CatGenie Self-cleaning Litter Box or Another You'd Recommend or Advise Against?

I don't have a cat genie but I did find a good litter brand called "Cat Attract." It clumps REALLY well, better than any other brand I've tried. It really only takes less than a minute to scoop because it works so well.

I also used to use a covered litter box with a ramp going up into it. Because the cat had to walk down the ramp to get out she didn't track as much litter around. I got a plastic tray with a "grate" on the top to catch the litter at the bottom (works better than those mats).

That's all I have. If you go with the cat genie good luck! It looks like a neat litter box. Have you tried Ebay? You might find it cheaper.

I've never heard of the catgenie, but I tried the LitterMate automatic litterbox. I HATED it! I broke on me after a few days! It would hit a clump, then move back into the starting position as if it hit one of the cats. I found out it had broke on one of my aunts to. Another aunt uses it, and she has no problems with it! I would love to get an automatic, so if there's one someone recommends, I would be open to hopefully getting one as well!

M.

I so want one of those!! If we have any tax money left I am thinking of getting 2 of them!

We also have 2 cats, and we're on our 2nd Littermaid automatic litterbox in the last 7 years. The motor on the first one burnt out after 3 or so years, so we replaced it with a new littermaid. This works by having a sensor that activates the unit 10 mintues after the cat leaves, and rakes the clumps into a disposable pan at the end.

For us, it works pretty well, as long as you use decent quality litter (Fresh Step or Petco brand have been good) and empty the cointainer every couple days. If the container gets full, everything backs up, leaving a moist, mushy (and smelly!) mess in the box. Also, be sure not to overfill it with litter - otherwise, the rake will get stuck like what one of the other posters experienced.

Since the Littermaid is 10+ year old technology and kind of mediocre, my advice to you would be to give the Cat Genie a try. If it works well, great! Otherwise, take it back and get a Littermaid.

I don't know what kind of auto catbox I had, and it was about 10 years ago, but the problem I had was with the poop and the rake. The box had some kind of red-eye sensor & like 5-10 minutes after a cat left the box, a rake would pass thru the box & scoop up the clumps. The problem was that any mushy poop was still very mushy after only 5-10 minutes, and so it would stick all over the rake. The rake, therefore, seemed to need to be cleaned itself quite a bit, and it was a huge hassle to get the rake out, clean it, and put it back in.

I finally gave up & went back to regular, manual scooping, as it seemed easier, faster & I was actually touching poop less than with cleaning that rake!

Good luck...

My friend has one of these and she loves it. She installed it and put it together herself. She thinks it is the greatest thing ever. I would get one if I had cats.

I had one for a while, about 2 yrs, before the motor died on it. It still was work in that the container it goes into has to be emptied daily pretty much (we do have 3 cats though, so if you have less cats it would be less often). But my kids are older now and do the kitty potty themselves so I only have to do it on the night before garbage day.