Has anyone used a self cleaning litter tray?

One of the things I've come across in my pre-getting-a-cat research are self cleaning litter trays. They sound brilliant, if they work properly, and I was wondering if any of you had ever tried one?

I've seen some on-line reviews, which seem pretty split between them being really good, or no use at all, but you can't always tell properly from those (some people will always be negative no matter what).

There seem to be two types - one that can be connected to a drain and actually 'flush' the waste away (although they are the most expensive and I know I couldn't have one of those in my house anyway), and others that rake the waste into a sealed container that can then be disposed of when it is full.

Neither type is cheap, so it would be a considerable amount to spend just to try it out (unless there was some sort of money back guarantee).

Ohhh I've never heard of these, have you got any links you could post ? thanks Alison

I'll try and post some links later, but in the mean time you could try googling these...

Cat Genie - this is the 'flushing' one, although I've since seen some bad reviews about it getting blocked and creating a horrendous stench.

Littermaid - this one has 50/50 good and bad reviews

Litter Robot - this has the best reviews, but is also the most expensive and would have to be shipped from Germany I think. The only real bad comment I've seen is that some cats are scared to use it. Also it would have to be the biggest model as the small one would be no good for a full grown MC. On the plus side it does have a 60 day money back guarantee.

There is also the Omega Paw, which isn't automated in any way, rather you roll it and all of the debris goes into a container that you can then empty (has to be used with clumping litter). This one is much cheaper than the others too (around £40) but would not have the 'odour reducing' properties of some of the others. It's pretty big too, on the outside that is. You'd have to go for the larger of the two models for an MC.

Thanks for that will check it out :)

I had the Littermaid one. It worked for a while, then it started flinging poo all over the room.

Poo flinging definitely doesn't sound good!

Hi there, we recently bought the 'Omega paws self cleaning litter box' which is no too expensive, here in the UK it was around 30 pounds, it is a American product though so easily available abroad. It's the best thing we ever bought our two furry boys love it and so do we! litter cleaning is a few seconds now. You fill the pod with ultra clumping or worlds best cat litter and when you want to clean it you just roll the whole pod over to the right and then back again. All the clumps are then in a little slide out drawer, which you tip in to bags or bin! never have to touch or scoop litter ever again, no more arguments on who's turn it is to clean the litter box! it is both simple and very clever! it comes in two sizes regular and large, needless to say the large size is best for Maine Coons! and it is very large. Brilliant product though and definately well worth trying, a lot less expensive than the electric ones which can have a lot of problems. Lisa xxx

Thanks for that, it definitely does sound good! Isn't World's Best Cat litter flushable too? That combined with the Omega Paw may be the answer (i.e. roll it, then flush it, so no poos hanging around :smile:).

The only problem with the Omega Paw for me is it's size, although that will be a problem with the automatic ones too. My house isn't huge, I can't (and wouldn't want to) have the litter tray in the kitchen or in the bathroom, it's definitely not going in my bedroom which leaves either the living room (which I'm not that keen on) or the small landing at the top of the stairs and I think the Omega Paw would be too big there.

Ah well, as it's probably going to be at least a year before I get my MC, so I've still got time to plan!

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Originally Posted by Silvergirl

Hi there, we recently bought the 'Omega paws self cleaning litter box' which is no too expensive, here in the UK it was around 30 pounds, it is a American product though so easily available abroad. It's the best thing we ever bought our two furry boys love it and so do we! litter cleaning is a few seconds now. Lisa xxx

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Okay you sold me!!! Just ordered one from Pet supermarket along with a bag of natures best!! It's £28.39 at the moment on offer with free postage if you spend £29.00. If like me you feed Royal Canin dry it's on offer too.

Just got to persuade them to use the new loo when it comes...........wish me luck on that one:rofl:

:LOL: You'll have to let us know how you and the fuzzies get on with it.

I've been looking at the Omega Paw - it does look good and I am thinking of getting one for Simba. At the moment he does have a large covered one but I keep it in the utility room and when emptying it it means carrying the hole litter tray which is heavy through the house to the toilet to empty it. It would be a lot easier just emptying a small tray. My worry is that with the turning it doesn't the poop get all over the roof of the tray and make a mess? Does it need cleaning out more often?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Silvergirl

Hi there, we recently bought the 'Omega paws self cleaning litter box' which is no too expensive, here in the UK it was around 30 pounds, it is a American product though so easily available abroad. It's the best thing we ever bought our two furry boys love it and so do we! litter cleaning is a few seconds now. You fill the pod with ultra clumping or worlds best cat litter and when you want to clean it you just roll the whole pod over to the right and then back again. All the clumps are then in a little slide out drawer, which you tip in to bags or bin! never have to touch or scoop litter ever again, no more arguments on who's turn it is to clean the litter box! it is both simple and very clever! it comes in two sizes regular and large, needless to say the large size is best for Maine Coons! and it is very large. Brilliant product though and definately well worth trying, a lot less expensive than the electric ones which can have a lot of problems. Lisa xxx

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This is what we have! It's amazing! I like it so much :satisfied:

watched a video on you tube ... that looks as though its going on want list !!! In fact possible the must have list thanks Linzi x

Ours has come today, and shocker Roxy used it first unheard of normally as Hector sits waiting as you clean the tray out normally!!

I have a mix of worlds best and there normal litter in at the moment just till they get used to it and am about to try out the roll:winkwink:

The best bit is the huge box it was shipped in, a couple of quick holes cut into it and whoo playtime they don't know that it's going in the morning as it's nor staying in the living room:rofl:

All I can say is wow, it's going to take a little getting used to with how far you go across the room when rolling it but it worked like a charm:satisfied:

The spectators were a little baffled as to what mum was doing with the new loo:rofl:

So a definite thumbs up on the Omega Paw then! I think that one will be going on my list of things I'll need to get before I get my MC(s). :smile:

And I'm glad my question has helped out some of you others too. :koolkat:

Update on the new litter box its fab! No problems with them using it the only thing is going to be getting rid of the box it was delivered in, we made the mistake of resealing it and cutting a couple of holes in it for them to play in for a day or two its still behind the sofa usually with a kitten in or on it!

Sounds like both boxes have been a real success :LOL:.

Oops, double post!

Hope you have as much success with it as we have, it's so ingeniously simple and effective, we just took the lid off the pod for the first day and the started using it no probs, then put the lid back on, after that we've never looked back!

Luv Lisa xxx

After reading all your comments about the Omega Paw I have ordered one - hope it comes soon looking forward to getting it now.

We have had a Litter Robot for several years now and it works very well. We have two Ragdolls @ 12lbs and one Maine Coon at 5 lbs. They all still use the LItter Robot, but gradually have used it less and less and using the new extra large litter box. The LItter Robot works great for 10lb and less cats, but gets a little small for anything larger than that. It does work as advertised and we have been very satisfied with it. But.....looks like it is time to retire it as the cats are getting to large and have just about quit using it.

We had the Littermaid for awhile. The motor seemed to burn out pretty fast, but it worked alright. My Maine was deathly afraid of it and wouldn't go near it, but my moggie would jump in just to make it 'go', and then sit there and watch (which now that I think about it might be why the motor burned out so fast).

Not seen it mentioned in this thread or anywhere else, but has anyone tried (for better or worse) the Litter Kwitter ? (http://www.litterkwitter.com/)

The training video on the site makes it look far too sensible and straight forward...

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Originally Posted by Peter Galbavy

Not seen it mentioned in this thread or anywhere else, but has anyone tried (for better or worse) the Litter Kwitter ? (http://www.litterkwitter.com/)

The training video on the site makes it look far too sensible and straight forward...

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Hmm... however sensible the whole thing may seem... somehow it makes me cringe. Dunno why, but it does. :what?:

I've seen them but it just makes me laugh thinking of Mr Jinx the cat using the loo in the Meet the Parents film! Most of our visitors are freaked out enough by our MC's curiosity in anyone using the bathroom - the thought of their reaction if they walked in to find one of them squatting on the loo cracks me up!!!

I have enough trouble with the whole leaving the loo seat up debarcle in this house - without the Coonies not flushing either :-D

Our Tatja flushes.
She likes to jump on top of the reservoir when I am on the loo. I didn't mind at first, until she figured out how to operate that button. :LOL:

There have been a small number of threads on the forum specifically about the Litter Kwitter and I've never really been able to look at it as a serious approach to the icky side of serving a cat. One of the threads included a link to one poor lady who had persevered with the Litter Kwitter for a ludicrous amount of time before finally waving the white flag - I've included the link below as it's a bit of an eye opener! Fortunately, the servant in question appears to have retained a sense of humour and if you're contemplating the Litter Kwitter you might find that's an essential bit of kit that's not listed on the box!

Sophie Cat | The cutest cat in the World!

Good grief that woman has the patience of a saint

Karen, that link is priceless! Really gave me a laugh.
Someone doesn’t like the LitterKwitter.
AND she’s got a great sense of humour and a lot of time on her hands to write it all up and take all the lovely photos of Sophie.

All this said… I never understood what’s so hard about scooping once a day. We have two Jumbo litter boxes… takes less then 5 minutes to clean them out. And once every fortnight we throw out the old litter, scrub the boxes with bleach and put in fresh litter… takes about 20 minutes. Job done!

Mind, we feed raw so there’s very little poop and it doesn’t pong. If you feed kibble & tins the poop would be more & smellier.

I read some of the blog - she has got a sense of humour even in times of adversity.

I am probably going to get the Omega Paw litter box (made the understair cupboard all empty and clean - just a door to cut out and sand down now) - but I will try the Litter Kwitter too; Never know, if even two or the three new arrivals take to it it's still a big deal :)

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Originally Posted by elismom

Stay away from the World's Best Cat Litter. I bought a Littermaid self-cleaning box for Eli for Christmas and it works fine with regular clumping cat litter. This other stuff is made from corn so I thought it might be healthier for him. It reeks and heaps of it ends up in the receptacle so you waste a LOT! It's very expensive and NOT worth the $. I like the Littermaid though although it's more work than I thought it would be...

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Wow, my family (especially my wife) is always complaining about my over-sensitive nose, but World's Best Cat Litter didn't bother me at all. But it is expensive and I found the Swheat Scoop seems to work as well. The Swheat Scoop is still expensive compared to clay-based litters, but I find it less dusty. (I worry about my cats inhaling dust.) I clean (manually) every night the large litter box (about 75 cm × 45 cm / 30 in. × 18 in.) and don't think it too bad. Because it clumps, I remove a small amount of litter when cleaning.

We went through two self-cleaning litter boxes (both Littermaid). The first lasted about a year before the motor quit working. The second lasted several months and then the motor wouldn't turn off (it ran continually); it got to be too much bother to plug it in for a minute or so every few hours! I'm not inclined to get another one.