Thread: my mother's day present from my furkids...

Originally Posted by Maggie

This is very interesting to me. While my cats have access to the outdoors (and generally prefer it) there are stretches of heavy rain or just plain frozen that bring a little business to my basement "emergency" litter box.

well, if it were only used occassionally, your supplies would probably last a long time. each of the sanitation cartridges does 60 clean cycles, and you have to have those and the litter to use it. if you didn't mind the initial expense, that is. i guess it depends on how strongly you feel about the emergency litter box duty.

my cats are still using it, although there is some extracirricular activity. (unfortunately, that's not completely unheard of here. i have a couple that fight and that generates occassional litterbox issues.)

for right now, i've turned off the auto cycles and just close the door and start manually for now. and i'm seeing less stalking of the box as they were doing for a while, so i think they're adjusting.

Me? I adjusted in about 30 seconds.

I thought I'd post an update, having used the box for a full two weeks now.

I'm no longer starting the cleaning cyles manually, and the cats seemed to have figured out the box won't start with them in it. They often do run to watch the cycles, and sometimes swipe at each other for the best spot. it's a popular attraction here. ha!

As far as problems go, there have only been a few, relatively minor issues. Last week, I was getting error beeps saying the cleaning solution was low or out but it wasn't. After messing with it a minute, I figured out to take the cartridge out and re-seat it, and that fixed that.

A few times, the cylce has missed very small pieces of waste that slipped through the scooper slits. Usually, this isn't a big issue and they disappear during the next cleaning, I assume liquified by the water/solution in the bowl during the cleaning process.

Once, however, it missed a bigger piece of waste; that was a bit unpleasant once the process finished, as it left the room smelling like sanitized, baked cat poo. ooops! i noticed that it was after the box was particularly dirty that this happened. so after i sprayed the room with lysol, i made sure the box was set to clean more frequently. hasn't happened since.

i just changed the cartridge for the first time, and it did last as long as it was supposed to. they are very easy to change. just sit it in the slot.

i have read about clog situations, but haven't yet had to deal with that. i am going to try disassembling it at some point, though, so i know what i'll have to do if it comes up. i do understand from the directions that running enough cleaning cycles for your cats will help avoid the need for this. i'm hoping so!

overall, i am totally and utterly thrilled with the box at this point. there is absolututely no unpleasant smell (with the exception of the incident mentioned above), the cats have accepted it nicely and my mornings are a lot nicer now that they don't start with litterbox duty.

i really love this thing. when it comes on, i tell DD that sound is music and start dancing. i sometimes adlib a song about the joys of a magical, self-cleaning litterbox. is it any wonder she things i'm nuts?

Here's Jules, taking the CatGenie on it's maiden voyage...
Still loving it!

the cats seemed to have figured out the box won't start with them in it. They often do run to watch the cycles, and sometimes swipe at each other for the best spot. it's a popular attraction here. ha!

I love it! You just can't beat cat entertainment.

That is so funny about them fighting for the best spot.

I had a littermaid before, too. It helped marginally, but it was FAR from the mostly-intervention free solution I'd been hoping for, let me tell ya. And I kept spraying wd-40 on that dang hand thing to help keep it from getting icky. Didn't work.

So far, the only significant downside I've had with the cat genie was the price, and for me, it's worth it... I LOVE this thing. lol

exactly! if you sprayed it twice a day, maybe it would work? but either way, that was not how the thing was billed, man...and removing the container was always a yuck job. plus, i never seemed to get to it quickly enough...so here you are, dealing with the same yuck that you bought the LM to save you from...

catgenie update - well, since i've been using this thing now since mother's day, i thought i'd give a longer term overview.

first of all, i just compared their website's compared cost with what i'm actually spending. i took out the confusing stuff (like estimate for your hourly time) and looked at what i'm actually paying in supplies vs. what they claim the cost is.

By their estimates, Cat Genie costs about $110 /yr per cat to run.
Based on what I'm actually using in supplies, Cat Genie costs about $151 a year per cat in the real world. (This is including shipping.)

Prior to Cat Genie, I was probably spending about $104 yr in litter per cat (I have four) and scooping litter twice a day and changing weekly. Obviously, your experience will vary depending on how much and what type of litter you go through.

So their "less expensive than regular litter" claim is iffy at best. The supplies are pricey. The cleaning cartridges do last as long as they are supposed to, but the reusable litter gets all over the place. I do have the wall extenders, but may eventually try adding the dome for this. They have mats that catch it so you can dump some back when the kitties track it out. The litter is also $24/box.

I run mine 4 times a day, and the cats have adjusted completely to this. I think they really dig the clean box factor. And the cleaning solution smells nice.

Since I've had it, I've had two malfunctions. Both times, the box needed to be taken apart and cleaned out because of a clog, and/or the litter stuff needs to be cleaned out from the inside of the unit so all the gears can turn right.

While this wasn't my idea of a good time, it wasn't horribly unpleasant. The shopvac, in particular, was a lifesaver here, with it's delightful wet vac ability. It's not difficult to disassemble, and you can do it without really moving the thing around a whole lot. (It's pretty good sized.)

I suspect if you do some routine maitenence every couple of months where you take it apart after a cleaning cycle and make sure their are no clogs and clean excess litter would probably keep it from clogging up in use.

For those considering it - I would suggest it only if you can put it next to the washer and not for the connection to a toilet option.

They suggest running it once or twice a day per cat. I would not suggest running it less frequently to try and save on the supplies. It works better and is far less likely to give your room a stinkbomb with the drying cycle if there isn't as much work for it to do.

And so while it does have it's issues in everyday use, honestly, I am still utterly and totally in love with my Cat Genie. It's made my life a lot easier and considerably more pleasant. It does work well 99% of the time and takes care of my least favorite household chore for me. And my cats love it. It is my favorite household appliance.

Based on what I'm actually using in supplies, Cat Genie costs about $151 a year per cat in the real world.

gadzooks! I guess I didn't clean my cat's litterbox on a timely enough basis so she "punished" me by always going outdoors to pee and poop in good weather. I'm spending about $15 a year now on litter! only have to scoop on rainy days. With your multiple indoor only cats I know why you're in love with your catgenie.

wow, rob! with my crew, i got about a bag of the fancy litter a week. i used to get cheap stuff, but i am in a small place, so anything controls the smell i was willing to spend more for. i'd tried a second litterbox, but it wasn't very helpful and very crowed in this space, so we stuck with one. but i have 4 totally indoor cats sharing a litterbox, so I was spending probably a little over $100 year on litter.

we live in town, Kat, and my cats have always been indoor to boot, so i don't let them out. i know they'd love it, but we don't have a good situation for it currently. So for us, the catgenie has been a godsend.

and my cats do love it. our oldest one, who is about 15, likes to NAP in the thing after it's been cleaned as the litter granules are warmed during the cleaning cycle.