't stick, but still, traces will remain I am sure.

Later I will take pictures of the various components to help you visualize what I am talking about. No time for that this morning, but check back tonight.

Being me I am already thinking about buying extra reservoirs so one can be in use while the other is being cleaned and air dried. I am a pack rat by nature, and like having "back up" everything.

I still intend to have three boxes, once I figure out how to place them. Costly outlay, but in the long run well worth it I do believe.

Queen Eva is using it fairly often. I know it's her because the quantity is so small.

However, one of the adults used it some time overnight as the quantity was more. I think it might have been Jennie (!!) because her urine is the most dilute of the big cats.

I'm still looking for untreated safflower seeds to use as the transition litter. While I am putting it in the regular boxes small pieces won't matter, so no point in spending the extra money for the good seed.

So far though all I've found is Nu-kote brand, which treats the seed with "added vitamins" and some other oil and junk. I wonder if I could just wash them first.

The safflower seeds in the smartcatbox do not smell at all, and I have not rinsed them yet.

I was feeling so sad about taking away Mazy's giant rubbermaid litter box, that she loves so much and last night I figured out a way to keep it, but still use the same premise as the smartcatbox. I discovered that one of those big totes set into the other does not reach all the way to the bottom, there is a gap. So I can cut slats in the top tote, just like the grating in the smartcatbox method, and the pee will go through the slats to the bottom of the other box. This is not as efficient as the smartcatbox, but much cheaper, so I will only have to buy one more smartcatbox system.

Or....if that works out maybe I'll just make another one of those, and not buy any more smartcatbox systems, just the seed, an extra top (grated) part and an extra reservoir.

I really like the safflower seed as litter.

Poop in the SmartCatBox twice today!



One was Queen Eva's (I was home when she used it) and the other was Tolly's. There was Tolly pee in the reservoir this morning, too.

How ironic that the youngest (14 weeks) and the oldest cat (11+ years) are the ones using it!

I have now rearranged their bathroom to the set up that it will be when all boxes have been switched (including the afore mentioned doubled rubbermaid tote box I am designing for Mazy cat)

But I've got to find some safflower seed to start adding to the regular boxes before I do any more box replacing. No point in using the more expensive guaranteed all whole seed for that, I'll save that for the real thing.

I have a utility knife (razor blade) but I was thinking a hot knife would be better. I could get a more precise cut I think, plus I don't think the edges would be left as sharp if I use the hot knife.

I will practice on something else before attempting it.

Having trouble finding one though. The exacto I found on amazon doesn't have very good reviews but the price is about right, and comes under their free shipping promotion.

So I will probably get that one. Just waiting for my credit card to close so I can put it on next month's budget.

I was planning to use the SmartCatBox slatted piece as a guide to cutting the slats in the rubbermaid box but you gave just given me another idea. Why not use my drill and the tiniest bit I have, and drill holes instead of slats.

Then I won't have to buy the hot knife.

I have an exacto blade, but I think it would be an awful hard job to cut that many little slits out and I think the plastic might crack, it's pretty brittle, you know.

That's a good idea you have for replacing the feathers in Da Bird. I can't use those attachment type toys because I always bonk the cats on the head with the hard part that attaches the toy to the string.

Then they would run under something and give me these "how could you?" looks. It was awful!

My cats were given a couple of those, and they love the long wand type (and so do I) so I cut the attachments piece off and tied other things to them that don't bonk.

PS I can't find safflower seed ANYWHERE around here. The only place I found it is Walmart but the seed is coated with "added vitamins and minerals and oils"

I thought it strange that my feed store doesn't have it.

I tried the drill in a lid (thanks for the suggestion kat kissses)
I think the drill is going to work.

In fact, I think I may just make two boxes this way, (the doubled rubbermaid containers) rather than purchase another smartcatbox.

Emptying the resevoir is kind of a pain, so emptying the bottom part of a rubbermaid container won't be that much more of a problem.

I think. I will set up one rubbermaid to try first. Have to order more safflower seed though, can't find it around here.

I am still tempted to buy the nu-kote kind and rinse it with some white vinegar to remove the "added vitamins etc", but still am hesitating.

Any opinions on that?

By the way, the the smartcatbox is being used several times a day now. I clean the reservoir and the bottom part of the system (where the pee lands before flowing into the reservoir) daily by spraying them with clorox anywhere and wiping them out with (cheap) paper towels. Weekly I bring them upstairs for a thorough cleaning in my bathtub.

Have not yet cleaned the seeds, and there is NO ODOR from the seeds, even without cleaning.

I found safflower seed at Lowes! So that's good. And I bought a set of plastic totes to try the hole drilling.

Drilling holes worked, though I think there is a flaw in the tote box, as it did crack a couple of times, all in the same area. I drilled another hole at the other end of each crack to keep it from spreading.

Well we will see. Since I like having "spares" what may happen is two homemade, and two SmartCatBoxes, with three in use at all times, one spare.

I have not yet converted Mazy's big tote. Rubbermaid has changed their design and I don't like the size of the comparable Sterilite boxes, so I don't want to mess her special box up. So I will wait to see how the new one I just made and put down goes over before making any other changes.

The totes will be more work to remove the urine than the real thing, so I don't know how long I will want to mess with them. But even if I do end up going to all smartcatboxes eventually, this way it will be more gradual for them, and more gradual for my budget.

Now that I found the safflower seed locally I will start tossing a handful into the regular boxes to help them get used to the new litter, though the safflower is as close in size and shape as regular clay litter as you can get I think.

PS I'm going to wash the seeds this weekend, I'll report how they hold up.

I bought some white vinegar, which I will try with just a few (in case it makes them disintegrate or something) and of course I have the clorox anywhere, but will RINSE after using it, even though the makers of the SmartCatBox say it is not necessary to rinse. (the label on the bottle says no rinsing needed either, but it does leave a film when I use it on the reservoir, so I am rinsing)

I poured the pee from the SmartCatBox (in future to be known as SCB) reservoir into the new box I made. It worked perfectly, and perhaps a little urine odor will linger, to encourage it's use.

that's a great idea Carolina, thank you!

<edit> won't be able to do that with Mazy's big box, since they don't make that kind any more, and I can't find another I like out o the new styles, but I definitely will do it for the one just finished.

Thank you Kat Kisses! I found seed that doesn't have the added stuff (there was oil added to the other brand too, I imagine that would be difficult to rinse off)

They now have two regular and two safflower seed boxes down there (one SCB and the one I made) I'm leaving one of the clay litter boxes uncleaned, but am still cleaning Mazy's big tote, but adding seed instead of clay to replace what I take out.

I may drill the holes in that one this weekend, and then...if she wants to use her big tote she will have to go with the seed.

My homemade system (the pink boxes pictured above) got used! So excited!

An end forever to clay litter and dust is in sight!

Mazy is having a hard time with the change over. She still has her great big tote, with clay in it. I'm going to hold off on any more changes for a while. They all still use the clay box, but the SCB and my homemade one are getting used, too.

Washing the safflower seed with water immersion was not a success, it smells funny when it gets all wet. I didn't try it with the white vinegar yet though.

However, I really didn't need to wash it yet, it's just that I was anxious to see how it would wash. Wish I'd only tried a small portion instead of a whole box full. Even after two weeks there was NO ODOR in the seed at all. And that's with stirring it around and sticking my nose right down on top of it, in varous spots.

I just feel bad for Mazy. However she's going to have to adjust eventually. She went down and peed after I got home from work tonight. She had held it, because the clay box was had poop in it. As soon as I got home and scooped out the poop, she was in it. My goodness she peed a ton. It took about 12 scoops to get it all out. I just can't be doing that any more.

but I'm going to give her a little more time before changing over her big tote.

I wish they still made that size, I'd buy a couple more and make another homemade one with new ones if they did, but the new ones just aren't right. Nor are the sterilite ones. Too small at the bottom.

Thank you for the clarification! Someone else reminded me of that too, and in addition, the safflower seed that came with the SCB kit has a little slip of paper in the back also saying use Clorox Anywhere.

So I did manage to get the right one, though I have not used it on the seed.

Thanks Sherry. The SBC is plenty large enough. What I meant was, Mazy loves her large clear plastic tote litter box. That particular box, I mean. If I go to all SCBs she won't have it any more.

I am planning to do with it (her large tote litter box) what I did to the pink boxes, but not for a while. I'll let her get used to the changes already made first.

Hi Sharky, it's safflower seed, not sunflower. And it was $7.98 for an 8 pound bag. The SCB people sell theirs for $10 for a 5 lb bag, but claim theirs is sorted to have only whole uniform sized pieces. The bags I got at Lowes seem pretty uniform, too.

The seed does not absorb, so it doesn't hold odor. I'm thinking by the time I am done with transition I will go through three bags a month. So..that will actually cost me more ($24, twice as much) than what the clay costs me. But the relief from the constant scooping, and NO DUST will make the extra $12 a month worth it. I can find somewhere else to cut back. And hey, who knows, maybe the seed will last even longer than that.

You know it's funny you mentioned beans, I was in the grocery store the other day, and when my eye fell on the dried beans I was wondering if they would work. But then I remembered that beans do absorb liquid don't they?

That's the thing I love about this seed the most, NO DUST. The seed does have a slight odor of it's own, but it does not carry through the apartment.

And I've learned to stir it around after it's been used because the seed does sometimes seem to get a little wet. But once the seed dries again there is no urine odor.

You know, poop smells. If I'm home I scoop it as soon as someone poops, if I'm not, I scoop it as soon as I walk in the door. I honestly don't see any difference as far as poop odor, because I never leave poop in the box.

Some seed sticks to the poop, but not much

Thanks for the tip! I'll check it out!

The reservoir holds 24 ounces, and they are working on a larger one. I have four cats. But I don't use just one box. Currently I have one SCB, one homemade and Mazy's large clear tote, which is still clay. Eventually I plan to have at least two SCB and two homemade. I don't think overflow will be a problem here, but I am looking for large plastic trays to put under the SCB in case of overflow. I haven't found one yet though.

I can't remember if I already said this, but even though this system is still just as much work, it's a different kind of work, and easier on me, and NO DUST.


I will continue to report successes and any drawbacks I find, in this thread