Automatic Litter Boxes: Do They Freak Cats Out? An Unscientific Test.

[question everything]

CAT OWNERS love to crow over Shadow’s self-sufficiency and can’t wait to tell you how Tuna came pre-trained to use the litter box. Maybe true, but their poop won’t scoop itself. A new breed of robotic litter boxes promises to change that, saving owners from hours of sifting, sorting and Febreze-spraying. The machines often include apps that track your cat’s litter box habits, and some even automatically flush waste out of sight (and smell) a few minutes after a cat hops out.

(snip)

And anyway, whose cat would do their business in such an appliance? Maybe mine. I recently decided to put two of these devices—the CatGenie A.I. ($479) and the Litter-Robot 4 ($699)—to an unscientific head-to-head test in my home, with the help of 1-year-old cat siblings Pippi and King. The CatGenie made a good first impression. It fit neatly into the hall closet next to my washer-dryer and was easier to install than expected. I quickly used a pair of pliers to attach its bowl to my washer’s waste disposal line, allowing it to self-clean. (It can also be hooked up to a toilet.) The device arrived with its own reusable, biodegradable litter and cleaning solution.

Pip and King were less enthused. Perhaps they were intimidated by the relatively noisy rumble of its cleaning process, but I don’t think they used the CatGenie once.

(snip)

I was worried the Litter-Robot would suffer a similar fate. I did not appreciate its sterile appearance, or that its 22-inch wide, 30-inch tall, 27-inch deep machine barely fit through my front door, let alone in the small space my dumb litter box had taken up in the bathroom. I managed to find a spot for it in a less-than-sanitary bedroom closet. Worse, the Litter-Robot can’t be flushed. Point: CatGenie. And yet, Pippi and King took to the Litter-Robot like pros. They immediately hopped in the first day of business, and seemed to appreciate the spacious internal cavity and nearly silent operation.

(snip)

I have come to appreciate it too. It seals in smells well and I have only needed to empty it once a week. You do have to wipe down its insides every so often. But that’s a small price to pay for something my cats will actually poop in.

https://archive.is/mhcFp#selection-406.0-406.1

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FLUSH FEST The Cat Genie A.I. can be hooked up to the waste-drainage line near your toilet or washer-dryer, which allows it to flush itself completely. Some cats might be wary of the noise this process creates.



DOMO ARIGATO After your cat has done its business inside the Litter-Robot 4, the chamber spins in a way that sends clumped litter into a sealed underside drawer. Our tester only had to clean it out about once a week.

[kimbutgar]

1. My sister got one of those $600 litter robots and it broke after a year of use

When my cat was still alive I was tempted to buy one but stuck with an old fashioned one.

I did buy one previously that raked the litter and I wasted my money. It took longer to clean it then if I used the old fashioned litter box.

[Backseat Driver]

5. My daughter's cat has an advanced self-cleaning litter box

with a cell phone wi-fi interface that can be used to monitor use when she's not at home. She says her cat loves it; said cat used to poop in his human's tub--no more!

[hlthe2b]

11. I noticed they are offering a three-year warranty for an additional $100

Wowser... AND the latest version is now $699 so for all that--$800. Plus litter. Yikes. Plus you'd have to have somewhere to put the gargantuan thing.

[Archae]

2. I don't have that much money and I'm not that lazy!

I clean the catbox every other day.

[PSPS]

3. Here's a first-cat report

[question everything]

4. Thanks for posting. Clearly relying on the cats' natural curiousity

but... were the videos taken by a static camera or a hand held phone? I don't think that cats like to be watched while doing their things..

[PortTack]

6. Our 2 boys would look at, and promptly pee next to it...not in it.

[rogerballard]

7. My girls would freak out

No way I could have one as much as I would like one.

[Jilly_in_VA]

8. I have never had one

It's been tempting, especially in multiple cat times, but now I have outdoor girls who go where they please now that they're out of their crates. Pretty sure it would have freaked Don Bosco, my last indoor cat, way the hell out. He was a bit of a litter box scofflaw as it was.

[AltairIV]

9. $700, why?

I'll continue to clean out the litter box myself, once in the morning and than again in the evening. I can monitor that both my cats are doing their business especially since our older cat, Grendel, is 16 and starting to have some small scale health issues. Besides lets not kid ourselves spending that kind of money on a litter box has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of life our cat(s) have.

[hlthe2b]

10. I find the commercial for Litter Robot fascinating. This well-to-do woman with this massive thing

in her living room that for all the world BECOMES THE LIVING ROOM as your eye sees only it and not furniture. Absolutely bizarre.

[TygrBright]

12. After testing several brands I found a litter that works...

...for Louie B. Mayhem and for me.

I put it on auto-ship from Chewy.

Every day I scoop 1-2 poops and give the box a good stir.

Every 3rd Saturday (just when it's starting to smell like used cat litter...) I dump the old litter in a paper grocery bag and discard. It's made of diatoms, so it's eco-friendly. I wash out the box and dump a new bag of litter in.

This is just not too difficult, really.

$700 bucks for a litter box? And you still have to buy litter?

And you need a small garage to keep it in?

WHY?

bewilderedly,
Bright

[Chicagogrl1]

13. Per my Vet

She has told me that the have had several felines injured by automatic litter boxes.

[Midnight Writer]

14. I scoop daily and the contents of the box are clues to the health of my cats.

You may notice too much urine, too little, loose stools, discolored stools. All of these can warn you about potential health problems that may be treatable if caught early.

[tblue37]

15. +1!

[niyad]

17. Exactly.

[niyad]

16. HOURS of scooping? It only takes me a couple of minutes, morning and night.

My cat, and I, would hate the noise. And I have far better things to do with $800, even if .i had it to spare.

[peacefreak2.0]

18. Miss Nona came to live with me in December.

She came with her very own poop ship (litter robot). So far, so good. It is very easy to maintain.