We have cats, we have always had cats, and can't imagine ever not having cats. And they are, for the most part, entirely indoor cats. Even if traffic is not a hazard at The Weyr, foxes, haws, owls, and wild dogs certainly are, not to mention the occasional rabid skunk or coon. Our kitties stay inside and use litter boxes.

Litter boxes mean a mess, there is no way around this. Cats are, for the most part, inherently clean animals and dislike dirty boxes. Naturally this means lots of scooping or dumping, sweeping, and lugging home heavy bags of fresh litter.

Litter is not only expensive but some of it is downright injurious to kitty's health if ingested or inhaled. For animals that sleep 18-20 hours a day, cats tend to go through a lot of litter every week. All that heavy stuff coming and going, week after week, month after month, year after year....

In the constant quest for a better litter we have tried them all. Clay is cheap but short-lived, dusty, the heaviest of all, and does not really control odor. The clumping products are ok, cats generally accept them but they are expensive and loaded up with chemicals to kill odors that might be harmful to kitty. Crystals work very well and for a single cat, do a great job. But they are very expensive. None of these products is biodegradable, can't be flushed, and are the devil to dispose of, heavier going out than when they came in.

On the suggestion of a friend who raises show cats, we tried cracked corn. It works pretty well, reduces odor, is not very dusty, used to be inexpensive, and is completely biodegradable. It can be lugged out to the woods and dumped without any worries. Even better is laying hen crumbles, which actually clump nicely and really control odor. It used to be pretty cheap too until the current interest in biofuels made from corn; the price has recently gone through the roof.

The next step in the search for a better cat box filler led us to use Woody Pet, a wood product used to bed horses. It is essentially pelleted sawdust that expands when wet and swells to many times its dry volume. It is great at controlling odor and is completely biodegradable. It is even cheap. But it is still heavy, needs to be lugged home and then lugged into the woods later on.

All litters track throughout the house, even the very best and most expensive. Litter caked-paws are not nice in one's lap or bed.

While Bill is away the cats and I end our day watching TIVOed programs so we can fast-forward through the commercials. We were doing just that a few weeks ago when we spied a glimpse of a cat using what looked exactly like a commode. Pause...rewind...YES, it is a commode, designed for cats and it automatically cleans itself. The professional cat actor seemed very satisfied with this gadget and after using it sat and watched the thing go through its cleaning cycle. Our cats were intrigued, I was intrigued. What is this Cat Genie thing and can it possibly be as good as it looks?

A week or so of desultory online research ensued and suddenly that Cat Genie commercial was everywhere on satellite, a constant reminder that there might, indeed, be a better way.

Finally I started price-checking. The thing retails for $329.99 plus in the neighborhood of $50-60.00 shipping and handling. That is a pretty expensive neighborhood. I searched harder and found it cheaper and finally found it both cheaper and with free shipping on Amazon.com. Bingo, activate the 1-Click ordering and amazingly quickly our first Cat Genie was on the way and arrived the following Monday. Not only did I get it for only $264.99 but did not even have to pay for express shipping to get it in less than two business days.

Ebay, normally an excellent place to find a bargain, failed in this instance. People were willing to stupidly bid over retail and pay exorbitant shipping as well. An unnecessary reminder that all “bargains” on eBay are not necessarily so....

The huge, heavy box arrived after a weekend of tracking it at UPS.com. It was quickly dragged into the house and ripped open. All the parts were there including an extra box of “litter” and and a spare cleaning solution cartridge. It also comes with two brass, high-quality, plumbing fixtures, one for use with a washing machine hook up and the other for use under a sink or toilet. You need only a pair of pliers or an adjustable wrench to hook up the connection.


SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

Assembly is minimal and consists of attaching the Genie Hand to the electronic “arm” that raises and lowers it into the bowl and setting the cover over the disposal chute. Attaching the plumbing fixture was very easy, turn off the cold water, unscrew the cold hose, attach the “T” fitting, reattach the washing machine, attach the water intake hose, turn the cold water back on. The first and last steps are crucial to success.... Then you insert the end of the waste hose into the washing machine drain.

Installation next to a toilet is equally easy and you put the end of the waste hose over the lip of the toilet under the seat.

Cat Genie is not small, about the size of a large, covered litter box, so make sure you have room for it before you order one. It also needs good air circulation if you don't use AC or the unit will overheat during the drying cycle..

After the plumbing is connected, the unit is plugged in, put a sanitizing solution cartridge in the appropriate place and it is ready for kitty to use.


ACCLIMATING KITTY TO CAT GENIE

The instructions are full of advice for getting kitty to accept Cat Genie. Our cats were enthusiastic immediately, probably from watching all the commercials with me. They warn not to let kitty hear it in cleaning mode for fear the spineless creature will be traumatized for life. Our Gang of Eight, those not napping, lined up to watch me assemble and set up their Cat Genie.

Our cats accepted their new self-cleaning commode immediately and I ran the cleaning cycle the following morning. It is not all that noisy, about the same as a washing machine or dishwasher. Our cats are not easily spooked and most of them watched in fascination as the Genie Arm raised and lowered, removing solid waste, as the bowl rotated.

Cat Genie has proved to be such a success that today I ordered two more units. It is recommended that you have one unit for every three cats so we are erring on the side of caution with three. As soon as they arrive and are set up those nasty, Woody Pet filled litter boxes are going back to being mortar trays and I plan to reclaim my studio back from the cats.


HOW IT WORKS

Cat Genie is electronic. It can be programed to run at predetermined times or, better, just start it manually. There is a sensor that will keep it from running if a cat is using it. Yeah, yeah, tell that to the last cat who tangled with a LitterMaid!

After you push the button the Genie Hand descends and scoops through the plastic spheres that are the “litter” and removes all the solid wastes. The waste material is dumped down the chute and ground up then pumped out through the waste disposal tube. Kitty urine falls straight through the litter into the reservoir underneath the bowl. This is pumped out with the cleaning water. After the waste is removed the litter is washed, sprayed with sanitizing solution, then dried and raked into a perfect surface for the next kitty looking for relief. It is all very zen.


A FEW CAVEATS

I have found that if I don't watch for the first minute of the cleaning cycle, with scoop in hand, sometimes the Genie Hand drops a bit back into the bowl. This is ok as it is still washed and rinsed and sanitized, but it really is easier to stand there and make sure the solids go down the chute.

Those cartridges of cleaning and sanitizing solution are essential to Cat Genie operating at all, much like an ink cartridge in your printer; no cartridge, no self-cleaning. Do not run out of cartridges. Which leads to my only real gripe with Cat Genie. These cartridges are not refillable! Not only is this an ongoing cost but it adds an extra burden to our already groaning landfills. Some brilliant cat slave needs to figure out a way to refill these things, performing a priceless service for cats and their owned.

They contain a common sanitizing solution used in vet offices. It is non-toxic, easy to find, and inexpensive. A gallon of concentrate would probably last a year or longer.

But, apart from this annoying glitch, Cat Genie is a true miracle for cat slaves who hate litter box duty. I recommend it without reservation and so does the Gang of Eight!

Recommended: Yes