- Joined
- Mar 3, 2006
- Messages
- 78
- Purraise
- 1
After a LOT of trial and error with the LitterMaid Plus, I've finally found a solution to all the problems I (and several others) have encountered with its design.
Use FreshStep Crystal Litter!
I know the manufactureres strongly urge you against the use of crystal litter with the LitterMaid, but after several weeks of using FreshStep, I've solved a lot of issues that were bugging me before and prompting me to a few purchase returns.
Here are the main problems I encountered before with clumping litters i.e., TidyCats, SwheatScoop, World's Best:
-Clogging. Cleaning up broken urine clumps is a pretty horrible experience.
-Rake Jamming. The rake never seemed to have enough power to sift through the litter. The accompanying noise of the rather weak motor just made me feel like my LitterMaid was senile.
-Receptacles. They fill up FAST.
After filling up my LitterMaid with FreshStep crystals, I no longer had to worry about urine clumps sticking to the sides of the rake. The rake would also stop jamming because I found that it's MUCH EASIER to sift through crystals than clumping litter. The receptacles also became less of a chore because you're no longer emptying out giant balls of urine which take a lot of space.
You're skeptical, I know.
I first thought that the manufacturers discouraged use of crystal litter with the LitterMaid because the rake wouldn't have enough power to sift through them. However, I had made the change from clumping litter to crystal litter in our regular litterbox and suddenly found it much easier to manually scoop through. I suggest you give it a try yourself in a regular box before applying it to the LitterMaid just to see how you feel about it.
It's REALLY important that you use FreshStep though, since the crystals are much finer than crystal litters such as LitterPearls or TidyCats. I have a sneaking suspicion that this might not work as well with bigger crystals although I haven't tried them yet. However, the instant you sift through FreshStep manually with your pooper scooper, you'll see how litter energy you have to expend to sift through the box. That's when I got the idea to put it into practice with the LitterMaid.
If you don't believe me, go to the store and take a look at the litters available. A jug of crystal litter is relatively the same size as a jug of clumping litter. However, clumping litter generally weighs about 20 or so pounds, while crystal litter is usually sold at 8. While using a half bag/box in the LitterMaid, it just makes sense to me that it's easier to rake through 4lbs. of crystal litter than it is to rake through 10 lbs. of clumping. Not to mention the fact that the LitterMaid no longer needs to sift urine clumps through the box. Your cats' peeing visits to the LitterMaid will simply activate a combing procedure that levels the litter without dragging mass through (Imbalance caused by digging was a major reason for why the rake couldn't push through according to a lot of reviews).
Again, I have to mention that crystal litter is NOT recommended by the manufacturers for use with the LitterMaid, so please, try at your own risk, but I have found it to work wonderfully with mine. I have the LitterMaid Plus model, not the Mega yet, but maybe I'll upgrade for the sake of having a quieter motor.
Oh, and I'll mention this again: Use FreshStep crystals. For some reason, they've decided to make their crystals much smaller. Works for me!
If any of you try this with your LitterMaids, I'm eager to hear how it turns out!
-Andrew
Use FreshStep Crystal Litter!
I know the manufactureres strongly urge you against the use of crystal litter with the LitterMaid, but after several weeks of using FreshStep, I've solved a lot of issues that were bugging me before and prompting me to a few purchase returns.
Here are the main problems I encountered before with clumping litters i.e., TidyCats, SwheatScoop, World's Best:
-Clogging. Cleaning up broken urine clumps is a pretty horrible experience.
-Rake Jamming. The rake never seemed to have enough power to sift through the litter. The accompanying noise of the rather weak motor just made me feel like my LitterMaid was senile.
-Receptacles. They fill up FAST.
After filling up my LitterMaid with FreshStep crystals, I no longer had to worry about urine clumps sticking to the sides of the rake. The rake would also stop jamming because I found that it's MUCH EASIER to sift through crystals than clumping litter. The receptacles also became less of a chore because you're no longer emptying out giant balls of urine which take a lot of space.
You're skeptical, I know.
I first thought that the manufacturers discouraged use of crystal litter with the LitterMaid because the rake wouldn't have enough power to sift through them. However, I had made the change from clumping litter to crystal litter in our regular litterbox and suddenly found it much easier to manually scoop through. I suggest you give it a try yourself in a regular box before applying it to the LitterMaid just to see how you feel about it.
It's REALLY important that you use FreshStep though, since the crystals are much finer than crystal litters such as LitterPearls or TidyCats. I have a sneaking suspicion that this might not work as well with bigger crystals although I haven't tried them yet. However, the instant you sift through FreshStep manually with your pooper scooper, you'll see how litter energy you have to expend to sift through the box. That's when I got the idea to put it into practice with the LitterMaid.
If you don't believe me, go to the store and take a look at the litters available. A jug of crystal litter is relatively the same size as a jug of clumping litter. However, clumping litter generally weighs about 20 or so pounds, while crystal litter is usually sold at 8. While using a half bag/box in the LitterMaid, it just makes sense to me that it's easier to rake through 4lbs. of crystal litter than it is to rake through 10 lbs. of clumping. Not to mention the fact that the LitterMaid no longer needs to sift urine clumps through the box. Your cats' peeing visits to the LitterMaid will simply activate a combing procedure that levels the litter without dragging mass through (Imbalance caused by digging was a major reason for why the rake couldn't push through according to a lot of reviews).
Again, I have to mention that crystal litter is NOT recommended by the manufacturers for use with the LitterMaid, so please, try at your own risk, but I have found it to work wonderfully with mine. I have the LitterMaid Plus model, not the Mega yet, but maybe I'll upgrade for the sake of having a quieter motor.
Oh, and I'll mention this again: Use FreshStep crystals. For some reason, they've decided to make their crystals much smaller. Works for me!
If any of you try this with your LitterMaids, I'm eager to hear how it turns out!
-Andrew
