Certainly the biggest problem any cat owner ever has to put up with is the litter box. Between small boxes, large boxes, covered boxes, ones with high backs, and even ones with sifting bottoms for easier removal of waste clumps. Then of course there's a multitude of clumping litters from many different manufacturers, as well as the alternative of non-clumping litter. And if you have more than one cat, you may opt to have more than one litter box established.
When I adopted my first two cats, I just had one litter box set up. Non-clumping litter, and after a few days I'd dump the contents out, wash out the box, clean it out and refill with new clean litter. After the 3rd cat, I still maintained just one box. But when I adopted my 4th cat, I decided it was certainly time to get a 2nd litter box. No need to make 4 cats share the one same box! Plus, it would mean having to clean that one box much more sooner than previously thought. So since my 4th cat came into the household, there's been two litter boxes, non-scoopable litter, cleaned usually more than once a week. However, I was always curious and intrigued by....
The automatic litter box. Apparently this contraption would automatically run a scoop through the litter, pushing out the waste into a recepticle bin for easy removal. No more hav
ing to manually scoop through a litter box once, twice, three or more times in a single day. But how well could something like this really work? Is it worth the price of purchase? How truly effective would this thing be? For one thing keeping me from purchasing one was the price. They appeared to be basically $100 or so in price.
ing to manually scoop through a litter box once, twice, three or more times in a single day. But how well could something like this really work? Is it worth the price of purchase? How truly effective would this thing be? For one thing keeping me from purchasing one was the price. They appeared to be basically $100 or so in price.A week ago I finally splurged and bought my cats an automated litter box. However, buying one was an adventure of itself. Normally most of my shopping is done at my local Super Wal-Mart. Why? Because its basically one of the few options of where to do things in this town. For normal household stuff there's the Wal-Mart, a K-Mart, and a few smaller odds and ends shops. Electronics? Wal-Mart, the K-store again, and a few overly priced local shops. Grocery shopping? Wal-Mart again, as well as a few local grocery stores across town but I have had my own personal issues at shopping at each of them. Anyway, I think that's enough name-dropping of where I shop. The point being, I've seen the litter boxes in at the store where I normally go. But for nearly 2 or 3 days straight when I went in there....there were none of these to be found on the shelf. Almost all the time there'd be at least one or two on the shelf. But none? Are people really buying these things out? Sure, the most expensive item in the pet section of course! (Haha). Finally the last day I checked I couldn't wait. I didn't want to keep going in after this litter box only to find them sold out. Either it was get the box....or get yet another bag of unscoopable litter for their normal boxes. So....I made the decision to lower myself to sub-standard standards and I went to the store that began with the letter K. Normally I do not go shopping at that store for ... a variety of reasons, to say the least. The same as most people in my town do as well. Sure enough, there on the shelf, was an automatic cat litter box. Looked a small bit different than the one I remembered from the shelfs at Wal-Mart in the past, but it was basically the same thing. However the price was a shocker. At Wal-Mart it was about $89.00 while here at "the K" it was priced at $98.00. Nearly a $10 difference? Maybe I could wait till they got more in stock at the other store. But standing there thinking I realized I had no idea when they might get more in. Ask the employees there and they'd say the same thing. "We don't know." So I made the conscious (unconscious?) decision to get the more expensive box at the other store.
Basically this is how the thing operates. Set it up, with litter poured in to a certain level, and the plastic waste recepticles fit into their compartments at one end. Plug the machine into an outlet and turn it on and wait for a cat to use it. Once a cat does their business and leaves the litter box, motion sensors trigger and 10 minutes later it goes into action. A motor causes a rake sorta pieces to slowly begin to glide across the top of the litter surface catching ahold of large clumps of waste. At the other end of the box it scoops them up a slight incline, props open the waste recepticle plastic bins, deposits the waste, and then slowly returns back across the litter nearly smoothing out the surface. The compartment door closes so the waste bin is not exposed. And then it goes back into waiting. For the next kitty to come do its business.
One downfall of the whole thing is the noise that results from the motor causing it to do what it does. Its not pin-drop quiet, but its not really overly loud either. I only hear it occassionally because my apartment is not terribly big, and the bathroom is not far off from my living room. However, it is more audible to my cats because they clearly have better hearing than I do as a human. Much more so at first, but still happening now, is when the litter box does its action that some of my cats sit up and pay attention, looking in the direction of the bathroom and even one of them may walk over to the bathroom door to investigate. Even though Whiskers already knows what the sound is from.
However, the automatic litter box has not always been well-received by all my cats. Prior to the box, Sylvester would be one to always go into the bathroom if I was ever in there for anything. He'd really love to go jump in the bathtub, walk around, lay down and be his silly ol' self. No? He barely will go any further than the door. Yes, he will eventually wander in. But he keeps his eyes on the litter box machine as though it were something waiting to explode. I really don't know how often he's gone in it, and that's been a concern. Without going into detail on anything, I've found a few surprises lately - elsewhere in the apartment...that have been of concern to me. While I do have the 5 cats, and unless I see someone do something in the act of doing so, I can't always blame just one of them. So when one of them gets sassed, normally they all do. If I find chewed up parts of my houseplants on the floor, then they all get looked at with a skeptical eye. While I don't know which one of them has done what they've done lately, I kinda suspect it's Sylvester. Simply for the observation that he does NOT like the new automatic litter box. At all. I can't even pick him up, walk into the bathroom and set him down in the thing without his claws coming out and arms going stiff as he braces himself against me. Which usually has led to some scrapes and cuts. If you have a pet cat, eventually it happens.
So what am I to do? I have a source where I regularly turn to for pet-advice, and he/she gave me some wormer mediciation to give the cats. Since one of them may have a problem, then they all get treated. And since I don't know how much I can rely on Sylvester to use an automatic litter box that seems to scare the crap out of him .... (trust me, that's funnier than you know for me to say that) ... I might have to have a 2nd litter box set up again. This one just being a regular litter box with regular litter in it. If he won't use the automatic one, then I have to have one up for him to actually use.
Overall, it is a product that I would recommend cat owners to get. While it's not "100 percent perfect" it is a good invention, does its job and does it well. Perhaps it would work more efficiently in a single cat (maybe 2) household. With my 5, there's a lot more waste to go around. But it is an investment. Even at my local Wal-Mart it was about $90. Depending on the model you find, it may come with 8-10 or 12 waste recepticles. Depending on the litter you get, that could be another $6-10 for one container of cat litter. There is an option for battery power on the litter box, but if you can plug it into a wall outlet you're clearly better off. Who has money to keep buying D-cell batteries, and like 6 or 8 of them to fit in this box?! Yikes! Cleaning and maintenance on the box is relatively simple. Mine came with a little tiny brush to use to wipe down parts inside the box that may get covered with litter; the rake guide-rail, the rake spokes themselves, etc. For the waste bins, it depends on how many cats you have and how often you need to remove a full box and put in a fresh new one. With my 5? And just having this one box like it? I've been having to change out them on a rate of about one every other day. So the intial set of bins that the machine came with should last me about 2 weeks - for another week, in otherwords. The box itself has two parts - the top frame with the rake and bin-holder, and the underside that actually holds the litter. Meaning, you can unsnap the top from the bottom, so you only have to wash out the bottom tray of the whole thing. Which you should probably clean out like once a week at least. Considering not all liquid waste may remain at the top of the litter pile and may cover the bottom.
I've gotten used to the machine, but my cats are still adjusting. While some of them have no problem going in there to do their business, Sylvester is still adjusting to it. Whether or not he'll ever get used to it, I don't know. I'd hope to someday get a 2nd one of these bad boy machines, but where I find the room for a 2nd one I don't know yet. It is a good machine that does its function. So if you're looking to purchase one of the automated litter boxes....
My cats give it a 4-out-of-5 cat rating.
Porkey Tabby Athena Whiskers Sylvester
(photo credit: http://www.automaticlitterboxes.net/images/littermaid-lm700-automatic-litterbox.jpg)
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