Automatic Litter Boxes - Need Advice please!!

I have heard the self cleaning litter boxes can be quite a bit more messy than the normal ones when it is time to clean them. They do eventually have to be cleaned. I used to like the ones with the lid over top of them.

I have a Litter Maid and love it. The Litter Maid works both on batteries and electricity. The one thing that I do is rather than toss the litter and the container I would dump the litter and clean out the container and reuse it for quite awhile. It didn't bother the cats when I switched, in fact they liked it too. Besides the box always being clean, they got a kick out of their poopies disappearing into somewhere in the "great beyond". They would hear the maid start working and they would race to check out what was going on with the maid. I also seemed to use less litter than with the regular self scoop box. It also was much less odorous during the summer. The only thing I would say against it would be that if you go only with the electric option you would need to clean it during power failures. Otherwise it is such a nice piece of equipment. I wouldn't be without it. Pick one up from a store that has a liberal return policy (I got mine from Wal Mart on close out so I had the time to try it out, but after the first few days I knew that they weren't going to get it back!!!) That way if you don't like it you can return it. I wouldn't go for the Cat genie though as it costs like crazy, you need a water hookup, and it has to have someplace to drain which would either be the toilet or the drain for the washer. Plus you will need to replace the "litter" eventually even though they say you won't need to. For the price of the Cat Genie (Which is well over $200) you can buy a lot of scoopable litter for the savings. The Litter Maid runs from $69 to $125 (that's the super deluxe model) so you can see the savings.

I have never heard of them so I would not go for them until I know for sure that they are safe and actually work I would stick to what you have until this Product has been around much longer and to know that it does work and that it is safe

Cats can be very conservative, sticking to what they are used to and also some cats don't like the enclosed boxes. Those automatic boxes are quite expensive and I'd be inclined to get another open box for them as that's what they are used to rather than spend a lot of money on something that they might refuse to use.

it sounds interesting. i have one male cat now. i would like to know more about it too. if it works well, i would buy one for my cat.

My daughter had one. It jammed after 2 months and they threw it out. Now they use the old favorite scooping litter in a regular box. The cats didn't much like the automatic one either. They had a few outside the box experiences.

My sister had gotten one of these once. Her cats did not like it. She had to go back to the regular litter box.

I have used the Litter Maid and loved it!!! I didn't like buying the containers over and over so I would empty them after ever use and wash them really good and reuse them because they can become a real expence. But my cats loved the clean box to the point they would just lay in the sand to relax! Silly cats! I would buy one if I was you.

Like some of the others. I'd worry that they may not like the noise, and the cost may be kinda high for te box and you'd also have the upkeep costs also.

Hi Tallygirl09 I have never used Litter Maid before although I have seen it at Pet Smart I haven't bought one yet . My daughter and I take turns cleaning the litter box we are still POOPER SCOOPERS as of today We also clean the box once a week with disinfectant litter box wipes and also a mild detergent I don't like cat box odors so I try to stay on top it it an auto litter box cleaner would probably cut down on some of that work but not sure if my cat Jinx would like it or not thats one of the reasons I haven't bought one yet. There not cheap either which is a second reason I haven't bought one yet. If you buy one let us know how you like it and how your cat likes it Happy Mylotting

If you want my honest opinion I would suggest sticking with the litter box type you are used to. If you decide to go for automatic to save yourself time and engery do your research first. I too have seen them advertized, but there are things they don't tell you. Things you should consider, how is the automatic powered? batteries? eletercity? Most adds don't tell you this, so finding out is a must. Motors usually run off of something as do motion-detecting sensors. So check out the pros and cons of the unit. Make sure you know all about before shopping for one. Because you have to consider the cost of keeping it up should something go wrong.