<p>I’m in negotiations with my H about adopting 2 kittens. My 19 year old cat died two years ago and my 15 year old cat died last Thanksgiving. I love having cats and I am ready to begin again. To me, a house without cats is like a house without music or light or laughter.</p>
<p>My H is not as passionate about cats as I am but he likes them. He has confessed, however, to enjoying a litter box free existence for the past six months. </p>
<p>Does anyone have experience with a self-cleaning system that really works? I would spend $$ for something that does the job, but hate to buy something on spec.</p>
<p>We used self-cleaning systems for years. We bought top-of-the line and invariably ended up replacing within a couple of years. Just recently went back to the old-fashioned do-it-yourself litter boxes and am so much happier. Believe it or not they are easier. I still ended up scooping (though not as often) our self-cleaners and the litter scooped into the container smells till you empty it and it fills quickly with two cats.</p>
<p>Now I scoop out the litter box twice a day. Not difficult and definitely cheaper … the containers on the self cleaner need to be thrown out when full.</p>
<p>My cat ONLY pees in the corners of her box which is extremely difficult to remove. Sometimes I need to dig it out with a knife before scooping it. A self-cleaning box would not work for my little darling!</p>
<p>We have used the Littermaid litter box for years and years. We have replaced the unit a couple of times, but it has been a god send. We have had up to three cats using it. It really matters what kind of litter you put in it (clumping) and the scent, but other than that it works very well. I actually bought it originally, because a male TV newscaster said it saved his marriage!</p>
<p>Jshain, my cat does the same thing. I use pan liners, though, and I pick up the edge of the liner and shake it to dislodge the clump. I miss the days when he used the great outdoors ;)</p>
<p>Anyone ever train their cat to use toilet AND flush?</p>
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<p>juniebug, My cat will not go in a box with pan liners. She senses there’s something amiss when she scratches the litter (even with 20 lbs. of litter in her box). Very neurotic compulsive kitty. I wish I’d tried the toilet training kit, but I’m about 14 years too late.</p>
<p>The kitty potty issue is one area where I haven’t reconciled my prejudices - on the one hand I have to wash my hands with anti bacterial soap after cleaning the litter box (the conventional style box) or I feel grossly unclean touching anything else. But at the same time, either of our kitties is always welcome to jump on to our laps and get petted and scratched and whatever, and we stopped washing our hands every time we touched them…</p>
<p>Honestly, with many years experience, the best thing is to get a regular box that is as slippery as possible on the inside so the clumped pee doesn’t stick. There is no magic way to get around it. </p>
<p>I also suggest getting a large box that can be filled with more. If you miss a cleaning - or 2 - the cat(s) still have space. This is particularly good if you have a landscaper cat, one that digs and buries everything.</p>
<p>We have been using Littermaid for about 10 years or more now. Like SJTH, I have only had to replace the unit once and have had up to three cats using it at a time. As for the containers, they are expensive but we tend to just empty them into the trash and reuse a few times. We use a lot less litter than we did with a traditional litter box. We also keep a rubber cargo mat for an SUV (because it has a lip on the sides and tread) under the box to catch any litter that may get tracked outside. But you would have to do something like that with a traditional box anyway. </p>
<p>We are very happy with our Littermaid and we know many people who feel the same way.</p>
<p>We tried the self-cleaning system but our cat refused to use it. One time we got the igloo box and he ignored it for a whole day and then when he finally entered it ended up becoming a huge mess and his foot prints were all over the house. He has us trained well now. By the way he meows we know it is time to clean the box. This happens often when we are about to sit down for a meal!</p>
<p>I have the sweetest cat ever. I agree that I wouldn’t be happy without a pet in the home. We have 2 dogs, but both DH and I agree that when they are gone, that’s it for dogs. They require so much more work and it wouldn’t be fair to them because I don’t have the desire to walk them as much as they require and can’t interact with them as much time as they deserve.</p>
<p>My first Littermaid lasted at least 10+ years before it died. Was very happy with the product but the recent models have been nothing but trouble. The first Littermaid replacement, an Elite model, malfunctioned within a couple of weeks (first slowed down to a crawl then got permanently stuck). The replacement works fine so far but then the EverClean cat litter must have changed the formula and now the clumps stick to bottom. Every other day, I have to manually scrape and scoop. Sigh…</p>
<p>Have tried just about every premium clumping cat litter but same problem. Anyone has any recommendation?</p>
<p>Years ago I trained a cat to use the toilet. It worked great until I bought a large house plant… I came home from work the cat started mewing and running back and forth to the plant. I went over to see what he was trying to tell me. He had scooped out some dirt and went poop. Yep. So you can train them to use a toilet but they really don’t like to use it.
I went back to having him use a litter box and he left the large house plant alone.:)</p>
<p>I had the idea of building a little covered walkway out the cat door that leads to a kind of kitty outhouse where we could keep the litter box. To my surprise my H liked the idea and volunteered to build one!</p>