So, it came. Got here last Saturday. It's HUGE. They gave the dimensions on the site and folks said it was big but . . . wow, it's really big.
My expectation was that Jack, aka Thunder Thighs, would be curious and take right to it and Scout, aka Ching-Ching-Bo-Bing, would be a little skittish. So, we set it up, H brought out some litter he had bought (unbeknownst to me) in anticipation of the arrival (it requires clumping litter, prior to this we used a non-clumping) we filled it up, plugged it in, and stood back to see what would happen.
The cats, being curious animals, were calmly watching the setup but once we turned it on and it went into a test cycle, Jack jumped straight up into the air and ran off. Scout sat there watching it through its cycle and when it was done she walked up, sniffed it, jumped in, peed, jumped out and walked away like it was something she did it everyday.
Unfortunately, the litter H bought stunk, literally. It was supposed to be a "clean fresh scent" but smelled like an outhouse. It was soooooo gross. Everytime I walked near it I felt like gagging and everytime Jack came near it, he would sniff at it, hiss, and run away. So, after a day of watching him not use it, smelling that awful "clean fresh scent" and worrying about whether Thunder Thighs was going elsewhere, I trudged out and bought new litter.
I switched to The Worlds Greatest Litter because I had tried it in the past, on my pet-sitter's recommendation (she has 7 cats and swore by it) but, had to stop using it because Jack wouldn't stop eating it (it's made from corn cobs and smells just like corn). So, I figured if he liked eating it, it might lure him into the robot to start using it.
Sure enough, I emptied the robot of the old litter, filled it up with TWGL and Fat Boy came over, sniffed the opening, jumped in and peed. Whew. Thankfully, this time he doesn't seem interested in eating it.
It's not perfect, there are a couple of little things that need to still be done like dustbustering the area in front of the robot cuz the cats fling litter out of it but, we had that problem with the regular litter box and, frankly, they fling a LOT less litter out of this thing than they did their old box -- about 1/10 as much as before so that's really no big deal.
And someone, I think Scout, occasionally goes with her but facing towards the entry-hole so there were a couple of little pee spots on the step that I had to wipe up but, again, we had that same problem with the old box and it would land in the excess litter liner that was hanging out and that was much harder and much more disgusting to clean - with the robot I just used a Clorox wipe and wiped the step off.
All in all, it works as advertised and it's LOVELY not having to scoop any litter. Also, since changing the litter brand, there is literally no odor at all and they've been peeing and pooping in the new litter for four days now and . . . no smell at all. And cleanup is really a breeze. You open the drawer, pull out the bag of clumps and throw it away. With this new litter I can even just flush it if I want since it's one of those litters that is approved for that. One of the reviews I read said that they were using TWGL and they stopped using bags to line the drawer and just emptied the drawer into the toilet, cleaned the drawer and put it back but, frankly, that's kinda gross to me so I'll stick with the bags.
The only warning I would give would be about the size. It really is very big and we have to find some place for it cuz we have it in the guest bathroom right now and . . . it can't stay there cuz it's just so big. But, frankly, I don't think it could be any smaller given what it does. You just have to understand how big it is and make sure you have a place to put it.
So, I have to say . . . two very enthusiastic thumbs up. It's much more expensive than other automated litter boxes but it is truly, in my opinion, worth it.
My expectation was that Jack, aka Thunder Thighs, would be curious and take right to it and Scout, aka Ching-Ching-Bo-Bing, would be a little skittish. So, we set it up, H brought out some litter he had bought (unbeknownst to me) in anticipation of the arrival (it requires clumping litter, prior to this we used a non-clumping) we filled it up, plugged it in, and stood back to see what would happen.
The cats, being curious animals, were calmly watching the setup but once we turned it on and it went into a test cycle, Jack jumped straight up into the air and ran off. Scout sat there watching it through its cycle and when it was done she walked up, sniffed it, jumped in, peed, jumped out and walked away like it was something she did it everyday.
Unfortunately, the litter H bought stunk, literally. It was supposed to be a "clean fresh scent" but smelled like an outhouse. It was soooooo gross. Everytime I walked near it I felt like gagging and everytime Jack came near it, he would sniff at it, hiss, and run away. So, after a day of watching him not use it, smelling that awful "clean fresh scent" and worrying about whether Thunder Thighs was going elsewhere, I trudged out and bought new litter.
I switched to The Worlds Greatest Litter because I had tried it in the past, on my pet-sitter's recommendation (she has 7 cats and swore by it) but, had to stop using it because Jack wouldn't stop eating it (it's made from corn cobs and smells just like corn). So, I figured if he liked eating it, it might lure him into the robot to start using it.
Sure enough, I emptied the robot of the old litter, filled it up with TWGL and Fat Boy came over, sniffed the opening, jumped in and peed. Whew. Thankfully, this time he doesn't seem interested in eating it.
It's not perfect, there are a couple of little things that need to still be done like dustbustering the area in front of the robot cuz the cats fling litter out of it but, we had that problem with the regular litter box and, frankly, they fling a LOT less litter out of this thing than they did their old box -- about 1/10 as much as before so that's really no big deal.
And someone, I think Scout, occasionally goes with her but facing towards the entry-hole so there were a couple of little pee spots on the step that I had to wipe up but, again, we had that same problem with the old box and it would land in the excess litter liner that was hanging out and that was much harder and much more disgusting to clean - with the robot I just used a Clorox wipe and wiped the step off.
All in all, it works as advertised and it's LOVELY not having to scoop any litter. Also, since changing the litter brand, there is literally no odor at all and they've been peeing and pooping in the new litter for four days now and . . . no smell at all. And cleanup is really a breeze. You open the drawer, pull out the bag of clumps and throw it away. With this new litter I can even just flush it if I want since it's one of those litters that is approved for that. One of the reviews I read said that they were using TWGL and they stopped using bags to line the drawer and just emptied the drawer into the toilet, cleaned the drawer and put it back but, frankly, that's kinda gross to me so I'll stick with the bags.
The only warning I would give would be about the size. It really is very big and we have to find some place for it cuz we have it in the guest bathroom right now and . . . it can't stay there cuz it's just so big. But, frankly, I don't think it could be any smaller given what it does. You just have to understand how big it is and make sure you have a place to put it.
So, I have to say . . . two very enthusiastic thumbs up. It's much more expensive than other automated litter boxes but it is truly, in my opinion, worth it.
