Litter Boxes

Litter mats

Some form of mat near the litter box is probably a good idea, there are some that claim to trap the litter from kitty's paws:

Below is the PetFusion SmartGrip Cat Litter Mat. Large (35 x 24 inches) about 26 dollars, has a textured surface that is supposed to trap litter

Below is the Petlinks Purr-fect Paws Cat Litter Mat comes in 3 sizes and has circular dimples to trap the litter, waterproof,

I liked this one more, and we bought the 24 x 15" one since our CatGeni wants to be level and right on the floor. Comes packkaged rolled tightly, leave in the sun for a couple of days, will lay flat and air out. www.petlinkssystem.com . After several years, this is still the best one for us.

www.cocktailsandmeows.com

self emptying/cleaning litter boxes

 I bought one when we got our first cat. Worked well, but he's just too big for it. Too bad, a great design. This was the Cat Genie.

Now with our second ragdoll, I would like another one, but need for a big cat, and sharing it is a priority

I have 28-1/4 available, and just under 30" if I re-do the support

List of litter machines:

Cat Genie

Loved this machine, but too small for big cats. It has washable litter, and actually scoops the poo, and grinds it up and washes down the drain... rinses the litter and dries it.

Litter Robot 4 - $700

Litter Robot 4 gets good reviews, it's got a globe, and turns like a dryer to sift out poo. Has a drawer for the poo.

• Size: 29.5" high (have to modify my space, but easy), 22" wide, 27" deep.
• Opening: round, 15-3/4
• sealed drawer for the poo

Pros:

• poo compartment sealed when not in use
• room for deoderizers
• poo distributes in waste evenly, instead of building up in a single pile like others
• optional litterhopper will keep litter topped up automatically - but $150 extra and at back of unit, not convenient for me
• optional opening fence cuts down litter spillage (*** should be standard now)

Petsafe scoop free smart spin $400

very much like the litter robot

• size: 26" high, 20.9" wide, 18.9" deep
• Opening: 9.5" x 11" (note! many sites report the opening is 17", baloney!)

Cons:

• hard to add litter through smaller main opening
• not a lot of "lip" to keep litter tracking
• emptying litter not great, have to pick up the entire "ball"
• cannot identify between more than one cat

Pros:

• has deodorizer in poo drawer (air flow?)

Homerunpet - $750

billed as largest automatic box

• size 28" high
• opening 10.25 x 10.5 (kind of small

Pros:

• auto refill of litter
• 12 liter waste bin
• 18" litter bed
• design helps litter tracking

Petsnowy - 

 Pros:

• enclosed design, super for not tracking litter

 Nekasa -

Open style

trap door for waste bin, controls odors

cons:

needs a litter shield, unit will stop if cat apears before it levels the litter, makes a mess

Now 

Was looking for the right solution. I did not want to be emptying litter boxes.

Clearly you can get a box, buy some litter and put it in there, clean it, dump it, etc.

I have a friend that taught his cats to use the toilet, which sounds cool, but after watching some videos, the cats still instinctively tried to cover their feces over, and there were paws scraping everywhere: Every video I have seen the cat scratches the edge of the bowl or seat. So this is a cool idea for a dedicated bathroom, and also will take some training. It did not sit quite right with me though, as the cat still instinctively claws around.

How about a self cleaning litter box? I remember seeing ones that have a rake that goes back and forth, but you still have to dump the stuff and change the litter from the urine. Not cool enough.

Cat Genie

Then I found this: The Cat Genie

This device uses plastic litter, and scoops the feces, rinses the litter and macerates and flushes the waste down the drain. There is even a heated blower to dry the litter.

Looks good, watched the reviews. Bought 2 of them, one upstairs, one downstairs. Very nice construction, packing, and instructions. Easy to set up. Worth the $$.

Notes: the litter gets "used up"... some of it gets washed down the drain and some the cat tracks out. A new box is 3.5 pounds, but how to measure when to add? I measured a new box, it's 2 quarts plus 1-1/4 cups of litter.

Experience with the Litter-Robot 4:

 After a lot of research, I came to the LR4. Not one of the machines I researched was perfect, but chose the LR4:

• they have been in the business a long time, and made a lot of improvements.
• The LR4 is a significant step forward from the LR3
• lots of sensors that worked well for a lot of people.
• works with and recognizes multiple cats

Tips:

• first issue I found is my kitten was very curious, in fact received a message from the LR4 to that end. Turns out that if you interrupt it enough, won't restart/continue by the app, press and hold the cycle button on the unit.