Looking to pick up a self cleaning litterbox but there are a lot of options. The coolest one I've seen by far is the CatGenie Automatic Cat Box, but it's nearly $500 and seems a little overkill.
I've also seen that the PetSafe Litterbox is a very popular choice, but it uses proprietary litter refills and crystal litter when I'd prefer clay litter.
I've been getting away with a $15 do-it-yourself litterbox just fine for a while, but I think I (and my cat) would appreciate something that doesn't require daily maintenance. Something as simple as an automatic rake would be interesting.
My main goals are:
- Requires as little maintenance as possible while keeping my cat happy and the smell under control
- No proprietary lock-in (I can use my own litter)
- Doesn't break the bank
- Built well, won't break / easy to fix / good warranty / cheap enough that I can just buy a new one if it breaks
While I am looking for budget friendly options, I'm also curious on the more expensive options. I can't imagine what justifies spending $700 on a Litter-Robot when emptying a litterbox manually isn't that bad and the CatGenie is $500 and promises zero-maintenance. Have you had good luck with premium options like that?
I have two Litter Robots (3rd gen) and I love them. They aren’t perfect but they are really good. My cat box maintenance is weekly and it takes 5 minutes to do both of them.
Cleaning them is a pain but you don’t have to do it super often.
No proprietary consumables. I’ve used four or five types of clumping litter, no issues. I use standard kitchen garbage bags in the catch pan.
They are expensive but after I bought the first and my cats got used to it I had to buy another. My cats walk on (comparatively) clean litter every time, which is a great benefit. And the time savings is huge.
I wish our cats would use our Litter Robot again. It was great for around a year, then they just stopped using it. I think I'll try cleaning it thoroughly and see if that helps.