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Automatic Litter Box Experiences |
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Mike made fun of me when I mentioned that I was putting this up. However, having an automatic litter box does make things much easier and I have had different experiences with them which I thought other cat lovers would benefit from, so here goes.... |
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I bought my first automatic litter box in December of 2002. It was a Littermaid. I actually didn't have many problems with it for a good while. The first issue I had was when Punky broke a plastic rod that holds up the privacy tent that I bought for the Littermaid. The company doesn't sell replacement parts, so I was stuck buying a whole new privacy tent. Over time, the plastic coating on the pan also began to be eaten away by the cat urine. I clean my box at least twice a week and do a thorough cleaning (ie I scrubbed it down and replaced the litter) at the end of every box of litter which usually was about every 2-3 weeks. Urine is naturally acidic, so it is not suprising that this would happen if you have a cat that digs a hole in the litter and then does their business there like my cats seem to. The problem with this is that over time, the uncoated areas grew in size and the litter would bind tightly to the plastic in these areas. The motor wasn't able to push the rake through that litter so I would find the box full of stuff. Over time, this was happening more and more frequently so it essentially ceased being an automatic litter box. I tried different litters and even spraying the rake and pan with Pam, but this only helped a little. As I mentioned before, the company doesn't sell replacement parts so I was looking at having to buy a new box.
I started doing research on the internet and saw many, many complaints about Littermaid. Lots of them due to the motors giving out within six months of purchase. This made me a bit uncomfortable with purchasing a new one. In addition, Littermaid makes you buy special disposable plastic receptacles which cost a little over a dollar a piece and I used two a week. After some looking, I stumbled upon a lot of positive remarks about a litter box called Litter Robot. Now, this is a more expensive box (about $330) but considering the Littermaid expenses ($100 for box, $40 for privacy tent, about $120 per year receptacles) it was actually cheaper in the long run for the Litter Robot. The Litter Robot uses 13 gallon trashbags which are much cheaper. I also noticed that the developers were checking in on the message boards and actively making design changes based on consumer reports. It also came with a 18 month full warranty.
Mike and I purchased one and received it about a week ago. I have to say that I am really impressed with how it functions so far. It looks funny, seems to be just as noisy as the Littermaid but it works so much better. Here is a picture of Charlotte checking it out on the first day. |
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The first few hours, only Charlotte was willing to go into the Litter Robot. She would go in and kick around the litter. I think she thought it was a new play thing rather than a litter box, so I took a couple of 'presents' out of the old box and put them in the new one. She got the picture and immediately went about using it. Punky wouldn't go all the way in until the second day. She started using it regularly a couple of days later (I left the old box out, but didn't clean it). I got rid of the old box 1 week later. |
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There is a really good message board where people discuss the automatic litter boxes, litter, and other related issues here. |
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