# Cat Genie?



## Meker (Nov 8, 2010)

I've seen the cat genie in magazines, and I recently decided to look at the website. It looks like it's a good deal but I'm not jus taken by it yet.

Does anyone have a Cat Genie, or know anyone who does? Is it worth the money and does it make noise?


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## Ducman69 (Aug 28, 2010)

The reviews aren't promising.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/CatGenie-120-Self-Washing-Self-Flushing-Cat/dp/B002KRAQXM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289444756&sr=8-1[/ame]



> We received this new Catgenie model as a generous gift from a relative who took care of our cat during a vacation. (He didn't want to sift though cat litter the next time we take a trip). The concept was great and for the first week we were amazed at how convenient it was. It works by mechanically sifting through the litter granules for the poop, scooping it into a compartment that chops it up and flushing it down the toilet through a tube connecting the genie and the toilet. There is a bowl inside the genie that rotates and pushes the granules through the sifter.
> 
> After the first week, mechanical difficulties began. First the sensor that tells the genie that the cat has used it malfunctioned, so we had to manually press the button to start the cleaning process. This wouldn't be a big deal, but you have to use special granules for the litter box or else it won't work, and the granules were not deodorized like store-bought litter. The granules don't mask the smell at all. So if we weren't aware that the cat just pooped, the awful smell would let us know. That is what the sanitizing soap is for, to clean the granules and get rid of the smell. The customer service was great, they walked us through a troubleshooting process and at last determined that we needed to exchange for a new catgenie, which they sent to us for free. The next thing that malfunctioned was the arm that sifted through the granules. And finally, the bowl on the replacement genie wouldn't rotate. The poop was a big mess when the genie didn't work. My poor husband (a technically-inclined engineer) spent a total of twelve hours either troubleshooting on the phone with the technicians, or trying to fix the genie, or cleaning the big mess when it didn't work.
> 
> Again, the customer service was great, otherwise we would have rated this with 1 star. The technicians were available from early morning to late evening and were polite and always returned our phone calls. They were quick to send us a new genie, and even replaced a box of cat litter for free after we complained about the mess. In the end, it was just too much trouble. After 3 weeks, we boxed it up and sent it back. Unfortunately, my relative was charged a 20% restocking fee. Perhaps we just got a defective genie, because I noticed on the other reviews that people had a much better experience than we did. But after the replacement genie didn't work we didn't want to invest any more time in it. We ended up getting a low tech Omega cat litter box, where you just roll it 90 degrees and it sifts out the poop, you just have to dump it yourself, and we could use store-bought deodorized cat litter.


Personally, I went with a few of the Omega "automatic" (you have to roll them manually) boxes.

They are cheap, and I still want to be able to check my cat's litter to make sure they have about the right amount of pee balls and poo is the right color and tootsie roll shape.










Pull a box forward, roll it, do the other if needed and combine the scoops, flush it down the toilet (if using a litter like Swheat Scoop or World's Best), and you're done.


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## Meker (Nov 8, 2010)

I've had the Omega Automatic, where It cleaned it self and rolled it up i the little containers, and I hated it. It was soo noisey, and my cat new it was activated by him so he would just get in it to see it move to hear it.

It wasn't bad at first, but then it broke...and the little clw thing wouldn't move, so in the end I had to manually clean the box anyway.


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## Ducman69 (Aug 28, 2010)

You may be thinking of the Litter Robot LRI or LRII.

The Omega Paw is just a cheap plastic box, there is nothing automatic about it. Its $35 shipped usually.









Litter goes in the left side. With the top on you just rolls the whole box on its lid, litter gets caught in the sifter, and the pee and poo clumps fall into the plastic catch thing that you then just pull out and dump. 

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Omega-Paw-Self-Cleaning-Litter-Large/dp/B0002DK2DU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289446706&sr=8-1[/ame]
Well over a thousand reviews, 4 star rated, most complaints are of litter falling out of the seems when rolled. I haven't personally had this issue though, but the Swheat Scoop litter is very coarse and not as fine as some others people may be using. 

There is another recent one called the SmartCatBox that people seem to like, but I haven't tried it yet to say for sure:
SMART CAT BOX.com - SMART CAT BOX


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## Meker (Nov 8, 2010)

Yes! I'm sorry, your last picture hadn't loaded. By bad. Yes thats the one I had! Lol!

It seems like the Smart Cat Box, wouldn't be much better, if it only collects the urine.
But I'm not sure. I think my cats poo more then anything.


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## Ducman69 (Aug 28, 2010)

This five minute edit time limit is SO annoying... here's the video I meant to include:





Get the large though if anything, as the small would maybe be good for a Singapura, but no normal size cat IMO.


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## Meker (Nov 8, 2010)

Wow, thats not bad at all! Sounds easy enough. I might have to look into one of those, and yes I'll have to get a big one anyway, my kitty its huge.


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## Ducman69 (Aug 28, 2010)

How big is huge? Have you used covered boxes before? 

The "large" size is fine for my cats to turn around in, but if I had a really big kitty I might want to stick with a open top design. *shrugs*

If you get it, when its new I'd get a magic marker and a ruler and pour a WHOLE BUNCH of litter in the box. Roll it, and not all the litter will fit in the sifting portion, and the excess will fall into the catch. 

Return the excess to the fresh litter bag, and then note the height of the litter. Mark a line so you know the maximum litter capacity of the box. This also helps you know when the litter is running low if the litter line is well below the full line you marked. You don't have to take the top off to refill litter. Just tilt it back and pour some through the opening.


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## Meker (Nov 8, 2010)

He's about 15-16 lbs. He doesn't much like enclosed litter boxes, but my other cat doesn't seem to mind. Sometimes I wonder if he can even fit in the litter box with the lid on, so here lately I've been taking it off, and he seems to enjoy that more.


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## Ducman69 (Aug 28, 2010)

Enclosed is nice as you hardly ever have to worry about a spaztic cat throwing litter (or high pressure pee /explosive poo) out of the box, but yeah if he's humongous then I'd definitely check Amazon's return policy first. I'm guessing they wouldn't accept a used box though for health reasons. At least its cheap though.

Hopefully someone else can chime in with good suggestions on open top designs. There was one that was literally just a giant box with a sifter you lift up, but I forget the name. Might be a good option too.


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## Meker (Nov 8, 2010)

I like enclosed litter boxes, I never have to deal with the smell, only time I have to see it is when I'm cleaning it. I'll probably continue my search and hope to find the perfect box for my kitties and I. Thanks for the advice!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

The consensus here seems to be they're not worth it. You can't keep an eye on your kitty's toilet habits, like seeing if they're not peeing as much or too much, if they have diarrhea or other issues. The automatic cleaners break down and need cleaning often.

Here's a recent thread on the subject:

http://www.catforum.com/forum/36-ca...-litter-box-2-cats-1-box-other-litter-qs.html


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## Meker (Nov 8, 2010)

Wow, sounds like they're alot more trouble after all. Geez. Maybe I'll just stick to what I have, or get one of those Omega ones. At least then scooping would be alot easier on me. Thanks guys!


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