Littermaid litter box

I just ordered a Littermaid Elite litter box (it's supposed to come with
the ramp and Kitty Cabana cover, according to the Littermaid site, but the
person who took the order didn't think it did, so I'll see upon delivery)
from Petco.com, as litter box scooping is not helping the back pain of
those who scoop them. Is anyone here using one? If so, what do you think
of it, and what kind of litter do you use (info says to use premium
clumping litter, and I don't know what qualifies as premium clumping
litter?) Also, how often do you actually have to replace the litter with
a refill of fresh? I know some is removed with each raking of a clump, so
replacement will be necessary, but I mean completely removing and
replacing the remaining litter.

Thanks for any help,



Alan

--

----------------------------------------------------------------------
** Please use address alanh77[at]comcast.net to reply via e-mail. **

Posted using registered MR/2 ICE Newsreader #564 and eComStation 1.21

BBS - The Nerve Center Telnet FidoNet 261/1000 tncbbs.no-ip.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Alan!
I had one of these several years ago and I hated it. I spent quite a
bit of money on it, to include shipping it overseas, only to turn
around and give it to a friend of mine; he had one cat, I had four.
The box clearly stated that I could use one box for up to four cats.


The problems I had with it we
- Rake getting jammed in the litter, usually from a solid clump of
urine-sound was very annoying at 2 AM.
- Very hard to clean thoroughly since you could not immerse the motor
casing in water-this is aggravating for people like me who have to
completely clean their boxes around once a month or so.
- Very messy when scooping into the waste bin-I had more mess to clean
up from that than from my cats just using a regular litter box
- I also had to clean the cabana rather frequently due to all of the
mess from the scooping into the waste bin motion
- Was not big enough for my cats (as is the case with nearly ALL cat
boxes!)

While talking to somone at Petsmart one day about cat litter, I learned
that Litter Maid does not even recommend using its OWN cat litter in
the litter box. I do not know how true that is, but that is what I was
told. When I had a litter maid, to my knowledge their brand of cat
litter was not available at the time (I lived overseas) so I used
something like Fresh Step for litter.

Having said all of that, it may have improved since I had mine, but I
still will never buy another one again. I'd rather be scooping cat
boxes manually well into my sixties than waste my money on another one
of these things.

Make sure Petco has a return policy in case you do not like it. I know
Petsmart does, and will even refund your money for empty bags of cat
litter, but I am not sure about Petco. I personally am not a fan of
Petco because the local store in Huntsville was quite dirty and it
increased the prices of some of the premium cat foods, such as Science
Diet, only to knock off a dollar or two if you had one of their Pet
Perks cards. I checked at the Petsmart across the street and their
prices were a bit lower than Petco's.

Just my two cents...if it works for you, great! If not, I would
recommend packing it back up into the box and returning it to Petco.

I hope others respond to this thread who have the newer models because
I'd love to know if they work better than the old ones.
All the best of luck to you!
Deeanna


wrote:
I just ordered a Littermaid Elite litter box (it's supposed to come with
the ramp and Kitty Cabana cover, according to the Littermaid site, but the
person who took the order didn't think it did, so I'll see upon delivery)
from Petco.com, as litter box scooping is not helping the back pain of
those who scoop them. Is anyone here using one? If so, what do you think
of it, and what kind of litter do you use (info says to use premium
clumping litter, and I don't know what qualifies as premium clumping
litter?) Also, how often do you actually have to replace the litter with
a refill of fresh? I know some is removed with each raking of a clump, so
replacement will be necessary, but I mean completely removing and
replacing the remaining litter.

Thanks for any help,



Alan

--

----------------------------------------------------------------------
** Please use address alanh77[at]comcast.net to reply via e-mail. **

Posted using registered MR/2 ICE Newsreader #564 and eComStation 1.21

BBS - The Nerve Center Telnet FidoNet 261/1000 tncbbs.no-ip.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I had one of the older ones as well. The problems I experienced were
much like you said - it was messier around the waste bin area, and
filled up much too quickly! Not that it's Littermaid's fault: my 2
cats had the biggest hand in that. And they also have this habit of
always urinating in one particular corner, and that happened to be the
one near the rake. The litter would stick to the rake, thus making the
process even more messy. I have read that the rake is now removable
for easier cleaning, but it still wastes a lot of litter until you get
a chance to clean it (kind of hard since I'm at work all day, so if it
gets clogged up early in the day, that's how it would stay until I got
home). I would really like a device that cleans for me, since most
cats I know prefer a clean box every time they go. But considering the
cost, I don't think I would be willing to try again anytime soon...


Deeanna wrote:
Hello Alan!
I had one of these several years ago and I hated it. I spent quite a
bit of money on it, to include shipping it overseas, only to turn
around and give it to a friend of mine; he had one cat, I had four.
The box clearly stated that I could use one box for up to four cats.


The problems I had with it we
- Rake getting jammed in the litter, usually from a solid clump of
urine-sound was very annoying at 2 AM.
- Very hard to clean thoroughly since you could not immerse the motor
casing in water-this is aggravating for people like me who have to
completely clean their boxes around once a month or so.
- Very messy when scooping into the waste bin-I had more mess to clean
up from that than from my cats just using a regular litter box
- I also had to clean the cabana rather frequently due to all of the
mess from the scooping into the waste bin motion
- Was not big enough for my cats (as is the case with nearly ALL cat
boxes!)

While talking to somone at Petsmart one day about cat litter, I learned
that Litter Maid does not even recommend using its OWN cat litter in
the litter box. I do not know how true that is, but that is what I was
told. When I had a litter maid, to my knowledge their brand of cat
litter was not available at the time (I lived overseas) so I used
something like Fresh Step for litter.

Having said all of that, it may have improved since I had mine, but I
still will never buy another one again. I'd rather be scooping cat
boxes manually well into my sixties than waste my money on another one
of these things.

Make sure Petco has a return policy in case you do not like it. I know
Petsmart does, and will even refund your money for empty bags of cat
litter, but I am not sure about Petco. I personally am not a fan of
Petco because the local store in Huntsville was quite dirty and it
increased the prices of some of the premium cat foods, such as Science
Diet, only to knock off a dollar or two if you had one of their Pet
Perks cards. I checked at the Petsmart across the street and their
prices were a bit lower than Petco's.

Just my two cents...if it works for you, great! If not, I would
recommend packing it back up into the box and returning it to Petco.

I hope others respond to this thread who have the newer models because
I'd love to know if they work better than the old ones.
All the best of luck to you!
Deeanna


wrote:
I just ordered a Littermaid Elite litter box (it's supposed to come with
the ramp and Kitty Cabana cover, according to the Littermaid site, but the
person who took the order didn't think it did, so I'll see upon delivery)
from Petco.com, as litter box scooping is not helping the back pain of
those who scoop them. Is anyone here using one? If so, what do you think
of it, and what kind of litter do you use (info says to use premium
clumping litter, and I don't know what qualifies as premium clumping
litter?) Also, how often do you actually have to replace the litter with
a refill of fresh? I know some is removed with each raking of a clump, so
replacement will be necessary, but I mean completely removing and
replacing the remaining litter.

Thanks for any help,



Alan

--

----------------------------------------------------------------------
** Please use address alanh77[at]comcast.net to reply via e-mail. **

Posted using registered MR/2 ICE Newsreader #564 and eComStation 1.21

BBS - The Nerve Center Telnet FidoNet 261/1000 tncbbs.no-ip.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------

schrieb:

I just ordered a Littermaid Elite litter box
Is anyone here using one? If so, what do you think
of it, and what kind of litter do you use (info says to use premium
clumping litter, and I don't know what qualifies as premium clumping
litter?) Also, how often do you actually have to replace the litter with
a refill of fresh? I know some is removed with each raking of a clump, so
replacement will be necessary, but I mean completely removing and
replacing the remaining litter.

I used two till I recently moved to a different voltage area. I liked
them. I had the large version and found they were fine for my four
cats. I used Fresh Step as the litter. I found I had to refill every
two to three days as the fill level is quite low compared to a regular
litter box. Keep the fill level close to the maximum level, otherwise
the stuff starts clumping to the bottom. The rake only scoops the large
clumps, but not the small bits, so either you scoop with a regular
scooper once every few days (I did it when I refilled) or you dump
everything earlier. I dumped about once a month to scrub the bottom and
sides thoroughly. Depends on how messy your cats are :-)

wrote in message
.net...
I just ordered a Littermaid Elite litter box (it's supposed to come with
the ramp and Kitty Cabana cover, according to the Littermaid site, but the
person who took the order didn't think it did, so I'll see upon delivery)
from Petco.com, as litter box scooping is not helping the back pain of
those who scoop them. Is anyone here using one? If so, what do you think
of it, and what kind of litter do you use (info says to use premium
clumping litter, and I don't know what qualifies as premium clumping
litter?) Also, how often do you actually have to replace the litter with
a refill of fresh? I know some is removed with each raking of a clump, so
replacement will be necessary, but I mean completely removing and
replacing the remaining litter.

Thanks for any help,



Alan

I have two of the older Littermaid Mega and they work well, but are not perfect. You
need to listen to people who have had success with these not the failures. I don't
use any cover to make it easier to see what's going on and to scoop as needed.

If your cat will tolerate the switch, the best litter for these is the corn based
World's Best or Littermaid own litter (also corn based), just because it is much
lighter and much easier on the mechanism.

Unfortunately one of my cats does not like organic litter so I use Precious Cat
Ultra.

Adam

wrote:
I just ordered a Littermaid Elite litter box (it's supposed to come with
the ramp and Kitty Cabana cover, according to the Littermaid site, but the
person who took the order didn't think it did, so I'll see upon delivery)
from Petco.com, as litter box scooping is not helping the back pain of
those who scoop them. Is anyone here using one? If so, what do you think
of it, and what kind of litter do you use (info says to use premium
clumping litter, and I don't know what qualifies as premium clumping
litter?) Also, how often do you actually have to replace the litter with
a refill of fresh? I know some is removed with each raking of a clump, so
replacement will be necessary, but I mean completely removing and
replacing the remaining litter.

Thanks for any help,



Alan

We scored the Littermaid Mega thru our local Freecycle and I'm loving
it. We've been debating on and off about getting one, but the love
it/hate it reviews were such we weren't sure we wanted to spend the
money. So getting it for free was exactly the right price LOL

The previous owner gave it up as they had several kitties and they
found that using regular litter boxes worked better for them. We have a
kitty who gets bent out of shape if she even thinks if one of the boys
is comptemplating using the box and our place is too small to have two
boxes. So the Littermaid is quite handy for us.

The power cord is long enough we can have the box centrally located in
the hallway out of the traffic lanes and we have utilized some tricks
I've learned both from the previous owner and this group.

I put the waste bin in a plastic garbage bag, since they are pretty
pricy and I don't feel like washing them. Every morning or other
morning I grab up the bag, put a new one on and the waste goes in the
garbage and cleaning is a whole minute/minute and a half. I'll put a
bit of litter in if it is looking a little low. I spray the tines with
Pam or clone to help keep stuff from sticking and once a month I take
the whole thing apart and clean it. The part with the motor is easy
with a soft cloth and a spray of vinegar or my homemade cleaning spray
(alcohol, water and a few drops of tea tree oil). The only time we've
had problems was when I bought a container of Johnny Cat scoopable
instead of the stuff I prefer (it was on sale) and I had problems. I
usually get a brand called Dr Elsey's Precious Cat. I've only seen it
at Winco in our area, so not sure where else it is sold. I prefered it
over the others when we had a regular litter box.

Jean C
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"
Margaret Mead
http://www.uidaho.edu/~bjcraw/
JeanC's Cat House & Shooting Society
http://jeancscathouseandshootingsociety.blogspot.com/

These boxes are a really bad idea. Your cat could have diarrhea or a
blockage in their urinary tract and you might not have any idea.
Sometimes problems in the litter box are the only indication a cat is
sick because some cats tolerate pain and illness so well. How would
you know if anything is going on unless you are scooping every day?
Just something to think about...




wrote:
I just ordered a Littermaid Elite litter box (it's supposed to come with
the ramp and Kitty Cabana cover, according to the Littermaid site, but the
person who took the order didn't think it did, so I'll see upon delivery)
from Petco.com, as litter box scooping is not helping the back pain of
those who scoop them. Is anyone here using one? If so, what do you think
of it, and what kind of litter do you use (info says to use premium
clumping litter, and I don't know what qualifies as premium clumping
litter?) Also, how often do you actually have to replace the litter with
a refill of fresh? I know some is removed with each raking of a clump, so
replacement will be necessary, but I mean completely removing and
replacing the remaining litter.

Thanks for any help,



Alan

--

----------------------------------------------------------------------
** Please use address alanh77[at]comcast.net to reply via e-mail. **

Posted using registered MR/2 ICE Newsreader #564 and eComStation 1.21

BBS - The Nerve Center Telnet FidoNet 261/1000 tncbbs.no-ip.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------

JeanC wrote:
The part with the motor is easy
with a soft cloth and a spray of vinegar or my homemade cleaning spray
(alcohol, water and a few drops of tea tree oil).

You know that tea tree oil is toxic to cats?

http://www.vet-task-force.com/Abstract-tea-tree-oil.htm

and other sources on the net.

Just thought to let you know.

regards

Bettina

Lightwell wrote:
JeanC wrote:
The part with the motor is easy
with a soft cloth and a spray of vinegar or my homemade cleaning spray
(alcohol, water and a few drops of tea tree oil).

You know that tea tree oil is toxic to cats?

http://www.vet-task-force.com/Abstract-tea-tree-oil.htm

and other sources on the net.

Just thought to let you know.

regards

Bettina

That is good info. There's a trend toward using tee tree oil for
various applications, and one of them apparently is to apply it in a
cat's ears as a remedy for ear mites. We had a volunteer at the shelter
bring her tee tree oil and wanted to treat the cats. I was kind of
skeptical about it and did some research, and found out it can be
highly toxic to cats.
Although I don't think using the oil as a cleaning agent would hurt the
cats. It has to be ingested or absorbed into the skin to be dangerous,
I believe.

Sherry