July 13th, 2009
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Last fall I bought a fancy litter box. It is motorized and was quite expensive, around $150 dollars. And get this – it doesn’t work. The little grate goes back and forth but it doesn’t pick up everything and it leaves stinky used litter in the box and streams of litter down the front.
My sister has a much cheaper and efficient system she calls the relay system. She has two litter boxes (check a dollar store for really cheap boxes). When one needs changing, she puts it on the porch and then sets up the other one in its place. She uses newspaper in the bottom to collect leakage and a 30 gallon trash bag, which is much cheaper than bags made for litter boxes. She then empties the dirty one and puts some dish soap and water in it and lets it sit out on the porch to deodorize. And the best thing? You can even be lazy and clean it the next day. |
and doesn’t stop. She starts meowing and then cuts it off xD
L HAVE 5 AUTOMATIC LITTER BOXES AND THEY ALL WORK WONDERFULLY! PLUS I USE MY PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS TO LINE THE RECEPTICLES AND JUST PULL AND TIE UP THE ENDS AND THE USED LITTER GOES IN THE GARBAGE! MAKE SURE TO BUY THE AUTOMATIC LITTER BOXES WITH PLASTIC GRATES, THE NEWER METAL RAKE ONES DON”T WORK NEARLY AS WELL.
Oh my gosh, I had an automatic one and LOVED it. I never bought new recepticles, because like Colleen, I used plastic grocery bags to line the poop collector (recepticle) and or any cheap plastic wrap. I loved mine….. want another and with three kitty kats the method of operation your sister has, does not work with three kitty kats. I have to do it, because I have no money for litter now…. but when I go to work it is a huge problem. All THREE litter boxes must be immaculate when I leave……. cause once one goes in one, the others don’t want to ….. big problem.
excellent advice ! I agree, kittys dont need fancy expensive litter boxes, Just the basics will do just fine.More importantly, kitties need love, and attention, good food to eat, and a CLEAN box, [ would you want to go on a dirty toilet ?] Im guessing not !, Cats feel the same way, You cant be lazy when you have a pet !
I’m so glad others have had luck with the automatics. It’s an interesting point about the plastic grates – I think mine had metal. It must be really tough with three. If it works, don’t fix it!
But if one breaks down, this method could be helpful since you can stick the used boxes on the porch and leave them until you can get to them.
The best litter is the clean one. My cats used pine, it is natural, flushable and odorless.
I dont see to much work in pick up every day the poop.
Automatics litters are for lazy people.
Sounds as though your sister has a good system going; glad it works for her. I’ve had two automatics and they were wonderful as long as there aren’t too many cats using them. Yes, the plastic shop bags work fine in the collection box.
Now I am using the classic covered cat box (no room for a second) in the bathroom with scoopable litter. I guess you could call it automatic: when one of them does a stinky, I “automatically” go for the large metal scoop
My problem is all the plastic bags. I don’t want to use so much plastic, but the paper is too stinky. I’ve heard of biobags but don’t know where to buy them or how well they work. Any suggestions?
PS: No back porch
Automatics were actually a lot of work for me.
I think whatever works for the individual is fine.
What a good point – no porch.
Hmmm. Perhaps you could sneak it onto a neighbor’s porch. 
And a good question. Here are a few biodegradable bag options:
http://mygreenmind.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1050&zenid=7bc64f13c8937e862408c15db97e4330
http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100489&navAction=jump&navCount=0&nug=VPD&skuid=sku4175726&id=prod4176856
http://www.prs-online.com/prodinfo.asp?number=6402
Thank you very much for the links, Kelly.
Then again, maybe they’d just think I really was a CRAZY cat lady! (Well, you see officer, there was this cat column . . .)
Putting my litter box on my neighbor’s porch would entail climbing fences; not too practical and I think they would figure it out
And climbing over a fence with a dirty litter box would be tricky.
what kind of motorized box did you use? we use the scoopfree (www.scooprfree.com) and didnt have the tracking issue… but if or when we have any issues, we call the company and they have always helped us out. You should call the vendor of your automatic tray and complain. If they are anything like scoopfree, they should be helpful and perhaps even offer you a refund or something.
Thank you again for all of the info on automatics. It could be I got a bum brand.
My litter box is very clean. I scoop it out at least 4-5 times a day. The motorrized litter box wouldn’t work for My cats probably get scared out of their minds. Just like I can’t use a litter box with a lid on it. The only cat in here is flower kitty her poop sinks tebbile. I don’t know why she doesn’t eat people food, just her cat food. Besides those motorized boxes are very costly. I’m doing fine with my littler box.Tracey
That’s impressive, Tracey! I must admit when I had an automatic, it tempted me to be lazy and forget to check on it (but that’s just me). You must have a happy cat.