Movin' On Up!

Litter boxes are a touchy subject in our household. I love our cats, but I hate litter boxes. Why? Because they're disgusting. Not only do they smell (unless you scoop a lot), but they're also hazardous to your health. Okay, it's not the box that's bad for you, but what's deposited into the box. Yes, I know that the risk is minimal, but if you're immune system is compromised in any way, you have no business being around a cat's business.


Did you know that up to 90% of cats are exposed to toxoplasma in their lives? That's how they get toxoplasmosis, and most mammals and birds can get it from them. If you get toxoplasmosis when you're pregnant, you baby has a very high chance of developing birth defects. I was just reading that information on the CDC's website, when I saw a link a page about "cat scratch disease". My God, these are vile creatures. Soooo, my immune system is just fine and I'm not pregnant. I just dislike cleaning the litter box.


When we had rats, the deal was that I would be the cage cleaner, and Mike would take care of the litter box. We share the bathroom responsibilities of Odie. Well, now our rats have sadly lived out their short rat lives, and are no more. Enter our new LitterMaid automatic self-cleaning litter box! I'm very excited. It has sensors that detect your cat doing its thing, and then 10 minutes after it does a sweep and puts the waste into a container. I decided to read some reviews before we went to purchase it today, and there's a huge mix of positives and negatives out there. After finding some "tricks" to help it do its job, we decided it would be worth it to try it out. We bought ours at Walmart for $99.

Odie and Loki "helping" me put it together

So we've only had it filled with litter for about an hour, so I'm in no position to be writing a review. However, before even using it, I can tell you one of the disadvantages. You have to use clumping litter, which makes sense considering how the mechanism works. So if you like using newspaper/wood pellets, or anything else earth-friendly, this litter box isn't for you. I'm not sure if swheat scoop (a natural wheat clumping litter) would work or not. Also, the receptacle that collects all the waste is plastic, and you're meant to throw this out and replace it when it's full. The box comes with 8 of these, and 8 carbon filters you stick to the inside of the receptacle lid. I'm considering just emptying the container out, and reusing it. They're obviously a health hazard and not recyclable once they're used. This doesn't bug me as much as litter boxes do in general though, so we're okay.

The LitterMaid all set up, next to the conveniently placed outlet.

So when I first turned it on, it was exciting! Haha. Seriously! It turned on and did a sweep, and my mind was blown. I really really really hope that it works! If I do just empty the receptacle and reuse it, I will empty it into our handy LitterLocker. You open the top and scoop the litter in, and then close the top and pull the grey handle out, and it deposits it into a plastic bag in the bottom. Voila!

I thought this was cool until I found a self-cleaning litter box.