Litter Robot Lrii Automatic Self-cleaning Litter Box,

i can't speak for this product long-term, as we just got ours last week, but so far we and our kitties are just LOVING this product!!

we've never had an automatic litter box before, and we got this one because it seemed to have the best reviews, plus it came with good warranties and such. the litter robot assembles easily and is a snap to use. the whole entire globe part rotates...the litter gets sifted through a mesh screen, the good litter is kept separate while clumps are dumped into a drawer underneath. you don't have to buy special cartridges to collect litter. in fact, you could just let the clumps fall into the drawer and then empty the drawer itself if you want. the product's web site recommends trash bags, but i think that's a bit excessive. we've been using these large litter pan liners that you can get at the dollar store, and they've been working great.

we also love that the litter robot can be used with any clumping litter, not just "permium" litters. i'm not crazy about clay litters, we've been using Swheat Scoop because 1) it's non-clay and clumping, 2) it's very low dust, and 3) it's relatively inexpensive for a non-clay clumping litter. so far we're finding that the Swheat Scoop tends to stick to the bottom a bit, even after the rubbery liner on the bottom drops down as the globe rotates. we've been just going at it with a litter scoop, breaking off the stuck bits once a day as it cycles.

the litter robot has been great at keeping odor under control. with 5 cats, i have this horrible fear of turning into one of "those people" whose whole place wreaks of litter box and they don't even realize it. i feel much better now with the litter robot. i just emptied the drawer this morning, and the smell that greeted me when i opened the drawer was just ungodly. but the key point here is that there was no odor AT ALL outside of the box before i opened the drawer.

as far as our kitties go, our guys are pretty smart and adapt quickly. they were curious about the new big thing in the house to begin with, and then when they poked their heads inside and saw litter, they figured out pretty quickly that it must be a new litter box. no sooner than we had it assembled and filled, 2 of our kitties, one right after the other, climbed right in and did their business. all of them are using it and favoring it now. everybody seems to like having a litter box that is constantly fresh and clean.

it doens't really seem to do much for tracking. a lot of the litter does stay on the little step that also serves as a handle for the drawer, but plenty still gets tracked out.

also, this box requires very, very little litter. it's really amazing how much less litter we're using.

some people seem to think it makes a lot of noise. for us, it's a little louder than our central A/C but not as loud as our dishwasher. it's noticable but not excessive. also, while our cats are scared of the big loud vacuum cleaner, the noise level of the Litter Robot isn't enough to scare them off. on the contrary, at first the noise made them very curious, and they walked right up to see what was going on.

in a nut shell, as long is the Litter Robot keep on working like it is now, it'll be well worth the $330 that it costs. in fact, if it holds up well, once we have a house with more room, we are most definitely getting at least 1 more. it's saving us time and litter, and it's keeping odors down. love it, love it, love it!!

Pros: lots of safety features, works with any clumping litter, no special cartridges

Cons: none so far

I love this thing! Absolutely love it! Here's why:

The company has a model made out of recycled materials - go litter robot! (I wish they only offered this model, but hopefully consumers will be conscientious buyers.)

Amazingly easy to set up with very few moving parts - not much chance of anything breaking. (Very few parts, period.)

It's an ingenious design, I wish I'd thought of it.

No smell, really; no smell! I empty the drawer once a week and I don't have any bad odor on that last day. (I have one cat, so weekly is enough.)

It uses regular clumping litter, so I don't have to worry about ordering supplies on line; I can get what I need just about anywhere.

I don't have to add litter that frequently, maybe once every 3 weeks, maybe.
The design of the drawer is somewhat bothersome in that it has holes on the top of the step leading into and out of the opening, so loose litter falls in there and gets caught behind a filter.

Because I was given some litter box liners I'm using them with the robot and they fit perfectly. Once they are gone I'll go to plastic grocery bags; I've read you can slit the narrow sides of grocery bags a few inches and they will fit nicely. Hopefully this is the case, otherwise, the company recommends using 13 gallon trash bags.

The only problem I do have is adjusting the sensitivity to not trigger so easily. Occasionally I'll find it has been used and did not yet cycle to empty the contents. But I just pop my head in a couple of times a day and hit the cycle button if needed and it takes care of business. This is the only reason I rated it a 4 rather than a 5.

I absolutely love this thing and I'd recommend it to anyone who can't stand, I mean really hates, scooping and cleaning old fashioned litter boxes. This things has improved my quality of life as well as my kitty cats. (He doesn't have to use a nasty box, because I don't feel up to cleaning it today.)

Go buy one!! You'll love it.

Pros: Simple set up! Low maintenance

Cons: Adjusting sensitivity to cats weight; emptying loose litter out of drawer