Cat Litter Box Reviews

Sharon (#):

I bought this as a replacement of my first automated litterbox, the Petmate Purrformat Plus XL. That one was awful, this one is great.

The rake on this litterbox actually switches the direction it points as it moves to the front and back to the rear of the box. The net effect is that, unlike the Petmate, you don’t get a wall of litter at the rear of the box. The litter is evenly distributed along the bottom every time and the rake is able to return to its starting point every time unlike the Petmate.

As it sweeps forward, the purple part rises up and the rake pushes anything it has caught underneath it. Underneath the purple part is more Fresh Step litter, so when it closes down it traps the odor so the Fresh Step can absorb it. Simple!

Furthermore, this one is much more quiet than the Petmate. The Petmate sounded like a remote controlled tank but this one just has a gentle hum to it, and it completes the task of sweeping in about 1/2 to 1/3 the time the Petmate takes, too.

My 2 1/2 month old kitten took to it like a duck to water. She kind of thinks it’s a toy right now but she also knows what it’s there for.

S.Rhodes (#):

Nov ‘06–My cat is a 13 pounder, poops about 5 times a day–and boy does it stink! I feel that cleaning a cat box several times a day is a real pain, but then so is cleaning it up off the basement rug every day if I dont clean the box soon enough for “his highness”! This thing is GREAT! Ok, I’ve only had it for 5 days now, and it specifically says on the box that for larger cats or multiple cats, the cartrige will NOT last 30 days–the container is full (like I said, he poops A LOT) BUT!! I really dont mind taking the scoop and scooping out the container once a week–I have to do this because replacement cartriges are $15 or so (that’s the really bad part) I still have to see if it will take all his urine for 30 days, but in the mean time: The smell is gone, he doesnt track litter everywhere (I used clumping before and he left a real mess–along with the smell) just a few of the crystals get on the floor, I dont have to clean the box daily (as well as the basement carpet), and it works. One thing to note, I did not realize how BIG the thing is, and I also didnt think about plugging it in–so you may have to revise where you put it. Also, it’s not perfect–some of the poop got behind the rake, and got stuck, but whoopie, no big deal to take a piece of toilet paper, and pull it off. I may look into reusing cartriges (waxed cardboard boxes with scoop free crystals dumped into it) and adding crystals from a bottle, but that may not be possible, because waxed cardboard can only take so much wetness–but that may be an option. I think a bottle of the stuff is around $15 too, but you may get 2 or 3 uses out of it, rather than just the one.

**update**1 1/2 months–I still love it. It lasts about 14 days, with a once per week clean out of the poop trap. The crystals never smells like urine, but there is a smell after that amount of time (big cat). cant use a litter liner as the rake can get stuck–or kitty’s nails, so I’m still working on a way to refill more cheaply–but no more “accidents” on the carpet.

Steven (#):

I have three cats, and have been using this product for about a year and a half. One of my cats is 14 years old, and I’ve tried several of the self-cleaning litter boxes over the years. None of them comes close to this litter box. This product is, without question, the best litter box I’ve ever used. Bar none.

Here’s how it works. The cat enters the box, and a “safety” catch goes on so that the box won’t try to clean itself while the cat is using the box. If the cat goes #1, the Fresh Step brand litter crystals absorb and deodorize the urine. The litter box runs it’s “rake” through the crystals, and settles the disturbed crystals (because our cats will paw and dig and cover their waste) so that they are flat again. Because the urine is absorbed, it’s not clumped (as it is with clay), and therefore doesn’t create extra waste that a receptacle will be burdened by. If the cat goes #2, the box waits for about 20 minutes, and then sweeps the waste under a lid that, when closed, virtually eliminates all odors.

Using clay drove me crazy, because the receptacle was burdened far more by urine than by feces, and required constant changing. Without the extra burden of clumped urine, maintenance is very, very low.

The crystals come in a cartridge specifically constructed for this unit. As of this writing, they’re a tad expensive, but they are well worth it. If you have one cat, you probably won’t have to worry about changing the cartridge for one month. I have three cats, using two Scoop Free Self-Cleaning Litter Boxes, and I change the cartridges every two weeks.

Also, for an added bonus, the company that makes this product is very easy to work with. Great customer service; they’ll bend over backwards to satisfy their customers.

S.West (#):

We ordered the Scoop Free Self-Cleaning Litter Box about three weeks ago for our 2 one-year-old cats. I was hoping to 1) stop scooping litter daily, and 2) leave on short vacations without hiring a pet-sitter.

TRANSITION
For a week I left the Scoop-Free unit next to their clay litter box, but they didn’t use it. I sprinkled some clay litter over the Scoop-Free crystals during this period to help the transition. After that first week I quit scooping the old litter to encourage the transition. After a few days of dirty clay litter they still wouldn’t use the Scoop-Free. So I took the clay litter away. They began using the Scoop-Free over the next 24hrs and have had no incidents.

HOW IT HAS WORKED OUT
The unit works great. For two weeks now I have not scooped litter. I’ve only touched the unit once, to replace the refill (lasts almost 2 weeks with two 12LB cats). It is always clean, and it controls odors very well (doesn’t immediately hide a new odor, but gets it under control soon). I took another reviewer’s advice and check the green light daily, to make sure the sensors aren’t blocked. The sensors haven’t been blocked yet and our cats throw litter athletically.

SUMMARY
This is worth the moderately increased ongoing costs. I will gladly replace the crystal refill unit every two weeks, rather than scoop litter daily. By using this litter box, along with food and water dispensers with large reservoirs, we no longer have to service the cats daily. We just enjoy their company and check in on their food/water/litter periodically. We can also leave the house for a few days without a petsitter, although I may buy a second unit as a backup (in case there is a blockage while we’re out). Overall I would HIGHLY recommend this system. Just ordered more refills today.

Steven Hoffman (#):

Update, posted December 16, 2007:
After using the LB1 for four months, I still think it’s the best litterbox we’ve used in the 10 years of living with cats; which is not to say it’s perfect. It’s big advantage is how easy it is to maintain and keep clean. It’s big drawback is how often the expensive crystal litter has to be replaced.

On the plus side: It doesn’t have to be cleaned several times a day, as did the plain $4 litter box, nor unjammed and cleaned frequently, as did the LitterMaid; and it controls odor reasonably well (we keep it in the garage, without a hood. If it were in the house, I’d definitely use the hood, but don’t know if that would suffice).

It does have to be checked every day, because it sometimes needs some help. When that happens, it’s still MUCH quicker and easier than dealing with a plain litterbox or a LitterMaid. Cleaning it is trivially easy, and that’s important to me. If you use the disposable cartridges, there’s virtually no cleaning to be done, ever. The rake doesn’t foul the way other mechanical litterboxes do, and the only time I “cleaned” the rake, it was by wiping it with a damp cloth for about a minute. That may have been overkill.

I use the “Forever tray”, and it usually doesn’t need any cleaning, not even wiping down, when replacing the litter. When it did seem to need cleaning, just hosing it down was sufficient: afterwards, there was no visible residual and no oder at all. I remember spending over a half-hour every month or two trying to clean the LitterMaid, and never could really get it clean. So, for ease-of-use, this is in a class by itself.

On the downside: With two cats, it’s a stretch to make the litter last 2 weeks: 10 days is closer to reality. In winter, with cold, humid air, the liquids do not evaporate quickly, so it isn’t as good as in the summer. The litter is much more expensive than scoopable litter: I’m using the “Forever” tray (a “must” if you use the LB1 at all), and an 8-pound bag of crystal litter at Target is $13. The tray holds 1/2 a bag, so it’s costing $6.50 (plus tax, of course) for 10 days, or about $20/month. (With the official disposable “cartridges”, it would be costing $50/month.) By contrast, scoopable litter probably cost about $4/month, or even less, but required a lot more maintenance and produced more odor.

So, I’m glad we have it, and wish the crystal litter cost much less.

===

Original review, posted August 18, 2007:
We’ve had cats for about ten years, and have tried a variety of manual and automatic litter boxes, but never have been satisfied with them.

Several years ago, I tried both sizes of LitterMaid (original and then Mega), but neither worked well: they jammed, they fouled, they required a lot more work than a plain litter box, and there was always a big mess surrounding them. The monthly cleaning was time-consuming and unpleasant, and after a few months, the rake seemed to foul more often than not.

I tried the Omega Paw RA20 (sold at Amazon). Only one of my cats was willing to use it, and, because it has to be rolled upside down to remove the clumps, it needs about six feet of floor space. Cleaning it turned out to be harder than I’d thought it would be.

I went back to a big manual litterbox with a built-in scoop, and although it was the best “manual” solution I ever found, with two indoor cats, I still had to clean it out several times a day. The litter boxes were always in the garage, so the garage always had a bit of an unpleasant odor.

A month ago, I saw the glowing reviews of the Scoop Free LB1 at Amazon. They sounded too good to be true, but I ordered it anyway.

Those glowing reviews were simple statements of the truth: this litter box just works. The design is simple and clever, setting up and maintaining it is easy, and there’s less mess or odor than from any other litter box we’ve tried in the last ten years. It isn’t as maintenance-free as the manufacturer says, but checking it daily, clearing out the poop every few days, and redistributing the crystals seems to be sufficient.

The obvious drawback is the high on-going maintenance cost: with two indoor cats, the crystal litter and the cardboard trays must be replaced every two weeks. At Amazon’s current price, that works out to $450 a year. By contrast, traditional clumping clay litter probably costs less than $45 a year.

Fortunately, the reviews here also mentioned a less expensive solution: the “Forever Litter Tray”, sold on eBay for about $60 plus $10 shipping. It’s a permanent plastic tray that replaces the disposable cardboard trays, and it works even better than the cardboard trays.

If you use the “Forever” tray, you have to buy the crystal litter separately: 8 pounds of “Fresh Step Crystals” sells for $12-$17 (Target has the best price), and the tray needs about 4 pounds at a time. So, it may be possible to spend “only” $150 a year on litter, if you shop around. That’s $100 more than clay litter for the year.

This approach (LB1 plus “Forever tray”) obviously costs more than a manual litter box ($180 more, up front, plus an extra $100 a year for crystal litter). The benefits are: 1) much less work; 2) much less mess; 3) much less odor.

To me, it’s well worth the price.

G.Jaramillo (#):

I have an abyssinian and a tonkinese. This litter box accomodates them both…I change it about every 10 days and it is truly wobderful if you hate to clean the litter box. The automatic rake kicks in after they leave the box and scoops the stinky stuff into the cartridge.
No more smell.

A.Robayo (#):

We purchased this box for a finicky cat that we suspected refused to use the box if it wasn’t clean. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the problem and this box didn’t correct his behavior issue – however our other female loves it and so do I. It is very quiet – you can hear it, but it is not obnoxious. My female was 7 years old and had no problem making an immediate adjustment. In fact, she’s fascinated and waits to watch the box in operation after she uses it. I empty it every 30 days (she’s a small cat). The box stays very clean, the rake stays clean. I’ve used the box for over 6 month now and have not had one poop clump on the rake like the Littermaid we owned (and discarded) previously. The refills are expensive, but the convenience and cleanliness is just worth it to me. We NEVER smell this box. We travel frequently and I don’t have to worry about the cat being on her own, even for several days at a time.

Tips:
The cardboard boxes can leak, especially if your cat likes to use one corner of the box like mine. I keep the whole set up on a water proof door mat. I also use the cardboard that comes in the refill cartridges in the bottom of the container top (it has to have about and inch or 2 trimmed to fit), then place the bottom box inside on the cardboard, and I put a piece of wax paper in the bottom of the box directly under the crystals.

My cat tends to make a pile of crystals in her favorite corner. This is a large pile (every crystal in the box) and it tricks the sensor by making it think the cat is in the box. I have to shake it or rake it to redistribut the crystals, then the box works fine. You can tell if it’s “hung up” by rapid blinking of the sensor light. You can also manually initiate the rake, but it won’t redistribute equally across the box.

My cat also pushes some crystals out of the box, and with the crystals that get swept into the poop containment center, we run low on crystals by the mid-end of the month. I mark the top of the box where the crystals are when the new cartridge is installed – like a fill line, then add crystals as needed to keep this amount. This also cuts down on leaking (when I remember to do it regularly), and probably is responsible for zero odor.

I have two toddlers, and a lot going on – I don’t like to fuss over a litter box regularly, and this is perfect. I spend about 20 minutes a month on it – total. That includes vacuuming around the box, wiping it down with disinfecting wipes (all that is needed), setting up the new cartridge and disposing of the old, and the occasionally shake and top off during the month. Each cat has it’s different quirks – so making it work “perfectly” for your family may take a couple tries to figure out. Overall, use is simple.

ANDREA (#):

I have gone through at least 3 generations of the Littermaid automatic systems with all their distastful problems: clumping, sticky urine, odor problems, scattering of litter etc. When a new kitten brought our cat number up to 3, the Littermaid system became downright disgusting even when changed daily (which was a real chore). So, I tried the Scoopfree LT1 System – and wished that I had done so long ago. The Scoopfree System is the cleanest litter solution I have ever had. The replacement units are expensive because I change them every 4 days, but with many little grandchildren around I need a really clean system. Changing these units is a breeze. Odor and scattering is not a problem. Clumping, pooling urine is not a problem. The rake stays clean. This is a superior product.

T.Ashburn (#):

This litter box is awesome!!! Far less maint. then either of the LitterMaid Mega’s it replaced. With this box I only need to stir the litter every few days, it’s never jammed, it’s never left any poop in the box or stuck to the rake (a big problem with the LitterMaid). It’s quiet, the large crystals don’t track all over the house like clumping litter did. I can’t smell this box from across the room until it’s time to change the cartridge (3 weeks for my cat). So after three years with LitterMaid boxes (first lasted 1 year, second went for 2), twice a week changes of the waste recepticles, monthly disassembly for cleaning (including removing the screws that hold the rake), many attempts to find the “perfect” litter to use in the LM (EverClean works the best), I’ve finally found something much better!!! I’m just glad I looked at the reviews online before I ran out to buy another LitterMaid. I was excited about the metal rakes on the new LM elite and thought it would be easier to clean but the reviews showed these new models are having more trouble then the older models I owned.

On paper the Scoop Free sounds like it will be more expensive to own then the LitterMaid but my few years with the LM shows me that I was spending about the same per month or more on supplies then the Scoop Free will cost me. Scoop Free will cost me $15.99 every three weeks for a refill (18 (really 17.3) refills/year = approx $287). The LitterMaid was $18/month for EverClean litter, 2 waste recepticles/month @ $1.25ea = approx $246). Sure you can use cheaper litter in the LM box but I tried a bunch and nothing cheaper made me happy. Add in extra $$$ for the littermaid if plan to the use the charcoal flters which are useless IMHO.

The Scoop Free doesn’t require you to touch any part with cat waste on it for normal maint and cleaning. Unfortunately (for me) the LitterMaid’s I used for 3 years did require (at least) twice weekly contact with the cat waste to change the recepticle plus the montly disassembly for cleaning (gross). I liked the LitterMaid, I love the Scoop Free.

Troy Ott (#):

I have tried other autoscoopers but they are noisy, jam up, or don’t control odor. This one is great! I have 6 cats and I am so glad I bought this. I am very impressed with the odor control this litter box has! I loved it so much I bought a second one for the downstairs.
Worth the money for the box but the refill trays are expensive. I did find a way to cut refill expenses – I dump the used contents in a trash bag and refill with the 4 lbs litter bags (about $3). It defeats the purpose of hands-off litter box but saves on the refill expense. The bottom of these trays are very durable and can last more than 10 refills this way.
If I am lazy, I just refill with the easy refill trays. Either way, worth the money and lack of odor. It is a lot quieter than other autoboxes too.

Nancy (#):

I have one small cat who doesn’t eat much. ScoopFree lasts between 5 and 6 weeks a tray, so I guess I am lucky. Amazon prices for the trays are the best I have seen especially in the 6-pack. But it is expensive. It was probably about the same as using S’Wheat or other fancy litter though.

My cat has always used automatic boxes, but this was the first time for her to use crystals, so that took a bit of convincing. I could see that it could be challenging to get a cat who has not been exposed to either to like the box. Now she loves it.

I used various models of the Litter Maid and the quality got worse and worse over time. The last one lasted only three months before it broke.

ScoopFree has a very simple rake and mechanism, so it should break less if the electronics don’t fry or something. The trays have recently been improved and there is now a piece of plastic on the bottom of the tray that may fix the leaking and scratching problems some people experienced.

I have not had any leakage problems or scratch through problems. The litterbox smell is totally gone from my house, and I am amazed by that. I have had non-cat people smell my place and they say they can’t smell a thing either. I am so pleased with that. The littermaids always had a smell. After about 4 weeks I can smell the box a bit, but I know when it’s time to change trays because it will start smelling strong of amonia at about 5 weeks. The rake has been clean and unmessed up.

Apart from the cost of the trays, this product is as close to perfect I could ever expect from a litter box. One less unpleasant duty to perform around the house, and the place smells a lot better!

P. Latham (#):

I always grew up with a cat and the thought of empting a litterbox was mindnumbing. Given I love my cat, but what comes out of her.. Well that is another story. Having recently adopted a kitten I found myself back in the pet arena. I talked around the get ideas with automated litterbox and narrowed it down between the Littermain and Scoopfree. I was sold on the Scoopfree (the idea of only emptying the litterbox once a month sold me). I have been using the box flawlessly. There is NO odor associated with the unit, and much to my surprise my kitten took right to it. It has a higher rim which helps contain the pellets, yet my 8 week old kitten has no trouble navigating in and out. Only drawback is a low hum when the unit self cleans after 20 minutes, however small price to pay to just plug it in and leave it.

High marks in my book! Bravo! Just cannot wait till they invent a litterbox that only needs maintence once a YEAR

Peggy Spann (#):

WHAT A GREAT LITTERBOX!!! I’m free, FREE at last.

With 3 fat fluffies, a sore knee and sprained ankle, hauling litter down to the basement (40lbs each carton), stooping over to scoop 2 litter boxes(never often enough – per my surly kitties) and hauling old litter up to the garbage was just too much after 14 years. Each trip was a journey in fear and loathing as I suited up in a plastic pullover, put on latex gloves and dust mask. My loved one would shriek and run when she saw me because she feared I would snag her and make her do IT, and I would …sometimes…. if I could catch her.

The Scoop Free spares me all that. It dries out and segregates the little brown buddies into the hopper so that not only are you freed from the smell, but spared having to look at them hanging around the box. Talk about anxiety reduction and without prozac! Once the machine cycles, the box really looks just the way it does in the promotional pics.

So now it’s day 5 and there is no smell unless I open up the hopper containing the doggie chocolates.

I think the problem w/ machines using scooping litter is that the scooping litter is just too darn heavy and makes all these other machines break down that much sooner. The litter robot is huge and expensive and still requires heavy hauling. The littermaids seem to break down after about 1-2 years. While I’ve only had the Scoop Free for a week, I noticed that the scoop free machinery seems to be under little stress with the crystals and the rake stays clean, which means I don’t have to clean it.

Oh and the expensive cartridges? Permanent trays can be found on Ebay, just search under Scoop Free Forever Cartridge – not cheap but pays for itself – especially w/ multiple cats. Cheaper replacement crystals? Tidy Cat and other silica type litter will substitute just fine so long as the crysals are not too big for the rake.

If you use the disposeable cartridges you will never have to look at poo! Just tip the machine up, put the lid on the cartridge and out it goes. This bodes well for getting your teenager to help you or your friends to kitty sit while you go on vacation.

Go get this system, it’s a serious improvement to your quality of life, and, seriously, will enhance kitty adoption from shelters. With this around, I could consider getting another cat once my others leave.

UPDATE: 3/26/07
Each package of Fresh Step litter lasts at most 6 days w/ 2 cats. The reuseable tray is well constructed, but with each change, the wet litter clings to the reuseable tray. To avoid having to lift, pour out old litter, clean the tray and to prevent spillage, I did this: I laid a 30 gal. black trash bag under the tray and scoop free. I placed another 30 gal. trash bag on top of the tray (on its side unopened) to serve as a liner for the reuseable tray. When the litter is used up, I just wrap up the corners of the bag holding the litter, and empty. The bottom liner contains any excess spillage, and can be changed in a month or 2.

Suggest that the 30 gal. bags to be inserted as tray liner not be too thick – which can catch on the rake.

Update 6/12/07
Reality sets in!! Gave up on the garbage bag liners since they caught on the rake too often. Bottom line sundays/weds must clean out tray w/ rubber spatula-stinky! Switched to Walmart crystals $3.00 or so for 4lbs. Box regularly experiences some spillage over the sides so the urine control is not ideal compared to clay but still a lot less hauling required.

I’ve taken to lining the bottom of the box w/ newspaper over plastic garbage bag to catch spillage. I’m thinking of switch back to original cardboard cartridge since the cardboard helped absorb excess.

L. Johnson (#):

I love this machine. It truly makes litter less of a headache, I only wish the cartridges were cheaper. Has anyone experimented with adding your own fresh step crystals?

I have two cats, one who excretes a lot, one who doesn’t, and I have to change it about every 13 or 14 days. Usually on day 8 or 9 I go in and scoop out the poo from underneath the flap, and mix the crystals around. It lasts longer this way because some corners of the litter never get into the pee-absorbing mix.

As for the soggy problem mentioned by a number of other reviewers…I found my first cartridge lasted only about 8 days before I started seeing the box get soggy underneath. After this though, I haven’t seen any soaking through at all. My theory is that the cats were adjusting to the crystals, and were scratching up the cardboard underneath in the process. By exposing the cardboard underneath (they have sharp claws), any pee that is not immediately absorbed gets soaked into the box. If I were to recommend to others how to train their cats, I’d suggest putting crystals in their old box first (with only a thin layer of crystals) so that they know what it feels like to pee and poo in a shallow layer of crystals, and maybe get their cat’s claws trimmed.

Now my boxes don’t get all soaked, and so I wonder if I could just replace the crystals with fresh step crystals I get from the store? If the soggy box problem is the only thing holding it back, I don’t see why not. Will update if I ever get an answer to this.

UPDATE: So the big question I had when purchasing this system was whether or not I could lower my cost by refilling with crystals I buy at Wal-Mart. As a graduate student, I really don’t have the money to buy cartidges every couple of weeks (I’ve got two cats). This review is basically here to tell you that I’ve done it, and it works for me. YMMV.

As a first attempt, I simply threw away the old crystals and poo, and then filled it up with ~4 lbs. of fresh step crystals purchased at Wal-Mart/Target (much cheaper for an 8-lb bag or two refills). Of course if Amazon sold these, I’d buy from them any day.

Problem #1: Wet Cardboard. This is a documented problem with the system, as noted in my review above for the litter box, but I basically could only get two uses out of the cardboard box before the cat claws could pierce the bottom and cause soaking of the box in urine.

Solution #1: There is no complete solution for the wet box problem, unless you can tolerate an impressively disgusting urine stench. Luckily, Scoop Free improved their cartridge systems! Note that new cartridges come with a slight change to the cartridge that has improved its sturdiness. They have added a plastic sheet to the bottom of the cartridge to prevent cat claws from piercing the bottom and having the pee soak through to the bottom.

Great! Problem solved, right? Well, I then started experiencing Problem #2: a screeching noise during the raking that really sounded quite awful. At first I thought this was my fault, possibly overfilling the box and causing the machinery to operate with too much litter. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that as the cats continued to use this cartridge (with plastic sheet), their claws would occassionally get under the plastic sheet and lift it up, causing litter to get underneath the plastic sheet. This plastic sheet would bulge up at the sides, and the raking mechanism would then start scraping the plastic surface as it raked, causing the screeching sound.

Solution #2: Now, for each new cartridge I use (I still use a new cartridge after about 2 or 3 refills), I use mailing tape (or duct tape) to tape down the edges of the plastic sheet. This takes some practice, but I have not experienced any screeching noises since.

Anyways, I hope this review helps! I also find the 3-pack of refills to be great because it qualifies for amazon prime 2-day service. The 6-pack does not have free shipping. Thanks, Amazon!

Martha (#):

After two frustrating years of another automated system, I tried this one out because it seemed to address the flaws of the other system. I have one cat who pees buckets and would pee right on the rake of the other system – clogging it all up with the clumping litter. No problem with this one at all – it has not clogged once. It is 100% quieter than the other automated box I had – I barely notice when this one starts up.

The cats took to it right away. I eventually bought the little tent you can put on top and now its even better – I hardly know its there at all.

I have 3 cats so I change the cartridge every 10 days and that seems to work. I don’t have to touch it at all in-between changes! I do keep the box on an absorbant towel to avoid any problem with leakage. It takes a couple of tries to figure out how long between box changes for your kitties. (You’ll know when you’ve left it too long because the bottom will get very soggy and a really nasty smell develops.) I can’t emphasize enough though – as long as you change it in time, there is almost no smell at all.

Kay Rushe (#):

It has been years since I have had a cat. I lived with 3 cats for 15 years and decided to get one ten years later after my oldest son turned 7. The one thing I was dreading the most was the litter box. Certainly I expected changes/advances in “litter management” in 10 years, but nothing prepared me for this Scoop Free Self-Cleaning Litter Box.

No Mess. No Smell. Works everytime. Clean it up once a week and keeps going great. Takes 5 minutes to change filter, box up and trash. Don’t even know I have a litter box sometimes (except when the mechanism activates in the middle of the night meaning my cat Yoshi took a bathroom break). End of story

I never leave reviews (this is my first) but let me say this, this box works! Now I know what 10 years of litter management technologies has come up with, and I like it.

Jeffrey (#):

This litterbox works as advertised. Newer refill cartridges now have a liquid-resistant liner, so the bottoms never get soaked like the old ones used to.

After owning ours for a while, the sensor started getting more and more dependent upon bright light in order to operate properly. It got to the point where the sensor light would always blink rapidly as if the sensor was obstructed unless the room was brightly lit. The problem was solved by using a can of compressed air to blow into the two holes on the interior side walls of the litterbox; that’s where the sensors are. The compressed air blew away whatever the obstruction was, and the litterbox once again operates smoothly even in a pitch-black room.

E. Dawson (#):

This is a great litter box and has redefined the litter box experience. No more dusty, nasty, sandy litter. The crystals work great and the box does too. I agree with others that you can’t really leave this untouched for 30 days..we regularly manually mix up the litter and about every 4 or 5 days, we clean out the receptical. I have found a way to extend the life of the cartridges..by buying a bag of the Fresh Step crystals (Target carries this). At the end of the month, we just empty the crystals from the cartridge in a trash bag and fill it with the new crystals. The bag of crystals is about $12 and is able to fill about 2.5 cartridges. So we use our cardboard cartridge 2 months…the second month costs about half of the price of a new cartridge. The cardboard cartridge is lined with a thick plastic and we’ve never had a leak.

Ginny (#):

I have two cats and decided to try this litter box after a friend wouldn’t stop raving about it. It was easy to set up, but I was surprised how loud the sound of motor was – I thought the cats might not take to it. I decided to switch cold turkey on them and hope for the best. Max (the male) took to it right away with no issues. Squeaker (the female) would use it but would run and hide when the rake motor kicked in. After a week, she was fine. She still can’t figure out where the noise is coming from, but now she watches the rake instead of running from it.
I get about 3 wks from each cartridge, but my cats are small. (My friend gets about the same life but with one large cat.) Absolutely no odor and no leakage problems. I slide out the old one and slide in the new. I don’t dread changing the litter anymore. It’s great! My only complaint is that the litter is sticky when wet and i find crystals on floor. I hear they now have a mat to help with that, but I have’t tried it yet.

D. Gula (#):

We’ve tried ‘em all: the Littermaid and the Purrforma. This is streets ahead of both: we have two cats, and two weeks later the litterbox is still clean smelling; they don’t track litter all over the place; it’s quiet; and it’s simple to maintain. The cartridges are much easier to store than bags or crates of litter. The only drawback is the price of the cartridges – but a house that doesn’t smell of cat poop? Priceless.

D. DeMatteo (#):

I just love this automated litterbox!I had another well known automatic litterbox,and it was really a pain in the neck.The rake was always getting stuck over the compartment where the clumps got dumped.It’s much better using the crystal litter thats in the Scoop Free.This box is virtually maintainance free,and it lasts for about a month before having to change the inserts.With the old box,I would have to change the compartment every week because it would fill up,and I would have to add new litter sporadically.The Scoop Free doesn’t require any of this.It’s much better and it lasts for a month. Everything is also included when you change the insert monthly.I only wish I had bought the Scoop Free before buying the LitterMaid.

Charlie Harden (#):

Started using this box as the “downstairs” box for 2 cats on Christmas day. It was the preferred box by MLK day. By the end of Jan. the “upstairs” box is seldom used. I was a bit concerned when it took 3-5 days to get the kitties using it, but now its a hit. I haven’t had the troubles with leakage, but I do keep plastic underneath just in case. I’m still getting the hang of the duration of time between box changes. It looks like every 16-18 days for my cats. I get the replacement litter from Amazon using Prime and have been 100% satisfied.

E. Gerace (#):

After reading all the reviews of all the different automatic litter boxes, I splurged on this one. I’m very happy with it. I took all the advice about how to get the cats to use it. Left it off at first with regular litter inside so they understood it was a litter box (since the Crystal litter seemed weird for them, – use the Crystals Blend for a transition). I had to break down and buy the HOOD for it. THEN the cats finally understood and used it.

It is a drag that you have to replace the whole bottom. I try to get two or three uses out of it by layering the bottom with Baking Soda Litter Powder and refilling with store bought Crystals. That seems to work ok. Since I have to change it weekly due to having 4 cats.

I have four cats and I’ve gone from three litter boxes to just this one. The smell is gone and the Crystal litter doesn’t track near as much as the normal scoopable litter.

It’s expensive but I think it’s worth every penny. It changed our life!!

Edward (#):

I’ve been using a self-cleaning litter box for more then 10 years, which has been the original Littermaid. I tried the new Littermaid Elite and was very disappointed. While I had my original Littermaid I also tried the Petmate Purrforma and was disappointed in it as well, though not as much as the Elite. So, while I have the Elite white elephant, I decided to try the Scoop Free, especially since they have a 90 guarentee and will pay for return shipping (look at their website).

Well, I’ve very pleased. Right after I got it, I decided to see how much the motor can take, so I forced a cleaning cycle and I put my hand on the rake and tried to stop it. Compared to the Littermaid, overfilling should never be a problem. Though the crystal litter works different then clumping, the rake design is to try and lift solid matter is something the other litterboxes really needs, as it tends to not push as much litter as the clumping litter.

I don’t know how long I can get the cardboard boxes from Scoop Free to last, but if you take the precauion of ensuring the seams are sealed with either a glue or silicon, this seems to overcome some reviewer problems with the box starting to leak. I know the litter container that came with my new unit had a bubble in the top carboard layer right at the seam. Even with the fast absorbancy of the cyrstal litter, having a bubble in the seam is a sure way to allow urine to get behind the coated layer of cardboard and start to leak. I have also trimmed my cats nails, so she is not scratching though the carboard either. Since glue and silicon is relative cheap, I really don’t see this as a detraction. Using the cartrige box for several months and buying the crystal litter as needed, I don’t see this costing more then clumping litter.

The only thing I’ve observed is the catch area for the solid matter does not seal as well as Littermaid or the Petmate catch area containers. I’m still considering how to address this. Maybe all it needs is a little baking soda.

Of the four different litter boxes I’ve used, this is currently the best one I’ve had so far.

W.DeMatteo (#):

i bought this after reading the review here on Amazon. I previously owned the Stylette LitterSweep, and although it wasn’t bad, it was easily overwhelmed by 2 cats.

The Scoop Free is definitely better. Here are the pros & cons of the Scoop Free from my perspective:

Pros:
- it is very quiet
- the sweeping motion of the rake seems more sturdy and i think it will hold up better. The rake on the littersweep was easily overwhelmed.

Cons:
- The cartridges are a ripoff. I have 2 cats and am lucky to get a full 7 days of use out of them. The promise on the box (30 days for one cat, 15 for 2) is completely unrealistic in my opinion. At $15/each, 4 per month is too much. I bought the “forever litter box” from eBay and now i can just buy bulk crystals.

- the waste receptacle is a bit small. Again, even if the crystals did last more than 7 days, there wouldn’t be enough room inside the box.

- It would be nice if it was a little bit wider. The nice thing about the littersweep was it was nice and big. My cats are full grown and they seem to struggle to get situated in the box. I have thought about buying the cover, but i am afraid it would be too confining.

___________________________________________________________________________

Update:
I recently discovered a new cat litter that works great with this product: Precious Cat Senior Litter. Now, at long last, I have what i was originally hoping for: lasts for 1 month, really great smell control, works well with both this litter box and my other one Petmate Litter RoundUp One Touch Electric Litter Controll System Blue/Gray

My recommendation buy this product, the forever litter pan, and the Precious Cat Senior litter

J. Larson (#):

I drew the short straw when it came to the household chore of cleaning the cat box. Obviously, it’s the big drawback to cat ownership. I finally broke down and started looking at self-cleaning cat boxes.

Originally, we were looking at getting a Litter Robot, but after reading complaints about smell and other issues online, we went for the ScoopFree. It’s cheaper to start with, the drawback is the ongoing cost from the refills. However, after some research, I uncovered “forever” inserts that you can buy online from a well-known auction website. Another suggection (besides many of the others listed if you read the reviews) is to line the disposable tray with Coroplast. I think we’re eventually going to go the “forever” route, and just buy the crystal litter ourselves.

In any case, the Scoop Free works like a dream. It’s quiet, effective, and hassle-free. Both of our cats took to it immediately, and you’d never know there was a cat box in the house. Yay!

Christy Hunter (#):

The Scoop Free Self-Cleaning litter box is the best one I have ever used. I would give it 100 stars if possible!

I have two older cats, who I was concerned if they would take to it, but both started using the box right away without any problems. One of the cats has bowel problems, and tends to be pretty smelly when he uses a litter box. He is also very finicky about the litter box being clean, and will go elsewhere if it is not up to his liking. The Scoop Free Self-Cleaning Litter box has solved both of these problems. The bad smells are gone and so is the problem of cleaning the litter box, the box does that for you!

Another problem that this litter box has resolved is the sneaking of “treats” from the litter box by my dog (Some people know what I’m talking about…really disgusting). Now the litter box rakes the cat “treats” away and deposits them out of doggie’s reach!

I simply cannot go on enough about this wonderful product! I am finally fully happy being a cat owner!

Terry Bonnell (#):

I really love these litter boxes. My kitties are a bit picky: I got the second kitten three weeks ago and ended up buying her a separate box: So far that’s worked out perfectly: They’re both very happy and I haven’t had to change the cartridge: 30 days is a very, very optimistic estimate. Like others said: you’d need to take out the dried up poop for them to last that long. It also depends very much on the cat’s diet. That said, the fact of not needing to touch the poop completely outweighs any time considerations.
There’s a special carpet that you can’t order from here, but from the manufacturer’s site: Anti-Tracking Carpet, which, together with the hood contains the litter very nicely: Any other litter spill carpet will do nicely too.
I bought the ScoopFree because of the excellent reviews here and it’s not dissappointed for a moment. Yes, from time to time poop will stick to the rake, but I haven’t had any mechanical problems and the kitties are very happy with it, and even play with it.

Duffell (#):

I’ve had the scoop-free for four months now. I bought it after reading many reviews of similar products. It works perfectly. I have two 1-year old cats. The cartridge goes about 10 days between changing. And changing the cartridge is a snap. The fresh step crystals it uses are great. No odor. But at $15 a refill, they are very expensive. Still, it is worth it for a product that works as well, and as reliably as this does.
I did try saving money by buying the fresh step crystals separately ($12 for 8 pounds, the cartridge uses 4 pounds) and refilling the cartridge. You can do this twice before the plastic liner on the cartridge starts to curl and cause slight binding. It’s a messy job changing the crystals out though. It’s much easier to just pitch the old one and slap in a new. And didn’t we get this thing so we wouldn’t have to mess around with litter?
Anyway, despite the expense, I give it 5-stars because it works exactly as advertised.

Dinda (#):

This is so much easier! I HATE scooping litter. It is my least favorite chore. It works well, my cat took to it very quickly, and I don’t think it’s too noisey. It’s downstairs, so I’m usually not around when it does its job, but when I’m downstairs, it doesn’t seem too loud. The price of the litter cartridges is totally worth it for me. $15 for not having to scoop is a bargain.

OK, still works great! No problems with leaking. I have 2 cats, but just one uses it. I have never had a leaking problem. Maybe my cat likes to go in different spots though. I now get the cartriges online for cheaper than what I was paying at the local pet store ($18).

D. Duffell-Seguin (#):

I read through all of the reviews and finally decided to buy a ScoopFree litter box. I had a manual litterbox before and all I can say is wow! the litterbox doesn’t smell, easy to use, set-up and throw away! The rake rakes all the way front to back. I have two cats and after my success with the first one, I decided to get another one for the house. It’s in my bedroom and doesn’t wake me up in the middle of the night. It’s medium loud.

The cons are that the cartridges can be a bit expensive. The best way to get the most value is to get at least one litter box for each cat in your household. Then you can really change each box every 30 days.

David James (#):

After going through three Littermaid brand “automatic” litter boxes in as many years we decided to give the Scoop Free box a try. This box works as advertised. We have 20lb cat that eats and poops a lot so we were dubious that the fairly small collection “box” wouldn’t be filled to the brim in a few days (as are the Littermaid collection bins). The Scoop Free box uses a different litter material that seems to represent a substantial improvement over the standard “clumping” cat litter. The end result is less smell, more time between clean-ups/emptying the bins, no lugging in big jugs/bags of cat litter into the house, and substantially quieter operation. As for cons, I haven’t done the calculation yet but the cat litter replacement units seem to be slightly more pricey than the cost of the LitterMaid bins + premium cat litter (I suspect that the Scoop Free marketing people took this calculation into account when setting the price of this “cash cow” component of automated litter box market). Anyhow, when I consider what we routinely tip waiters at restaurants per week for carrying food out to our table, the enhanced performance and convenience of the Scoop Free box pays for any nominal difference in price several times over (I wonder how much I’d have to tip a waiter to get them to clean out the cat box for me?). If you’re in the market for an automatic cat box, save yourself a lot of hassle/expense and start with this system.

Randy (#):

This is a wonderful product. However, it is extremely expensive both initially and monthly. This thing works like nothing else. No smell at all when it’s within the 10 days (I have 2 cats) but replacing the litter every 10 days is around 50.00/month. However, with these cats I was buying nearly 30.00 in litter anyway, so the 20.00 is well worth it. I can now leave them and not worry about any surprises on my couch. If you have picky cats, buy this product and buy the refills from Amazon. I haven’t found it cheaper at any pet store and it ships for free.

P. Odell (#):

Works as described. The two cats had no trouble adapting to it.

Dennis (#):

I have 3 cats… and have tried a variety of automatic litter boxes (Litter Robot: great but one of my cats didn’t like it, Litter Maid: had 3 of those…got gummed up, had to be washed out regularly, and broke easily, Pet Mate Litter Roundup: broke 2 months after I bought it.)

Scoop Free has been the best – particularly since I have 3 older cats whom are set in their ways. Zero smell. Easy to switch cartridges. The cats will use it (and not leave feline landmines around the house in protest of “yet another automatic litterbox that they hate.”)

We are so glad we bought it. I recommend a hood if your cats jump out and scatter litter from their toes after usinging the box.

Christopher (#):

The Scoop Free Litter box is awesome! My cat was used to using the Litter Maid, and the Scoop Free has exceeded all of my expectations, and he took to it with no problem. I love this litter box so much that I called my brother who owns a couple of pet stores in California, and told him that he MUST carry this product. I had lots of trouble with the Litter Maid, and it was always messy. Not having to touch or scoop anything with the Scoop Free is awesome. I can’t give a product a higher recomendation.

A. Pietrinferno (#):

I absolutely love this litter box. I had the Litter Maid before, and it just did not work well. Too dusty, had to be cleaned by hand too much, too hard to thoroughly clean the box, poo kept getting stuck to the rake tines, etc. This Scoop Free box is SO much better! I have 2 cats and it lasts about 15 days on the litter. The replacement cartridge price is outrageous, so I have tried dumping the old litter into a trash bag, wiping down the cartridge with Clorox wipes, and then putting in new litter. This worked for about a month, but now the pee is leaking through my reused cardboard cartridge. Not good. Someone else mentioned a “forever cartridge.” Does anyone know where I can find this, PLEASE? I keep searching on eBay and elsewhere on the net, but have not been able to find it. The makers of this box really need to make their own hard plastic bottom. I don’t mind dumping the litter. It’s so much nicer than cleaning an old fashioned box or a Litter Maid. It slides easily into a trash bag for cleaning. But I can’t afford $15-$20 every 2 weeks for a new cartridge! Hopefully someone can help.

Pamela Huber (#):

I bought the Scoop Free litter box about 8 months ago. I was a little leery at first as I tried another brand and it lasted about a day before jamming up and breaking, also it was hard to believe 30 days without “service”. Well let me tell you this box works great! It doesn’t quite go 30 days, more like three weeks with our cat before it starts to pick up a little urine odor. But even after three weeks it smells better than a regular cat box that hasn’t been serviced for one day!

Every now and then a little waste will be dropped in the wrong place and need to be manually cleaned up. And once or twice our cat has been more prolific in filling it up with solid waste so we’ve cleaned the solid waste out of the trap a week or so before changing the whole cartridge. We also find that the cat tracks a little litter around the box so we need to sweep or vacuum every few days. But even with these quirks, and the relatively high price of the litter cartridges, I think the Scoop Free box is a great product and well worth the cost.

Marlene (#):

After researching and reading many reviews on various sites (and having used other comparable products – mainly Littermaids), I am am not only thrilled with this litterbox, but so are my cats. The unit is a breeze to clean between changes, is much quieter, and so much easier to handle while cleaning and changing cartridges (Littermaid litterally was a chore!). The most fascinating thing about this box is how my much cats love it. With other units, once I cleaned the unit and changed the litter, the cats would come running which would last an hour of so. Now I have one cat that actually sleeps next to the box in the bathroom, she loves it so much.

I agree with other reviewers that the additional price is a bit hard to swallow, but the low tracking litter and ease of cleaning both the box itself and the surrounding areas really makes up for it. I agree that stirring the litter 1-2 times a day extends the life of the cartridge and so far each one has lasted 12-14 days with 2 young healthy cats. I have yet to try the “Forever Cartridge” found on eBay, but may give it a shot sometime soon to see if I can reduce my overall costs. (I did contact Scoop Free and they have no interst in creating such an item at this time.)

Overall opinion… buy it, you won’t be disappointed.

T. M. Scott (#):

Thank goodness for the Scoop Free litter box! I’ve tried several other automated litter boxes over the past few years, and while they were all a better alternative to non-automated boxes, they still required quite a bit of work. Not anymore, though, because this works so well that after I replace the cartridge I don’t have to think about it until it’s time to change it again.

We have two cats, and the Scoop Free holds up just fine with all of their traffic. I need to change the box every 10 days or so (otherwise it starts to smell) and the process couldn’t be easier. My house is cleaner and odor-free and I have much less work to do – I couldn’t be happier!

Joan Baines (#):

I LOVE the Scoop Free Litter Box and so does Sophie…my cat!

I can leave town and ask only for someone to feed her which is so wonderful…the box has worked perfectly and I have not had to replace the tray much at all since she does go in and outside. The Scoop Free Box has been a life saver…I highly reccomend them.

R. Kalapacs (#):

So I have two cats, and we bought one of these Scoop Free boxes about 6 months ago. I can say without reserve that I love this box. It has a couple of cons that I’ll mention below, but they are outweighed by the simple fact that I don’t have to mess with a nasty litter box anymore.

Our girl cat used a LitterMaid fine, and we didn’t really have a problem with it, except that their cartridges were a pain to clean. Once I figured out though that standard grocery bags were the perfect liner, it wasn’t too bad.

Then we got our boy cat. I think he just has a large bladder and only empties it once a day. The LitterMaid and its clumping litter are NOT good at dealing with this. I was forever un-sticking the clump from the rakes, or the rake would stick and not move and I’d have to go un-stick it. It made a horrible racket when it did that. Eventually he managed to burn out three separate LitterMaid boxes with that trick.

We gave up on LitterMaid and saw the Scoop Free boxes, so decided to give them a try. Honestly it’s like night and day. The rake never ever sticks. I can leave for the weekend without fearing that the litter box is going to break and scare the cats.

With our two cats, a cartridge lasts right about 12-16 days. Not bad at all. Sometimes I’ll do the stirring thing, other times I’ll just ignore it for a full two weeks, and it’ll still get the job done. Wow.

Cons:
Price of cartridges.
Can get a little ammonia smelling, but not too bad
Somehow my cats manage once a month or so to get a dried out poop out of the box and onto the floor. No idea how they manage this, but it’s less messy than when they did it with the grit covered ones from the LitterMaid. If anyone knows how to stop this habit, I’d love to hear it!

Pros:
Little to no maintenance
Quick and easy cartridge change (flip the plastic on its side, lean against the wall. slide out old cartridge, slide in new cartridge. put plastic back down, empty in crystals. put old cartridge in black plastic garbage bag and put in outside trash) 5 minutes, tops.
Quieter than the LitterMaid boxes were, which is a happy thing for the skittish cat.
Honestly I can’t say enough that the fact that I don’t have to scoop a litter box any more is worth the cartridge price. I hope they don’t raise the price any farther because it’s pretty expensive, but for now it’s worth it to me.

Thank you people at Scoop Free. You are awesome.

T. Veideman (#):

I live in only 500 square feet and my litter box is in my kitchen. I’ve tried everything from regular cat litter to the litermaid, and this litter box is the BEST by far! Because of the size and weight of the crystals, I no longer have litter all over the floor that gets tracked through the apt. I only have to change it once a month, and I can literally ignore the box the entire time. It is a lot quieter than the littermaid and it is MUCH cleaner! The littermaid is poorly constructed, so litter would always end up slipping throug the cracks between the actual box and the waste bin. I spent so much time sweeping up piles of litter, it wasn’t worth it! With the Scoop Free box, I don’t have to do a thing except put the lid on the top of the box.

I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!!

Val Nunnenkamp (#):

We have 2 cats and have tried all the different litter boxes. Even the very high dollar ones that hook uo to water (our cats hated that and 1 would never use it). to the kind the spins on a sphere (that would never stabilize and the cats were afraid to jump in it), The tines of this new machine NEVER clog. We had no transition time, they immediately liked it, The smell has cut down 150% and the ease of changing the trays is so amazing. The replacememnt trays are pricey but this 2 cat homeowner thinks they are worth every penny!!!!

S. Gaev (#):

This is the first auto scoop litter box we have owned. We searched the internet before we bought and found this one had the best reviews and they were so right. We have mutiple cats so we purchased three plus the hoods. Our cats, even the finicky ones, love them. It is funny watching them when the raking system goes on. We are so happy we bought them and urge anyone considering one to go ahead and get one because they will not be disappointed. There is absolutely no smell from the litter boxes now. Probably one of the best kitty purchases we have made. There is some noise when it rakes but it is not annoying at all. Five stars are not enough.

K. Gerace (#):

This litterbox became my new best friend the day it arrived. My 7 year old cat used it right away once I put her in it and used her paw to scratch a little. My kitten used it after I put a little bit of regular litter in it. Now they both share it and let me tell you- it is soooo much better than regular litter boxes. The refills are a bit pricey, but totally worth it.

Tom Gerace (#):

When our Littermaid unit wore out and died, I did some research on line and decided to try the Scoop Free box. We have had it now for 3-4 weeks and so far it is working just as advertised. It is better than Littermaid and quieter. There is almost no tracking of litter around the house.

R.S. Moddy (#):

Say goodbye to tracked litter on the floor, foul odors, stuck rakes and loud noises in the middle of the night. I have 5 cats and have been using the Littermaid automatic box for about 2 years and have been wishing for something better..Scoopfree is it! This box is quiet, leaves no odors at all, the crystals stay inside the box so there isn’t the constant need to sweep underneath the box like with the littermaid. My cats immediately took to the crystals and have had no problems using this box. I had been using this new one and the old one side by side for about a month for a comparison and I just ordered a second Scoopfree (mom gets the old littermaid). If you have one or multiple cats, this box is just an amazingly easy way to handle litter. Oh and clean up is a snap- you just lift the box off of the litter cartrige, cover with the attached lid and toss. Never a chance of touching dirty litter when you change like the other box. No scooping, scraping, shaking required! I changed the cartige after 3 weeks only becuase the litter was getting shallow and I felt weird about not having to change it for such a long time. With two boxes I’m sure I can go a month without changing, so it saves money on litter.

Sue Dannheim (#):

This is my second ScoopFree. It’s a lazy person’s litter box! I change the litter tray on the 1st then ignore it for 30 days. Can’t beat that. Much quieter than other electronic box I had. Other one was messier too, changing the plastic receptical for the other one ended up spewing litter (used) all over the place. Yuck! With the ScoopFree the litter sits in a disposable tray that you toss out every month. Refill trays a little pricey but well worth it to me. Cat likes it too. Highly recommend this box.

Garry Dannheim (#):

UPDATED after 9 months of use. I followed the instructions and placed the Scoop Free Litterbox next to one of the regular litter boxes that my cats use. Within 2 days, my cats started using the Scoop Free litterbox and dissed the old one. They seem to really like the crystals, which efficiently absorbs odors. I have had to clean the rake about once a week, but I have 8 cats using two of these (along with several more conventional litterboxes), so that’s not bad. Every time a cat steps in the box and does its thing, the timer resets giving enough time for the crystals to dry out any fecal matter so that it rakes into the container without sticking. I also purchased the mat which catches the crystal litter on my cats’ feet. Although I liked it initially, I no longer use it. It is difficult to keep clean and also some of my cats, whom shall remain nameless, have urinated on it. Now I just sweep daily any loose litter that is tracked out of the box.

Rammy Gentile (#):

I love it ! I have had no problems with the motor. Since the formula’s have changed in the clumping litter and they tend to fall apart and cause problems with the other self cleaning litter boxes. I completey recommend this product.

Robert Moss (#):

I researched the auto-cleaning cat litter boxes before making this purchase, and I’m very happy with Scoop Free. I purchased it 6 weeks ago, and the first cartridge lasted 1 month (1 cat). Once in a while I have to push the button to re-set the rake, as my curious cat disrupts the automatic operation periodically. I think this will change over time. The cartridges at $15 each are a good value for the ease of use and time savings. I also would recommend the hood/cover to reduce litter scatter. I’ll update if there are any problems.

M. Sinclair (#):

We have used our new litter box now for 1 month and it has worked exceptionally well. Our cat adjusted to the new box within a couple days after we set it up, and he has not returned to his old litter box since. Clean up after the first month (approx 28 days) was very easy. No more handling of litter! The convenience provided by this product was Well worth the price.

Robert Dannheim (#):

I read several reviews of different automatic litter boxes before I bought this one. This litter box is great – my cats are facinated by it. I’ve had it for a couple of months now, and they still run to see it when they hear the rake start to cycle. With two cats (one is very large), I change the trays every two weeks. If you feed your cats high quality cat food, you will not notice any odor until towards the end of the first week. Changing the tray is very easy, and because the sides are so high not very much litter gets out of the box from their paws. This beats all other litter boxes automatic or standard!

Tarilyn Geiger (#):

I like the Scoop Free Litter Box quite a bit. With 4 cats, however, only 2 of them like the box. My foster kittens use it as well, but as some of the reviews state, it’s better to have more than one box when your cat household exceeds 2, as the disposal compartment can quickly fill up.

2 of my cats will not use the box, 1 because she’s scared of the noise when it rakes up the mess (she’s not as scared as she once was, but still won’t use the box), and I’m unsure of the reasoning behind my other cat’s decision.

The refill trays are expensive, but I found and purchased the Forever Litter Tray on ebay for $60, which is well worth it considering the Scoop Free refills are about $15 each.

I’ve not noticed any smell emitting from the box, nor has the box ever jammed.

Nanci Kate (#):

I bought 2 for my 2 cats, and to my amazement they took to it, and this product works.
I hated the clay, and other previous litter and the horrible dust that they all have.

I read other reviews here on Amazon and bought the FOREVER Litter Tray – Scoop Free cartridge replacement from Rick on Ebay and that eliminates for the replacement cartridges. This FOREVER Litter TRAY is made from PVC plastic for this brand of litter box, and you just get rid of the crystals once a month by putting the “contents” into your trash bag. So if you don’t want to buy and pay for replacement cartridges, this is a wonderful alternative.

It got rid of the smell and the work because this product rakes the “stuff” in about a minute, and waits until the cat has left the area which is about 20 minutes later.
I can’t believe it took me 20 years of the other litter box methods to finally pay about $100 and $60 for the PVC tray, to get a little device that takes care of this horrible job that I hated.

Linda Geiger (#):

I have been using this product for about a year and it’s saved me so much time and hassle. I only change the cartridge for my cat’s box once a month, and it only takes 5-10 minutes to do so. The litter doesn’t get all over the house, and the odor is also better than with a regular box. Once the sensor wasn’t working quite right, but I wiped it off and it was good as new again.

Lorraine Sinclair (#):

I’ve had this litter box for over a year and love it! I have two Manx cats which love it as much as I do. I do scoop the litter every other week from the “catch” end and add extra litter to extend the life of the litter cartage. I do feed a good quality indoor cat food which has stopped the stink from the litter box totally. Vistors to my home can’t believe I have indoor cats! I would recomend this product to everyone with indoor cats.

Lorraine B. Ricci (#):

considering the little balls of kittydoo are swept into a section of the tray where they accumulate for a month (we have one cat) and there is no real seal in this area – there is a 1-2 inch gap between the top of the litter & the bottom of the cover for the kittydoo area. Kind of grosses us out, but it seems to work. There is absolutely no urine smell. We still empty out the doo box each week because just knowing what is in there freaks us out. The crystals work amazingly well. The metal grate works very well too – we’ve never had to clean it – nothing gets stuck to it (which we’ve read seems to happen with the “other” product). As far as cats taking to the crystals, we’ve got a very, very finicky cat, and we’ve had problems in the past with different litters. Even stuff our cat seemed to like initially, he’d turn his nose up at after a few weeks. We didn’t do anything special, just set it up, removed the old box, and told our cat it was sink or swim. He used it within 4 hours & has been using it for the 1.5 months we’ve had it with total acceptance. BTW-some reviewers have mentioned that their boxes, on the bottom, seemed to get wet & leak. We’ve read that the mfg. resolved this by coating the box bottoms with a thin coating of plastic. It certainly appears, from our product, that this is what they’ve done to correct this issue. Our cat is very old and a prolific urinator – we had no leakage.

Larry Barta (#):

Scoop-free really does keep itself clean. There’s NO scooping, NO cleaning! The boxes seem to work for about a month for 1 1/4 cats, (We have one indoor cat that uses it all the time, and one outdoor cat that uses it occassionally.) With the hood attachment and the litter mat, there are no litter messes all over the floor. With the hood, all the litter stays in the box, where it belongs. I’ve had other so-called self-cleaning litter boxes that were a weekly chore and mess to clean, inside, outside,everywhere. Scoop-free is the REAL DEAL! Only thing is, the bright purple cover doesn’t really go with my decor. But you can’t have everything, I guess. It’s a small price to pay for a clean litterbox! And my cat loves it, too!

Kathleen McDonald (#):

We researched all of the poop boxes and decided upon this one because it had the best reviews. We have a 10 week old kitten that took right to the box. I am still not sure if he loves the feel of the crystals, but he uses it for his business. It scooped even the tiniest of his kitten poop. I don’t know if it will last 30 days, but it seems to be working so far with no evidence of malodor. We may consider getting the forever tray that is sold on ebay. But so far, so good.

Todd Stock (#):

I did a lot of research before buying this automatic litter box. I have two kittens that eat, sleep, drink, poop and play. They eat and drink a lot. The cartridge lasts two weeks for two cats. No fuss or mess replacing the cartridge. The box works great raking the crystal litter. Unless you have an endless supply of money I would suggest the purchase of a permaliner from another company that’s made to the same specs as the cartridge for about $60.00. With that all you have to do is replace the crystal litter instead of the litter and cartridge. The cats had no problem with the box. The box works perfectly as advertised.

Jim Velin (#):

I’ve had this litter box for about 6 months and I LOVE it. I have one small cat and live in a little apartment and I can’t smell the box. I had a regular litter box before I bought this one and I was cleaning it at least 3 times a day and I could still smell it. I can go at least 3 weeks without even touching this box and still not smell it. It is supposed to go for a month and it gets really close, I think it could if I didnt have to have mine in a semi-public area. It is super easy, pretty quiet and it just really works well. The only reason its not perfect is that my cat still drops some litter on the floor on the way out. It is totally worth every penny!

John Stock (#):

I have been lookng for a good litter box for a long time. Most of the self cleaning boxes are too costly, bulky and do not have a nice large area for the cat to actually use. This box is exactly what I needed. I just love it!!

Sandy Baughn (#):

I’ve only been using this for a little over a week, but this is a great invention for cat owners. Day to day schedules can be so hectic, cleaning the litterbox is just one more chore that can be skipped. And the odor control is a big plus. The only question I might have at all, is with the scooping taking place at regular intervals and the claim that the cartridge only need be emptied about once a month for one cat, will I need to add crystals before that time? It just remains to be seen, but so far am extremely pleased with this purchase.

Sandy Stock (#):

I live in a one bedroom apartment and this thing is a godsend! No matter what room the litter box was in, it managed to stink up the ENTIRE apartment. Not anymore!

I really like the crystal litter (it does a better job of odor control than clay litter)and I’m so happy I don’t have to scoop anymore. I hated that job and after scooping, the clumps went into my wastebasket, where they just sat for days and continued to stink up the apartment. The crystal litter dries everything out, so no smell at all.

I really like the litter cartridges,too. I used to have to haul bags of cat litter up three flights of stairs and the cartridges have eliminated that task. They are a bit pricey, but they last a long time and they just work so well.

The box is a really nice size. I had an automatic litter box before and it was huge and took up lot of space. This is nicely compact, but large enough for my 18lb cat (I know, ridiculous. He’s big boned.) The motor is totally quiet, too.

Marge Fetters (#):

We have really enjoyed this product. No more daily scooping of stinky kitty poo or clumping litter. The machine just scoops it up and locks it away. We have a small cat about 1 year old. We do have to change the litter more than the advertisment suggets to keep it fresh smelling. We change it about once a week. We have a system were we just dump everything out of the tray into the trash then refill the tray with a bag of Fresh Step crystals. We replace the actual tray about once a month. This is a little cheaper than replacing the whole tray every week, but still so much easier than scooping stinky poo.

David McDaniel (#):

I have never owned a cat in my life-the main reason? The litter box. I didn’t want my house to smell like an animal OR like litter (the scent is so strong!) I didn’t want to have to buy tubs of litter, liners, etc. so this is a perfect solution for me. I still clean out the compartment every other day or so (I just like it to be extra clean) but what a great product?!

Anna Glick (#):

Our cat had no trouble adjusting to the new litter box. We put a little bit of his old litter in, which did cause more of the litter to get pushed into the trap door. My husband stirs the litter about twice a week. We’ve been using it for almost a month and are very satisfied. We just got a new kitten and were told he cannot use an automatic litter box until he weighs at least five pounds.

Hallen Holman (#):

For as long as the cats liked it, this litter box was great. After about 6 months though, they didn’t like it anymore, and switched back to the regular old litter box. Obviously I should have gotten rid of the old litter box! I’m going to try again, though.

Ken Steury (#):

I don’t know who likes the box more. me or my cats. Two boxes two cats. You gotta love it!!!!!

Nanci Amstutz (#):

I have 3 cats and this scoopfree litter box works very well. With 3 cats
I have another “regular litter box” as well. 2 of my cats are Bengals so
they are very moody anyway and dont like change, but they adjusted just fine and they all 3 use both boxes. The cartridges are too expensive, I have invested in the forever litter box tray that can be found on ebay. This is great! Too bad scoopfree couldnt come up with this solution. The
cartridges are just too expensive to use if you have more than 1 cat!

Gaye McMurry

T. Brown (#):

This box works wonderfully for me and my kitty. I’ve had no problems with odor, unless I wait too long to change it, and the cat has no complaints. I’ve never had problems with it puddling up under the box. Disposal is quick and simple. I had returned a new “improved” Littermaid because it didn’t work, so this was my last real automatic option. To save yourself the trouble, get this first. The new Littermaids are crap.

Susie Tucker (#):

This thing is awesome! It has performed above the my expectations. Ensure you change to trays as directed, but it does a superb job of cleaning the litter box. I have two cats and they both use the box without any issues.

Joy Sharp (#):

THIS BOX WORKS WELL,IS ODOR FREE AND IS A REAL LABOR SAVER.I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT.

Ty Mishler (#):

I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER LITTERBOX EVER AGAIN! THIS IS THE BEST LITTERBOX THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. IT IS VIRTUALLY MAINTENANCE FREE. IF MINE BROKE, I WOULD GO OUT TOMORROW AND BUY ANOTHER ONE. I HAD A LITTERMAID, AND THEN ANOTHER LITTERMAID, AND THEN I BOUGHT THIS. NO COMPARISON! IF YOU HATE CLEANING YOUR CAT’S LITTERBOX, THIS IS THE PRODUCT FOR YOU.

Serry Dahlem (#):

This litter box is amazing! We have had it 3 weeks and the only time I have touched it is to check if it is getting full, and its not even close. (I have 1 4 year old cat) I had the Littermaid electric box for 3 years and the motor died. It was always a mess. I tried every type of premium clumping litter, including the ones they recommended and still had jams and sludge on the bottom that I was constantly cleaing out. The Scoop Free comes with its own litter that is made of blue crystals, no clay, no clumping. The crystals absorb the urine immediately. Not one drop on the bottom of the pan! and then sweeps the solids into a well and then you throw away the whole thing after a month. mSo glad my other one died or I would not have been looking for this product! We can actually go on vacation for a long weekend and not have to worry about getting someone to come over to empty the litter box! Will try to write again in a month or so to let you know if it is still working as well as it is now. It is worth the expense. Don’t forget you won’t be buying litter (as it comes with) when justifying buying this litter box.

Mike O'Brien (#):

My mother bought this for me as a gift, and was hesitant because it wasn’t the litter box she had… but I insisted (at first b/c I liked the colors), but later b/c I’d read the reviews of the other brand vs. this brand… and I have to agree- it’s great. It’s not loud, the cat isn’t terrified of it, and the litter smell is absent from the house, which is awesome! Best part- the dog can’t find any more kitty cookies…. which everyone loves =)

Pam Brubaker (#):

We gave this to my elderly mother for Christmas this year. She loves her kitty dearly but dealing with the litter box was becoming too much for her. So far everything is working as promised with the Scoop Free box, there is no discernible smell, and kitty adjusted immediately (we also bought the hood and the Forever tray, on ebay, so she won’t have to order the disposable cartridges). Set-up was very easy. All parts fit together easily.

If problems occur I will revisit this review for update, but so far, it’s a winner.

Two months later ….. all going well! Cat adjusted readily, Mom adjusted readily. Changing out to new litter was daunting the first time, but I think we’ve got the kinks worked out (place the cartridge with the dirty litter into a garbage bag, shake out the litter, then hose off and clean, wipe dry — easy to reassemble).

Jill Robinson (#):

After several replacements of littermaid boxes, I was about to give up and go back to a non automatic box. When I saw the ad for the scoop free box, I changed my mind & decided to give it a try. The box itself does work as advertised. The motor is fairly quiet and the only real noise when it is running is when the rake flips over. Clogging and sticking are not a problem.
The reason I can’t give this five stars is the disposable pans. The area for solid waste is much too small. With two cats it needs to be cleaned out every 3 or 4 days to avoid overflow & maintain some kind of odor control. I also find that sprinkling the cardboard box with baking soda or a dry litterbox deodorizer before adding the crystals helps. Yes it is expensive to replace the cartridge every 10 days, but it still beats any other method of dealing with cat waste I have found.

Tana Maggos Lee (#):

I detest dealing with litter boxes. I had been using a regular old fashioned clay-based litter for a few years, but decided it was time to upgrade. With two cats, it was a constant battle to keep the box clean and non-smelly.

I read reviews of many auto-boxes and found this one to have the overall best, so decided to give it a try.

It was easy to put together, and there is so little ‘litter’ compared to the 20 lb bags I had to haul into the house on a weekly basis.

After following instructions how how to get your cat used to the new box, things went fine. Cats immediately took to it and no problems whatsoever.

I only have two things to note.

1) Website says “whisper quiet, like the low hum of a refrigerator running”. ha! If my refrigerator sounded like that, I would unplug it and call for service immediately. It’s loud. But it works well. So I’ll put it with it.

2) Litter availability. It concerns me a bit that the only place I can buy the special litter cartidges is online. I went ahead and bought a 6 months supply so I don’t have to worry with it, but I just hope they stay in business, otherwise the box will be useless.

Craig Martin (#):

I love this as does my cat.. there is one issue.. the odor control is not great.. but not horrid I use ever clean litter so I sprinkle a little in with the crystals from time to time (only a handful) even though the instructions tell you not too… simply because it scoops the litter to the end and doesnt close all the way (for the woman who said use the press and seal that cant work since all the poop is at the end of the box.. you can only fit so much in.., however you can empty it out before it becomes full to reuse.. its not a big deal since it is all dried out by this time… the press and seal but it might be a good idea for leakage (so far I have not see this problem) but I cant see reusing the box.. however having it cleaned for you is a nice feature… and I found it worth the investment over all.. so far no problems.. and I didnt find it loud at all.. it has a slight hum like a low motor..

People that complain about the smell make me wonder what they are feeding their cats.. I have a maine coon and a siamese and I dont have this issue. ALSO I have been very happy to find a guy on ebay who does something called the “forever litter box” (You can search him under various things such as scoop free cartridge etc} if you order one of those no more cartridge replacements just clean this one out when needed and replace the litter which you can find at target or walmart

Debbie (#):

I have used self-cleaning cat boxes for many years and this one is superior is two important ways: 1) it really doesn’t smell and 2) it really is self-cleaning up until you need to change the box. We have one large cat, indoor only, and one refill lasts about three weeks tops. You can “freshen” it changing out some litter to get a little longer life, but the size of the waste catch tray also dictates the capacity. My only two complaints: 1) price, but I figure it won’t be long before someone else makes a similar product and drives the price down some and 2) the cardboard box that holds the litter is not moisture-resistant enough and after three weeks, we get leaking. The refill box top fits under the entire refill when “installed.” This is to keep the box top handy so you can cover it up and throw it out. However, the bottom of the box is not water-tight enough and leaks through. I have put plastic under the entire box unit, but the leakage makes it difficult to remove the box top to cover the refill for disposal since you don’t really want to uncover the bottom of the box. A simple solution is a sheet of platic as a liner between the box top and the box bottom, but for the price, this problem should be solved by Scoop Free. Still, for the odor control alone, it’s worth it to me.

Beth Goldsmith (#):

I got this three months ago for my aging cat with litter box usage issues. She hated it immediately and now won’t use any box at all. Sigh. So I moved it downstairs for my young male.

He uses it well, but he overshoots the sides so I bought the pricey lid. This makes a big box enormous, but it is a pretty color and anyway it is downstairs, so who cares?

The crystals come in a big awkward tray, but it is fairly easy to maintain. The crystals do smell after a couple of weeks — my cat is fairly normal sized (11 pounds) and he goes outside, but it still smells. The stools also smell after a bit if you are in the same room, so if this were in a bathroom or kitchen I’d certainly clean it every couple of weeks. I cannot find refills in the stores, even the big chains, and it is expensive to order them by mail, so this would be prohibitive if I had to change this out more often.

The tray is awkward, heavy and floppy, so getting it into the trash without spilling is a trick. On the other hand, I have not experienced any trouble with the rakes — they don’t need cleaning, they work as they were designed to, and the cat just thinks the hum the machine makes is mildly interesting.

Over all, the product does what it says it does, and it has improved my quality of life by making litter maintenance an occasional ordeal and not a daily one.

Toni Johnson (#):

If only the cartriges lasted an entire month, but in the long run, this product is better than any of the other self-clearners I’ve tried. It may be because my little girl is still a kitten that the cartridge is only lasting two weeks.

We have ’stirred’ as instucted on the sheet that comes with the unit, and that certainly helps. And they do warn you that kittens, for some reason, will need an earlier change cycle. Still, I do appreciate the product. I have asthma, and if there were dust involved, I could not use this product, but happily, there is NONE.

As someone else stated, it’s quiet, and though its footprint is larger than a ‘normal’ litterbox, it’s not so large that you cannot find a place to house it.

Is it worth it? I would say that if you get this product, you will, on average, be happy.

Kay Anderson (#):

I’ve had this device for a month an a half. I have one elderly cat that used to be an outdoor cat (with shed and garage access) that I decided needed to be an indoor cat in her old age. She’s fine, in great shape, and not acting like going out is something she really needs to do. So, her first week “in” was last Thanksgiving. I did the litterbox thing in my bedroom because of company. It worked ok, except it stunk! And, I really needed to empty or shovel it every day. What a stinky waste of time.

This device is a tad larger than I would like. The Fresh-step works fine but does sometimes get on the cat’s paws and find its way out of the box. Not really a large problem…it vacuums right up. The really cool thing is there is no odor…until that day when it’s time to change the cartridge. Now, I do think with some extra Fresh Step, cartridges can be reused. Some other reviews said their cardboard became saturated…never did mine. I’ve had it for seven weeks. I’ve changed the cartridge two times. No smell, the cat took to it instantly, relatively quiet, even if your cat has to use it in the middle of the night. If you like having cats around and don’t like smell or daily litter box tending…this thing works very well. I’ve got a couple of other cats that will be migrating into the house and plan to get at least one more of these litter systems.

It works, it’s not cheap, but honestly, to get three to four weeks per cartridge when I would have gone through that many old-style clumping bags with all the daily mucking-out that’s involved, it’s about the same cost, with far less hassle.

If you like having cats indoors and hate shovelling cat poop, this thing works just fine. I gave it four stars because it is a tad large and the litter does sometimes get scattered around the box (I think they sell a cover but I don’t have one.). It’s not perfect, but it works great.

Becky Robertson (#):

I bought this hoping it would better deal with one of my cat’s smelly output than clumping litter. It does have a better rake movement than the Littermaid (this replaced a 7-yr-old Littermaid), it was very easy to clean the frame, and it dealt with smell well. Unfortunately, my 23 lb cat seems to have a bladder the size of a grapefruit, and I found that I had to change the trays too often for my pocketbook. The cartridge was also too big for my small, narrow garbage bin, making it a challenge to get rid of — I had to put it in a big plastic bag and bend it in half lengthwise. (I would have figured out something better eventually…) My big cat also tends to perch on the edges of the litterbox (even though this is generously sized; he perches no matter how big the box is), and sometimes he’d knock off the purple lid that lifts to trap the scooped stuff. Easy enough to replace, but the clatter always scared him and I was worried he’d stop using it. I do think it’s a well-designed product, just not for big beasties like mine.

Shawn Delozier (#):

I replaced my old, broken LitterMaid with a new Scoop Free Self-Cleaning Litter Box 2 months ago, and I’ve been really impressed with how well it works – it really is pretty much maintenance-free (aside from stiring around the crystals periodically). I think the motor is a little bit quieter than the LitterMaid, and it doesn’t seem to get stuck the way the LitterMaid often did. The litter tray replacement cartridges are expensive and so far I have not seen them in any local stores so I order from Amazon (free shipping). Also, I change the litter tray more frequently than it says you have to. I think it says for one cat you can let it go a month – no way! I change mine about every 10-14 days.

Surprisingly, my older cat adapted to the crystal litter right away, however my younger cat won’t have anything to do with the new box. I tried all of the tips in the Scoop Free instruction book to entice her to try out the new box (mixing clumping sand litter in with the crystals, letting her regular litter box get really dirty so she’s forced to try out the new (clean) box, etc.), but she’s still not interested. I think she doesn’t like the “crunchy” noise the crystals make when she steps into the box. Oh well – my older cat, who is very picky about having a clean litter box, loves it, so I’m happy with my purchase.

Lisa Wakefield (#):

The litter box is good if you have a cat that does not scratch. My cat sometimes tears up the box with her claws so I have to keep an eye on her and the box for leaking and holes. Other then that the chystals are excellent for odor.

Nicky Dou (#):

This litter box works as advertised. I get 3 to 4 weeks out of the system before I have to change to a new cartridge. That is with one cat of course. It works efficiently and very rarely misses any bowel movements left by my cat. This is the best one on the market and is available at a reasonable price.

Chris Demarest (#):

This is definitely the best litter box I’ve ever owned, but don’t be fooled into thinking you can go weeks or even days without scooping. I still need to scoop the #2 either daily or every other day to keep it from smelling. It just collects in the back of the box under the flap, but that can’t hold all the smell in. I would recommend this product, just don’t think you can get away with only maintaining it weekly or monthly.

Annette Kilker (#):

This works great, once the cat gets used to the movement and noise, but did not deter my cat from using it..the smell is definitely less than with a regular litter box.. I love the crystals, BUT.. my cat has soft bowel movements and even the 20 minutes of sitting in the crystals does not firm them up enough to avoid sticking to and getting behind the rake.. I do agree with previous users.. that they need to come up with a plastic holding box rather than a coated cardboard box…this works great for when one is not going to be able to clean the litter box daily..

Chuck Warford (#):

I spent a lot of time reading reviews before purchasing this item, and I’m glad I did. The people that had negative experiences expected it to perform above what it is capable of. If you know what you’re getting into, this will work very well for you. If not you will be disappointed. Been using this since x-mas, here’s what I’ve learned…

- have 2 cats, the cartridge will last 2 weeks max.
- cartridges are between 15-20 bucks each, so expect that expense
- it does scoop very well, but you do need to take a look at it once in a while to make sure it’s ok
- even if it’s not full of poop once the crystals are saturated with pee they will start to stink
- you do need to do a little extra cleaning when you change the cartridge just to keep the rake and housing clean. if you let it get disgusting it’s going to break someday
- the ‘cartridges’ are just cardboard boxes with a little hatch to keep the poop in, nothing special. the crystals are what costs $.
- the crystals aren’t that great (and some do get tracked out of the box that need to be swept up), but they’re better that the mushroom cloud that was created when pouring my old ‘clumping’ litter.

So – if your expectations are in line with how the thing works, and you are willing to spend a little more for a little less work, you should be happy.

Truman Ball (#):

The litterbox combined with the fresh step crystal litter does indeed keep odors at bay. They should have stayed at the planning table longer however, because the disposable trays, even though convenient, are just not practical. They certainly do not last a month like advertised! If you have more than one cat, you are lucky to get 2 weeks tops out of the cartridges before having to replace them and that gets mighty expensive. If your cat scratches the bottom of the cardboard, it will get wet and need to be tossed even sooner because the urine will soak into the cartridge quicker.

WHy they didn’t make and offer a reusable tray is beyond me. It would make the box perfect if it had one. There is a solution though, a clever person came up with and is selling reuseable trays for this box. He is not associated with the company, he is doing this on his own. I have purchased 2 from him and they are the only way to fly with this box! (Unless of course you have money to burn, then the disposable ones are for you)

I whole heartedly recommend this box together with the ‘forever tray’, as it is called. You can find them on ebay or at a great site devoted to all litterboxes [...] You will find all the information and reviews on the many different automatic litterboxes at that site. If you are in the market for an automatic box, that site should be your first stop.

The scoopfree has worked flawlessly for me as long as I have had it. I have been on the search for the perfect litterbox for as long as I can remember, and have owned every kind made to date. The scoop free is the closest thing to perfect I have found.

Disclaimer: I am not associated in anyway with either Scoop Free or the Forever tray, simply a pleased buyer of both.

John K. Carpenter (#):

I gave this Product 4 Stars simply because it is AUTOMATIC. I couldn’t keep it in the bedroom because it is a motor after all and is by no means whisper quiet!

It takes 20 minutes to cycle after Kitty leaves the box. That right there is my estimation on why the pee eventually sinks into the Slightly Plastic Covered CARDBOARD CARTRIDGE and needs to be replaced before or about in 30 days.

I suggest using a Piece of Plastic Carpet Protector (you can get it by the roll at Home Depot) under the entire unit “JUST IN CASE!”

You need to remove the Poo occasionally from the cartridge if you expect it to last 30 days. It is a fairly simple task and easy to get too. Just wear a GAS MASK or hold your breath. Thank God I bought the DOME LID for the thing! But PheeUweey from the front of the Litter BOX!

I question the Odor Issue because I have blended the Fresh Step Crystals with Dr Elseys Ultra Precious Cat Litter, which is supposed to be a superior Odor control. 1/4 Fresh Step and 3/4 Dr Elseys. Not having cats before or even using litter, I figured this would be a win win situation. SO… I don’t know which one is FAILING the ODOR EATER TEST here.

My 2 kittens ALSO have a spare Litter box. They only get 1/2 can “wet” food in the evening, NO FISH FOOD either… They have their Dry Food down all the time! So… something STINKS in Denmark here!

This is a great product, BUT the cartridges are way too expensive. I have read other reviews on other Automatic Litter Boxes where you can use Grocery Plastic bags as recepticals to replace the plaseic bags you buy for the OTHER AUTO Litter Boxes.

I wonder if I made a mistake here… I was shooting for quiet motor and that didn’t pan out… Now I am stuck having to pay $15.99 per cartridge and you don’t save a PENNY buying the 3 pack! The shipping is OUTRAGEOUS! They got you by the nose hairs here!

Debbie Finley (#):

This litter box is one of the better I have tried, but it could use improvement. The two key problems are the cartridges and the level of noise. The cartridges, even with the current changes, still leak badly. Fortunately, I was prepared for that and placed a bag underneath the unit. It is also not has quiet as advertised. It scared one of my cats, when she heard it from across the room, and now it has been a chore to get her to use it again. The smell is maintained well, but with two cats I need to buy a cartridge a week. Hopefully, the forever cartridges from the internet will reduce some of this cost. Overall it is still the best I have tried.

Roddy McCaskill (#):

I have been using the Scoop Free Litter Box about six weeks now, and for the most part, I am very pleased with it. I have a four month old kitten and she took to it instantly. It is a little on the noisy side, but it performs as addvertised with one big exception: there is no way the cartridge lasts for 30 days! My kitten doesn’t even weigh three pounds yet, and I can’t get more than 18 days out of a cartridge. I don’t get any urine smell from it (sometimes I hit the button when I pass by to mix the crystals), but after two weeks the smell of feces is pretty evident. So far, I’ve only had to clean the rake once. I also purchased the hood and the carpet. The hood helps keep the crystals in the box when my kitten is scampering around in there, and the carpet does a good job of catching whatever my kitten tracks out. I did quite a bit of research before I purchased this and I was aware that many people advised that the cartridge would not last 30 days. For me, the extra expense is worth the convenience of not having to scoop the litter box twice a day. Now, I check the box every two days or so, and when it’s nearing two weeks, I know that I will need to change it soon. I did not give this five stars because of the expense of the cartridges, but everything else about the Scoop Free Litter Box is perfect. Thank you to all who gave such good advice before me, and I hpoe those of you who are researching now find this review helpful!

Toni (#):

I was setting up my house for a new cat that I decided to adopt from a local pet store’s weekend shelter adoption program. I was concerned that with all the changes and stresses of an adult cat getting a new home she wouldn’t like the litter box. But, there was no problem. She knew exactly what it was, that it was hers, and took to it right away. She liked watching the rake move and the sound didn’t frighten her. She’s a very shy kitty that likes to hide, too.

I do scoop the poop out after a couple weeks, and then once more after a week, and then toss it out altogether on the fourth weekend. The litter’s dehydration property works, but it doesn’t shrink it enough to not need to scoop. Since I have just one medium sized cat, the cartridges will last a whole month and not stink as long as I do the simple maintenance already mentioned.

It is easy to clean since everything is already collected into one area. You’re not sifting the entire box trying to find stuff. Then you just stir the crystals that aren’t under the trap lid and you’re good to go. There has been no urine smell or leakage. I’m on the 5th month of owning this litterbox.

Some pet stores do not carry the cartridges. If you just order them at the beginning of the month of the last cartridge, replacements will arrive on time. I wish they didn’t cost so much, but it is a convenience to not have to scoop every day.

Chris Chronister (#):

I had the Omega PAW Self Cleaning litter box for years and really liked that I did not have to get my “hands dirty” except for the occasional scrub-down of the whole box. I’d heard that the mechanical litter boxes were loud and that picky cats did not take well to them. I moved into a small apartment with little room to accommodate a litter-box so I thought I would set this up, along with the lid “for privacy” and see if it worked.

I am extremely pleased with this litter box as it contains odor really well – I have to change it about every 17-20 days, but it doesn’t leak, ands my 4 1/2 year old cat took to both the change in litter and litter box very well! I like the fact that although it is a little smelly prior to the grates scooping the waste, that it has a timer prior to grating the waste that allows your cat to be well on to some other activity and is not startled by the noise. My cat actually runs over to the box when it starts running purely out of curiosity.

I would recommend this litterbox.

Mike McCaffree (#):

I have 2 cats and I have been replacing the tray almost weekly due to leakage. (very expensive) I tried moving the granulars around, but it did not fix the problem areas.

So, instead of trashing my 3rd automatic litter box, I thought I would slide a litter box liner over the cardboard box to see if that would help.

IT DOES!!!!!!!!! I am monitoring it daily, but the liner is not ripped and I am not seeing any indication of the usual problem. If this simple addition will allow my trays to last longer I will love this product.

Loann Barter (#):

This litter box is so much better than my old one. If a person wouldn’t want to buy this, I’d at least recommend changing over from regular litter to crystals. It is SO much cleaner/nicer. This litter box is not odorless- I have it in a semi-confined place. But, it is much much much less smelly than the regular litter box. The only thing I hate is when it’s 3 am and I hear the thing’s mechanical moan as it sweeps itself clean. Other than that, I really have no complaints. I got the LT1-3 refills which have an extra plastic lining inside to reduce soaking through (which hasn’t happened to me yet). If it wasn’t all so expensive, I’d be happier. Regardless, I am glad that I purchased this litter box.

Ken Peters (#):

The box itself works great. It’s a bonus not to have to scoop a box everyday. However, if your cat is at all picky about her litter, beware of the crystals. It hurt my feet whenever I stepped on a stray bit of litter so I can only imagine what it felt like for my cat. After grudgingly using the box for a day or so, my cat started going right next to the box. So I mixed in some of her old clumping litter and that worked until the rake scopped all the clumping litter granules right to the bottom of the tray. Not to mention clumping litter was sticking to the rake, creating a mess.

So I dumped all of the litter out of the tray and replaced it with a non-clumping clay litter. It seems to be working just fine and the cat has resumed using the box again. I don’t want to give up the scoop-free lifestyle so I guess I’ll continue things as they are.

Ryan Gattermeir (#):

This litter box is so great! I would have given it 5 stars, but the refills are not readily available, at least at any of the places I have looked, and are expensive to order online. But I did figure out a way to get around that. I purchased inexpensive cat pan liners that have elastic around the edge and attached it to the original tray that came with the litter box. Make sure to get large ones so that there is plenty of room and the grate won’t catch the plastic, and that the flap with the metal pieces on it can still move up and down easily. Then I found an off brand of crystal cat litter (Mimi Litter) at Wal-mart, and filled it with four pounds of that. I switched on the grate to make sure it could still work with the liner, and it seemed to work fine. Even if your cats do scratch a hole through the liner, the tray is liquid-proof, so you can just clean it up with a paper towel and some antibacterial cleaner.
After figuring out a way to cut the cost of using this product and making it easier to use, I just love it. I have two cats, and both took to it right away. It’s so easy – I just stir the litter around every few days and then change it out completely every ten days or so. I have to set a reminder so that I know how many days it’s been. With my old litter box, there was always disgusting gray litter everywhere in my basement, and it didn’t absorb the odor, which the crystal litter does. I was having to scoop every day or every other day, which I despise. Also, the purple and white box and the blue litter is just nicer to look at than gray clumps that stick to the side of the box. This is WAY better than any manual litter system I have ever used, and as long as it keeps working, I will be happy.

Mark Frizielle (#):

At first I thought the self cleaning box was perfect. I still think it is a great solution for cat owners who are away from home often. There is very little odor and in general I’m very pleased. At times the cleaning mechanism doesn’t trigger properly and I have to unplug to reset. Otherwise no problems.

Jan James (#):

It sure beats all other kitty litter boxes and trust me I have tried them all, automatic and not. This one is the closest one the being perfect. I just wish the cartridges were more accessible and less expensive. My cats however don’t care and love their kitty box and if they are happy, so am I.

Ardie Hawkins (#):

I hardly write reviews but I do for certain products that took me some time to research. And since actual reviews of products by people who’ve purchased them help me in my decision process I thought it only fair I write about my experience.

It was the usual squabble of who cleaned out the litterbox last which made me research self-cleaning litterboxes online. At first my search was limited to only LITTERMAID brand litterboxes. That proved to be too confusing due to the many models—the higher number model doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the newest. Then there was the “noise” factor with the Littermaid litter boxes that everyone kept mentioning, and finally the temperament of the mechanics used with various brands of litter. I think it took me a good month of research to narrow it down and we finally selected the Scoop Free box over the Littermaid brand.

My in-laws have purchased a Littermaid, and they are currently on their second one. The first one lasted 5 years before the motor died and they’ve since purchased a replacement. I showed them the Scoop Free litterbox and they wished they had puchased one instead of the Littermaid since the noise from the Littermaid is heard from their second floor bedroom (their box is downstairs near the garage).

I would highly recommend getting the carpet since its reduced the amount of sweeping and vacuuming litter. The one additional thing I did purchase that Scoop Free does NOT make is a permanent litter tray cartridge. The Scoop free comes with one cartridge. It’s basically a super-sturdy glossed cardboard in which you put the litter. Problem is, if you have several cats it probably will NOT last the 30-days it states (more like a week or two if your cat is a “light” pee-er). The permanent litter tray cartridge can be purchased online only on EBAY from the Seller “forevertrays”. On Ebay search for “Forever Litter Tray”. They cost $59.95 (+ $15.40 s/h). It’s worth every penny! The one thing I forgot to do is line the Forever Litter Tray with a plastic garbage bag. That’s my personal thing I like to do that but it’s not necessary since you can empty the tray out, wash it, and reuse.

We tested the Scoop Free litter box and the mechanics worked beautifully! The litter brand we use is the scoopable, clumping litter from Fresh Step with odor-eliminating carbon. We have only one cat, so instead of cleaning the litter box everyday, we clean it out once a week. It’s almost 3 weeks and the litter box has not had any issues.

PROS:
* You can use your own litter brand (*IF* you purchase the Forever Litter Tray from Ebay).
* Easy cleanup of waste.
* Relatively quiet motor (won’t scare you).

CONS:
* (Really only a minor thing). No removable receptacle to catch waste. Even though you save tons of $$ by purchasing the permanent litter tray, you still have to scoop the waste out. It does not have a “removable” waste receptacle to empty like the Littermaid. I put this as a negative since the waste is “pushed” to one side of the litterbox that is covered so you have to scoop it out instead of a tray you dump out. However, if you purchase/use the glossy cardboard catridges, this is do-able since the cardboard is meant to be used for 30-days and tossed out. However, the replacement cartridges are quite pricey which is why we purchased the permanent one.

Bud Powelson (#):

After purchasing three automatic litter boxes from another company – all of which broke down in a short time – I purchased a Scoop Free litter box. What a difference. There is virtually no odor. The motor is adequate for the job it has to do and is reasonably quiet. The cartridges are expensive but worth every penny. I am so grateful for this product and hope I have not jinxed myself by saying how great it is.

Charlie Gerken (#):

I had wanted an automatic litter box for some time and chose the Scoop Free because it had the most positive reviews. The few negative reviews about cartridge leakage did worry me since my cat likes to dig to the bottom and pee directly on the tray. But I decided to find out for myself and purchased it anyway. Here is what I found:

Day One: I was worried that my cat would freak out at the motor since he is a HUGE scaredy cat. He examined the Scoop Free with apprehension, but after a little while, he stepped in and went to town. After he did his business and walked away, I pressed the little green button to activate the rake. The noise wasn’t too bad; it sounded slightly louder than an automatic can opener. It does make a `clank’ sound halfway through, which is caused by the rake switching directions.

Day 10: The unmistakable smell of cat urine was emanating from the litter box. I didn’t get the privacy hood, so I wasn’t sure if that was why I could smell it. I checked the cartridge to make sure there wasn’t any leakage and there wasn’t. Even though the cartridges are made of cardboard, there is a plastic (sticker-like) film that lines the bottom of the cartridge, so that definitely helps curb potential leakage. I changed the cartridge anyway because the smell was pretty strong. And I don’t have the best sense of smell, so if I could smell it, it must have been pretty noticeable!

I also noticed that a big chunk of poo got stuck in the rake… I took disinfecting wipes and cleaned in between to get it all out. The poo had dried between the teeth of the rake, so it was a little tricky to remove. But this took all of 5 minutes, so it wasn’t too bad.

3 Month Conclusion: I do save a lot more time with the Scoop Free in comparison to a traditional litter box, because it requires a lot less maintenance. However, I think their “leave alone for up to 30 days” claim is a complete exaggeration. You still have to stir the crystals every couple of days to redistribute and aerate the urine. This is important to do because the rake only removes solid waste; it doesn’t “even out” the urinated crystals. And you do have to clean off the occasional poo that gets stuck/smeared in the rake during the raking process.

All in all, I am satisfied with the product. I used to clean my traditional litter box twice a day, and now I just have to do some light maintenance once every couple of days, and change out the cartridge every two weeks.

I give the Scoop Free litter box 4 out of 5 stars because there is no way that cartridge keeps for 30 days…and because those cartridges do not come cheap!

Karen Schindler (#):

This product is great. The only time you need to touch it is to stir around the crystals every three or four days. It isn’t as odorless as I would like but smells no where near as bad as normal kitty litter.

Connie Bickler (#):

Years ago I had the Litter Maid and loved it. I had no problems. When my cat passed on I got rid of it thinking about embedded odor. I knew I could get a new one. That time has arrived. I read so many articles bad mouthing the LitterMaid. It appears the newer versions are very weakly made. So I ordered the Scoop Free. My cat is a high strung Siamese. Snap your fingers and the cat goes Boing. Soon as I got the Scoop Free out of the box and set up, the cat went in and did her thing. I thought that was a great thing. Well once the cat saw the operation she freaked. She was very cautious around it. I had the other box close by. She started using the old box. Well a few minutes ago I hear the cat in the Scoop Free, good sign. Well I was hoping she would not see the action for a few days but she did. She did not freak but really watched it. I think after a few days all will be well. The box (cartridge)can be sturdily reproduced by any handyman . Those cartridges are not readily available. Buying them may not be terrible if you buy in bulk. Each box comes with 4.5 lbs of silica gel pellets. Those alone are about $6 in the store.

Bill Oesterle (#):

The box works great every time, it is however VERY loud! Which I can look over, because it works every time. I have two cats, so I change the litter every two-three weeks. Absolutely no maintenance needed in between changes, which I love!

Carol Davis (#):

This product is great for me however, not exactly as the reviews I read indicated. NOT having to scoop the litter every day is wonderful!!! I can’t say that enough. But beware that it does make enough noise to wake you up if you are a light sleeper. I am fortunate that I can fall back asleep so not a problem for me. I have 2 cats and the estimated change time is 15 days per the instructions. I am on a schedule of 10 days and may possibly change to 8… one of my cats is extremely large … need i say more. Overall, I am very pleased with this product and would recommend it if you do not mind spending the money for cartridges.

Jamie Dutton (#):

After reading product reviews on other automatic litter boxes, I decided to try Scoop-free. I got it mainly because I would be leaving my 4 month old kitten alone in the house for 4 days. It worked very well and I got about 20 days out of the litter cartridge. The only drawback is that although the product claims to be smell free, there are odors after a few days. The scoop-free combs the waste into a small compartment,but the odor seeps out while the wastes are dehydrating. All in all we are very pleased with the product, especially for when we go away.

Jeanne (#):

I love this product. My cats took to it right away. All I had to do was leave the nasty dirty box around for a few days. It took no time for my two cats to choose the clean, fresh box. I will say I was a little concerned when I saw one of my cats staring into the box while it was raking a mess away, but it has not deterred him. I love the easy clean up, and the cost of the cartridges is little more than what I spent before on bulk litter. A few more dollars a month for a fresh, non-smelly, easy to manage litter box is well worth it!!

Lamar Callaway (#):

This product is a BIG improvement over the Litter Maid self-cleaning litter box that we’ve had for the past four years. It is MUCH more quiet which we appreciate because we have the litter box in our bedroom and the other one would sometimes wake us up at night when it did a cleaning cycle. I’m also happy that I don’t have to empty the waste receptacle on a weekly basis as I did with the Litter Maid box. However, I have noticed that we can’t quite make it to 30 days without replacing the crystals cartridge. Perhaps it is because we have an older cat (which is what the Scoop Free literature mentions as a reason) but we only seem to go about 10-14 days before we have to replace the cartridge. This is still a big improvement over our old litter box and the fact that it is so quiet during the cleaning cycle makes it all worth it. I definitely recommend this product!

Linda (#):

I was look for a new way to deal with the whole kitty litter thing, this is perfect for my needs. I really don’t have to do much at all, I’ve had it close to a month and haven’t had any problems. My kitty however is still quite unsure about this whole thing, shes not burying her, well you know. And every time is scoops it she stalks it for a good 20 minutes, but she has not once not gone in there since I’ve gotten it so I think she just has to get used to it. The only thing that has stopped me from giving it 5 stars is that the tray does not seem to last as long as it says. like I’ve said, its been close to a month, 3 weeks and I can tell it really needs to be changed. I still don’t find that to be that bad, just a slight upset, and I still think it is a wonderful product and would recommend it anyone.

Derenn Bell (#):

While the price of the litter box itself is certainly comprable to other automatic litter systems, the refill trays are way too expensive. I mean, ITS A BOX WITH SOME MAGENTS ON IT! But that being said, it works like a charm. No odor, no poo to look at, I love it. One other slight issue; the manufacturers claim with 2 cats you can get away with changing the litter tray every 15 days. No Way! I have 2 cats and 10 days is the upper limit.

Sandy Greene (#):

This product works pretty much like it says it will. The product itself works pretty good for me, but the litter cartridges haven’t been lasting as long as expected. I only have 1 cat, but it seems like I need to change the cartridge every 2 weeks or so.

Derry Burns (#):

This is a great litter box – no smell or dust from clay litter. The refill cartridges are expensive and I find I have to change mine more frequently with two cats. Once the retrival box is filled it gets pretty stinky but I scoop out the waste, add a cup or two of crystals (to the litter tray) that I purchased at the grocery store, and it’s good to go for another week. That is saving me alot of money versus purchasing refill cartridges every week. There’s a lot less mess in general with this box and I highly recommend it to anyone with cats!

Andrew Herren (#):

This is soooooo much better than hand scooping a litterbox every day that I don’t regret the purchase at all. It works great, our kitten went right to it and with the optional hood on odor has been greatly reduced. There’s going to be some smell in the 20 minute window between when the cat uses the box and when the rake runs. But if you’re around and in a hurry, you can push the button to make it work faster.

30 days between changes is dreaming. We have one 6 month old kitten … maybe a kitten produces more waste because they’re growing so fast? I don’t know, but I have to clean out the #2 holder about once a week and need to change the whole cartridge about every 2 weeks.

But hey …. once every couple of weeks is GREAT compared to a standard litter box so I’m not complaining. The only reason I give this 4 stars intead of 5 is that they get your hopes up with the 30 day advertising and I can’t imagine what cat poops so little that 30 days worth would fit in that little compartment.

It is a great product though that has made life MUCH easier so overall I recommend it highly.

Betty Barnes (#):

This litter box works great! The replacement litter cartridges are expensive. We have two cats and have to replace cartridges every 10 to 14 days. The cleanup is easy. If you can afford it… get it!

Karla Ballard (#):

I wanted to wait to give my review to make sure my cats liked it. It took some changing around in the house as to where it was going to get used. If the old kitties could they would use the old boxes the younger kitties adapted quicker. We have 6 cats now and the clay litter would get stinky fast. After about 3 moves I think I have figured out the good places for these boxes. I bought two and I have two old boxes, they are beginning to use the Scoop Free much more than in the beginning, they seem to use it more for urinating than pooing, but that’s okay because sometimes the rake does get stuck with poo, but most of the time its fine. I’m pleased with this product and I did purchase it with the addition of two kitties and its helping with all the cats we have.

Meri Cribb (#):

Yes, the cartridges are expensive, but completely worth it. This never gets jammed like the Litter Maid. With one cat, cartridges last about 3.5 weeks. I’ll never go back to regular litter!