To Build a Better Cat Trap

[BentonGrey]

Well, not exactly.  Howdy guys, as most of y'all know, my wife and I recently moved, and one of our big goals for this new house is to find a better method of taking care of litter box chores for our two cats.  We recently got an automatic litter box, but it is fairly awful, barely working, and often missing stuff and leaving behind....chunks.  I thought I'd pick the community's collective brain about what automatic litter boxes are worth the effort and expense.  What do y'all think?

[captmorgan72]

Automatic litter boxes can be nice if your cats do not grow fearful of it. Then they will do their business on your floors. I have heard some people having good results with this product. http://www.scoopfree.com/promotion/?utm_source=Bing%2BYahoo&utm_medium=PPC&utm_content=General%2BScoopFree&utm_campaign=Bing%2BBrand%2BName%2BCampaign/

[Panther_Gunn]

I've not used an auto box before, but my sister has.  I don't recall hearing any complaining from her about it, but neither did I hear reports of glowing praise.  As to the issue of missing bits, it may be a matter of having the right kind of litter for the box.  Depending on the type of mechanism, you may need a litter that clumps rather quickly and sets solidly.

[Deaths Jester]

  As to the issue of missing bits, it may be a matter of having the right kind of litter for the box.  Depending on the type of mechanism, you may need a litter that clumps rather quickly and sets solidly.

You also might need to change their food around some becuase in some cases the more...um..."slurry"..yeah, slurry is the word I'll use..stuff won't clump up well and can often be missed by the autobox.

[BentonGrey]

Urg.  Thanks for the suggestions guys!  I've heard some good things about the Scoop Free boxes, but reading some of their reviews makes me leery.  The one I'm hearing the best stuff about it Litter Robot, which is super cool looking, but also a zillion dollars (read: $300).  That figures.  It seems to be one of the only automatic boxes that actually works.  We're having litter box issues in the Grey household, the brand freaking new Grey household which we're still trying to fix up and make home-y, so this has become something of an obsession of mine. 

My solution to this problem would be to just put the cats outside at night, but my wife is ridiculously neurotic about them, and is just sure they're going to get eaten by bears or some such nonsense.  As we're living in a small town in Arkansas, rather than Glacier National Park, I'm thinking that isn't so very likely.  They're animals, and while I love them, I'm fairly certain they can survive being let outside at night.  I'm sure one of them would even be super excited about it.

[Deaths Jester]

The only problem with putting them out at night is if their aren't accustomed to being outside and the potential animals that could run into.  While you won't run into bears, you probably have racoons and possums in the area...both of which (racoons especially) can hurt/kill a cat that doesn't know how to defendthemselves or are used to being outside.  Unless you had a way to control where they roamed, say an enclosed area (mesh wiring and such), or they are used to goin gindoors and outdoors regularly then I'm in the boat that your wife is in.

[BentonGrey]

The only problem with putting them out at night is if their aren't accustomed to being outside and the potential animals that could run into.  While you won't run into bears, you probably have racoons and possums in the area...both of which (racoons especially) can hurt/kill a cat that doesn't know how to defendthemselves or are used to being outside.  Unless you had a way to control where they roamed, say an enclosed area (mesh wiring and such), or they are used to goin gindoors and outdoors regularly then I'm in the boat that your wife is in.

True DJ, but both of our cats do come in and out regularly, so I wouldn't be too worried about them.

[cmdrkoenig67]

If your cats run into a skunk at night, then you'll wish you never let them out. 

Dana

[lugaru]

My advice as a cat owner is way overfil the box with litter... that makes it a lot easier to clean and easier for them to bury the stool. Give them a good box and you will only have to clean it once or twice a day, and that takes 30 seconds.

[Reepicheep]

This thread is about poop.

[Deaths Jester]

If your cats run into a skunk at night, then you'll wish you never let them out. 

Dana

Tomato juice...lots of tomato juice..that's what works the best to remove le skunk smell!

This thread is about poop.

*poops on Reep just for the fun of it*

[Tomato]

If your cats run into a skunk at night, then you'll wish you never let them out. 

Dana

Tomato juice...lots of tomato juice..that's what works the best to remove le skunk smell!

I don't see what my "juice" has to do with skunks DJ, but I'm offended by the implication

[BWPS]

This thread just stopped being about poop in an even more disgusting way.

[Deaths Jester]

If your cats run into a skunk at night, then you'll wish you never let them out. 

Dana

Tomato juice...lots of tomato juice..that's what works the best to remove le skunk smell!

I don't see what my "juice" has to do with skunks DJ, but I'm offended by the implication

It's what you wash a skunk sprayed thing to get rid of the smell...so be as offended as you like 'Mato...cause your "juice" while mostly useless actually serves some use....but keep ye "juice" away from me, ye sick bastad!

[BentonGrey]

Haha....ohh man...FR never ceases to be entertaining...and frightening...