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I am ever in search of a good automatic litter box. I have used Littermaid, Litter Robot, Scoop Free, etc, but none I am completely happy with. Does anybody use Cat Genie? This seems promising from their website but I'd really rather get real reviews before I spend a large sum of money.
Have read about it and it is often talked of on the cat forums, but never have heard of any one actually buying one. It is a huge amt. of $ to spend, if the cat decided he doesn't like it. And not everyone has the space in a bathroom to stub this thing in. Personally, I'd rather not have it in one of my bathrooms. Let us know if you decide to take the leap...I'd be interested in knowing how it turns out.
It's been about four years................ Has anyone bought one of these? My cats are each 16 years old and have decided they don't want to use a litter box anymore. :/
I'm guessing the cats are ok? I considered the Cat Genie although I live in an apartment I thought I'd give it a try but you might want to check out the reviews on Amazon. Have you tried replacing the litter box? Sometimes the plastic becomes worn and no amount of scrubbing will remove the odor - as far as kitty is concerned that is.
If the odor of the old litter trays is actually part of the problem, a cheap way to change things up would be Petco's trays made from bagasse, which is the fibrous mass of stuff that's left over after sugar cane is processed. They are smaller than standard trays so work well as liners, but are also more than sturdy enough to serve as stand-alone trays. We first tried them when we got three new kittens, and they were a big success. Easy to scoop and clean, and after six to eight weeks or so, you can just smash them up and toss them into the compost pile for a completely fresh start. No accumulation of anything. We have three older cats as well and a total of nine active litter trays. I had been cleaning all of those out the old fashioned way for a lot of years (including a bleach-and-rinse cycle), but these "paper" ones were so much easier to deal with, we just put everybody on them.
There are meanwhile a million tricks for cats who won't use the box anymore. The only one that has ever done any good for us was to replace the litter with a bunch of newspaper strips torn an inch or so wide and pretty much a full page long. Once the cat started using that, we started adding litter a little at a time until it was finally just litter and no newspaper anymore. End of problem, but that cat was only about four years old at the time. The 17-year old with kidney issues never did go back to the box once she quit. She just kept using a wool rug she liked until she died. Ruined the rug of course and the hardwood floor beneath it. After she was gone, we replaced the rug and later refinished the floor as part of a remodeling. It all looks fine these days.
My husband sent me those two words - cat. genie. I think he wants one. As he is the litter box changer, I can completely understand why. Didn't realize tho' that it has to be plumbed tho'! Seems complicated.
It's been about four years................ Has anyone bought one of these? My cats are each 16 years old and have decided they don't want to use a litter box anymore. :/
Cats don't just 'decide' not to use the litter box. There is a reaon, and it's up to you to figure out what the reason is.
The first step is check ups, with blood work and urinalysis at the vet.
Then, consider the litter. Has it changed? Maybe you are still buying the same thing but the manufacturer has done something different to it.
Perhaps you need lower sided boxes. Older cats can get arthritis which make it difficult to get into and out of the box. Get boxes that the cat simply has to step into.
The location of the boxes. If the boxes are hidden away somewhere, like down stairs, again, age and arthritis may make it too difficult for the cats to get to the boxes. Bring them upstairs, and keep the low sided boxes on the level of the house where the cats spend most of their time, in a place that is easy for them to get to.
Be sure to keep the boxes clean. Scoop at least twice a day, depending on how many boxes you have. If you have only one box, add at least one.
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