I have been thinking about getting one of these. Does anyone have one? and do you like it?
There are so many kinds, somebody must be buying them
There are so many kinds, somebody must be buying them
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motorized litterbox
- Thread starter meuzettesmom
- Start Date
I know that some people love them for the convenience, but to me the cons outweigh the pros. I have heard of the motor frightening the cat while using it, thereby developing litterbox avoidance. It doesn't seem that sanitary to me. How often would you be removing the waste? Even if in a separate area, I would think the smell would build. So, if you're going to scoop every day anyway, are you really saving any time? It's sort of an expensive gamble as well. What if your cats won't use it? Does it have a good return policy in that case?
We have had a LitterMaid box for probably close to 7 years now. My girls have never been scared by it; they have motion sensors inside so they aren't supposed to go off when your cat is in the box. Noodles actually likes the wide edges because she'll stand on those and "hover" while she "does her business."
I wouldn't say it's less sanitary at all. After all; it's scooping out the waste between uses. They aren't stepping on top of each others buried waste. We empty the container, top off the litter and level it out every other day. The box is in the laundry room which is almost right off my kitchen. I have no issues with odors.
The down sides; not every type of litter will work in it. Occasionally our box needs some help if they've dug around too much and put too much litter to one side. There is a line on the box to tell you how high to fill it; but its a tad finicky. It will run back and forth a few times if this happens; but then it stops and a light flashes to let you know it needs help. Our box also has a timer so we can set it to not go off during certain hours. We don't use the feature; but if the box were close to our sleeping space I probably would. It's a bit loud. Whenever we have company and it goes off people start looking around trying to figure out what the noise is.
My mother used a LitterMaid for a few years with few complaints as well. We are on our 2nd box. The first one wasn't retracting the cord to the rake right after about 5 years of use. A friend of mine has the one that uses some kind of tray with crystals I think. It washes and dries them between uses. This friend has 5 kids between the ages of 7 and 2; she's busy!
She swears by this box!
The down sides; not every type of litter will work in it. Occasionally our box needs some help if they've dug around too much and put too much litter to one side. There is a line on the box to tell you how high to fill it; but its a tad finicky. It will run back and forth a few times if this happens; but then it stops and a light flashes to let you know it needs help. Our box also has a timer so we can set it to not go off during certain hours. We don't use the feature; but if the box were close to our sleeping space I probably would. It's a bit loud. Whenever we have company and it goes off people start looking around trying to figure out what the noise is.
My mother used a LitterMaid for a few years with few complaints as well. We are on our 2nd box. The first one wasn't retracting the cord to the rake right after about 5 years of use. A friend of mine has the one that uses some kind of tray with crystals I think. It washes and dries them between uses. This friend has 5 kids between the ages of 7 and 2; she's busy!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
Thank you for the good advise and opening my eyes to this delemia
I've had two different boxes: The Litter Robot - oh my aching wallet and another type which I don't remember the name. Most of the auto litter boxes have a small area for the cat to use and low sides, the machine shouldn't be making noise while the cat is in it. I didn't know my one cat was peeing between the box the litter was in and the outside wall of the unit, until I went to change the holding drawer - what a mess including a stained hardwood floor. Plenty of people like the automatic boxes but for me and trying two different boxes wasn't worth the cost - so glad that my cats didn't develop issues with using litter boxes.
I always revert back to a good sized storage box with an opening cut into the side, it provides privacy, lots of room to dig and high sides for my cat that stands up and pees. Sometimes it is better not to try and invent the wheel.
I always revert back to a good sized storage box with an opening cut into the side, it provides privacy, lots of room to dig and high sides for my cat that stands up and pees. Sometimes it is better not to try and invent the wheel.
