A Self-Cleaning Litter Box That Flushes An automatic litter box system that Blass calls “pure genius” is the flushing box by CatGenie. The CatGenie self-flushing cat box scoops away, liquifies and flushes feline waste out of your home. The cat bowl is filled with CatGenie washable granules that are made from natural and synthetic biodegradable materials. They are litter-like in shape, “so your cat will be able to dig his claws in and cover up as they instinctively do,” says Avery Hand, marketing director of CatGenie. She explains, “It works with the water supply in your home, and you can hook it up yourself, using your bathroom or laundry room; no need for a plumber.” She adds that her own cat Morty easily adapted to a CatGenie, and the company’s resident office cat is an on-site daily user. In addition to the self-washing granules, you will also need the CatGenie SaniSolution SmartCartridge, which is used to clean the granules and the bowl. Hand says the granules are virtually dust-free, and all you need to do is replenish them—you don’t need to replace them. The 30-minute cleaning cycle can be reset if necessary. She also says that one CatGenie system can accommodate up to three cats. Blass likes the CatGenie’s sturdy quality and says that it keeps its self-cleaning promise “because it’s flushable and waste is removed from the house via the drain pipe.” Blass does caution that “because it is noisy, it’s not good for skittish cats. And some cats will refuse to use it.” Hand agrees that “some cats don’t take to it, but we have a 92-93 percent adaptation rate, so with the thousands of cats that have tried it, that’s a good product review.”,A Hybrid, Partly Self-Cleaning Litter Box Option If you’re not quite ready for an automatic litter box, you can try a litter box that still does some of the work for you. For example, the Tidy Cats Breeze cat litter box system uses a system of pellets and pads to collect cat waste for easy disposal. The Tidy Cats Breeze cat litter pellets are poured into a tray that is suspended above the Tidy Cats Breeze cat pad. The 99.9 percent dust-free litter pellets trap and dehydrate solid waste while letting the urine pass through onto the absorbent, odor-controlling pads. The solid waste can then be scooped up, and you will need to replace the pads underneath. This does save you from having to scrape the sides of the litter tray to collect the soiled cat litter. “The ease of the Tidy Breeze system is what makes it a practical choice,” says C.J. Campeau, brand manager for Tidy Cats. “You scoop solid waste daily, change the super-absorbent pad weekly and replace the anti-tracking, dehydrating pellets monthly.” The original Breeze model did not have a hood. “When we heard that some of the cats wanted the added privacy of a hooded system, we asked experts to help us create it,” says Campeau. “Cat parents can now pick the hooded or sidewall system that best meets their cat’s needs.” If your cat prefers a more private litter box experience, you can look into trying the Tidy Cats Breeze hooded cat litter box system. Blass likes the hooded system because it has “weighted pellets that do not come out of the box as easily as lighter litters; if you hate cat litter tracking around the house, this is for you.” She says it is not for cats that spray or lift their hind ends while in the box. Blass reminds cat parents that even if we may long for the ease of a self-cleaning litter box, our felines may not agree. You have to keep your cat’s overall comfort and happiness in mind when deciding on whether or not to make the switch. “I have four cats of my own, and two of them like the automatic litter box; two of them do not,” she says. “The one who needs to always have a clean box uses the self-cleaning box, so that has helped our situation.”,Image via iStock.com/Professor25 By Kathy Blumenstock It’s the least favorite part of cat parenting: cleaning the cat litter box. Kitty, can you please DIY? Until that happens, the emergence of self-cleaning litter boxes for cats creates an option to have the litter box itself clean up after your cat. But are these self-cleaning litter boxes for cats really less work? With multiple styles and designs—including an actual flush-it-away system from CatGenie—and ever-updating versions, there are plenty of options for you to choose from to find the perfect match for you and your cat. Our 411 on self-cleaning litter boxes for cats lets you think outside the traditional cat litter box to decide if an automatic litter box is worth it. The Basics of the Self-Cleaning Litter Box With a self-cleaning litter box, a waste compartment sifts, rakes, flushes or otherwise collects feline waste, allowing you minimal contact with cat urine and feces and eliminating the need to scoop the litter tray daily. Most of the automatic litter boxes detect when your cat has used it and will clean up so that the next time they go, they have fresh, clean cat litter. Yody Blass of Companion Animal Behavior in Leesburg, Virginia, says the concept of a self-cleaning litter box is “a great one, because no one likes to clean litter boxes. It goes along with owning a cat, similar to walking a dog or cleaning a ferret’s cage.” Blass says that for cat parents working long hours or overnight shifts, or for those with an illness or disability, a self-cleaning litter box can be very helpful. They are also a helpful option for cats who want a clean litter box each time. “To get our cats to be consistent in using a box, we need to clean it daily—even multiple times a day—a challenging task with long work days and plenty to do at home. If the box gets overlooked in some busy households, that can create inappropriate elimination issues,” Blass says, adding that an automatic litter box can help to alleviate that problem. However, if the words “automatic litter box” create a mental picture of a work-free zone, delete that picture! An automatic litter box still means some work, although it will differ from your current litter box routine. Automatic litter boxes will require you to empty out a tray or compartment that holds the sifted cat waste as well as replace or replenish the cat litter for the box to function.
