Automatic Litter Box-need Advice

[JGombs99]

As the title suggests, I need advice regarding an automatic Litter box. I'm not new to cats, but I've never had an automatic box, so I'd like suggestions based on the following: cost, ability to hide smell, models to strongly consider, or avoid.

I currently keep a non-covered regular box in the basement. However, I'm strongly considering buying a house that doesn't have a basement, so the box will need to be in my living space. Additionally, I have a dog that will eat cat poop given the opportunity. Between the dog, and wanting to control odor, I feel automatic is my best bet. I appreciate any and all advice!

 

[rubysmama]

I only have a regular litter box, so can't advise on the automatic ones, however, until other members reply, here's a TCS article that might be helpful: Automatic Pet Feeder for Cats & Dogs | PortionPro Rx™

 

[kittyluv387]

I have the litter robot III and I like it a lot. It is quite expensive though.

 

[JGombs99]

Thanks for the replies so far. Hopefully others will weigh in.

 

[daftcat75]

I had a littermaid for most of Krista’s years and most of Cabernet’s years before her. The pan was too small and both cats would pee out the front.

I recently got rid of it and switched to a regular litterbox. Not only does Krista use it better (doesn’t pee out the front) but since it doesn’t have moving parts and seams between the moving parts, pee is no longer leaking between the seams and pooling in pee pads beneath the box. No wonder why Krista would sometimes pee the wall instead. I was maintaining her litterbox like a neglected gas station bathroom assuming the automatic part was doing it for me.

Honestly, it’s just so much easier to have two smaller “manual” litter boxes than one automatic.

 

[daftcat75]

Maybe look at a large litter enclosure like this one to keep the dog out.

There’s a cat sized side cutout for the cat to enter and exit. And a front door for servicing the box.

Another thing that helps with Krista is that with scheduled feedings comes scheduled eliminations. She eats. She uses one or both boxes (she’ll pee in one and poop in the other) shortly after. I consider cleaning the litter boxes part of the feeding shift.

They’ve never been cleaner than this with the automatic litterbox. Often much worse because I’ll let the excrement collect in the reservoir. Out of sight but not out of scent as far as her nose is concerned. Plus I was so stubborn about trying to make the automatic litterbox work for us, I wasn’t really thinking about the fact that pee was running down the seams between moving pieces and pooling beneath the box. Even when I did, I would just put pee pads down and change those when I changed out the receptacle. Gross!

 

[JGombs99]

Thanks! That gives me something to think about.

 

[Rosepud]

I have the litter robot 3 purchased from the site refurbished and while it is pricey I live in 500 square foot apartment there is never any odor, and I just take out the bag about twice a week and put a new one in. Everyone is always amazed that there is truly no odor and I like there are different options for timing. It apparently saves litter long term as well. It did take the cat I adopted and started with the litter robot about 3 days to not pee and them hurriedly jump out and leave. But now he likes to watch it cycle and there have been no issues, I would recommend cat attract litter for the furst bit while using it.

 

[Pepsi216]

We also have a litter robot 3 and it's been great! Our blind kitty didn't like the noise (probably couldn't figure out what the heck was going on without seeing it) so we would leave it off and then turn it on to cycle when he wasn't around so he wouldn't freak out. After he passed we left it on regularly and our other kitty had no issue with it. We adopted a senior kitty at the start of the year, and he was using it from day 1 with no issue. We've had ours for almost 3 years now, and that that many days of not having to scoop the box has been totally worth the purchase price to me!

 

[JGombs99]

Thanks, all. So it seems that most folks so far seem to think an automatic box isn't worth it unless it's one of the very most expensive ones. Is this accurate?

 

[daftcat75]

I only have experience with the Littermaid. I can tell you that one is not worth it. It will be a frustrating mess maker and you may end up with more work than less having to teardown the box to clean it. Then flip it over and realize how gross it's getting and clean that too.

I could see how the Litter Robot 3 might solve some of these issues. But I'm not going to spend $500 on it. Not when my two manual boxes work just as well.

 

[kittyluv387]

Thanks, all. So it seems that most folks so far seem to think an automatic box isn't worth it unless it's one of the very most expensive ones. Is this accurate?

Basically yes. It's worth it to me though. I have 3 cats and I hate keeping up with even 1 box let alone multiple. I'm ocd about it and I can't stand letting my cats use the litterbox with even a single lump in it. So the robot works very well for me.

 

[Rosepud]

Thanks, all. So it seems that most folks so far seem to think an automatic box isn't worth it unless it's one of the very most expensive ones. Is this accurate?

Unfortunately yes, I read about 100 reviews before deciding on the litter robot and it was the only one that got consistently good reviews, and it does come with a very large price tag, but if you watch the website for a refurbished one it is about $100 cheaper than the regular cost if that helps. Sorry!

 

[Talien]

Most Dogs will treat a litterbox like a candy jar. Personally I think a large part of that is if you feed your Cat commercial dry or canned food their feces smells a lot like the food, and Dogs are really into Cat food.

Honestly if odor is your main concern then you may want to consider switching your Cat's diet. When I was looking into other foods for my IBD Cat I kept seeing one of the benefits of a raw diet being reduction in litterbox odor, and it's true. I have a VERY sensitive nose and with 4 Cats I sometimes had to wear a filter mask to clean litterboxes to avoid throwing up, but since I switched my Cats to raw food there is almost no odor unless I get distracted by other things and neglect cleaning the box for a whole day, and even then it's mostly from urine.

 

[Rosepud]

Honestly if odor is your main concern then you may want to consider switching your Cat's diet. When I was looking into other foods for my IBD Cat I kept seeing one of the benefits of a raw diet being reduction in litterbox odor, and it's true. I have a VERY sensitive nose and with 4 Cats I sometimes had to wear a filter mask to clean litterboxes to avoid throwing up, but since I switched my Cats to raw food there is almost no odor unless I get distracted by other things and neglect cleaning the box for a whole day, and even then it's mostly from urine.

I agree that a high quality diet does lower the poop odor, but personally I still can't usually deal with the urine smell which is present

 

[JGombs99]

Hello, all. Thanks again for all the replies! Admittedly, the odor issue is more my fault than how my cat smells from her diet. I'm not as diligent about cleaning the box as I should be, so maybe tgstst what needs to change rather than changing the box. I still say the automatic box seems appealing, but not if what I'm getting so far on here is true. I definitely won't consider something over $200 or so.

Again, I'll need to have the box in the main part of the house now, so minimizing odor and grossness is the main priority. I'm also considering a closet for box placement, but I feel like that has its own set of problems.