There are litterboxes, and then there are litterboxes. The kind that make you stop in your tracks and say, “Wow. I can’t believe I am so impressed by a cat toilet.”
Since the first time I stood mesmerized watching a Litter Robot in action, I’ve been coveting one. And because I am lucky, Litter Robot recently sent me one of these mysterious little devices to try out for myself.
For such a complicated looking device, it’s actually ridiculously easy to put together. Stick the tray in the bottom, place the globe on top, fill, and go. It took 5 minutes, tops.
Ever since the first time I saw one, I’ve been overcome with comparisons to a deep sea submersible, and I really wanted Apollo to have the joy of the James Cameron Litterbox Submersible experience.
It’s quite clever. After the cat departs the box, the globe rotates, dumping the clumps into the tray underneath, where you can just pull out the tray and dump the clumps. No scooping, no scraping. I sat there and watched it rotate 5 times just because I was that impressed. And it’s quiet.
Like all good submersibles, there’s even a window in the back. As you will know if you’ve seen the Abyss- and I know you have- this can be a good or a bad thing. If you have some sort of beastly creature who might pop up in the window and scare the bejesesus out of your feline, you might want to place it in a different part of the house.
Apollo is a tricky beast, if you haven’t learned. Because he has been having so many inappropriate elimination issues, I was super excited about using the Litter Robot as it was a good way to guarantee a very clean box. In addition, I could use whatever clumping litter I would like, and he has responded beautifully to Cat Attract.
Being old and crotchety, he was not as into the adventurous idea of crawling into the robot as I was. So we cajoled. We bribed, we catnipped, and eventually had to remove the old litterbox and hope for the best. So far, so good. This little bit of miraculous technology makes me happy, and that makes everyone happy. Because I really hate scooping litter, but I hate cleaning cat pee up even more.
If you have a picky cat who is used to an open-top box, this may be a tough sell, but if you have cats who don’t care or are already used to covered boxes, the Litter Robot kicks butt. And even if your cat is a tough sell, the Litter Robot is worth the persistence.
Very curious to hear how this goes with Apollo! Thanks for sharing the information.
there is nothing better than the original. i use a simple high-wall box for my kitty.
This is awesome; but, I don’t think my big (not fat) Maine Coon cat could fit inside that thing. LOL. 🙂
I’m also curious to hear how Apollo feels about this contraption. I think they’re clever, but I worry that my cats wouldn’t feel comfortable in them. We favor the wide open, tall-sided variety of litter box.
I’ve had a Litter Robot for years and with 3 cats, it’s great! They took right to it and NEVER miss because the litter is always clean. I’m on my third one. It takes quite a beating with my girls but works very well. I highly recommend for folks with multiple cats. Only problem is that it is a wee bit large. But we put it out on our porch and the girls get to it thru the cat door. Even my 16 lb “thick” girl gets in! Hope this helps!
I read this post last week and then was looking at littermaids with covers today and thought back to this post so i ordered one
I have had my litter robot since 2008. I have had problems with it off and on the whole time. When the people at Litter Robot think they can get more money from you from repairs they are very nice, but as soon as they find out that I have no intention of spending any more money on this contraption their response is thanks for your business and let us know if you need anything else! I would not recommend it.