Cat Litter Box Reviews

N. Sinclair (#):

I got this about a week ago. I really liked it. However, my cats were afraid to poo in it. This morning one finally did. I kept hearing her try and cover it up, but she couldn’t because well…she must have held it in or something. It was huge. I immediately turned on the Genie and guess what? It missed 1 of the 3 turds in there. I figured it would capture everything eventually, so I went back to bed. Soon I smelled something strange and unlike anything I’ve ever smelled in my life. It was the poo mixed with the Sani Solution. I don’t have a weak gag reflex, but I almost threw up. I had to turn off the heat and open up all my windows for this place to air out. I really hate cleaning the litterbox, but OMG I wasn’t expecting that stench.

If you get one of these things, seriously put it somewhere out of the way of regular foot traffic. I have to keep mine in the hallway of my apartment because it’s closest to the cold water hose in the washing machine, which is in my bathroom next to the hallway.

I will never be able to get that smell out of my memory now…

Dan Madsen (#):

I’m not sure yet if I love this product or hate it. I love being able to just push a button twice a day and not have to deal with a litter box. My cats (2) took to it with no problem so that’s not an issue. My problems with the product are the smell, the efficiency of removing solid waste, and the mess of the granules. The smell is a very strong medicinal odor at best. At worst it’s a strong smell of baked poo. The second time I ran the machine some solid waste missed the scooper, then got washed and air dried. The smell permeated throughout my house before I realized what was going on.

The other issue is that the granules are small pieces of plastic. I think it’s because of the weight, but the cats track the granules everywhere. I actually found one yesterday on my dining room table. Have to admit that was unpleasant.

Aruce Johnson (#):

First, I must admit I am hooked on this unit, despite all of the many problems it has – try it, being forewarned of all the problems below, and decide for yourself.

It is a true, self-cleaning box, unlike every other box on the market. … for me, the ability to go on short vacations without worrying about or asking someone, to change litter, is a godsend.
They spend a lot of documentation on cat acclimation. For me, it was no problem. These two things were enough for me to live with the problems below:

In concept, this product gets 5 stars … dropped to 3.5 (or 3 as listed) for the following reasons:
1) The marketing promise that you will never have to clean litter again is far from the truth. In the fine print in the manual, they state you only have to do a thorough clean every 6 months – not so. It’s worse than that.
Those negative reviews about “baking poo” have hit the time when the unit needs a full clean – which is more like every 2 months, max. The problem with this unit is that no detergent – that wouldn’t kill cats and plastic – can remove a slow build-up of waste/film inside the unit. Also, the unit moves water far too slowly (other than the hopper) to force clean it, and has no brush/friction underneath. Once a layer of film forms … it grows, and grows … and smells. Get out the gloves every couple months, and – at least for 2 cats – set the clean frequency to the max (4x a day) … and you will be fine.
You better not hate nasty cleaning, to buy this unit … you will do it a few times a year.
2) The marketing promise you will save money is far from the truth. For two cats, given you really need max cleaning frequency, you will be running through detergent AND granules at 2-4x the rate. Include water use and electricity … litter is cheaper.
3) The marketing claim it is environmentally friendly is complete hogwash. The detergent boxes are not recyclable unless you hammer/smash/disassemble them – even then, in most cases they are not, since the plastic grade is not marked. All that water, electricity, wasted plastic (and microchips!) in the trash vs. simple clay litter in the trash. At best, it’s a toss up what’s better.
4) The unit – as evidenced in 1) – has some serious design flaws. Others other than 1) include:
a) the GenieEyes are very poorly designed. My theory is that they cannot handle large temperature fluctuations (e.g. genie is near a window, or perhaps in the garage) … in any case, what happens is that they misfire a lot, which keeps the unit from starting on time … sometimes for hours, sometimes (bad unit) : never [see comments for more info + rebuttal].
b) the hopper impeller (perhaps for safety) has no real blades (more like fins). As such, it cannot shred hair or … thanks to one of my cats … plastic. These things will immediately break the funneling action of the impeller – they don’t even need to clog it, just break the funnel action… and the unit will not drain. In short – your cat better have a “normal” diet.
c) the error monitoring on this unit – compared against devices of the year 2008 – is as dumb as a turnip. I have given up trying to spot-fix the unit when (good news: rarely) it has an error. Instead – I completely disassemble and clean the entire unit at this time, which guarantees it works again (e.g. light pipe is clean, hopper is free of plastic, etc.)
d) They placed the buttons that control the unit right on top of the unit – a nice flat surface that any cat (certainly mine) just can’t wait to jump on. A well placed paw and … chaos ensues. Fortunately they have a “child lock” – who are they kidding? It’s really a “cat lock” function – but it is a real pain to unlock/lock every time you wish to change/start/manage the controls. I can think of many ways that could have been done better.
e) Cartridge microchip “counter” contacts – or some connection between the machine and the cartridge – is sometimes flaky. This is especially true when the units vibrates itself while cleaning. The result: the unit reports a cartridge error (most likely a cartridge empty error) after cleaning, when in fact there was no real error. Reseating the cartridge usually fixes it, sometimes not – in this case, a full power cycle is required. CatGenie is aware of this issue, and recommends placing a piece of paper or equiv. inbetween the cartridge and the unit to keep in in place. This has never worked for me, personally – I usually end up carefully placing the cartridge, and hope the cats don’t land another well placed paw while jumping on the unit.

[edited to in fact upgrade stars, in part due to CatGenie themselves responding to this review (how many companies ever respond ... to anything?), albeit my strong objection to the content of their response]

Skip Greenberg (#):

I’m sure this product works great. Now if only my cat would use it. If I were granted one five-minute period where I could fluently communicate with my cat, I would use all of that time to explain to him why he should use this product. But alas, I cannot speak cat. He is set in his ways. Apparently this thing isn’t even good enough for my cat to poop on.

Donna Wolfe-Sholes (#):

I have had my CatGenie a little over three months. I have 4 cats and only 1 will use it. I think it’s because the others don’t like the cramped space inside the bowl. The first couple of weeks went pretty well as far as cleaning goes. The plastic pebbles that get all over the carpet are annoying and I suck them up daily with a hand-held vacuum. Can’t imagine anyone keeping theirs in the bathroom and stepping on plastic beads everyday. I, too have had error problems. Clogging was the worst encounter for me. Not a pleasant job when the unit won’t drain and you have to unclog it. The instructions that are supplied to unclog a drain hose are a joke. If you don’t run a cycle pretty close to the time your cat leaves solids behind then you can count on unclogging the drain hose. Along with vacuuming up plastic beads everyday I also scoop out solids and then run the cycle. I don’t trust the machine’s ability enough to setup timed cycles. Other than those issues it’s a pretty nifty gadget.

Phyllis Christianson (#):

I received the Cat Genie. It had some operational issues, but the company is very easy to talk to and we were able to get it up and running. The problem is it’s been a month and the cats won’t use it. I have worked with the company to use all the tricks to make the cats use it, and they won’t. Maybe you can’t teach old cats new tricks! If they would this machine is slick and you truly would never have to scoop cat litter again! But it is too expensive to have just sitting there unused by the cats. I may have been able to get the cats to use it if I had had more time. If you buy directly from Cat Genie, it will cost you more, but you have a full 90 days to work with. So keep that in mind when deciding where to buy it!

Minetta (#):

Got mine 9/07. All was fine for 3 months but then the processing unit began to malfunction. Since then I replaced the processing unit 4 times (all under warranty). When it malfunctions it stops working & beeps continuously until you unplug it. Not good if you’re away! This noise eventually scared one of my cats so she refuses to use it. To test her, I opened an old box of Feline Pine clumping litter and she walked right into the pine and used it.

I wanted to be environmentally responsible (and I admit, not have to deal with litter), but now I realize that all the plastic it takes to make the cartridges and recycle them (it doesn’t have a recycle code on it but customer service says they are recyclable) and all the water used to wash the box isn’t that earth-friendly. I also wonder about the chemicals going into the water supply.

The Pros: When it works it works really well. No smell and no worry.

The Cons: If it malfunctions it stops and beeps constantly. Imagine what happens if you’re out of town and no one’s checking up on the box? If hair clogs the exit pipe you get a large bowl full of blended poop water. The cleanup was one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever had to do. Too many granules getting into the machine (even if you don’t overfill it they get in there) causes loud grinding noises. If grass, hair or something the cat ate clogs the hopper it stops and you have to open all of it up and clean it. Again, it’s poop water you’re dealing with.

Bottom Line: If Cat Genie makes a better version in a few years that uses refillable cartridges, less water and electricity and no constant beeps I would seriously consider buying another. And as nice as customer service is, it doesn’t help if it malfunctions in the middle of the night or if there is a power outage. What is surprising is that the user’s manual doesn’t tell you how to reset the processing unit. You have to call customer service and they tell you what buttons to push, etc. And they aren’t available 24 hours. I was even told that this info was “proprietary information” ??!

I’m buying another Litter-Robot for now.

Bruce Walker (#):

I had been considering the Cat Genie for several months and had seen their first version of it several years ago. Due to an injury in January, I finally forked over the cash for the Cat Genie to save the discomfort of carrying heavy bags of litter and stooping to clean the boxes.

First, I opened the box, giddy with excitement, only to find that both litter granule boxes were open and about 1/3 of their total contents had spilled all over the box. Not wanting to waste them, I spent a good hour trying to salvage what I could of them. I noted this on my product registration while asking for some replacement granules or an acknowledgment that they’d pack stuff better in the future, but never heard a word.

Second, the included fittings didn’t work with my plumbing. I don’t think I have unique plumbing, since my landlord buys everything from Home Depot. It took much consulting with the plumbing guys at Home Depot to sell me the THREE extra fittings to hook this baby up. The problem I encountered is: The more seams, the more places to leak. Yup, my biggest headache for the first week and a half was hooking and unhooking it, using teflon tape and pipe sealer so I could figure out which fitting was leaking and so I could happily take the pan out from under the pipe that was catching the water. With an injured hand, it was even more challenging.

Once that problem was solved…it seemed like I was home-free. But, soon after the cats were getting familiar with it, the litter stopped drying properly. Cold air was coming out of the blower. This, I realized, was from the plug not being completely pushed into the wall (my outlet is above my sink, therefore the gravity of the heavy cord makes it bow out ever so slightly). After making sure the plug is completely flush to the outlet we were good to go again!

Then, the cats stopped using it and only occasionally peed in it for the next few weeks. Obviously, I had to let them use their traditional box again. Thankfully they didn’t do their business all over the house. Yay for well-adjusted cats! They just followed me, crying, until I finally got the hint. Later, I realized it was because the litter granules were not drying under the top layer and, in fact, were really wet. Wet paws aren’t fun. So I ran the cleaning cycle, watched to make sure the water was being pumped out properly without any blockage and that hot air was coming out to dry. What I noticed was the cleaning rake was not aerating the granules, therefore, the blower was only hitting the top layer. In the meantime, I took to hand aerating the granules to get them to dry. As soon as I did this, the cats started tentatively using it again for their ones AND twos.

I emailed GiGi, the Cat Genie customer service manager (according to their “contact us” page), but never heard back. I had a free moment finally during their call center hours (thankfully they’re there on the weekends) and spent 20 minutes pressing buttons and manipulating the Cat Genie per the customer service reps instructions. He said that the processor unit would have to be replaced and that they were sending me a new one that would arrive in three business days. Simple enough.

I asked if he could include a Sani-Solution cartridge, since I had wasted a lot of it on running the cleaning cycle unnecessarily trying to see if it was an error on my end, but he said he couldn’t do that. That’s a bummer. I feel like I’ve been a beta tester for this thing, but without reward.

My fingers are crossed that my cats haven’t been totally turned off by the prospect of damp paws and will give it another shot as I slowly inch their other box closer to the Cat Genie. I really want this to work out. The hope of my getting out of litter duty is the only thing driving me to continue to slog through this. It’s a great concept, after all.

*******Updated December 28*******

Responding to a few comments: The reason it still got 4 stars was that it has reduced my regular litter box need to only one. I can now use Feline Pine in the single traditional box, which allows me to compost that waste, therefore hopefully making up for the water usage with the Cat Genie. I only need to buy one big bag of Feline Pine every other week for the kitties who won’t use the Cat Genie. That alone is saving hundreds of pounds of clay litter a year in my household alone.

Plus, the replacement processor that I received from the company has performed flawlessly since it arrived and is drying all the granules without fail. My only other problem was a blockage problem, but I discovered that the older toilet seat (I rent, not own) pressed down on the hose a little too tight because its plastic “feet” had broken and made the Cat Genie think it the hose was blocked (which I guess it kind of was), therefore setting off the alert buzzer. I replaced the toilet seat (it needed it anyway, and I only sprung for the cheapy $5 one) and haven’t had a problem since.

My pet sitter was so amazed by the Cat Genie that he’s recommending it to his other clients.

I still with I had heard from GiGi with customer service and still need to address a cleaning cartridge that said it was empty before it actually was, but I figure that it was a faulty microchip (reminds me of printer cartridges!). Other than that, I’ve been very happy with it.

I see on their site that they’re now charging $297 for their starter kit. Good price, especially if all us early adopters have gotten the kinks worked out for the rest of the world I don’t know if my experience was worst-case scenario or what, but at this point, all the drama was worth the convenience and cleanliness.

Rod Meyer (#):

Cats have always been a part of my life so it follows that I’ve had to schlep an awful lot of litter as well. Litter is heavy, expensive, and difficult to dispose of. There is no such thing as flushable litter! I have the plumbing bills to attest to that.

Then, while fast-forwarding through the commercials on TiVo, I happened to notice an intriguing ad for a new, automatic litter box, the Cat Genie. I was mesmerized, an actual flushing commode for the cats to use. The cats and I watched raptly as the professional actor cat used the box then observed the self-cleaning cycle.

This looked like the real deal, but we were skeptical. Two LitterMaids had let us down horribly and we did not want a replay of that experience. After a bit of on-line research, however, Cat Genie was starting to look even more attractive by the minute. I took a chance, I ordered one to check it out.

Big surprise, it works! It works exactly as described! The cats are ecstatic. I am ecstatic. As soon as the two additional units arrive, those nasty old litter boxes are going out the door, never to return.

We have only two, star-stealing, quibbles with this gadget. The Genie Arm doesn’t always get all the droppings at the beginning of the cycle. I find that I need to stand by with a scooper to insure that all that stuff goes into the hopper and does not fall back into the bowl. This is no big deal and is worth the minute it takes. Compare that to the hours each week you can spend carrying home litter, cleaning, scooping, and refilling boxes, and disposing of the mess.

The replacement cleaner solution is rather like a printer cartridge in that without one, the unit won’t work. They are not refillable either, despite the solution being cheaply available in gallon jugs of concentrate. Doubtless some clever cat lover will soon come up with a way to refill these things, thereby earning the undying love and adoration of cats and their slaves everywhere.

Cat Genie is not even very expensive when viewed in perspective. Premium clumping litters or crystals are very expensive and potentially harmful for kitty. Even clay litter can add up quickly if you have more than one or two cats. Disposal is always a problem. Even if this thing ends up costing the same over time in supplies as litter, it cleans itself. That is worth a lot to me!

Now all we need is a self-cleaning house….

Jim McCreary (#):

This product works exactly as advertised. It was very easy to hook up. We put it in the bathroom first and so hooked it up to the toilet, if you have an adjustable wrench, that and 5 minutes is all you need. We ended up connecting it to a garage utility sink for its final location and that was just as fast (they include both types of water connectors.

For number 2, the waste is pulverized, but when it goes into the sink there are 1-5 soft pellets the size of wet cat food which can be something that is not pleasing on the eye but harmless due to the sanitizer.

This is getting a 4 not a 5 because it does not have an autosensor and if you have a picky cat used to having a clean litter every time they use it(littermaid) they may refuse to use it if it hasn’t cleaned since the last cat went. This is my case and I have had a few “gifts” left next to it. I will keep it and the littermaid and hope that it helps lower my use of the littermaid to make it last longer (littermaids are notorious for the motor dying). If you think this may be a problem for your cat, for about $50 more you can order through the manufactuer and get a 90 day full refund policy.

Donna Grilley (#):

I have one maine coon who loves this box, its a great size even for big cats. I love the perfectly clean litter box for no work, low monthly consumables cost, and generally no litterbox smell. The only bummer is its big and the power/water/drainage hookups mean install options are limited to bathrooms and laundry rooms for most homes. But if you have the space, its a terrific way to love a cat without loving its poo.

Kimberly Van Hal (#):

I must note that there have been updates since I purchased my unit 2 years ago. I have multiple cats and multiple litter boxes. One cat took to it without any problem, another started using the toilet, one won’t use it and the fourth took a while but got there. Their customer support for this unit is fantastic – I know because I have had to call them numerous times. It has jammed, refused to flush, refused to fill – at one point they determined that the motor was faulty and sent a replacement overnight. It may sound like I don’t like it, but I actually do. It is expensive to maintain because of the granules and sanisolution smart cartridges. It would be nice if stores carried them so that you didn’t have to pay postage on top of the cost of the actual product.

Sharon Lunski (#):

We’ve had the Cat Genie for about 9 months. I think it is wonderful. We have a diabetic cat who urinates a lot. Other automatic litter boxes didn’t work as well and ended up being messy. The clumps were too big for the Litter Robot and the clumps would stick to the LitterMaid’s rake.
We’ve never had any problems with the Cat Genie clogging. The little white litter pellets are annoying and do end up all over the floor. I am willing to overlook that since it is much easier to sweep up the pellets than to scoop a smelly litter box.
I’d also recommend the non-scented sani-solution. The scented sani-solution can be a bit strong.
If you have a diabetic cat, the Cat Genie is definitely the way to go!

Jim Lund (#):

Ok so I have to say i was 50/50 going into this. I thought I would run into a lot of issues, but I have to say its been great. Installation was a breeze. I have this in my basement next to the slop sink which is great cause its out of the way. It has gotten jammed a few times but they book that comes with it is great for trouble shooting and figuring out what to do. I’ve had it for about 3 months. I have 2 cats. My next purchase is the dome to keep more litter in. All i can say is its nice not walking into do laundry and having the place stink!
I got the cat genie via [...]
They had a coupon offer as well.
Good luck!!

Chuck Walker (#):

I’ve had the CatGenie for a few days now, and it does all the literature claims. However, as with anything, there’s always room for improvements. First, I have large cats. Not fat, they weigh around 15 pounds or so and stand at 12″ at the shoulders. The 19″ bowl could be 24″ diameter for bigger cats. A clip on splash-guard around both sides extending up around 5 inches would help to keep the pee in for those cats with bad aim, or have a [...], like mine do. Also, cats have to step up 8″ to clear the bowl rim, then step down four inches and straddle that same rim. If you cat has a pot-belly, which one of mine does, or is arthritic, this stepping-up-and-over-then-straddle-then-step-into-a-hole is cumbersome for them. A four inch riser in the front, used as a step extending out about 8-10 inches, would help these types of cats. A human stairway only has 7″ rise in each step anyway. The litter could be either heavier in weight, or less clingy when wet so as not to stick to the paws, and thusly get flicked off by the cat all over the floor. All in all, I’m very happy with it. I clean it manually once a day with three cats, which seemed much easier to do then run it automatically, and has turned out to be an easier method, too. That way, I can run it when they are all sleeping and hopefully won’t need it for that crucial 34 minutes the bathroom is closed for cleaning. For now, I plan to make a riser step out of wood to wrap around the base, and use aluminum flashing to fabricate a splash guard until the CatGenie people come up with my improvement ideas, hopefully they’ll read this. As far as hooking it up, it was easy. [...]

Rolf Kopperud (#):

I’ve had the Cat Genie for a few months now and like it.

1. It is funny to tell your landlady, after she so graciously agreed to watch your two cats over the weekend, that in this house we clean the litter box by flushing the toilet. That was a first in her book.

2. The lack of smell in the house. No cat smell. Except…

3. When the Cat Genie misses a piece of poo and bakes it. Then Oust and an open window are your best friend.

4. I have mine set on once a day regular and then I check and run it when necessary at other times. Like when my female has the stank poo. I can get that out of the house and into the sewer in just a few minutes with the push of a button and a flush. Not like the old days of dealing with liquid feces stuck to the teeth of the littermaid.

5. You clean a litter box by flushing the toilet. That’s so nice. Just make sure you try to schedule your cleanings for when you are home so if there is a clog, you are on it. Anyone who schedules the automatic cleaning for after they leave for work may come home to problems.

6. I am going to plead with them to change their litter. I find it everywhere. On every surface the cats have stepped on. I’ve woke up to it in my bed. The dog has it in his bed. It is a nightmare to keep up with and the main reason this review didn’t get 5 stars.

Doug Madsen (#):

We have had our Cat Genie for a about 6 weeks. We have 3 cats.

Pros: It is set up to run 2 times a day (they recommend 3-4 times for 3 cats but 2 times works just fine for us). It runs by itself with no issues other than adding a handful for 2 of granules every week or 2. We purchased the hood and the litter mat, which keeps most of the litter in. It is no louder than our dishwasher or washing machine. It has not broken or clogged, ever. My girlfriend and I don’t fight about cleaning up the litter box anymore.

Cons: Small pieces of poo are missed sometimes. When the unit dries the litter, it smells like baking poo. The sani-solution is not so pleasant an aroma (get the unscented kind). Some cats are terrified of the thing. 2 of our cats are scared of anything new, and it took some time and patience to get them used to it (probably about a month).

For us, the good outweighs the bad. I sweep up the granules that get on the floor every so often. I have the Cat Genie run right when we go to bed and after we are at work to avoid to bad smell. We were patient with our cats, and they adjusted. Problems solved.

Lona Anderson (#):

When we bought our house, we inherited a cat that was feral as a youngin’, so he did not grow up on the litter box. I have had potty training issues with him since day one and the only success I have ever had is to reinforce litter importance by locking him in a giant dog crate with his box and food so that he does not have a choice, but this works for only a few days after you let him out.

Curtis will poop just outside the box and sometimes pees in it…..he is consistently inconsistent, but generally poops on the floor even with a freshly cleaned box! I tried it all- bought a bigger litter box, swapped litters, changed cleaning items, ruled out medical issues, changed food and box location- nothing worked. He’s just nutty when it comes to litter.

When I first got the CG, he eventually tried it, but then he snuck in on the 2nd day and freaked out when he saw it cleaning. Curtis was afraid (yet curious) so I sat with him while it cleaned and praised him heavily when he used the box. I decided to baby gate him in the bathroom with it and his food and only let him out either with supervision or after he has “gone”, then I start the cycle which he always hangs around to watch. After 3 weeks, he has learned that the CG won’t eat him and it only cleans his mess up. He is no longer afraid and has pooped and peed in the box for 4 days straight. Really- it’s a miracle!!! I’ll supervise him just like I would a new puppy- until he consistently gets it right, but what a lifesaver this product is! Well worth the $$$

The only complaint I have (and reason this does not get 5 stars) is I felt like the ad lead me to believe the box senses when your cat leaves then begins the cleaning cycle. Not so- you set it to clean as you would a lamp timer. This potentially wastes cleaning solution if your cat has not used it or is not regular. The only thing to make this product better is the sensor to clean when the box is used!

Also, buy from Cat Genie directly in order to get the warranty and return policy benefits. I got the Tuxedo package with non scented cartridges, but they all look the same so I am not sure I got what I asked for.

I have not had the poo baking experience other users mention and in fact I have had the opposite experience. My husband strongly dislikes the litter box smell and since we hooked up the CG, he has not said a single word about it! Win-Win for me!

I love this box- it has made a huge difference in my quality of life and I cannot argue with not having to clean up Curtis’ mess! He knows it, too because he is a happier more engaged cat!

Doug Ritter (#):

I love this product! I had a little trouble with the motor when I first got it, but a quick call to the mfg and I had a new motor the next day. This is easy to set up, easy to use and the mfg stands behind their product. What’s not to love.

Lacie Maynard (#):

I have two cats, one 5yo and one 2yo, both female. I got the Cat Genie for them, after dealing with several other auto-scooping litter boxes that broke after maybe 6 months each.

In terms of cleanliness and maintenance, this is a great product. If you can put it in your laundry room, you’ll be much happier than if you put it into a bathroom that sees any kind of frequent use. If you DO put it into a bathroom, make sure you flush the toilet at least once a day (but NOT while the cat genie is in a cleaning cycle!)

Some words of warning:
1) the little plastic pellets that act as “litter” get all over the floor. You’ll have to sweep them up occasionally and dump them back into the bowl for cleaning. This isn’t from the cats kicking them up, it’s from the normal cleaning cycle … there’s a mechanism to shake the rake free of pellets, which causes some to scatter.

2) Be prepared for a long adjustment period with your cats. The 2yo took to it pretty well, but the older cat had a hard time. She used a laundry basket, a bathroom rug, and my bed before she finally came to grips with it and started using the genie. (Laundry hint: white vinegar in the washer gets out the smell of cat urine!)

Now that the cats have adjusted and I’ve gotten used to the new sounds and smells of cleaning (the cleaning solution has a potent but not terrible smell), I’m happy with this product.

Ann Picard (#):

I saw the Cat Genie late one night on an infomercial. I usually don’t pay attention to infomercials, but I’ve had two cats for three years and I was tired of cleaning litter. I researched this product online and decided to make the investment. It took a week to get my cats used to it, but now that they have I can’t imagine owning my cats without it. This thing works and works well. I’ve owned other automatic litter boxes, but this one works just lik its advertised.

I have large cats and I was spending over $30 a month for litter and the room in the basement where the litter was was a mess and never seemed to be clean. I’ve since reclaimed the room and I am spending way less in litter supplies. The kitty litter is clean and the waste goes down my sewer drain.

Yes the Cat Genie costs quite a bit, and you need the cleaning solution to make the Cat Genie work. But think about what you are probably spending a year on litter, all the time you spend cleaning the litter, and the accidents that your cats may have when you forget or neglect to clean the litter and the Cat Genie is well worth the price. The way I figure it the Cat Genie is going to pay for itself in two years or less and my house feels and smells cleaner. If the price worries you search the internet and you will be able to find a better deal.

Peter C. King (#):

I have to admit when I first saw the web site for Cat Genie. I was very skeptical. I have one large ragdoll and a picky himalayan and after trying ALL the automatic litter boxes avalible, I assumed there would be some big unforseen negative to the Cat Genie. So I ordered and waited. Two weeks later, I had the Cat Genie in hand. I was able to hook it up in about 30 minutes without the need of my husband. Very very easy. All you need is a wrench and the ability to turn the water off. I was also afraid that my cats would be scared of the Cat Genie or refuse to use it because of the plastic pellets, but they took to it immediatly and my worries quickly dimenished. Two months later and I am still happy. My only job now is to flush the toilet for them.

Rhonda Melton (#):

My wife and I have owned the Cat Genie for about 4 weeks now and love it. When I first read about it, I thought it was a joke and couldn’t stop laughing at the cat toilet that someone had ‘invented’, but the thing really works well. We have 2 cats (sisters, 9 months old) and they seem to do very well with it. One of the cats started using it immediately and preferred it over the old litter box. The other took about a week to train (suggested time frame from the company). In the training process there were a couple of accidents, but they were all in our laundry room. Ironically, one of the accidents was on the instruction manual for the Cat Genie! After this initial phase-in of 1-1.5 weeks, we haven’t had any problems. We set the device to clean itself 2 times per day when our cats are inactive (4am and 4pm) and that works well. We have it hooked up to our laundry drain pipe for waste disposal and that works well (no clogs so far, although I have heard that others have problems if the waste isn’t removed often enough, i.e. less than once per day)

We both love the device and think that it is worth the price that is being charged and the fact that we don’t have to scoop and dispose of normal cat litter. We had been thinking about getting one of the other ‘automatic’ litter boxes, but you still have to empty these devices on a weekly basis and I’ve heard that they don’t work well.

As with any consumer product there are faults, but I feel the gains much out way the faults.

Pros:
-The first fully automatic litter box!
-only $ 330 (not much for what it does)
-relatively reliable (could take vacation without too much worry for litter box, although I would want someone to check-in once or twice)
-The box is always clean for the cats (they seem to prefer this now that they are used to it)
-The plastic litter pellets are clean and are easy to sweep up

Cons:
-somewhat loud (not as loud as a washing machine though)
-litter pieces tend to scatter out (we are buying a special hood that just came out)
-smell of cleaning solution is strong (it is a pleasant smell, but it smells like cleaning solution in a large part of the house for an hour after a cleaning cycle)
-$330. Thats a lot of money for anything, but especially on a litter box
-somewhat large (the bowl is larger than a standard toilet bowl, but is about the same size as our previous litter box, so it makes sense I guess)

Also, some people complain about the cost of the consumables (litter pellets, and cleaning solution), but I think I agree with the company in that the consumables cost about the same price as the normal litter, if not a bit cheaper.

Improvements I would like to see for V2.0:
-more flexible cleaning times (for 2 times per day it cleans 12 hrs apart, 3 cycles is 8 hrs apart, and so on). I would like it to clean at 4am and at 1pm but this isn’t possible now.
-It would be nice if it came with a hood, but that is an add-on now
-deeper litter depth (right now it can only allow for 3-4cm of litter depth and its seems like our cats would like to bury their waste a little deeper
-quieter cleaning cycles (but a more flexible cleaning time cycle would make this point moot if we were gone for the day or asleep)
-smaller total size, although the litter bowl size is about perfect

So, if you have the initial $330 for a litter box and want it to be automatic, then this thin is awesome and I highly recommend it. However, if your mission is to save money, then it doesn’t make sense as a purchase.

Hope this was helpful!

Caroline Davis (#):

This is the best present I’ve ever bought myself. I’ve been very curious about this machine for awhile. I finally read enough reviews and figured I’d try it out. I own a few of the other “auto” boxes, but nothing works like this does. And it really does work!

Here’s just a few things that I found out that weren’t in any reviews that I saw:

When it arrived, I was so thankful I had it delivered since I’m on the third floor and the shipping box was huge! The machine itself is very easy to put together. You just drop the pieces into place and it’s ready.

My neighbor had to do the water hook-up for me, but only because I didn’t have a big enough wrench or the strength to get the water hose from the washing machine undone. That was the only difficutly I had with the instal/set-up.

Because of the layout of my small utility room, the box had to be set up in the corner in front of the dryer, not the washer. I was worried about the hoses on the box not being long enough, but they are. They go along the wall past the side of the dryer, behind the dryer and up to the water hook-up and out-flow. The power cord is long, too.

I would say (like the others) to definately put it in the utility room. With the use of the water out-flow from the washing machine, this box becomes hassle-free. I was worried about the box being on the ground and the water out-flow being up on the wall, but it works fine.

If you are planning on putting it in the bathroom, check to see if you have a flexible hose from the water valve to the toilet tank. It has to be able to bend. (there’s no way around this part, I tried!) If not and you want to put it in there, just go to the hardware store with the measurements of how long your hose is and they can sell you a flex hose. (might want to do it before it gets there because you’ll really REALLY want to set it up right away)

I have three cats which is the most they recommend for one box. I tried a few ways to get them to adjust, but the instructions say to put another box next to it, let it get messy, then the cats will want to use the new box. That worked. All three cats (ages 10, 3 and 2) have adjusted to it now (about three week process…one slow learner) and even watch it run sometimes. If you plan on putting this box somewhere you don’t have a box now, relocate a box there before this one arrives to get the cats used to “going” in that area. Then leave that box next to this one for awhile but don’t scoop it and that should help them with the change.

The smell from the santizer is ‘unique’ and pretty strong, but it’s so much better than the smell of a litter box! It just smells like a bathroom cleaner.

I’ve noticed that since my thermostat on the condo is near the box, the dryer cycle seems to set off the a/c. That’s just because it really is hot air drying the litter. Just something to think about when you are deciding where to place it.

Definately have some bath mats ready when you get this. The little litter pieces do stick to their paws, and having the bath mats down has helped catch those and I can just shake them back into the box. Also, you may want to order another box of litter. Two come with it, but you use one right away and the second for top-ups. I’ve had the box about a month now and need to get more litter, but just to keep the level up.

If you have a cat(s), do yourself the biggest favor and get this machine. It really does what it says it will do. Also, it seems very well built and solid, unlike some of the other auto-boxes on the market. And it is so clean!!!

John Fowler (#):

This is only a partial clip. First the scooper scoops out stuff a few times as it rotates and then it gets filled with water and it slowly spins. This happens a few times and then it gets drained via small holes on the bottom and the it gets dried! There is a drying contraption and warm air is blown on the washable granules! It seems a bit loud for the estimate of 8 minutes it goes on but my bedroom is opposite of my condo so I’m sure it won’t bother me in my sleep! Set up was a breeze. Make sure you have a large monkey wrench. I didn’t need to buy any other accessories.

This review may change as my cat hasn’t used it yet but I can tell I already love it.. esp because of the sanitizer! No more smelly poo!

Bart Davis (#):

We have three cats and, due to allergy problems, I couldn’t clean our traditional litter box. That left the task to my husband, who didn’t clean it as frequently as my sensitive nose would have liked. In stepped the CatGenie to save the day!

Pros:

1) My house smells great! I am really picky about cat smell, and you would never know that we have cats at all, much less three in a small space.

2) The cats took to it immediately. I was amazed at how easy the transition was for all of them.

3) My house is cleaner. Let’s face it, who likes finding pieces of kitty litter that the cat has picked out of her toes in their bed? Yuck! Problem solved. While the plastic pellets scatter somewhat (like any litter), they are infinitely more pleasant–since clay litter is, essentially, dirt!

4) It is ridiculously fun to watch. It has practically replaced the TV.

Cons:

1) Ours came with a warped bowl, which caused it to stop spinning. We had to bump it to get it to spin again. BUT, CatGenie has great customer service (as others have noted), and they walked us through a cycle to reform the bowl. When that, unfortunately, didn’t work, they rushed a new bowl out to us in no time free of charge, and now it works great.

2) Because you must hook it up to plumbing and a drain, you are somewhat limited in where you can put your litter box.

I would recommend CatGenie without hesitation. It’s a nearly purrfect solution!

Judy Niemeyer (#):

We love our cat genie! We’ve had it for about three months now, and it’s working great. Sometimes the bowl gets stuck and won’t turn, but it’s easy to fix, and it’s only done that a few times since we’ve had it.

Our older cat took to it immediately. Our younger cat is still a little wary of it, but he’s using it. We had to follow the tips of keeping a regular litter box next to cat genie and letting it build up and get all yucky to give him the incentive to use the new, clean cat genie. But he has finally been converted.

It is WONDERFUL to have clean cat litter every day. I have it set on manual and I just push the button once in the morning and once in the evening and let it do its thing. The beeping when the cartridge gets low is annoying, but I only run cat genie when I’m around and can hear it and then reset it when it does that.

My husband and I used to loathe dealing with our cats’ litter box. Now the problem is solved. It’s worth every single cent!

Joyce Watson (#):

I recently lost a cat to FIP – which comes from a mutation of a corona virus – which is transmitted by way of the litterbox (poo). It’s such an awful disease that I went on a crusade to find a litterbox system that really cleaned my litter. I’ve had a littermaid for years and it was the best system out there until I found this Cat Genie. Still with the Littermaid and the various iterations thereof – you end up having to get personal with your dirty litter. And it’s hard to find a good clumping litter that is not dusty or if not dusty, gooey. If you want or need super clean litter – and you don’t want to get it by changing out your litter every day – this is the answer. Since corona virus is very common in multi cat environments like catteries and shelters – it’s the FIP mutation that is not – I wanted to be sure before bringing another cat into the house, that I did everything I could to limit transmission and reduce or eliminate the virus from my household as I have another cat at home who is not sick. I don’t know if this is the perfect answer – but you do get a very clean litter, your cat toilet is washed out at least once a day and there aren’t any lumps and mushy clumps in the litter sitting around just waiting for another cat to stomp on it and mush it up or have it stick to their feet and track it around.

It was very easy to set up in our guest 1/2 bath. All the supplies I needed were in the box – except I did go out and get an extension to the water hose so I could run it around the perimeter of the room to the toilet. The waste hose was plenty long enough and it sits on the rim of my toilet. We use that bath frequently, so I can check on the CG and I can start the cleaning cycle when needed. I expect that setting it to clean automatically while we are away for a day or two will be pretty nice too – especially for our friends who come by to feed the kitties.

As silly as it may sound, with the CG, I think I can finally relax and feel more confident about my kitties litterbox.

I have not had problems with tracking litter out of the box or it blowing out of the bowl. I have a large cat 20 lb Maine Coon and she is a big girl, long too. It’s a bit of a squeeze but she did not seem to have any problem with changing over from her large, dusty litter pan to the CG. She is using it and not some other place. When she hops out of the CG she does not drag a pile of litter with her or scatter litter pellets – and I had a lot more problems with the regular clumping litter than this stuff.

So far I have been pleasantly suprised by how well it worked and how easily my big girl has taken to this new cat waste removal system. I would recommend it to anyone who wants clean litter and very little personal involvement in the whole cat waste cleaning process.

Donna Allen (#):

One of the best inventions for cat lovers. Now I can enjoy our cats without the headache of cleaning the cat litter. My home feels cleaner in general already without the bacteria being spread around nor the smell lingering. Had a bit of trouble with initial installation. Hose leaked, but called customer service department and they were very helpful and sent new hose via overnight FedEX. The only area of improvement that I can see is a way to prevent the litter from being kicked back out when the scooper is dumping. I just purchased the dome, which should help with this issue, not to mention provide the privacy that my cats have grown accustomed to. Truly a remarkable product overall. I am very happy with this product and hope that it will last for many years to come.

Colleen Black (#):

My cat loves it. Could hardly wait for the first cycle to complete before he had used it for solids. I love it as it reduces my “Honey Do” list by another item every week. It was great entertainment to watch it go through its paces for the first time. If you have the room for it, get it. It’s great.

Denise Cook (#):

Let me first start with the fact that I have six cats. Three of them have long hair. The Cat Genie says it is recommended for up to three cats. It was very easy to get the cats switched from the conventional litter box to the Cat Genie, it worked just as the instructions said it would. There have been very few accidents, and these only happen when the unit gets plugged up. I like the Cat Genie a lot, but with as many cats as I have, I have to take more care of it than someone with fewer cats. At least once a week, it plugs up. When this happens, I have to disassemble the entire thing, this is not a hard task but it can be messy. About half the back ups are due to the permanent litter getting into the drain opening and stopping things up. The other half of the time, it is hair. The literature recommends brushing your cats frequently, and they mean it!

I would make a couple of design changes if I were the manufacturer. I would put some kind of scraper at the top of the rim to scrape the permanent litter off the rim of the rotating bowl when it backs up behind the scoop. Or I would change the angle of the scoop so that the litter wouldn’t back up to the top of the bowl rim. I would also put an abort button on the unit to stop the cleaning cycle when the unit gets plugged up. Too much of the permanent litter ends up in the inner workings of the Cat Genie, which contributes to the clogs. Most of the litter than ends up inside is stuck to the scoop and gets shaken off into the solid waste hopper. Perhaps a few more shakes before the solid stuff gets dropped into the hopper. It would be nice if I could set it up to clean more than four times a day. I frequently run manual cycles to keep up with the output of my six cats. Again, the Cat Genie is very clear in its literature that it is designed for up to three cats. I am pushing the envelope with six.

I like the Cat Genie, but it needs a couple of tweaks. I am so happy not to have to clean a conventional litter box and deal with the litter and litter dust all over the house. No lingering smells either. I’m not sure how the cats feel about it, but they seem to want to use it and they are no longer afraid the the noise.

William Donaldson (#):

After seeing commercials and reading reviews on this cat box, I decided to go ahead and buy one. I did have some reservations based on the reviews of people who had problems with their CG, but I decided to go ahead and get one and HOPE I didn’t get a lemon.

We are a 2-cat family. Older female is 7, younger male was just shy of a year old (and not fixed).

My husband put the CG together the same evening it arrived in our half bath on the bottom floor of our apartment (which we’d just moved into) and neither cat was amused. They completely ignored it for a couple of days, after which time I removed the regular litterbox from that bathroom (it was so disgusting I couldn’t stand it anymore!). One of the cats broke down and used the CG, but they were also still using the upstairs litterbox, so I got rid of that one too.

The 7 yo female made the transition smoothly. The younger male, on the other hand was not going to humor me. I should point out that he has ALWAYS had issues with litter boxes – he absolutely detests any poop in the box and he will relieve himself outside of the box in protest. He was difficult to train for the CG, but I also think the fact that he hadn’t yet been neutered contributed to the aggression he exhibited when we tried to help him along in accepting the CG as an alternative. Once neutered, he bacame much more compliant and began using it with no intervention on our part.

As for the operation of the CG, I have had only good luck with it, with these two exceptions:

* a 2-beep error which brought the cleaning cycle to a halt and was caused by low water pressure when I ran the cleaning cycle while washing clothes.

* incomplete use of a cleaning solution cartridge – which had to be removed while it still contained about 1/4 of the cleaning solution.

I’ve had the baked cat poo experience as well. Depending on where the solids are when the cleaning cycle starts, the rake may come down and crush the poop, creating small bits that the rake cannot pick up. In all fairness, neither can I retrieve the bits with a regular scoop. Since we run the box manually, I invest a few extra moments (when there are solids present) to make sure the raked doesn’t come down on them – if it is about to, I hold the distal end of the rake up with my toe until it’s cleared the solids. Since the rake has some play to it, this does the trick. Occasionally, something happens that small bits of poo get past my vigilant eye and most times I use some tissue to pick them out and toss into the toilet. Once in a great while I will end up with baked poo and it DOES stink up the place. BUT, that is minor compared to the convenience of the CG and the freedom from a traditional litter box.

On a daily average, about 1-2 tablespoons of the granules get displaced onto the bathroom floor – mainly when the cats jump out of the box. I had the same problem with regular cat litter, so I can’t say this is exclusive to the CG. I keep a dustpan in the bathroom and sweep up the granules once a day (more often if company is coming!).

After nearly 4 months of use, I continue to be pleased with the CG. Usually I run two morning cycles per day, as the cats are a.m. poopers. We will be relocating to Colorado in the near future and once we are settled there, I plan to buy a second GC. I suspect a second litter box would alleviate some of Leo’s issues and I feel investing in a second CG for a larger home will be money well spent.

When the Cat Genie works as it should, it truly turns cats into almost no-maintenance pets. I highly recommend the Cat Genie over a traditional litter box as well as over a LitterMaid. You can’t beat the convenience of waste disposal right into the toilet as well as the freedom you gain from lugging heavy cat litter home. The granules and sani-solution are easy to store and don’t take up much real estate.

It doesn’t get much easier than this!

Stella Esdale (#):

When a friend first told me about this product, I couldn’t quite get my head around the concept. Self-washing litter? A self-sanitizing cat box? Well, seeing is believing because two minutes into watching their CatGenie work, I totally understood how cool it was and knew that I wasn’t going to be buying traditional litter any more. Now I’m not very mechanically minded and my cats are pretty picky (whose aren’t?) But the CatGenie was easy to install (I did it all in just minutes and didn’t need a plumber) and my cats took to it immediately. They love it and even after having it for months, I still get a kick out of watching it work.

Annette Kilker (#):

I was among the first people to receive my two Catgenie litterboxes about eight months ago. This amazing litterbox has certainly been worth every penny I spent on it and more. I heard about the concept a long time before it came out and I had my pre-order placed ever since the company launched their website well over a year ago. Let me begin by saying that I could not own my four cats today without this device. With my busy work schedule, I simply do not have the time to care for them the way they fill up a traditional litterbox. I have tried many automatic litterboxes in the past such as the Littermaid (a disaster) and the Litter-Robot (another great product but still required too much maintenance).

All of my cats initially acclimated to the new boxes within hours, one of them even tried using the litterbox before it was completely set up! I placed a cardboard box over the unit because I had not finished setting it up and I didn’t want the cats to use it yet. Well, one of my little guys crawled under the box and used it anyway! Needless to say, I quickly hooked up the rest of it and ran the first cycle. I cycle both litterboxes three times per day and this seems to be enough to keep them clean. I will run an occasional manual cycle if one of my cats decides to smell up the house. The cleaning cartridges last an average of about 2.5-3 weeks when I have the Catgenies set to run on this schedule. A good amount of granules seem to get kicked out onto the floor by my cats, but I am hoping this will be fixed by the new higher walls and hood which will be released as add-ons very soon. Even with the escaping granules, the level stays rather constant and I only have had to add granules to the litterboxes every couple of months.

The biggest advantage of this litterbox is obviously the care-free maintenance. To realize how care-free it is you have to consider the following scenario: I recently moved to a new house on March 28th 2007 and set up both of my Catgenies in the laundry room of my new house. After the initial water and sewer hookups were made, I plugged them in, placed the cleaning cartridges in the special compartments, and programmed them to run 3 times per day. With the exception of replacing the cartridges twice, I have not touched either Catgenie in the past 7 weeks!! Try that with an ordinary litterbox and four cats!! I also have automatic feeders for my cats and I am completely comfortable leaving for 1-2 weeks with the Catgenies able to take care of them. In fact, I have left them to go on a couple of business trips that lasted over a week and I have returned home to happy cats and clean litterboxes. Just to keep my peace of mind, I did set up a internet webcam on the litterboxes. I was able to connect remotely and check on them every couple of days, but there was no need for my worrying because everything worked perfectly.

The Catgenie was not without its problems in the beginning, however I contacted PetNovations and they explained to me that they had some initial difficulties with the packaging and shipping of the litterboxes. They quickly overnighted new parts to remedy the problem and my two Catgenies have been working flawlessly ever since. I cannot stress enough how helpful their customer support team has been. I am confident that they will be there to support any problems I have throughout my 2-year warranty. In fact, I will be upgrading to their optional 4-year warranty because I want to ensure my litterboxes stay running for as long as possible and I know PetNovations will stand behind their products.

Bottom line… If you are tired of smelly traditional litterboxes that require too much labor, or other automatic litterboxes that do not work correctly… you need this product.

Chuck Warford (#):

As a Minimal Effort(tm) product, this one has my full recommendation! I’ve had the CatGenie for about a month now. This is a very high-quality product and well worth the investment. With a little initial effort to install the CatGenie and acclimate your cat(s), you can eliminate all the usual effort, hassle, stinkyness and sanitation issues of litter boxes.

I found it very easy to set up, by myself, not being a huge do-it-yourselfer. I put it in my laundry room and just followed the instructions. The water connection leaked at first, and it appeared to be a problem with the hose itself. I called the help line, not really expecting to get much real help, but to my surprise, a real person answered, spoke my language in a dialect I could understand, was very friendly and helpful, and sent a new hose out to me immediately. I got it less than 48 hours later, and had no more problems with the installation. It was one of the best “help-desk” experiences I’ve ever had (and I’ve had MANY!)!

The CatGenie then proceeded to work exactly as advertised. It was kind of fun to watch it go through its whole cycle of scooping, washing, flushing, and drying (somewhere around 30 minutes). I only watched the whole thing once, since it does take a chunk of time, but I did watch parts of it over the first few days. It’s really quite fascinating!

My cat used it the very first day. If there is one drawback to the CatGenie, it would be that occasionally SOME of the solids produced by my cat are apparently a little smaller than the spaces in the scooping mechanism, and fall through instead of getting removed from the box. However, being small, they’re not that noticeable visually, they don’t seem to have any noticeable odor after they have endured the whole cleaning and sanitation cycle, and they don’t stay around very long. The cleaning action tends to reduce and flush them away by the second or third time.

The CatGenie cycle can be run manually any time, or can be put on a timer to run automatically. I purchased it for this reason, because I travel a lot and did not want to relegate the litter-scooping job to other people all the time (not that I particularly like it myself). I found that the CatGenie ran exactly as I would have expected, based on the advertising and information I could find about it. The timer works and the cleaning cycles run when I expect them to.

It does make a small amount of noise during its cleaning cycle (which I run only when my cat is sleeping and nowhere around), but nothing particularly loud or troublesome. It’s not as loud as, say, the dishwasher or washing machine, and doesn’t run as long. It’s nowhere near as loud as the vacuum cleaner!

The cleaning cycle ends with the granules being dried by a jet of hot air, which sends the scent of the sani-solution throughout the house. Now, the scent is really quite pleasant as artificial scents go, and I think most people would be fine with it, but I am not a person who likes scented things much, so this is less than ideal for me. It is DEFINITELY a lot better than stinky-litterbox-smell, though! If the CatGenie people are reading this, I’d suggest offering an alternative “unscented” version of the sani-solution. I’d also love it if the number of uses remaining in the cartridge could be seen somewhere on the cartridge. Since I travel so much, I would like to keep an eye on how many uses are left in case I need to put a new cartridge in before I leave on a trip. The CatGenie does beep to warn you when there are only 10 uses left, but I may not be there until several days after it starts beeping, so it would be good to see a number somewhere.

Unfortunately, my cat STOPPED using it after 4 or 5 days. I’m not exactly sure why (I have a very quirky and neurotic cat), but I am now working on a new acclimation routine for him, and looking forward to the day he is using the CatGenie full-time again.

Bottom line: In true Minimal Effort(tm) fashion, this product can eliminate the parts you hate about having a cat, and make your life with your pet much more pleasant, as it was meant to be. It is a well-designed, high-quality product, with high-quality support at the home office. Supplies are easy to find and will cost you no more than it used to cost you for cat litter. I highly recommend this as a Minimal Effort(tm) product!

Truman Ball (#):

I have three cats, a 3-year-old and 2 8-year-olds, and a very bad back. I live alone (although my brother, not a huge cat lover, had been great about coming by to get the heavy bags of cat litter out of my trunk) and have been unable to maintain the cat boxes to anyone’s level of happiness.

Before purchasing, I did lots of Catgenie research. What a great idea! I feel that whatever shortcomings this machine has, the technology is here and will only get more advanced and any wrinkles should be ironed out in my cats’ lifetime, imagine! It seemed to me the good outweighed the bad so I took the plunge. From what I read, it seemed the biggest problems were clogs, draining and acclimation issues.

What I did was install mine in the laundry room but on a table (about 32″ high). By elevating the catgenie, the water hose has a straight across shot to the cold water line and potential clogs have less gravity to fight (I did cut a couple feet of hose, with the CG folk’s blessing). I also have a set of kitty stairs (which they’re not using now but may as they age) to the table.

My brother installed it but it was super easy. The brochures and literature that came with the CG were very clear and easy to understand. In my opinion, it’s not as loud as the washer and when it drains, sounds exactly like the washer draining. Doesn’t upset the cats at all.

Another concern I had before purchasing was the “baking poo-brownies” smell I’d read about, when small pieces of solids get missed by the scoop and went thru the blowdrying stage. Sounded awful. As my CG is elevated, I have absolutely no problem removing a quick scoop of solids the ‘old-fashioned’ way if I’m in the area. Just trying to beat the odds here. For others with bad backs and now that I think about it, I don’t know why I didn’t elevate the old boxes years ago.

My biggest problem has been getting the two older kitties acclimated. My 3 year old took to the new CG within a day or two of setting it up. Their old boxes were in the basement, not on the same floor as my laundry room. The first step was closing the kitty-door to the basement and moving a cat box to the laundry room. I placed the old box beside the table holding the catgenie, on top of my dryer. No problems, no accidents, everyone was happy. I tried to leave the old box dirty, as the CG folk suggest in the acclimation guide, but I couldn’t stand that. Once everyone was happy going in the laundry room, I made the mistake of taking away the old dirty box, this was still within one week of set-up. Some call them accidents, these were on purposes! One of the older cats was so angry with me, she pee’d on my desk. OK, back to the small regular litter box beside the CG. Next, I (correction, my strong-backed brother) began switching positions of the genie and the boxes every couple days, hoping to ‘confuse’ the cats into using the genie. The older two didn’t buy it. Ok, at least they’re all using the right room again. Next after a day or two, I got rid of the regular litter and filled the small box with the CG litter. They’re buying it, no accidents, no problems. Still switching box positions, but at least they’re now all in the right room AND used to the new litter.

I would run the cat genie (remember the youngest one loves it), then remove the clean, warm litter and pour the soiled CG litter from the small box into the genie to wash. I know, I know, sounds like a lot of work for a machine that’s supposed to do it all by itself. If you decide to wash litter this way, be sure that when you dump the dirty CG litter into the genie, you give it a few minutes to drain before hitting the clean button. I didn’t and experienced my first clog. Because the litter was really wet, the scoop came down and fed itself a whole scoop of wet litter, right into the hopper! Oops. My patience paid off though. Several days after the big switch to CG litter only, only one of my older ones was still using the old box. Time for tough love. She spent last Thursday night locked in the laundry room with only the CG. Lo and behold, she used it. I was glad, but really, what choice did she have? It was the next day, Friday, almost a week ago, that I saw her using it voluntarily and has been using it ever since. SUCCESS!! Whipped cream for everyone. Ask any animal lover, would you invest 4-5 weeks to toilet train your animal? I think the answer would be YES.

Caution now, it’s only been 6 weeks that I’ve owned it, only 5 days since all cats are using it. I still have my original packing boxes, just in case, but for now, we all are so happy. My friends are happy too that I’m now able to discuss things other than cat waste.

I’ve called CG customer service a couple times and found them (especially Selina, the angel who helped me through the clog!) exceptional. They’re on call until 11 p.m. (Eastern) and seem to be genuinely interested in helping.

Good luck. I’ll update later if I run into problems. I hope this helps.

Audrey Raney (#):

I will start with a little history, My fisrt wife and I had 14 found and helpless cats at once and when she was with child I had to clean the 5 boxes twice a days, our basement smelled horrific. so need less to say I don’t like indoor cat boxes period.
A friend of mine who is serving in the Army was unable to keep her cats so I gave in and picked 3 up at the airport. I was paying my son to do the litter but what a smell and it was allways full.
The CATGENIE does the job at the press of a button. It arrived and was but in place by my son (17)before I could get home from work. We have it in the laundry room.
The list of problems is short and where fixed. The first was that the discarge hose was clogged because the pipe was shareing the drain with the washer. My fault. A bigger drain now acomidates both nicely. The second is that the litter was getting all over. My (2nd) wife freeked on this. but htey do vaccum up and don’t break down like clay.
I haven’t read about this here but they have an iglu looking cover that takes care of most of the flicked pellets and keeps them contained. For the price this is the Cats Meow! and you never have to touch poo again. I will say that the smell after cleaning has changed after our second patch of cleaner.
I would be more

Pat Mote (#):

When I first saw the infomercial, I thought that this product was too good to believe. Never change a stinky, urine-soaked box again? No way!

Well, I’m here to say, yes way.

I have had the product for a few months and have had absolutely ZERO problems. I have two cats, who took to it very quickly (I followed their instructions, such as leaving the old box there without cleaning it). After a week I went out of town, and I was scared to death, because I’d heard all the horror stories: clogs that leave stinky water floating, baked pieces of poo the scooper missed…but I have had none such mishaps. I was also concerned, because I had not ran it automatically yet, and I was sure they’d see it running and potty on the floor in fear. Quite the contrary, they actually wait patiently outside of the bathroom waiting for it to finish its cycle. One of my cats also has long hair and sheds like there is no tomorrow, but I still haven’t had any clogs. Quite frankly, at this point I feel like even if it did clog once or twice, it would be worth the time I save every single day not scooping and messing around with cat filth. Set up was VERY easy, and I am not usually talented when it comes to that stuff, so don’t let the minor plumbing required be a deterrent.
The beads do scatter everywhere, even more so than litter (my guess is because they’re smaller and more lightweight). On the plus side, though, because they’re shaped and not basically little pieces of rock (like litter), they’re not so painful when you step on them. They also aren’t so obvious on your floor.
The only other drawback I can see is the price. For me, it was worth it, and it was very much a stretch of my budget, as I’m just a poor student. The time and frustration it saves me is well worth the steep initial price, and the ongoing price of cartridges.
In summary: buy buy buy! If you can afford the initial cost (the CatGenie website has a payment plan,) you won’t regret it. And even if you do regret it, they have a great return policy. Enjoy!

Joyce Barnwell (#):

I feel that the Cat Genie is the most amazing cat box ever created. I have tried so many different cat litter systems and this one got it right! I read the reviews here when I came to check out supply prices (by the way, Amazon’s prices are really good) and when I saw some of the reviews, I felt that I had to help set the record straight.
I had the same problem that several people mentioned in their reviews (clogging or poor draining). I was also angry when I called in to the customer support line. What I found was one of the best customer service departments I have ever encountered. They listened patiently while I ranted about my problems. They then asked some questions and gave me their explanation about what was going on. It seems that a small number of users were experiencing issues with the unit having problems primarily with hard and small poops. They explained that they were testing a new impellor and asked if I would like to try it and see if it solved my problem. It was very easy to switch–only took a couple of minutes to do. Anyhow, it worked! I’ve continued to use the product for the past 3 months and have had no other problems at all. They sent me an email about a month ago telling me that all the people who had tested the new part were extremely pleased and that now every unit has this new impellor in it. So, if this has been your problem, call them and get the new impellor.
I am SO pleased with my Cat Genie now. I no longer have to buy those heavy jugs of litter. I don’t have dust all over my house and gone is that awful litter box smell. Best of all, I don’t have to scoop and empty that icky stuff anymore. As a long time cat owner, this is the best thing ever!!!!

Kelly Cobb (#):

This is an excellent cat box! We want to get another one because we have um…lots of cats I rescued. It is as great as all the reviews say and more. I know I skimmed through tons of reviews. The only con is the washable granules are lightweight and track on their piddy-paws and a few get kicked out by the machine when it’s cleaning. Car Genie might need to get a heavier weight washable granule to alleviate this problem… But, all-in-all, it is fantastic not to have to change litter and this Cat Genie is very nice!!! A flushing cat toilet- wish we had invented that!!!

Bud McKinney (#):

We read hundreds of reviews of the Cat Genie on a handful of different websites before we decided to take a chance and buy one. We were prepared to deal with any of the problems we’d read about others having – but two months into using the Cat Genie, I’m pleased to report that we’ve had NO problems. The installation went smoothly. The unit functions just like it’s supposed to. Our cats transitioned to using it exclusively within about a week, and we got rid of our old litter box. The cleaning solution, when we notice it all, has a mild, pleasant smell. I have become a walking Cat Genie commercial – I tell all my friends about it. If you’re reading this and considering buying one, I HIGHLY recommend it. If you hate dealing with a litter box – this is the way to go.

Dean Weaver-Mueck (#):

I had pondered purchasing a CatGenie for some time before I finally bit the bullet and ordered one from the manufacturer’s website. I ordered the unit that came with the dome because my cats have been known to stand outside of the box and scoop litter/granules onto the floor. With the cover, they scoop it directly onto a tray I placed there, so it catches everything and I can just add the granules right back into the machine. Now onto the review:

Pros:
-really easy to use – just hit a button and walk away, then flush the toilet when it’s done (we don’t have a laundry room)
-the online owner’s manual gives really great troubleshooting tips (more on errors in the cons)
-my cats used it right away after I took away their old litter box (the acclimation tips didn’t work for them – I have strange cats)
-NO MORE LITTER!!!! Even when the cats’ litter box was clean, there would be a stink in my apartment. Now there’s just the aroma of the cleaning solution – that makes the price tag more than worth it to me
-my cats seem happier now that they have a super clean toilet twice every day

Cons:
-the price tag – while I will concede that it is rather spendy, it’s worth every penny…we saved up for a couple months and bought it straight out (no financing plan or credit)
-the error beeps are really really brash and annoying, but how else are you going to know that it’s not working? I get around having the poopy water problem that others have written about by running it when I know I’ll be around for the 15-minute rinse/dump cycle. I haven’t tried this for a vacation yet, so I can’t comment on how the timer cycle works. Also, as I mentioned earlier, there’s not really a guessing game to find out what’s wrong with it in the event of an error – the owner’s manual details what to do when there’s one beep, two beeps, etc. I’ve owned it for just over a month and have only encountered an error twice.
-granules getting tracked through my apartment and flushed down the toilet…it’s better than litter, though, and instead of having to replenish a whole litter box worth, you just need to replenish up to the fill line (I just empty the tray back into the machine and gather up the escapees that make it onto the bathroom tile floor)

Basically, I don’t know how anyone could use a regular litter box after using this unit. I’ll never go back!

Jason Sanderson (#):

I saw the CatGenie self-flushing cat box in February 2006 when my wife was photographing it. I loved the idea. I said we have to have this. We have 2 cats, 2 kids and 2 jobs. We got one. I had to see all the pieces so I took it apart and was impressed by the engineering. Setup was simple and our cats were quick to adapt. The younger guy was a little slow but that’s his nature. We had an early version of the CatGenie and it developed a minor problem after a couple of months. We called the company. They sent a new “brain” to us the next day. The CatGenie has worked perfectly ever since. This self-washing concept with it’s never-toss cat granules make all the sense in the world. It’s super. 5 stars

Dan Stegeman

Catherine Favara (#):

This is by far the best self-cleaning litter box out there! There is an adjustment period, but once the kitties get over it, it is the most incredible product I’ve ever purchased! I have 3 cats and run it 4 times a day. I haven’t had any clogging issues. Customer service is so helpful and nice. I’ve had 2 minor issues and they ship replacement parts practically overnight! I often leave for short trips and I’m so happy to come home to a fresh smelling home. I can’t imagine having to go back to old litter boxes. This is a great product and anyone who says otherwise must not be using it correctly!

Randy Rutan (#):

I bought this before we got a new kitten (our old family cat had passed away). I set the thing up in under an hour by myself (I am a girly girl – didn’t know a thing about plumbing…my father in law is tickled that I did this myself). I showed it to the kitten first thing when he came to live with us. He did number 1 within hours in it, and number 2 within a day. He uses it no problem. Not one thing has gone wrong with this product. Nothing. No clogging. Nothing. It has run perfectly and we love it. I have a high kicker so there are little beads on the floor but there would be with regular litter too.

Lorna Sherland (#):

I have literally spent hundreds of dollars on OTHER self cleaning litter boxes, from Omega Paw, where you have to manually flip the litter box over, to Litter Maid and PetMate where BOTH broke before one year of ownership. Not to mention that I had to constantly have to deal with cleaning the rakes of both this automatic litter boxes and take out the smelly waste.

Cat Genie has been THE best self-cleaning litter box ever! You never have to deal with taking out the waste. I have it set to automatically clean three times a day, and I never have to worry about cleaning a dirty cat box.

Just like with anything there are some downfalls like:

– the little litter pellets gets everywhere – These can easily sweep it up
– the smell while it cleans is not that fantastic – Although it is a whole lot better than a smelly cat box
– and you do have to do a thorough cleaning of the whole litter box once every six months to prevent clogging – big WOW once every six months ?!?! , that’s not hard at all!

TO me, these downfalls are so minuscule compared to other litter boxes. I will never go back to another kind of litter box again, Cat Genie is the ABSOLUTE best investment I have ever made for my cats and for my convenience. It is truly is a worry free way to have a clean litter box, every single day!

Tonya Finn (#):

great product…easy to install. we have 3 cats, so we cycle it 3x daily. no litter odor, but the granules do track like litter, so have extra on hand to top off occasionally. the cleaning cycle has a clean fresh smell. it is a little noisy during cleaning, but it doesn’t bother us…the benefits outweigh any negative. and no more buying and hauling 15 lb containers of clay litter:)

Miriam Dunn (#):

I have been looking at this product online for quite a while, years even. I rewatched the website’s video instructions and YouTube reviews over and over and finally broke down and bought it. It’s amazing. It was so easy to set up once it was unpacked. I put it all together, hooked up the water supply, plugged it in and poured in the granules. Ta da! All done in probably less than 10 minutes. (I have an extra water supply in my basement, so I didn’t even need to use the included adaptor, but even if I’d had to use that, it would have only added a minute to the installation time.) I moved the regular litter boxes next to it and one of the cats took to it right away, but the other two used the old box until it was one big disgusting mess and finally moved to the clean Cat Genie. I was running it manually at first but now am on a regular cycle. I poke my head downstairs to make sure I don’t hear the cartridge beep but that’s it. It takes care of itself and I no longer have to scoop, strain or dispose of cat crap. If you’ve got the space, I’d recommend this product in a second!

Karen Benvin Ransom (#):

We’ve had the Cat Genie for over a year. We have 2 cats. My wife wants to get another cat because the Cat Genie makes living with cats a pleasure. The concept is smart, it works as advertised, and we haven’t had any problems with this amazing machine. One of the best purchases we ever made.

Nelly Andrushenko (#):

I love my Cat Genie & view this purchase as a fabulous decision:) Like many others who have left reviews, I too had gone the LitterMaid route in the past. Gross- the stench was still there, clumps would get stuck in the raking device, frequent malfunctions would occur with the sweeping part of the item endlessly cycling back and forth over the litter pan… I detest cleaning the litter box to begin with & that product added far more pain than gain. Procrastination/ avoidance + a litter box for 3 cats = a visual and olfactory nightmare.
In contrast, my Cat Genie has been almost maintenance free. Set-up proved challenging as a connecting fixture was “leaky.” But that problem was resolved by customer service sending a replacement piece ASAP. Now all I have to do to clean the litter box is flush the toilet and change the cartridge on a monthly basis. My cats adjusted to the Genie without any hassles. This is a great product that really makes life easier.

Mark Worthington (#):

Love, Love, LOVE the Cat Genie! My 15, 10, and 8 year old cats didn’t have any problems learning to use it (actually one of them had accidents around the house, but I think that’s because we changed to a food he didn’t like at the same time and he was mad). Not having to change litter any more is so wonderful! Yes, the granules do track EVERYWHERE, but I just bought the new sides, so hopefull that combined with a mat in front will solve that problem. It really does work as good as it says!

Ann Marie (#):

This is the best thing since sliced bread!! I should have purchased this a long time ago. Once you get it setup and working all you do is push a button and wala! Customer service for this company is top-notch. One of the hoses wasn’t working properly and they sent a new one off immediately- no questions asked. Since then the machine has been working like a gem. I completely recommend this to anyone who is tired of scooping up cat poop day after day. I have two cats and they both used it right away. I LOVE the cat genie!!!

Diana Dedwylder (#):

My husband and I are pleased and amazed at the way this cat box works.
We are happy that we got this product. We have three cats. I would like to see the bowl a little wider for large cats. We have a 19 lb cat that has a bit of trouble because the sides slope and he is a long cat besides being a big cat. Still having trouble with him using it over the litter box, but two out of 3 cats using it, helps.

Lara Jobe (#):

love the CatGenie! I have 2 cats… within hours they were both using it. Installation was a breeze.

Jane Scarbrough (#):

I love the product, unfortunately this is the second one we have bought because the 1st one stopped working. But it is an essential appliance in our house.

aprilb1 (#):

I have to say I was a little skeptical at first about getting a CatGenie, but after I did, I don’t know how I lived without it!! I never have to scoop litter again