Robotic Litter Boxes

[ReginaldElton]

We are getting a 3rd kitty in October. I am thinking of getting a robotic litter box. They seem too good to be true. For the price, I'd like to hear from reviews from others that aren't on the product sites. Thanks!

 

[betsygee]

Welcome to TCS! I don't have one but a couple of people I know have them and say they'd never go back to regular litter boxes, because of the convenience.

I'll be curious to see what people here think, too, who actually have one.

 

[daftcat75]

I had early model Littermaids (not Litter Robot.) it was the one that had a rake that scooped all clumped bits into a receptacle. It was awful. It was too small for the cat so she ended up peeing out the front. I had an after market pee guard attached but that just meant the pee was finding seams. The box was a pain to clean and everything was stinky in a few days. After my last cat Krista was set back with some temporary balance and mobility issues, I tossed the Littermaid and went to simple litterboxes. I got a pair of identical boxes. I keep one deployed as the active box and the other one is stacked underneath it as a standby. I scoop almost as quickly as Betty lays them and stash them in the Litter Genie (or what I call the Worlds Grossest Sausage Maker. ) When it comes time to clean the litterbox, I pull the standby out from underneath the active and fill it with fresh litter. The previously active box is dumped and washed on my own time without ever closing Betty’s bathroom.

But you asked about the Litter Robot. I can’t comment on that from experience. But it seems like a good idea until it’s not. Besides the mobility challenges it presents to older cats, it also thieves off with any evidence of illness. I rely on seeing Betty’s poops and pee clumps to get a daily snapshot at her kidney and gut health.

The other concern I have about the Litter Robot is that it is essentially spreading waste around the walls as the drum spins. That just seems gross and unsanitary to me. Would you want to use a rotating porta-potty? Would you want to share it with two siblings?

 

[Pywacket21]

Daughter has one for her two cats. Both she and they like it. She says it helps stop litter from getting tracked out. Her vet, who also has cats, recommends it.

 

[bobkater]

I saw this comment on the web:

“Do robotic litter boxes work?
After spending more than 40 hours researching and testing automatic cat litter boxes, we can't recommend any of them. Self-cleaning litter boxes are expensive, prone to malfunction, and often harder to clean than a traditional litter box.14 Jan 2022.”

I don’t know how reliable the above info is, but the general concept of robotic cleaning is good. Being a fairly new invention, it will take some time and development before they become fully operational and affordable. And no doubt, alternative designs will appear.

So I’d advise some patience and watchful waiting, till it’s time to take action.

 

[FrazzledMumbly]

There's pros and cons. The pros kind of depend on you having accident-free cats. My experience has been pretty much all the cons since the one I've encountered isn't mine and I only stepped in when the stink started invading my life.

My housemate has a Litter Robot 4 and loves it for convenience reasons, but it's constantly streaked with diarrhea due to the elderly cat's troubled tummy and the step had to be removed because one or both cats like to pee at the front and gradually escalated to peeing on the step instead of even in the globe. Their younger cat also likes to climb into the robot mid-turn and drop a load on the bare plastic/liner, leaving more streaks. Recently I went to change out the bag due to an extra bad smell and found a growing puddle of fermenting pee underneath the drawer that catches the sifted clumps because it was draining there from the step. I think this habit started because the robot occasionally has sensor troubles and stops sifting and since it doesn't hold a lot of litter in the globe they didn't want to step in the extra mess sitting there. Cleaning dried crust and diarrhea off the liner or plastic is not easy once it's there.

It gets gross enough that these cats will sneak in my room to use my cat's box every chance they get- I actually placed an extra manual box in the same room as the robot yesterday so they have an alternative. I'd rather take an extra five minutes per day to scoop for someone else's cats than touch the robot again. Hosing old pee off that drawer and scrubbing the carpet and trying to wipe the puddle out from that plastic cave singed my nose hairs and took a year off my life.

So... It can be convenient if it's maintained well, if the sensors consistently behave like they should, and the cats using it don't get creative. When it's clean and working, it's a tidy $700 globe that auto sifts the litter for you and just needs the bag changed and an occasional wipe down.

 

[arr]

I haven’t had a Litter Robot but many years ago we tried an auto litter box. Ultimately I don’t like them. I feel like they actually make more of a mess. Too many nooks and crannies and they don’t remove clumps as perfectly as I do. I’m extreme about keeping clean boxes and as with many things in life, simpler is usually better. A big plastic box, unscented clumping litter, that’s it. No covers, liners, moving parts. It’s so easy to keep a simple litter box clean, so easy to dump the litter and wash the whole thing now and then.

I find it interesting that so many people seem to have issues with scooping a litter box. It’s a quick chore twice a day. I guess I’m weird, but I find it oddly satisfying. I like keeping an eye on poop texture and pee clump size, I like trying to remove clumps perfectly without them breaking apart, and I love how my boxes aren’t full of broken clumps, they look like fresh litter always. In fact, when we’ve been away and had a pet sitter, it annoys me how the boxes are full of tiny broken clumps, even though I demonstrated to them how to scoop properly. I will literally go through the four boxes to remove as many of the little pieces as I can.

 

[daftcat75]

There's pros and cons. The pros kind of depend on you having accident-free cats. My experience has been pretty much all the cons since the one I've encountered isn't mine and I only stepped in when the stink started invading my life.

My housemate has a Litter Robot 4 and loves it for convenience reasons, but it's constantly streaked with diarrhea due to the elderly cat's troubled tummy and the step had to be removed because one or both cats like to pee at the front and gradually escalated to peeing on the step instead of even in the globe. Their younger cat also likes to climb into the robot mid-turn and drop a load on the bare plastic/liner, leaving more streaks. Recently I went to change out the bag due to an extra bad smell and found a growing puddle of fermenting pee underneath the drawer that catches the sifted clumps because it was draining there from the step. I think this habit started because the robot occasionally has sensor troubles and stops sifting and since it doesn't hold a lot of litter in the globe they didn't want to step in the extra mess sitting there. Cleaning dried crust and diarrhea off the liner or plastic is not easy once it's there.

It gets gross enough that these cats will sneak in my room to use my cat's box every chance they get- I actually placed an extra manual box in the same room as the robot yesterday so they have an alternative. I'd rather take an extra five minutes per day to scoop for someone else's cats than touch the robot again. Hosing old pee off that drawer and scrubbing the carpet and trying to wipe the puddle out from that plastic cave singed my nose hairs and took a year off my life.

So... It can be convenient if it's maintained well, if the sensors consistently behave like they should, and the cats using it don't get creative. When it's clean and working, it's a tidy $700 globe that auto sifts the litter for you and just needs the bag changed and an occasional wipe down.

This is everything I imagined the Litter Robot to be based on my experience with Littermaids. Sorry you have to deal with it. Good for you for putting out extra manual boxes. Give them an alternative to their poop streaked outhouse.

 

[IndyJones]

My friend has the connected home bundle 4 and loves it. It looks like a washing machiene imo.

I always have been kinda sus about them... like what happens if it breaks down while the cat is in it? Not to meantion how do you clean the drum. Anybody who owns a front load washer knows how smelly they get. A litter box probably worse. You have to disasemble the whole thing or litter can lodge in the rakes and gears. Can't just spray it outside because computers and water don't mix.

 

[Alldara]

My friend had a litter robot and one of those Roll and Clean litter boxes. She got rid of the robot as it was difficult to clean and got a second roll and clean. She could roll it to get most out daily, and then do a check once a week.

My issue is the automatic cleaning ones are expensive and only work with certain litters and clumping. So if any cat develops any issue you
1. Might not catch it as fast as you aren't seeing their daily "output"

2. Can't change if they develop an allergy and have a very expensive box you can't use. (For example I've had to go to non-clumping litter, clay and pine free... I wouldnt be able to use the auto cleaners)

Edit to add: make sure there's a warranty because your cats might end up afraid of it and might not use it!

 

[waddle]

I was thinking about getting a litter robot but I think this thread has convinced me not to. I was recently catsitting for a friend who has one and it’s pretty slick, but if there’s something I hate more than scooping the box, it’s cleaning the box. And it seems like the litter robot would require much more finicky cleaning than a regular box. I know it’s terrible for the environment but I think I’d rather stick with a regular one and replace it regularly. I used WBCL and flush it so that makes scooping less of an issue too.

 

[daftcat75]

I was thinking about getting a litter robot but I think this thread has convinced me not to. I was recently catsitting for a friend who has one and it’s pretty slick, but if there’s something I hate more than scooping the box, it’s cleaning the box. And it seems like the litter robot would require much more finicky cleaning than a regular box. I know it’s terrible for the environment but I think I’d rather stick with a regular one and replace it regularly. I used WBCL and flush it so that makes scooping less of an issue too.

Flushing litter even if it says it is flushable is so bad for your plumbing. I would get a Litter Genie instead. You can fit about two weeks worth in one of those before you tie off the sausage and take that down to the dumpster. It doesn't smell because it seals it off. But you can get a brief whiff sometimes when you put new waste in. For that, you can simply keep some activated charcoal or baking soda next to your Genie. Whenever you add new waste, add some of your charcoal or soda to absorb that odor.

As for the box, instead of simply replacing it once a month, I would recommend getting two identical boxes. Keep the second box under the first as a standby. Once a month, remove the active box. Fill up the standby box with litter. As far as kitty is concerned, you are done there and her bathroom was never closed. As for the previously active box, dump the litter into a trash bag and wash out the box in your shower or outside if you have a hose. It shouldn't take more than ten or fifteen minutes once a month to change out the boxes and wash the former active box. Since the standby is already deployed as the new active, you can let that formerly active box air dry outside if you prefer.

 

[FrazzledMumbly]

I find it interesting that so many people seem to have issues with scooping a litter box. It’s a quick chore twice a day.

I feel the same way, but I also lived the avoidance life too when I was a teen/young adult and all I could afford was the most basic clay litter at the corner store. Turns out that I hate the smell of clay and dreaded going anywhere near the box even before a cat made any deposits. Scooping even once a day was the worst conceivable chore and scooping less frequently was its own punishment. It all came down to my sensitive sense of smell. It's so so SO hard to make a consistent habit of something that makes you dry heave every time.

Now that I've found a nice balance with litters I like the initial smell of (I liked Okocat, then took a better liking to Catit Pea Husk until I discovered Pettime Tofu and Corn) within my monthly budget I'm more than Ok with scooping twice a day.

I think that's why the robot's super funk was so horrifying to me. I've been so on my game, I forgot just how nasty cat business can get when it's left to fester. It does it's job more or less but the human intervention when it goofs up can't be avoided without consequences. Manual box is waaaaaaay easier to deal with.

 

[ReginaldElton]

Thank you all for the responses. You saved me several hundred dollars! It sounds like an automatic litter box is potentially way more work then it's worth. I just will have to figure out where to put a second box. But I have until the end of October to figure it out.

 

[bobkater]

Well, maybe this old technology hack will solve the cleaning problem for many cat owners simply and cheaply:

Use disposable liners
To simplify cleaning a litter box, use disposable litter box liners. These liners prevent the litter from coming into contact with the box, and when you buy liners with drawstrings, you can lift the whole liner, including the litter, up and out of the box. There’s no scrubbing needed.
For liners to be effective, they need to fit your box well, so measure carefully and shop around until you find liners that are the right size. You might also find that some brands are thicker and more durable than others.

Of course, buying the liners is a damn sight cheaper than those robots, let alone the problems tied to the latter mentioned in this thread.

 

[ladytimedramon]

There is a great youtube channel called "One Guy Five Cats" who has done very in depth reviews of most of the automatic litterboxes out there. I currently use the Pet Safe Scoop Free boxes, mostly because one of my cats is allergic to most litters. It rakes through the litter, scooping the solids and stirring the crystals. Because of the cost of their cartridges I'm experimenting with the reusable trays and separate litter. I've been satisfied, though I'm debating on trying the newest model that works with clumping litters and has a removable rake for cleaning.

 

[TortieCat]

I have a litter robot 3 and it works pretty well, I like it and the kitties like it too I also have a regular large litter box so the kitties have a choice where to go. They usually go to whichever litter box is the closest to them at that moment lol but I agree that it's not for everyone and it depends on your circumstances. Good luck with the new kitty!